Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1868-03-12
The Cd ntested Will Of Alexander
Campbell.
LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY T

. V 0NNANA E1SNAH
\ The Wheeling Intelligencer 0
/ March 50 contains a review Of tn
, great contest over the will of tn
late Alexander Campbell, involving
over a quarter Of a million of dol
lars. It began at Wellsburg on tn,
18th ult., and lasted until the 9th
The case was referred by consen
Of the parties to Judge Lowrie, o
4 Plttsburg, late Judge ofthe Supreme
Court Of Pennsylvania, and Judge
Roberts on, Of Charlottesville, late
Judge ofthe Court Of Appeals Of
Virginia,
The Intelligencer says The trial
commenced on Monday, the 18th
ult., at 2 o'clock, p. NJ, and the ev-
idence was closed at O'Clock p.
NJ, on Saturday, the 22d ult. The
argument was commenced on Tues
day morning, the 23d ult., at 9
o'clock, and closed on Thursday,
the 27ths at o'clock, P. NJ. On
Friday morning, at nine o'clock,
the arbitfators delivered their award
sustaining both the will and codi-
Gil.
For the present it is sufficient for
us to say that the Court said that
the evidence satisfied them that
from the year 1858 Mr.. Campbelps
mind had been greatly impaired,
and that the failure was progressive
and his mind continued to grow
more feeble until his death. That
at times prior to the date Of the
will, which was made March IL,
1862, they were satisfied he was not
competent to make a will, or such
will as the one now in controver-
sy. That at other times he was
That the will was an autographic
will, all in the handwriting of the
testator, and manifestly his own
composition, That the memoranda
produced in the handwriting of the
testator showed that it had been
framed by him, and so far as the
evidence showed without assist
ance.
That this satisfied them of his
testamentary capacity at the time of
the execution of the will. That al.
though the testator's mind had
gradually become weakened between
the date of the will and the date of
the codicil, which was the 31st day
ofMarch, 1864, yet as it seemed 10
him designed to carry out the gen
eral purposes contemplated by the
will, and to dispose of large sur
plus which had been credited in
part at least by the increase in the
value Of property between the date
of the will and the date of the codi-
Gil, they did not think there was
sufficient evidence of the incapacity
of the testator at the time OF the
execution to Justify them in setting
it aside.
But while the court felt bound | VI
the evidence to sustain both the will
and the codicil, yet the evidence
satisfied them that the extraordina-
ry inequality which the will exhib-
tied between the descendants of the
first wife, and the children and de-
scendants of the second wife, the
fact that the testator at the time of
the execution Of the will and the
eodicil, was in the exclusive care
and charge of the second wife and I
her children; while the descendants
of the first wife were remote from
him; that the testator was in fact at
times and for considerable periods
Incompetent to make a will, it was
natural and almost inevitable that
the descendants of the first wife
should be dissatisfied with the will
and desire to test its validity, and
chat it was proper and necessary
that they should do so that it was
better for all concerned that this
Investigation had been gone into.
Better, certainly, for Mrs Campbell
md the children that she and they
should be freed from the imputation
IF having committed great wrong
lpon the descendants of Mr.. Camp
)ell's first wife, They had, there
ore, ordered that the costs of the
'uit be paid by the executors Of the
fund. That if the terms
u the submission had authorized :
hem, they would have ordered the
ees of the arbitration, and reason
ible fees for counsel for contestants
hould also be paid by the executor,
But this they had no authority to
10, but would order all the costs
lot otherwise provided for in the
Igreement Of submission, to be paid
" the executor
The case was managed by N
richardson, Esq, of this city, and
Ion. J, A. Garfield, of Ohio, for I
be supporters of the will, and d.
.amb and B Stanton, Esqrs., ofthis j
ity, for the contestants. I
EARLY ToMAToEs.--To have tc.
latees early, plant a few seeds any !
ime this month, in the pots in
,hich the plants are growing in thel