Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-03-29
STRANGE CHAPTER FROM LIFE DIS.
CLOSED IN THE LAW COURTS.
LOVE THAT OUTLINED DIVORCE,
STORY REVEALED IN ATTEMPT TO
GET A DEAD WOMAN's MONEY.
Z. j. Hamilton Tries to Have a Copy
of His First Wife's Will Pro.
ed Precedent for
Such n Proceeding
An Unusual Case.

One of the strangest cases that ever came
up for adjudication in the probate court of
this county was decided yesterday by Judge
Guinotte. The story in brief was as fol-
lows:
I. J. Hamilton deserted his wife, johann
ma, and went to California some time in
the '70s. She did not hear from him, and
after years of waiting she engaged a de-
tective to hunt for him. The detective
found him, and Mrs. Hamilton went out
TO see him.. He told her plainly that he
would not live with her again. She re-
turned to Kansas City. In 1856 he came
here. too. and got a divorce from her. In
1887 he brought his present wife here from
California and married her. They had three
children.
One of the strangest things in the story
is that although Hamilton and Johanna
were divorced, and he was married again,
they continued to love each other dearly
and to write each other letters that
breathed the warmest affection. MI. Ham
ilton attended to her financial affairs and
did repairing Upon the houses she owned.
She was worth 10000. and in 1894 she made
a will leaving Mr.. Hamilton's boy by his
second wife all of her estate: The boy died
in the spring of 1886, and although johann
ma Hamilton. the divorced wife. would
never look upon his face when he was
alive, she went to the funeral and placed
a costly wreath of flowers on his grave.
After the death of the boy she made an
other will, leaving all her property to her
divorced husband. She died in February
and sisters claimed the estate. 7. J.. Ham,
ilton claimed II, too. He hled IN court a
copy of the will which she had made leav-
ing all her property to him, and asked that
# be declared her true will.
That was an unheard of proceeding here
tofore in this county. Lawyers searched
for parallel cases. and several instances
were found where a will was made and ac-
cidentally destroyed, and a copy OF the
will was admitted to probate after Its con-
tents were proven by witnesses to CORE
spond with the genuine will. The most
famous of these cases was the Rat case"
in which a will was made and witnessed,
and after the death of the t~estator, the
will was found gnawed into undecipherable
shreds by rats. A copy OF that will was
proven and probated.
A long trial of Hamiltons claim was nan
in the probate court.
Their affection for each other was shown
by letters: it v was 3. pTGyen tina shat n Shs din w,l
ly for him, II was shown that a month De.
fore her death she consulted a lawyer about
drawing up a new will and directed him
about What requests to mention in it and
the lawyer went SO far as to make a draft
of the will. but she never returned TO sign
a.. This. taken in connection with the fact
that no Will was found. led the judge. to
conclude that she must have destroyed II
and he decided that she died without a
One of the letters written by Johanna
Hamilton to her divorced and remarked
husband. In lss2. hve years at1er tne de 10
as follows:
NV Dear observation-disclosures me for still calling
you so. but I will call you that as long as ! live: !
aches for you. oh. i would give the world to see
you again. ] can never die in peace TIL see you.
j have a spell Of the heart trouble. ! will never be
satisfied till i settle my affairs. The one that helped
me earn my property is the one that is entitled to 1t
even II you did not want to live with me. 1 want to
die with a clear conscience. but ! do not want any
other woman to enjoy my money. Now. Tom, II you
will give me one of your children i will give him
ali ! have. I don't want one of my own relations to
enjoy what / have. ] tell it TO you from my heart
out I will take your child TO my broken heart and
a broken heart and all for love of you: Oh. my life
IS a failure all through. win you write to me, my
= dearest. on this earth. With love. ronch love. from
~ xJoHANNA HAMILTON.
100 East Eighth Street. Kansas City, Mo.
In his letters to his divorced wife Mr..
Hamilton always addressed her as: Dear
est joe" One of his letters introduced IN
evidence was dated April %. 1886. 1t reads:
oh, Dearest Joel have sad tidings for you this
morning. I have lost my boy. Willie. Will be in
TERED to-day in Forest Hill cemetery. Oh. how I
never would see him. / know full well how you feel
about the matter. Oh. how much good it would do
me for you to see him. As soon as i can console my
self I will be to see you.
She did go to the cemetery and looked
upon the face of the boy, as another letter
shows.
And so these letters were kept up
throughout the year. although both he and
she lived here in Kansas City. The other
ters. In one Of his letters Hamilton says:
ct cannot see for the life of me how you
can be so kind to me. / do not deserve 1t
Again. in 1855. he writes: II had a dream
about you last night II you are not well
drop me a note" Again he acknowledges
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