It is not so surprising that there were a great number of strange last requests in the wills of the recent past. After all, it was easy to make a weird request or show one’s true colors after death.
There were many requests to prevent live burials. Men and women requested having their heads cut off or arteries cut open before burial to prevent a sudden awakening into a dark coffin. One man asked to have each of his fingers and toes cut off before being buried just to make sure he was truly dead.
There were also a great number of revenge wills, written to punish children or spouses, showing us that people were no less petty than they are today.
Skeleton Monument
Jeff Garrigus was one of the many infamous grave robbers of Indianapolis. When he passed away in 1896, he decided to give back to the community in the only way that made sense to him.
It was his last request that his body be donated to a medical college for dissection. After the dissection, he wanted his meat to be cleaned off of his skeleton and to have his bones made into a skeleton display in the college. [1]
Save Her House for David
When Catherine Hathaway of Auckland passed away in 1940, she left behind quite a surprise in her will. Instead of leaving her home and wealth to her family, she left it all to the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Her stipulation was that her house was to be kept for David, the former King of Israel, so that he would have a place to stay when he and other biblical characters returned to Earth.
While they waited for David’s return, the sect would be allowed to keep and live in the house. [2]
Gave Her the Pants
In 1929, a London storekeeper left his wife a pair of his trousers in his will. The reason for this, according to the will, was because his wife always wanted to wear the pants in the relationship.
All his money and property were left to his two sisters and his son. [3]
No Men or Boys Allowed
When William Henry Baxter of Harrogate, England passed away in 1936, he left behind a will that showed his very nature.
To both his housekeeper, aged 75, and her sister, aged 76, he left his house and a good monthly allowance as long as they followed one simple condition. They were not allowed to let any man or boy enter the house.
When asked about the condition, the housekeeper said that Mr. Baxter was an extremely jealous man. He wanted to make certain the old ladies weren’t screwing around while he was dead. [4]
Fertilize the Potatoes
James Campbell Christie, who passed away in 1922, was a former schoolmaster and science teacher in Glasgow, Scotland. For his final wishes, he wanted absolute simplicity.
Instead of the expense of a hearse, he asked that his body simply be taken in a plain carriage to the crematorium where he had already paid for his remains to be burnt to ashes.
He did not want a funeral and requested that his ashes either be disposed of by the crematorium or given to one of his friends “to fertilize their potatoes.” [5]
Feared Being Buried Alive
Mrs. Katherin Duncan Scott, the wife of a British member of Parliament, had a strong fear of being cremated alive.
When she passed away in 1952, it was requested in her will that a surgeon should plunge a knife into her heart and cut open her wrist arteries. She left money in her will to pay the surgeon for the deed and demanded that a witness be present to make certain her last wishes were carried out. [6]
For the Benefit of Science
During a time when people were afraid of being dug up by the resurrectionists and being sold to medical schools for dissection, millionaire George Catt took a totally different route.
You see, he was already dying of multiple health issues and he had a strong interest in medicine. When he made up his will, he decided to donate his body to a medical college so that it may be dissected.
At first, his wife was against his final wishes, but Mr. Catt made her see his reason behind his request.
After he passed away in 1905, his body was dissected and a lecture was given on the occasion at the Bellevue hospital in NYC. Afterwards, his remains were cremated. [7]
