Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-05-22
THE WILL OF TOMAS MARTIN.

southern Ohio a queer old character named
ThOmns Martin. He was never married,
and his eccentricities made his name a
familiar one in several counties. He lived
IN little log house on farm about four
miles from the village, and sometimes he
was alone for months, End again he would
have his house crowded with his relatives
While his father and mother were dead,
he had three brothers and four sisters liv-
ing In the same county. One day he might
meet one of them and hand him $50 gold
piece. The very lext day he would pass
the same person by without speaking. As
he was worth about $1,000 all made by
the sale of oil wells found ON his lands in
Pennsylvania, and as his relatives were
all poor, none of them dare offend him. If
he treated them coldly they put up with it;
if he insisted upon some family staying
with him for week they made every
sacrifice to please him.
There was layer of humor in the old
mans composition withal | think he
reasoned that all his relatives expected a
slice of his wealth, and he intended that
each one should have, but he proposed to
make them earn it as fast as they could.
If he knew that his brother James was
planting corn, and in great hurry to get
through, he would send for hin and insist
that he hunt or fish or go looking over the
country for some plant or root needed for
busy in his saw mill, the old man was sure
to send up a message to him to come down
and take a witch hazel rod and go wand
ering over the hills to locate metals. There
was lily one bed in the house, and yet the
Il ~ 4lo4 /
come and visit him and sleep where they
could. Twice year he killed lamb
The rest of the time he lived on pudding
and milk and vegetables.
Uncle Tom, as everybody called him,
was over 70 years of age when | first knew
him, and it must have seemed to his rea-
tives that he intended to live to be 100
AS the years went by he really seemed to
improve, and it was a cold day when he
couldn't think of some new trick to play
on those who anXiously waited for him to
turn up his toes. He had made a will, as
was known in a certain law office, dividing
up his property pro rata, but one day some
thing occurred to determine him to revoke
it. He sent for his brother Henry and
family to come at once. Henry was saw
ing lumber on Il contract, and one of the
children was ailing, and he returned word
that he could not come. This was the first
time he had ever refused such a demand,
and when the messenger returned the old
man boiled over with Indignation. He
sent f0r his lawyer to come and make a
new will, and the lawyer of course, brought
the old one. He saw this laid on the clock
shelf, and it was lying there when he went
away. The new will was not entirely COM
pleted that day Martin said he might
want to make some other changes, and so
he did. His sister May, who was an old
maid. was with him that day, and after
the lawyer had gone Martin wanted to
lower her down in the well to recover a
lost bucket She was timid ana afraid.
and the result was that she was ordered to
pack up and leave, and was told plainly
that she need not expect a dollar.
Nor was this ALL Having got his hand
in, as it, were, the old man went for another
brother, and forced a rupture, and then
sent for lawyer to cut the three persons
off with a legacy of 500 each. He signed
the new will and placed it with the other,
saying he would keep both for few days
and see if anything else turned up. Then,
in order to show his contempt to his rela-
tives, he sent for woman named Thatcher
to keep house for him. This woman was
a grass widow, about 40 years old, and
was looked upon as half-crazy and the other
half foolish. She was employed in the
village at laundry work Martin bought
her clothes and jewellery, and even gave
out that he would marry her, and he was
heard to say more than once that not one of
his relatives should ever get a dollar of his
money
One night two months after the Thatcher
woman went to live with him, he got a
bad fall while bringing in wood He had
to be helped to bed, but only portion of
what followed was known for many
months afterwards. The old man felt
that his last hour had come, and he got
rid of her for few minutes by sending
her out to the barn. Which will he
meant to burn no one will ever know, but
he got up and burned one of them. Both
were dull y sealed and attested, and both
were equally good in law. That he did
burn one of them was sure. Thirty hours
later some one happened to visit the cabin,
and the old man was found dead in bed,
the woman had disappeared and the wills
were missing. With all the money at
stake there was great excitement, of
course. and the relatives gave me the case
to work up. No one knew, until over
hauled the ashes In the fire place, that any
thing had been burned. found scraps OF
paper, proving that at least one of the wills
had been destroyed. So far | could not
tell, both might have been burned at the
same time. One had been, anyhow, and
the question of which it was interested
every relative.
1t seemed curious why Mrs Thatcher haC
gone away, and still more curious how she
had escaped observation. As no one haC
met her in the village or on the highway
it must be concluded that she had reasons
for hiding. If one of the wills had beer
preserved, she probably knew of its where
abouts. as the old cabin had been hunted
over and over again without bringing it t.
light. My first step, therefore was to dis
cover her; but when fairly sharp mar pit
himself against half idiot he may b,
beaten. | made a circuit for thirt,
miles around on horseback, and, while
met a hundred people who knew the woman
by sight, could get no late trace of her.
robber could not have hidden his trail mor
successfully. When found that the hun
was to be extended, notified every sheriff
In that part of the state. | got out circular
and sent them to town marShals, constables
postmasters, and farmers, but no good re
suited
Then, one day. sat down to put my
self in her place. For all knew then sh
was with the old man when he died, an
it might have been her hand which hel
one of the wills to the flame Just VIII
she should fly and hide herself when nc
guilty of anything was a puzzle. So far a
we could determine she had taken nothing
One day Martin had gone with her to th
bank and drawn out and presented he
with the sum of $780, This she had takel