A Final, Sudden Act
A Tacoma resident died suddenly while in the act of signing his last will and testament, which was noted for its extreme brevity.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Peter Fisher died suddenly while trying to sign his name to his will, which was placed on file today. It reads as follows and is attracting attention because of its brevity: 'I give and bequeath to my beloved Laura Fisher, all my estate, all the property, real and personal. I name my wife, Laura Fisher, as administratrix and executor.'
“Peter Fisher died suddenly while trying to sign his name to his will.”
Legal documents of the late 19th century were often as bare-bones as the people who drafted them, highlighting a time when one's word and signature were the only foundations for inheritance. Sudden, unrecorded deaths in the public record often left families in years of probate turmoil, a theme that persists in estate law today.
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