Peabody School Decision Appealed To Supreme Court By Simmons College
On January 9th, Simmons Collage which intervened in the vending probate of the will of Henry 0. Peabody claiming to be aggrieved by the decree issued by Judge William M. Prest which instructed the trustees under the will to pay the accruing income of the trust property to the town of Norwood upon certain conditions, filed a notice of appeal from the decree to the Supreme Judicial Court.
Under the terms of the will filed for probate in 1903, Mr. Peabody after making various gifts left the residue “to found and endow an institution to be called the “Henry 0. Peabody School for Girls” for the purpose of furnishing instruction to girls by teaching the various branches of art, science and industry best calculated to enable the scholars to acquire an independent livelihood; and it is my will that said school be located upon the land now owned by me in Westwood and Norwood, sometimes called the “King Gay Farm.”
The will further provided that the trustees should hold the principal and incomes until such time that the trustees believe there is a fund sufficient “to erect buildings and suitably provide for the support of said school.”
In 1910, the then trustees petitioned the court for leave to sell the “King Gay Farm” property for $40,000 to W. Cameron Forbes, claiming then that the purposes in the will could be more advantageously and successfully carried out by locating the school elsewhere.
The probate court in consideration of the petition granted leave to sell the real estate and ordered the proceeds held for the purposes of the trust.
Simmons Sought Fund
In May of 1938 the trustees petitioned the court for instructions and Simmons College entered the proceedings to obtain the benefit of the accumulated fund then amounting to $719,321.18 with an annual net income of approximately $32,000.
Following a hearing on the petitions for instruction the court decreed :
“1. That the will of Henry O. Peabody discloses a dominant charitable intent which has not failed by reason of the sale under license of the court of the King Gay farm referred to in said will and that the heirs at law of the testator have no interest in said trust fund.
2. That the trustees under the fourth clause of said will be and hereby are empowered to pay annually to the town of Norwood . . . the accruing net income from said trust property when and if the town of Norwood shall construct and equip upon the land upon Nichols Street adjacent to the High School, a school building to be known as Henry O. Peabody School for Girls.”
There can be no action taken by the parties in interest until the Supreme Judicial Court shall pass judgment on the appeal.
(All articles originally published in the Norwood Messenger)