Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-12-12
nouen m,sEa,s GENEROUS WILL.

ROUGH NIINER.S GENEROUS WILL.
Cousin of Conductor w. r. Dinsmore
Generously Remembers u Friend.
An example of 4 truly generous and
appreeiative individual may be found
in the person of Frank Dinsmore, a
cousin of w. P. Dinsmore, of Ruthven,
and passenger conductor on the
Rock Island between that city and
Eldon. Frank Dinsmore amassed con-
siderable wealth. in the Klondike, and
ait the time of his death which occur
red recently at San Francisco, Cal, he
did not forget those who had befriend-
ed him in life, whether they were rel
atives or not. In his will he especial
ly provided fora Mrs. Alexander, wife
of George Alexander, farmer with
whom Mr.. Dinsmore boarded when he
was poor prospector seventeen years
ago.
Frank Dinsmore, best known as a
member of the Yukon firm of Dins-
more, Spencer q McPhee, was rich
miner. So when he came to face death
the kindly ministrations of Mrs. Alex
ander were remembered. He drew up
a will in which he bequeathed to Mrs.
Alexander $4,000 in gold, the payment
of which was made to her recently in
the parlors of the Hotel Northern at
San Francisco, by William n. McPhee,
the business partner, friend and eXecu-
tor of Dinsmore.
The story of Dinsmore's death and
the faithf:.l execution of his wishes as
expressed in the will by ''Bill" Me-
Phee, as he is Familiarity called, is re-
lplete with pathetic interest. 1t carr
ries with it a story Of honest friend
ship, Of loyalty, of love, of constancy
ana the devotion of man for man.
Dinsmore came to know Mrs. Alex
lander shortly after her residence in
Juneau, which began two decades ago.
He lived in the Alexanders' home and
appears to have been treated very
much as one of the family, though but
| a boarder. AT all events, the many
little acts of kindness such as only
gentle and tender womendcan bestow
who, after the departure of the Alex
anders from juneau to take up home
in the states, went into the wilds ,of
the Yukon to- seek fortune. There he
finally found 1T as Circle City and at
Forty Mile, but in greatest abundance
in the famed Klondike. Y! sstsI
During these years Mrs. Alexander
saw nothing of Dinsmore, though She
heard with satisfaction of his success
es from mutual friends whom She
CHANGED to meet from the Klondike.
And so when McPhee, the executor,
opened the will, he found that Mrs.
Alexander had been remembered, and
| that number of other requests had
been made by his friend and partner,
though the bulk OF the estate, was left
| to Mrs. Charles Dinsmore, of Auburn,
| Me-, Dinsmore's aged mother.
As minor gift, Dinsmore willed $2,-
| 900 to John Hughes, veteran prospec-
tor with whom the tides of fortune
had often run adversely. Poor Hughes
never lived to enjoy the small fortune
bequeathed by his more fortunate
friend. He died at Dawson few days
after Dinsmore crossed the bar and
within less than month Father
Judge, a veteran Catholic priest of the
Yukon, another beneficiary to the will
to the extent of $500, also went to
meet his Maker. The requests for
both Hughes and Judge are to be CIV
en- to their executors.
Other smaller amounts to friends
have already been paid, and a few days
before the presentation to Mrs. Alex
ander, the mails carried to Mrs. Dins-
more, the mother, a draft for $4,000.
Dinsmore displayed his confidence in
McPhee by making him his executor
without bonds. The men were deeply
attached in their friendship. Indeed,
they could not have been more so had
they been brothers. Mr.. McPhee, in
speaking of his partner, gave an Illus
! tration Of the confidence each had in
the other, reciting an incident in sub
stantially these words:
eve had been in partnership long
time, SO one day Frank suggested that
we have settlement and see how we
i stood. He had kept account of what
he had personally spent; I had pre-
/ served memorandum of what I took
but no books were kept.
4 "By way of beginning the settle
ment, said: Frank, you didn't have
much when we began business, did
you?'
"'And neither did T. continued. !
haven't stolen anything, and you have
MT stolen anything, either, have you?
"'No,' he said, and the result was
that we simply divided what was left
and ever did business on that plan. II
he wanted to go out aud spend hun
bred in night, he did it, and die
the same, an so it was that we lived
and did business for many years."