The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1891-05-23
The Ball Will Case.

The celebrated Ball will case was
tried last week in our Common
Pleas Court before Judge Huffman
and special jury, occupying from
Tuesday until Saturday afternoon
resulting in q verdict of the jury
sustaining the will, which was done
by unanimous vote on their first
ballot.
About 1889 Mr.. Balls father-in-
law decided to Mr.. Ball and his wife
80 acres Of land in Perry county
near Straitsville, but made the deed
to Mr.. Ball. Some years later he
sold Mr.. Ball 80 acres and subse-
quently Mr.. Ball obained 40 acres
more from somebodyyelse, making
200 acres in one body. Subsequent
ly Mrs. Balls father gave her 100
acres in the same vicinity. This
was all ordinary hill land, but when
the railroad was built and coal on
it developed, it became very val
liable and Mr.. Ball sold the 200
acres for 100000 and came to Hook
ing county and purchased farm
near Logan for about $4,000, where
he continued to live up to the time
his wife procured q divorce from
him in 1877. Previous to this di-
vorce he and his wife had sold the
100 acre tract for $4,000 and divided
the proceeds. In the meantime the
children had become of age and he
had given them about $4,000. He
made several successful specula-
tions in land which must have net
ted him $4,000 or $4,000 while he
carried on his farm near Logan in
the way that farmers usually do.
In the divorce suit he claimed
that all his children and sons-in-
law were against him and said
none them should have any more
of his property. In 1889 he made
his will in which he devised the
home farm, in which his divorced
wife has life estate by the terms
of the divorce, to his grand-d -daugh-
ter, Barbara Jane Ellis. He devils
ed 500 to Rosa Wine, 500 to Zelda
Huffman, and after providing for a
monument for himself not to ex-
ceed 500 and the costs of admins
tration and payment Of just debts
he devised the residue of his estate
in five equal parts, respectfully to
Zelda r. Beery, to whom it is
claimed he was engaged to be mar
ried, VIM. Ball His nephew, Han
nah Stallsmith, his niece, his grand
daughter, Barbara j. Ellis, and the
remaining one-ffth to the children
of his deceased daughter, Mrs.
Witham. The total appraisement
of his personal property amounts
to about $4,000 and in addition to
the home farm, which is valued at
about $4,000, he had some other,
lands, the amount and value of
which we are not advised.
The parties contesting the will
claimed and alleged that "he was
not of sound mind and memory,
but by reason of extreme age and
protracted sickness, and especially
by reason of an inordinate and un-
natural desire for the companion
ship of lewd women which had so
estranged his mind from his chill
dren and heirs at law, that he was
a monomaniac upon that subject,
and was at the date Of the will, inca
pacitated to make will or proper
distribut on of his property, and
was coerced into signing the paper
purporting to be a will, by the
undue influence of Zelda r. Beery
and Seth Weldy, and was induced
to execute the pretended will"
The attorneys for the plaintiffs
were Hansen G. Smith, o. w. H.
Wright, and Judge Guthrie of Ath-
ems. Those for the will were We'll
dy, Buerhaus, Bright and Friesner.
The case was carefully and ably
contested on both sides and about
100 witnesses examined. A motion
was made for a new trial but has
not yet been argued.