The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1875-01-07
THE SHELMIRE WILL CASE

| DO not remember case IN which l
ever succeeded so Unexpectedly, and, |
might add, by the use of such very SIM
pie means, as in the celebrated Shelmire
will case. The principal credit of this
success was not due to me, however, but
to young man, almost a boy, who was
at the time clerk in my office. He was
admitted to the bar soon after, and has
now got flourishing practice. His name
is William Wayman.
Jacob Shelmire, whose will was in con
troversy, was an old man OF eighty and
upward, who had lived many years in the
city, doing small mercantile business.
He was thrifty, economical old fellow,
and the value of his property at his
death had grown to about e25,000 The
old man had lived in an humble way,
known only by the few with whom he did
business-a harmless, unimportant old
body, with nothing noticeable about him
except his thrift, and therefore his death
was an event which in such a city as
this, was not calculaie Il to attract much
attention. | had known old Mr.. Shell
mire merely as passing acquaintance
for some years; but first became aware
of his death upon the visit of young
lady, dressed in mourning, to my office to
consult me about the estate. She was a
pretty, thoughtful-iooking girl of twenty
or Whereabouts, but an entire stranger to
me. She mentioned her business; and
as | was much engaged at the moment
with other clients asked her to be seat
ed for half an hour, and told Wayman to
find her chair. During my conversa
ton with the men with whom | was oC
cupied ! looked occasionally into the
next room (the door being OPEN, and saw
that my clerk had for once broken
through his habitual reserve and was
standing by the young girl, talking in a
low tone with her. But then l did not
know that Will had an acquaintance
with her of some weeks standing, and
that the present call was pursuant to his
advice.
AT last the Office was cleared of all but
us three, and l approached the two young
people.
Now, Mr. Wayman," l said, "you
have been talking with this young lady,
and have probably ascertained her busi-
ness; and, as time is likely to be valuable
to US to-day, perhaps you can tell me
what she wishes a great deal quicker
than she can"
l shouldn't have ventured to say as
much as that before an elderly lady, who
/
words as an imputation upon her
garrulity; but could see that there was
not the least danger of that here.
The young lady smiled, giving me to
understand that she understood my
meaning. and VIII explained that she
was the granddaughter of the late Mr..
Shelmire, and his only relative, so far as
she knew, and therefore entitled to his
estate; and she desired to take such legal
steps as were necessary to secure it.
This, as | have said, was my first in
timation of the old mans death; and it
was also my first intimation that he had
any family A few moments talk with
the girl put me to rights about the facts.
Her name was Virginia Garvin; her
mother had been Mr.. Shelmire's only
daughter. The old mans wife died years
before, and the daughter, Nirginia's
mother, also died, in distant town, a
widow, when Virginia was but eight
years old Left IN poverty, without
relatives and almost without friends,
she resolved to seek her grandfather,
whom she had never seen, but of whom
she had often heard her mother speak
She found him, and he welcomed her
warmly to his home Virginia knew
| that he had purchased several adjacent
houses very cheaply, and they had in
creased in value; and she supposed he
had deposited in the bank, in his own
name, several thousand pounds. In
short the total value of the estate, real
and personal. as / afterward discovered,
was rather above than below e25,0O0.
Virsin.a stated that she did not know
of another living relative of the de-
ceased beside herself, and believed there
was none She said her grandfather had
very often told her that sne should have
all he had when he died. and that he had
given her the same assurance when he
was in his last sickness
But Was there a will."
She said, in answer to this question,