Lawrence McMahon’s will admitted to probate

09/01/1893 |

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Lawrence McMahon’s will was admitted into probate, and William A. Harty and J. P. Donovan were appointed appraisers of McMahon’s estate.

More details

McMahon’s will included the following bequests:

$500 to Saint Lawrence Catholic Church, New Bedford, MA
$500 to Saint James Catholic Church, New Bedford, MA
$500 to Saint Francis Orphan Asylum, New Haven, CT
$500 to Saint Patrick’s Orphan Asylum, Hartford, CT
$750 to Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Bridgewater, MA
$500 to Saint Joseph’s Hospital, New Bedford, MA
$1,000 to the priests of the Diocese of Hartford for masses
$5,000 to Rosanna McMahon

His will also directed that

Any property he may have held in trust should be returned to the equitable owners
Any money that appeared to be due to him from the Cathedral of Saint Joseph should not be regarded as assets of his estate unless they were necessary to satisfy the bequests listed above; and
The balance of his estate should go to the Saint Joseph’s Cathedral Corporation

And then there's this

McMahon added a codicil to his will that if his estate could not meet his bequests then Rosanna McMahon should be paid first.
Also, McMahon anticipated that Saint Joseph’s Hospital might no longer exist, in which case the bequest for the hospital should be divided equally between Saint Lawrence and Saint James Catholic Churches.

Why this is important

This will is the first mention of the “Saint Joseph’s Cathedral Corporation” that I’ve seen. It implies – or, I should say, allows the inference that the bishops no longer owned diocesan property.

The past recalled

McMahon’s will was filed for probate on August 26, 1893.

For the record

The quantified bequests would be equivalent to $322,902.08 today.

Source

Unattributed. “Bishop McMahon’s will,” Hartford Courant, September 1, 1893, page 10.

Lawrence McMahon

History

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