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Details
HARDING, Warren G. Typed document signed ("Warren G. Harding") as President, his Last Will and Testament, Washington, D.C., 20 June 1923. 3 pages, carbon copy, folio (12½ x 8 in.), on rectos only, punch holes in upper corners, one brass clasp, light edgewear, two short tears along folds, upper left corner of last leaf torn away but present, third leaf tipped to mount and with small hole through witness signature.
HARDING'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT, OMITTING NAN BRITTON AND HIS ILLEGITIMATE DAUGHTER, ELIZABETH ANN
Harding signed this will on the very day that he set out on his cross-country Voyage of Understanding, a vigorous plan to explain his policies to the people. At the time, he was suffering from high blood pressure and an enlarged heart and no doubt wished to have his affairs well in order before such a large undertaking. In an unidentified hand at the top of the first leaf is written "Only June Copy -- signed and witnessed." Fifteen clauses outline Harding's plans for the distribution of his estate: he bequeaths a portion of his property in Marion, Ohio, $100,000 and all of their personal property to his wife, Florence Mabel Kling. He provides for the interest only on $50,000 to his untrustworthy father George Tryon Harding, along with the continued use of his residence. Each of his nieces and nephews are to receive $10,000, and his wife's grandchildren from her first marraige are provided $2,000 each. Other notable monetary distributions include $2,000 to the Trinity Baptist Church and $1,000 to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, both of Marion. The remainder of his property is designated to be divided equally between his brother and sisters. The most personal clause is the thirteenth, stating: "I request that no part of my estate shall be expended for a monument other than a simple marker at my grave."
This will was superceded by another drafted with the help of Harry Daugherty, although very few revisions are noted. Most interestingly, neither this nor Harding's later will made any provisions for the support of his mistress Nan Britton, nor for their daughter Elizabeth Ann. Nan tried unsuccessfully to extract a trust fund from the Harding estate. When this failed, she wrote the graphic best-selling confessional The President's Daughter (1927), dedicated to "all unwed mothers, and to their innocent children whose fathers are usually not known to the world."
HARDING'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT, OMITTING NAN BRITTON AND HIS ILLEGITIMATE DAUGHTER, ELIZABETH ANN
Harding signed this will on the very day that he set out on his cross-country Voyage of Understanding, a vigorous plan to explain his policies to the people. At the time, he was suffering from high blood pressure and an enlarged heart and no doubt wished to have his affairs well in order before such a large undertaking. In an unidentified hand at the top of the first leaf is written "Only June Copy -- signed and witnessed." Fifteen clauses outline Harding's plans for the distribution of his estate: he bequeaths a portion of his property in Marion, Ohio, $100,000 and all of their personal property to his wife, Florence Mabel Kling. He provides for the interest only on $50,000 to his untrustworthy father George Tryon Harding, along with the continued use of his residence. Each of his nieces and nephews are to receive $10,000, and his wife's grandchildren from her first marraige are provided $2,000 each. Other notable monetary distributions include $2,000 to the Trinity Baptist Church and $1,000 to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, both of Marion. The remainder of his property is designated to be divided equally between his brother and sisters. The most personal clause is the thirteenth, stating: "I request that no part of my estate shall be expended for a monument other than a simple marker at my grave."
This will was superceded by another drafted with the help of Harry Daugherty, although very few revisions are noted. Most interestingly, neither this nor Harding's later will made any provisions for the support of his mistress Nan Britton, nor for their daughter Elizabeth Ann. Nan tried unsuccessfully to extract a trust fund from the Harding estate. When this failed, she wrote the graphic best-selling confessional The President's Daughter (1927), dedicated to "all unwed mothers, and to their innocent children whose fathers are usually not known to the world."