Chapter 18: A House of Cards
Mary Martha's efforts to control her inheritance fall apart
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Mary Martha's six-page will, dated June 2, 1941, ominously started out with the revocation of all wills, codicils, and instruments of a testamentary character to which she had previously agreed. 1
That statement was followed a few paragraphs later with Mary Martha's wishes that one-half of the estate passed down to her from her mother, Martha Sylvester Parker, through her father, Richard T. Parker, be given to her long-time nurse and companion, Berdetha Lammiman.
The other half was to be given "absolutely" to her attorney, Harland Tibbetts.
As for the estate which had been passed down to Mary Martha from her grandfather, James Parker, the elder — a part of which had also been promised to Aimee in the 1931 agreement — Berdetha was to receive one-third, while Harland was to receive the remaining two-thirds, but as two separate bequests.
In both matters, Mary Martha noted that if Harland died before she did, then his inheritance would pass to George F. Lewis, another one of her attorneys. And if George died, then the funds would go to Murray D. Welch, yet another of her personal attorneys. And finally, if Harland, George and Murray all died before she did, then the money would go to Robert Rand, a different New York attorney who had previously been associated with Mary Martha’s former attorney, William Jerome.
In addition, Mary Martha bequeathed $2,000 to her gardener, Louis Petta, and $1,000 to a woman named Ellen Cronin. But only if they were still in her employ at the time of her death. I haven’t been able to determine what kind of work Ellen did for Mary Martha, or if either were still employed. Unlike other folks Mary Martha employed, neither lived with her.
And finally, Mary Martha gifted the sum of $5,000 to Christ Protestant Episcopal Church, Greenwich, Connecticut, despite the fact that she had never lived in Greenwich, and apparently had no connection to the church. The funds were “to be used by said church in its unlimited discretion for the purposes for which it has been organized.” I’m still digging into this mystery.
All other assets not otherwise bequeathed or assigned were to be divided equally between Berdetha and Harland.
Oh, and Harland was also appointed executor of Mary Martha’s Last Will and Testament, along with the New York Trust Company, a corporation organized under the laws of the state of New York.
There was no mention of the legally-binding agreement Mary Martha had made with Aimee when she'd dismissed the 1928 lawsuit, nor of the promises Mary Martha had made beyond that document.
In fact, there was no reference to Aimee at all.
Berdetha Louise Lammiman was born on New Year’s Eve of 1879 in Woodstock, Ontario to Thomas and Sarah (Park) Lammiman, and immigrated to America at the age of 29. Three years later, in 1909, Berdetha graduated from the New York Training School for Nurses, and began her career as a private duty nurse. 2
In 1910, Berdetha was listed in the federal census as one of 116 trained nurses living at the New York Hospital Nurses Club on West 92nd Street in Manhattan. City directories indicate she lived there for several years before joining the Taylor household as a private duty nurse sometime prior to 1920. 3
When Archibald passed away in 1928, he left Berdetha $5,000, about $90,000 in today’s money, suggesting the important role she played in the household, especially since Archibald had been ill for several months prior to his passing. 4
Following Archibald’s death, Berdetha accompanied Mary Martha on five different trips to Europe, including a lengthy stay in 1933. And, although it’s clear she served Mary Martha in the capacity of a nurse, she was often identified as “friend” or “companion” in much the same way Mary Martha’s previous live-in nurse, Amelia Wright, had been.
Also like Amelia, it’s likely Berdetha was well aware of her employer’s actual relationship with Aimee and understood better than most her deep obsession with keeping that relationship a secret. Berdetha was with Mary Martha throughout the very public 1928 scandal and subsequent money-for-dismissal agreement, and was likely Mary Martha’s only non-legal confidant.
And then there were those frequent trips to Europe.
Whatever it was Berdetha knew, Mary Martha wanted to make sure she was motivated to keep it to herself.
Which might just explain why, in addition to the extremely generous financial inheritance she’d left Berdetha, Mary Martha also gifted to her nurse all of her clothes, furs, bric-a-brac, objects of art, furniture, hangings, carpets, clocks, watches, photographs, engravings, paintings, books, laces, jewelry, silverware and linen. 5
And she explicitly gave Berdetha permission to do whatever she wanted with these valuable items – keep them, sell them, or distribute them in accordance to “a certain list or lists” Mary Martha had left behind.
Even from the grave, Mary Martha was hell-bent on controlling what she saw as hers.
On July 6, 1943 — 34 days after Mary Martha's death and before her will had been admitted to the Probate Court of New York —Harland Tibbetts drowned while bathing at Breezy Point Beach near Rockaway Point, New York. 6
Accounts differ some on what happened, some saying Harland suffered a heart attack while swimming alone in deep water, while others suggest he collapsed while bathing closer to the shore. A lifeguard named Edward McCoy brought Harland out of the water and lifesaving attempts were made by members of the Rockaway Beach Emergency Squad, but it was too late. 7
Harland was just 59.
The tragic and untimely death of Mary Martha's lead attorney, the executor of her estate and also a primary beneficiary of her will set off a chain of events that would ultimately and forever reveal the shocking truths about the relationship between Mary Martha and Aimee and the secrets Mary Martha had fought her entire life to keep.
For you see, a month after the secret agreement between Mary Martha and Aimee had been completed in 1931, Mary Martha and Harland had entered into a secret agreement of their own. Mary Martha would name Harland as beneficiary in her will, and then he — and he alone — would transfer those funds in accordance with Mary Martha's wishes.
Mary Martha's secret would be safe. Or that was the plan.
Instead, the probate of Mary Martha's will became a deeply contested and contentious process involving dozens of litigants, attorneys, and court cases in multiple states and jurisdictions. None of the elaborate plans — not the secret agreements, threats, and promises, nor the intricate financial arrangements she had made — could prevent Mary Martha's secrets from being exposed.
After all, there are no secrets time doesn't reveal.
Copyright 2024 Lori Olson White
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Chapter End Notes
1 Will of Mary Martha Parker, 1941.
2 New York Training School for Nurses, Class of 1909 photo.
3 Year: 1920; Census Place: Baltimore Ward 11, Baltimore (Independent City), Maryland; Roll: T625_661; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 165
4 “ Annuities Left in A.H. Taylor Will: Large Estate Disposed of by Retired Baltimore Lawyer”, The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD, September 1, 1928, P. 3.
5 Will of Mary Martha Parker, 1941.
6 “H. B. Tibbetts Drowns: Aided Seabury Quit”, Daily News, New York, NY, July 7, 1943, P. 18.
7 “H. B. Tibbetts, Lawyer, Dies: Stricken While Swimming”, Brooklyn Eagle, Brooklyn, NY, July 7, 1943, P. 11.
Definitely reads like a soap opera.
Another twist to the story!