The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1875-11-26
The Ward will Case.


Eber b. Ward, when II years Old, was
a cabin-boy on lake schooner: at 20 he
was Captain; at 38, citizen of Detroit,
with fortune of $3.50, 0OO; at 90, am
apoplectic capitalist with liabilities of
81 200, 900 and resources of $1,000, 900.
About ii o'clock on the morning of Jan.
2, 1875, he fell dead in the streets OF De
troit. The news was carried home be-
fore the body was. Two of the dead
mans sons jumped into a wagon and
drove down town. Another wagon passed
them on the way. II held the corpse of
their father. They did not stop, but
drove straight to lawyers Office. These
two were the sons of Capt. Wards first
wife. He had by hef five children, in
Guiding two imbeciles, before 1869. In
that year he compelled her 10 she for
a divorce. Two months after it was
granted, he married another woman.
The present Mrs. Ward has two chill
dren, boy and girl. When the will
was opened, it was found that the bulk
of the property was left to her and her
children; about 800, 900 was set apart
for legacies; and the remainder was vest
ed in Trustees for the benefit of the
older children. The conditions attached
to the trust gave the holders an almost
unlimited power to beggar the heirs.
They were never to pay them more than
800 month apiece, except III case of
sickness, and might give them as much
less as they choose. This, the most
stringent of the provisions, was added
in a second codicil, dated March -
1874. Milton ID. and Charles Ward, the
oldest sane sons of the Captain decided
to contest the will. Mrs. Ward offered
to pay them 100000 and compromise
the matter, but this was declined.
The case opened Sept. 81, 1875. After
the failure of an attempt to quash the
will on technical grounds, the contest
was narrowed down to the question of
insanity or undue influence. To estab-
lish one or both of these points, evil
dence was introduced to show the dead
man 5 belief in Spiritualism. The Judge
ruled that such belief was no evidence
of insanity, because Spiritualism was
merely one of many religions prevalent
in this country, but he held that test
mony of this sort might be produced to
show undue influence. A number OF
noted mediums were on the witness
stand. One of them was Mrs. Martin,
who finds room within her ample frame
for seven spirits, among whom are those
of Dean Richmond, the railway king,
ex-senator Howard, of Michigan, and a
German geologist with the euphonious
name cabbage John" G.. j. was a
great favorite with the capitalist. He
instructed him in various business mat
tiers, and said unkind things about a
certain Michigan statesman who was
then running for reelection TO the Sen
ate, and who was opposed by Mr.. Ward.
The successful speculator asked "Cah-
bage John about railroads, about min
ing on Lake Superior, about glass-mak-
ing in Missouri, about all manner OF
enterprises. The spirit of the noted In
dian " Red Jacket, who materializes in
the shape of a red-faced merchant of
Detroit, notified Capt. Ward of his I'M
pending death, and the latter afterward
said that the Indian had told him to
keep his blankets gathered up, TO
they would call him before the flowers
bloomed again" Most of tie spiritual
guides were consulted about the half
dozen different wills which were drawn
up by Mr.. Ward. While he seems to
have taken or rejected the business adj
vice of his COLLINS according TO his own
previous views of the matter, he followed
ghostly counsel quite implicitly i'll the
matter of his wills.
The trial, which lasted nearly fifty
days, was fruitless. Ninety-two wit
nesses swore TO various pros and cons.
Nine lawyers earned big fees by examin-
ing and cross-examining the witnesses,
by trying to bully each other, and by
roaring sonorous sound al the jury. The
latter retired Nov. 10. After fifty-four
hours of disagreement, it was discharg-
ed. Eight jurors wished to break the
will, and all of them agreed that the cod
icil ought not to stand. The case t
come up again next January, unless it be
settled by agreement before then. Chi
cogO Tribune.