Chen stevenson died at the age of 85 leaving behind all his property to phillip miller, his butler. the news of the new will that chen executed three months before his death naming phillip as the sole beneficiary surprised everyone. by his prior will, he had bequeathed his estate to his two daughters and three grandchildren on a per capita basis. the court took up proceedings to determine the validity of his new will because chen's rejection of his daughters and grandchildren in his will was uncharacteristic of him. the court most likely suspected this change to be a case of

the committees of correspondence were the american colonies’ means for maintaining communication lines in the years before the revolutionary war. in 1764, boston formed the earliest committee of correspondence to encourage opposition to britain’s stiffening of customs enforcement and prohibition of american paper money. the following year, new york formed a similar committee to keep the other colonies notified of its actions in resisting the stamp act. in 1773, the virginia house of burgesses proposed that each colonial legislature appoint a committee for intercolonial correspondence. the exchanges that followed built solidarity during the turbulent times and bring about the formation of the first continental congress in 1774.