Wills and estates, 1909-1930

Contents: Letters, legal documents, lists of possessions, financial reports, tax filings, accounts of the estate and its settlement, biographical notes, photographs, pamphlets and booklets.

When Saulsbury died in 1927, his will named his law partner Hugh Morris and Victor Wooley as his trustees and Hugh Morris and his wife, May, as executors. These files were apparently assembled by Hugh Morris who took primary responsibility of settling the estate. Consequently, there are some files which do not directly relate to Saulsbury, but which affected Morris’s involvement with the estate. These files have been kept with the subseries.

The bulk of this subseries relates to the various financial and legal obligations of settling an estate. Saulsbury’s complete Will and subsequent changes and comments are included in the first folder. Subsequent files include the collection of Saulsbury’s investments, the appraisal of his possessions, the relevant taxes, and other supporting documentation. There are also files related to Morris’s job of fulfilling the will in the disbursement of property, which was complicated by the fact of Saulsbury’s having died without an heir. One of Saulsbury's instructions was for memorial windows to be purchased and installed at churches in Wilmington, Georgetown, Milton, and Dover in memory of different family members. Records of the final settlement and of Morris’s executor's accounts are included in this subseries. There are also two folders of biographical materials, possibly gathered for memorial presentation.