{"id":935,"date":"2016-11-11T16:52:38","date_gmt":"2016-11-11T16:52:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelittlecolonel.com\/index.php\/twigmore\/"},"modified":"2024-04-19T15:03:31","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T15:03:31","slug":"twigmore","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thelittlecolonel.com\/index.php\/twigmore\/","title":{"rendered":"Twigmore"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Twigmore”<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Home of Kate Matthews\u2019 Niece, Lillian \u201cMuff\u201d Fletcher Brackett
\nOnce Visited by Nationally Known Critic and Radio Show Host, 
\nAlexander Woollcott<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

The Construction Process<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nTwigmore\u2019s front exterior when it was first completed in 1923. 
\nIt bears the unique distinction of being the only documented architect-designed home in Pewee Valley, 
\naccording to information submitted to the National Register of Historic Places.<\/em><\/p>\n

Though Twigmore wasn\u2019t constructed until 1923 — too late to be included in the \u201cLittle Colonel\u201d stories \u2013 it quickly became a favorite Pewee Valley gathering spot. The charming Cotswold-style cottage was built by Lillian Fletcher, niece of Pewee Valley photographer Kate Matthews, 30 years before her marriage to award-winning screenwriter and film producer Charles Brackett. An Indianapolis native and daughter of Kate\u2019s sister, Mary Matthews Fletcher, Lillian was 29 years old when she built the small, six-room home. Inspired by cottages she saw during a trip to England, she hired her cousin, Charles M. Osborn, an architect for Cram and Ferguson of Boston, Massachusetts, to design her new house in Pewee Valley.<\/p>\n

Twigmore was built on land that was once part of the Edgewood<\/a> estate next door. \u201c35 Landmark Homes of Pewee Valley,\u201d written by Anne H. Montgomery in 1994, recounts the negotiations between Edgewood\u2019s owner, Fanny Craig<\/a>, and Lillian Fletcher that were the genesis for the home\u2019s unique name: <\/p>\n

Dickering with Miss Fanny Craig for the property (Lillian Fletcher Brackett) now owns soon began. In fact, it was this humorous act of bargaining between the two women that gave the 121 Peace Lane residence its name. ..It was in the early 1920s when Miss Fanny Craig put a twig in the fence to determine just what amount of land she\u2019d sell. Then Lillian put a twig in a different spot showing how much more she preferred. Even the neighbors got into the act and placed twigs at various locations. In the end Miss Fanny put a nail in a tree and said the house to be built could not stand in front of hers! And thus began Twigmore.<\/em><\/p>\n

According to the National Register of Historic Places, the two-story home was built by local craftsmen using locally quarried limestone. Charlie Miller was the stone mason, while Alfonse Singer did the carpentry and millwork, including the specially crafted moldings and vertical door boards. Twigmore\u2019s construction is well documented in photographs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nBreaking ground<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nQuarrying the stone <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nMoving the stone on a mule-drawn wagon <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nSetting the floor joists <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nThe walls start going up<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nSetting the front door lintel<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nFraming the roof<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nThe house takes shape<\/p>\n

\n

Twigmore: The People Who Lived and Visited There<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Home of Kate Matthews\u2019 Niece, Lillian \u201cMuff\u201d Fletcher Brackett
\nOnce Visited by Nationally Known Critic and Radio Show Host, 
\nAlexander Woollcott<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nTwigmore\u2019s owner, Lillian Fletcher Brackett, in a photo taken by her aunt Kate Matthews
\nfrom the Oldham County Historical Society collection. 
\nFor another photo of Lillian, visit the Kate Matthews<\/a> page<\/em><\/p>\n

After the home was finished, Lillian entered Twigmore in \u201cThe House Beautiful\u201d magazine\u2019s Small House Competition. Though it didn\u2019t win, the letter and accompanying photos she submitted on December 16, 1924 provide many details about Twigmore\u2019s interior and design. <\/p>\n

Gentlemen \u2013<\/em><\/p>\n

The little house I am submitting with such genuine pride was built by two ladies who were weary of \u201cgoing to and fro in the earth and walking up and down in it\u201d and wished that they might have a house as beautiful, yet as simple, as that in which any poorest English peasant is privileged to pass his days. <\/em><\/p>\n

Being unattached, we first sought out a perfect setting in a delightful Southern village, a small Cranford sort of place, and there where a winding road crosses a little lane buried in a burden of honeysuckle, we bought a small pine woods and built our house with workmen and stone of locality, paying for the one by the hour and the other by the perch. <\/em><\/p>\n

It took us a year to build, which seems a long time for six rooms, but it is solid and without flaw and will I hope last many hundreds. Nothing that would make it permanent was omitted and as there are few servants to be had in the Valley, as in most pleasant places, we gave thought for the morrow when the cook cometh not, installed an electric stove and laid English linoleum in a black and rose chintz pattern in the kitchen for the edification of our souls. <\/em><\/p>\n

But we have few frivolities, nothing was allowed that was not genuine, and that is a costly creed, so we pruned and expurgated, each holding to her most cherished point. <\/em><\/p>\n

One had to have an attic and the other must have a sliding door to look off the stairs, then one need never be timid when alone. At last, however, our fifteen thousand dollars stretched itself into a house, worth much more than that as I am sure you would agree if you saw it from the garden by the back, or were having tea on its front terraces shaded by the soft green of the pines that hide us from the road. It is hard to believe that so much of dignity and comfort should be packed in so small and modest a home.<\/em><\/p>\n

Very sincerely yours,
\nLillian Fletcher
\nPewee Valley, Ky.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nFoyer<\/p>\n

\"\" 
\nLillian Fletcher Brackett once hung grapes dipped in sugar from the dining room chandelier 
\n(shown above) for a party at Twigmore, according to Pewee Valley Historian Gin Chaudoin.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> 
\nLiving Room<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> 
\nBedroom<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> 
\nBedroom<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> 
\nBedroom<\/p>\n

 Known to her friends and family as Muff, Lillian Fletcher lived in Twigmore with her widowed aunt Charlotta Matthews Osborn until Charlotta\u2019s death in 1935.  Charlotta was one of Kate Matthews\u2019 seven siblings and mother of architect Charles M. Osborn who designed the house. (Charles married Alice Malone<\/a>, a Pewee Valley girl.) Charlotta is buried with her parents and many of her sisters and brothers in the Matthews family plot at Pewee Valley Cemetery<\/p>\n

Prior to 1935, Alexander Woollcott<\/a> — critic and commentator for “The “New Yorker,” magazine, host of the radio show “Woollcott Speaking,”  and one of the most quoted men of his generation \u2013 paid a visit to Pewee Valley that ended with tea at Twigmore. An ardent fan of Kate Matthews\u2019 photography, he wanted to meet the Matthews family in person and tour their home.<\/p>\n

(From an address called \u201cA Recollection of Kate Matthews, 1870-1975\u201d given by Lillian Fletcher Brackett to the Oldham County  Historical society on Friday, May 31, 1974 at the Brownsboro Social Club)<\/p>\n

\u2026Among her enthusiastic admirers was Alexander Woollcott. He came to Louisville at the time he was broadcasting his famous \u2018Woollcott Speaking\u2019 series on the radio from New York. Of course, the Matthews were listening to him being interviewed in Louisville. At the end of his interview he was asked what he most wanted to see while he was here. He surprised his interview and excited the Matthews by replaying, \u201cI\u2019d like to go to Pewee Valley and see the Matthews. I grew up in just such as house as Clovercroft and Kate Matthews\u2019 pictures of that house and the Village streets and its characters are very dear to me. After that I want to see Twigmore and the farm bell named \u2018Woollcott Speaking.\u2019\u201d<\/a> George Madden Martin<\/a> who wrote \u2018Emmy Lou\u2019 was to entertain Woollcott for luncheon, so Kate called her and asker her to bring him out in the afternoon. It was a fine autumn day, one of the Valley\u2019s most beautiful and colorful. Mr. Woollcott insisted on seeing everything. He seemed very well acquainted with Kate Matthews\u2019 pictures and begged to see the whole house, even the dark room and the grounds and scenes familiar through her pictures. He went though her albums and picked out the ones he knew and was fond of and afterwards wrote an enthusiastic letter of thanks and appreciation.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nTea in Twigmore\u2019s backyard. The wooden lyre in the picture is still there today.
\nFrom the Kate Matthews Collection, Photographic Archives
\nEkstrom Library, University of Louisville<\/em><\/p>\n

On December 26, 1953, Lillian married her brother-in-law, Oscar-winning screenplay writer and producer Charles W. Brackett. Their marriage made the Monday, January 4, 1954 issue of \u201cTime\u201d magazine: <\/p>\n

Married. Charles Brackett, 61, topflight Hollywood producer-director-writer (Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard); and Lillian Fletcher, fiftyish, his sister-in-law; he for the second time (his first wife, Elizabeth Fletcher Brackett, died in 1948), she for the first; in Tucson, Ariz.<\/em><\/p>\n

Warder Harrison recounted the story of their marriage in the October 1998 issue of \u201cThe Kentucky Explorer:\u201d <\/p>\n

Famed Hollywood Writer, Charles Brackett, Had Ties To Kentucky
\nNoted Personality Wooed Second Wife in Pewee Valley, Kentucky <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Charles Brackett, the writer\/producer who won his first Oscar nomination in 1939, after teaming with Billy wilder and Walter Reisch to write the screenplay, \u201cNinotchka,\u201d starring Greta Garbo, went on to team with Wilder to win their first Oscar, in 1945, after writing the best screenplay, \u201cThe Lost Weekend.\u201d Five years later, the team of Brackett and Wilder collaborated with D. M Marshman, Jr., to write their second Oscar winning screenplay, \u201cSunset Boulevard.\u201d Brackett and Wilder, after 15 years of successful collaboration, won their last Oscar, along with their other collaborator, Richard Breen, in 1952 for the best story and screenplay, \u201cTitanic.\u201d In 1957, Brackett was presented with a special Oscar for his outstanding service to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, for which he served as president from 1949 to 1955. <\/em><\/p>\n

This multi-talented man had Kentucky ties through his marriage to two sisters. <\/em><\/p>\n

Elizabeth (born April 7, 1890) and Lillian Fletcher (born August 14, 1894), daughters of Charles B. and Mary L. Matthews Fletcher, were born in Indianapolis, Indiana during the late 1890s. As a young girl, their mother, Mary L. Matthews, lived in New Albany, Indiana, a neighboring community of Louisville, Kentucky, where she had been born. At some point in time, Mary married Charles B. Fletcher and they moved to Indianapolis. There her daughters grew to maturity and became destined to become the wives of the internationally acclaimed screenwriter\/producer, Charles Brackett. In 1919, Brackett married Elizabeth Fletcher by whom he had two daughters; Alexandra C. (Mrs. James Larmore) and Elizabeth F. (Mrs. Clifford J. Moore).  Soon after Elizabeth married Brackett, her sister, Lillian, moved to Pewee Valley, Kentucky to live with her aunt, Kate Matthews, a distinguished photographer immortalized by Annie Fellow Johnston in her \u201cLittle Colonel\u201d books. Called Miss Katherine Marks in these books, her photographs were used to illustrate some of Johnston\u2019s other books as well. It was at this 14-room, 100-year-old home, known as \u201cClovercroft<\/a>,\u201d in Pewee Valley that the Bracketts visited as often as possible. Here, also, Charles Brackett returned time and again, after Elizabeth died in 1948, to woo and win the hand in marriage of Elizabeth\u2019s younger sister, Lillian. <\/em><\/p>\n

Brackett and Lillian were married on December 26, 1953 in Tucson, Arizona. After Brackett\u2019s death, on March 9, 1969, at his home in Bel-Air, California, his widow returned to Pewee Valley, where she lived until her death on Mary 5, 1984. Rather than being interred in Pewee Valley Cemetery, where many of her relatives were laid to rest, her ashes were sent to Brackett\u2019s hometown of Saratoga Springs, New York to be interred beside the remains of her sister, Elizabeth, and their mutual husband, Charles Brackett. Shortly after Kate Seston Matthews died on July 5, 1956, her family home, \u201cClovercroft\u201d was destroyed by fire. <\/em><\/p>\n

(NOTE: The above article is incorrect in that Lillian Fletcher lived in her own home, Twigmore, rather than in Clovercroft, the home of her Aunt Kate Matthews.  Also, Clovercroft burned in 1959)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
\nThe ivy-covered exterior of Twigmore taken some years after it was first built. 
\nFrom the Kate Matthews Collection, Photographic Archives, 
\nEkstrom Library, University of Louisville <\/em><\/p>\n

During her 16-year absence from Pewee Valley, Lillian left Twigmore in the care of her nephew, Matthews Fletcher, who lived in a Victorian cottage on the Peace Lane property adjoining hers. That property, shown as Spring Glen<\/a> on the Little Colonel game board, was used by Annie Fellows Johnston in \u201cTwo Little Knights of Kentucky<\/a>\u201d as the model for the Johann Heinrich\u2019s cottage.<\/p>\n

Charles W. Brackett\u2019s death in 1969 made national news and was noted in \u201cTime\u201d magazine as well as on the AP wire:<\/p>\n

\u201cTime\u201d Magazine<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Died. Charles Brackett, 76, screenwriter and producer, whose 30-year Hollywood stint brought him three Oscars and a six-year term (1949-55) as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; of a stroke; in Bel Air, Calif. Brackett began writing short stories for the Saturday Evening Post, soon switched to The New Yorker as drama critic. Next stop was Hollywood in 1932, where he and Billy Wilder collaborated on 15 pictures, including Academy Award winners The Lost Weekend (1945) and Sunset Boulevard (1950). Brackett\u2019s final Oscar was for his Titanic (1953) screenplay, which captured all the heroism and much of the horror of the world\u2019s greatest maritime disaster.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Associated Press” wire service story<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Charles Brackett Dies at 77; Made Oscar-Winning Movies
\n\u2018Sunset Boulevard,\u2019 \u2018The Lost Weekend,\u2019 and \u2018Titanic\u2019 Among His Successes<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

HOLLYWOOD March 9— Charles Brackett, the writer and producer who teamed up with Billy Wilder to win Oscars for the movies \u201cSunset Boulevard\u201d and \u201cThe Lost Weekend,\u201d and won one on his own for \u201cTitanic,\u201d died today at his Bel-Air home. He was 77 years old.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Brackett, who headed the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences from 1949-1953, had been in failing health for more than two years.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Brackett\u2019s first wife, the former Elizabeth Fletcher, whom he married in 1919, died in 1948. In 1953, he married her sister, Buff, who survives, as does a daughter, Mrs. C.J. Moore, Jr.<\/em><\/p>\n

Tolerant, Witty, Skilled<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr. Brackett combined the philosophical tolerance of the legal mind with the acerbic wit of the critic and the skill of the writer to become one of Hollywood\u2019s elder statesmen and most successful figures.<\/em><\/p>\n

His films were often challenging departures from tried-and-true formulas into new and controversial subject matter.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Brackett shunned a tendency of much of the movie industry to often run a successful idea into the ground.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMostly people want a change from what was done before,\u201d he said. \u201cBut in finding what they want next, you have to fly by the seat of your pants.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Urbane, thorough and affable, Mr. Brackett was once described by a writer in The New York Times as a \u201cman who reads current biographies and peanut gallery literati during his rest periods, is generally accredited born with a scholar\u2019s zeal for tracking down basic human foibles.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Man of Several Careers<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The world of the movies was dear to Mr. Brackett. He once wrote: \u201cIt is pleasant to learn that, to any member of the lay public who knows you have some connection to the industry, you are touched with glory. You have penetrated mysteries beyond the dreams of little men.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

His own penetrations were not premeditated; Hollywood was his third or fourth career.<\/em><\/p>\n

Charles Brackett was born in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and graduated in 1915 from Williams College, where he was editor of the literary monthly and a member of the dramatic club. His father, Edgar Truman Brackett, a lawyer, served in the New York Legislature.<\/em><\/p>\n

His studies at Harvard Law School were interrupted by World War I. Mr. Crackett served as vice consul at St. Nazalre, France, and was later commissioned a second lieutenant in the American Expeditionary Force.<\/em><\/p>\n

His war experiences prompted him to write a short story, which was bought by a national magazine. He returned to law school, but found time from his studies to write a novel, \u201cThe Counsel of the Ungodly.\u201d The Saturday Evening Post published it serially in 1920. That same year, he graduated from law school, and for the next six years, practiced law with his father\u2019s firm and wrote magazine articles and stories.<\/em><\/p>\n

A second novel, \u201cWeekend,\u201d in 1925, attracted the attention of Harold Ross, the editor of The New Yorker magazine, who gave Mr. Brackett a job the following year as drama critic. Mr. Brackett stayed at the magazine until 1929, when he resigned to devote more time to his own writing. In 1926, he had published \u201cThe Last Infirmary\u201d and in 1929, \u201cAmerican Colony.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

His first flirtation with Hollywood came with a six-week contract to Paramount in 1932. His first screen credit came in 1937 with \u201cPicadilly Jim,\u201d which he wrote in collaboration with Edwin H. Knopf.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Brackett was assigned by Manny Wolf, a Paramount story editor, to work with Billy Wilder, a young, Viennese writer, on \u201cBluebeard\u2019s Eighth Wife,\u201d which became a success in 1938.<\/em><\/p>\n

The next year, Mr. Brackett and Mr. Wilder came out with \u201cMidnight\u201d and \u201cNinotchka.\u201d The latter, starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas in a sprightly satire on Soviet ways, was critically acclaimed.<\/em><\/p>\n

The two continued to collaborate. They did \u201cArise My Love\u201d (1940), \u201cHold Back the Dawn\u201d (1941), \u201cBall of Fire\u201d (1942), and \u201cThe Mayor and the Minor\u201d (1942).<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cFive Graves to Cairo\u201d was the first film they did together as a writer-producer-director team. They jointly wrote it, Mr. Wilder directed and Mr. Brackett produced.<\/em><\/p>\n

In 1945, they brought out \u201cThe Lost Weekend,\u201d based on Charles Jackson\u2019s best-selling story of a dipsomaniac. The film won the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Oscar for the best picture and best screenplay.<\/em><\/p>\n

Team \u201cHappiest Couple\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr. Wilder described himself and Mr. Brackett as the \u201chappiest couple in Hollywood.\u201d As partners, they termed themselves \u201cexecutive writers\u201d and jointly commanded weekly salaries of several thousand dollars.<\/em><\/p>\n

The teammates were opposites in nature and spirit. Mr. Wilder was intellectually scattering ideas at will; Mr. Brackett was philosophic and restrained. Mr. Wilder loved exercise; Mr. Brackett admitted abhorring sunshine, vitamins and fresh air and only enjoying \u201cshuffling the cards for the only game worthy of a man\u2019s dignity, cribbage.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Brackett produced \u201cThe Uninvited\u201d in 1944 and \u201cTo Each His Own\u201d in 1948 independently of Mr. Wilder, but joined with him on \u201cThe Emperor Waltz,\u201d a musical; \u201cA Foreign Affair,\u201d a satirical comedy; and \u201cSunset Boulevard\u201d in 1950. The last, starring Gloria Swanson, William Holden and Eric von Stroheim, won a best screenplay Oscar for the team.<\/em><\/p>\n

In 1950, Mr. Brackett ended his association with Paramount Pictures and became a producer with Twentieth Century-Fox. In 1953, he won an Oscar for his screenplay for \u201cTitanic.\u201d Some of his other films included \u201cTen North Frederick,\u201d \u201cJourney to the Center of the Earth,\u201d \u201cD-Day, the Sixth of June,\u201d \u201cThe Virgin Queen,\u201d \u201cNiagara,\u201d \u201cThe Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker,\u201d \u201cState Fair,\u201d and \u201cWayward Bus.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Brackett served as president of the Screenwriters Guild in 1938-39 and from 1949-1955 was president of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He had been a member of the executive board of the Screen Producers Guild and the board of the Motion Picture Relief Fund.<\/em><\/p>\n

Additional information:  in 1926, Brackett’s  novel \u201cThat Last Infirmity\u201d was published with another in 1929, \u201cAmerican Colony\u201d and finally \u201cEntirely Surrounded\u201d in 1934.  He had  two daughters; Alexandra C. (Mrs. James Larmore) and Elizabeth F. (Mrs. Clifford J. Moore).<\/em><\/p>\n

Some additional information about Charles Brackett taken from an online profile:<\/p>\n

Family
\nDaughter: Alexandra Brackett Larmore (survived him) 
\nSon-in-law: James Larmore (worked as Brackett’s assistant) 
\nWife: Buff Brackett (sister of his first wife; married c. 1949 \u2013 note: they actually married in 1953) 
\nWife: Elizabeth Brackett (first wife; died in 1948)<\/p>\n

(Missing from this list is his daughter, Elizabeth F. Moore, who preceded him in death)<\/p>\n

Honors<\/strong><\/p>\n

Writers Guild of America Founders Award 1967
\nHonorary Oscar 1957
\nGolden Globe Award Best Motion Picture- Musical\/Comedy “The King and I” 1956
\nWriters Guild of America Laurel Award for Achievement 1956
\nOscar Best Story and Screenplay “Titanic” 1953
\nGolden Globe Award Best Motion Picture- Drama “Sunset Boulevard” 1950
\nNational Board of Review Best American Film “Sunset Boulevard” 1950
\nOscar Best Screenplay “Sunset Boulevard” 1950
\nWriters Guild of America Award Best-Written American Drama “Sunset Boulevard” 1950
\nGolden Globe Award Best Motion Picture “The Lost Weekend” 1945
\nNew York Film Critics Circle Award Best Picture “The Lost Weekend” 1945
\nOscar Best Screenplay “The Lost Weekend” 1945<\/p>\n

For a complete filmography of Charles Brackett, see the Internet Movie Database<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nThe rear of the house from Peace Lane. Photo, c. 1990, from \u201cHistoric Pewee Valley.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

After her husband\u2019s death, Lillian returned to Twigmore and lived there until her death on May 5, 1984. During her final years in Pewee Valley, she championed Kate Matthews\u2019 photography and gave an address to the Oldham County Historical Society on 1974 about the importance of her aunt\u2019s work.  <\/p>\n

The Bracketts (Charles, Elizabeth and Lillian) are buried at Greenridge Cemetery in Saratoga Springs, New York. His parents were Father: Edgar Truman Brackett b: 30 JUL 1853 in Wilton, Saratoga, New York; Mother: Mary Emma Corliss b: 17 FEB 1857 in New York. <\/p>\n

Lillian Fletcher Brackett\u2019s will is on file at the Oldham County Court House:<\/p>\n

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
\nOF
\nLILLIAN FLETCHER BRACKETT<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I, LILLIAN FLETCHER BRACKETT, a resident of Oldham County, Kentucky, do make this my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking all former Wills made by me.<\/em><\/p>\n

ITEM I  I direct that of my just debts, funeral expenses and costs of administration of my estate be paid first.<\/em><\/p>\n

ITEM II (a) I give and bequeath all the Brackett Family furniture and household effects to ELIZABETH FLETCHER BRACKETT MOORE to be distributed by her to family members as she deems proper. For purposes of identification of such property, I have prepared and signed prior to the signing of this Will, a list of all such furniture and household effects, which list will be found attached to this will and which list shall be conclusive as to the property disposed of by this paragraph.<\/em><\/p>\n

            (b) I give and bequeath all of my other tangible personal property, including, but without being limited to jewelry, household furniture and furnishings, in accordance with a memorandum entirely in my handwriting, which will be found in this Will. Any tangible personal property not disposed of by memorandum, or all such tangible personal property if no such memorandum be found, I give and bequeath equally to MATTHEWS FLETCHER, MARY ELIZABETH BENHAM, LILLIAN F. KLEIN, CHARLES BARROWS FLETCHER and PAUL MARTIN FLETCHER.<\/em><\/p>\n

ITEM III  (a) I direct that my Co-Executors hereinafter named shall reduce all the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, real and personal, to cash. In disposing of my residence at 121 Peace Lane, Pewee Valley, Kentucky, I direct that my Co-Executors shall have the property appraised by a competent appraiser familiar with the area and that before offering such property for sale to any other purchaser, publicly or privately, that the property be first offered at the appraised value to my nephew, MATTHEWS FLETCHER. If MATTHEW FLETCHER does not exercise the option to purchase at the appraised value, such property shall be offered to my grandnephew, PAUL MARTIN FLETCHER at the appraised value and if he does not exercise the option, then to ELIZABETH FLETCHER BRACKETT MOORE at the appraised value, and if she shall not exercise the option, such property shall then be offered to my nephew, CHARLES BARROWS FLETCHER at the appraised value. If CHARLES BARROWS FLETCHER does not exercise the option to purchase at the appraised value, such property shall then be offered to my niece, MARY ELIZABETH BENHAM at the appraised value, and if she shall not exercise the option, then to my niece LILLIAN F. KLEIN at the appraised value. If none of such persons exercise the option to purchase at the appraised value, then my Co-Executors are authorized and directed to sell such property, either publicly or privately, as my Co-Executors deem proper, and whether or not the actual sales price is greater or lesser than the appraised value.        <\/em><\/p>\n

             (b) After my residuary estate has been reduced to cash as directed in subparagraph (a) of this Item, I give and bequeath all such property absolutely and in fee simple as follows:<\/em><\/p>\n

            (b-1) Seventy-Five per cent (75%) thereof to my nephew, MATTHEWS FLETCHER, if living, and if not living, to his wife, LILLIAN B. FLETCHER, and if she is not living, such Seventy-Five per cent (75%) to be divided equally among those persons listed in subparagraphs (b-2) through (b-5) hereof.<\/em><\/p>\n

            (b-2) Five per cent (5%) thereof to my grandniece, MARJORIE FLETCHER THOMPSON.<\/em><\/p>\n

            (b-3) Five per cent (5%) thereof to my niece, MARY ELIZABETH BENHAM.<\/em><\/p>\n

            (b-4) Five per cent (5%) thereof to my niece, LILLIAN F. KLEIN.<\/em><\/p>\n

            (b-5) Five per cent (5%) thereof to my nephew, CHARLES BARROWS FLETCHER<\/em><\/p>\n

            (b-6) Five per cent (5%) thereof to my grandnephew, PAUL MARTIN FLETCHER<\/em><\/p>\n

            (c)  If any persons listed in subparagraphs (b-2) through (b-6) shall predecease me, than such share shall pass to their issue, in fee and per stirpes.<\/em><\/p>\n

ITEM IV  I nominate and appoint MATTHEWS FLETCHER and THE LOUISVILLE TRUST COMPANY, of Louisville, Kentucky, as Co-Executors of this Will, with full power and authority to compromise or otherwise settle or adjust any and all claims, charges, debts or demands against or in favor of my estate, as fully as I could do if living, and with full power, without order of Court, to sell and convey any of my property for the purpose of administration, division or distribution in carrying out the terms of this Will. I request that MATTHEWS FLETCHER qualify for such Co-Executor without surety on his official bond.<\/em><\/p>\n

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I do subscribe my name to this Will, consisting of this page and two (2) preceding pages, typewritten on one side only of each page, and for the purpose of identification, I have also subscribed my name at the bottom of each of said preceding pages, all on this 7th day of August, 1978.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nPewee Valley Town Historian Gin Herdt Chaudoin and her sister, Cis Herdt Marker, can recall the year
\nTwigmore’s distinctive wrought iron gate, shown above, was stolen as a Halloween prank.<\/p>\n

Thanks to John and Anne Kyser for providing information about the house and supplying the photos of Twigmore under construction;  to Nancy Donner for her assistance with procuring Lillian Fletcher Brackett\u2019s will; to Delinda S. Buie at Univeristy of Louisville\u2019s Ekstrom Library for the copy of Lillian Fletecher Brackett\u2019s 1974 address on Kate Matthews;  and to Suzanne L. Perry for information on the Bracketts\u2019 burial site and Charles Brackett\u2019s parents.<\/em><\/p>\n

Page by Donna Russell<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Twigmore” Home of Kate Matthews\u2019 Niece, Lillian \u201cMuff\u201d Fletcher Brackett Once Visited by Nationally Known Critic and Radio Show Host,  Alexander Woollcott The Construction Process Twigmore\u2019s front exterior when it was first completed in 1923.  It bears the unique distinction of being the only documented architect-designed home in Pewee Valley,  according to information submitted to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":898,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-935","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelittlecolonel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelittlecolonel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelittlecolonel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelittlecolonel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelittlecolonel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=935"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thelittlecolonel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1958,"href":"https:\/\/thelittlecolonel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/935\/revisions\/1958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelittlecolonel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelittlecolonel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}