The Adair County news., 1906-02-07
BUTLER WILL CASE.
The Jury After Deliberatins Sever
al Hours Sets Up the Second
Will Of Decedent.

The trial of the Butler will case ended
on last Wednesday, after having been
tried before Judge Baker and a Jury
for the nine preceding days. Judge w.
w. Jones and Mr.. Jas. Garrett were
the attorneys for Mrs. Bette w. But
Ter, who was the sole devisee in, exec
utrix of and propounder of the will
made by Judge Butler on the 9th, day
Of March, 1905. After the death of
Judge Butler this will was probated in
the Adair County Court at it's August
term, 1905. This will devised all of the
property to Mrs. Bette w. Butler,
but contained request that Mrs. But
Ter would by will or in some way provide
a suitable provision for Mrs. Grace But
Ter Bradshaw, who is a neice of Mrs.
Butler and an adopted daughter of
Judge Butler and his wife. This re-
quest, however, left it to the discretion
of Mrs. Butler, as to whether she
would make any provision for Mrs.
Bradshaw or not, and the nature of the
provision was, also, left to her discre-
ton.
1t appears that on the goth, day of Feb
ruary, 1905, Judge Butler had made
another will, and Heretofore about the
25th, day of January, 1905, he had made
another will.
At the County Court, in December
1905, Mrs. Sallie F. Smith, Col. E. But
Ter, Joshua Butler, D. H. Butler, VIM.
Butler, James Butler, Mrs. Myra
Moore and Mrs Nellie Conover, who
are brothers and sisters of Judge But
ler, and N. C. Butler, a son of Capt.
N. G. Butler, deceased, and the chill
dred of Isaac Butler, another deceased
brother of Judge Butler, by their attor-
neys, Mr.. Jas. F. Montgomery and
Rollin Hurt, made motion to PROFOUND
and admit to record, the will dated
February Goth, 1905. At the County
Court in January, their motion was
overruled, and thereupon they took an
appeal to the Circuit Court from the
order rejecting the February will and,
also, an appeal from the order of the
County Court made in August, 1905,
admitting to probate the will dated
March q, 1905. Their contention was.
that when the will dated March 81, 1905,
was executed, that Judge Butler had not
capacity sufficient to make will, and
was laboring under undue influence ex-
erted upon him by other persons, and
that he was in that condition when the
will of February 20. 1905, was destroy
ed.
On the day that the County Court
Overruled the motion of the brothers
and sisters to probate the February
will. Mrs. Grace Butler Bradshaw, by
her attorneys, Mr.. Henry Aaron and
Geo. E. Stone, took an appeal to the
Adair Circuit Court from the order of
the County Court probating the will of
March ~, 1905.
In the Circuit Court the appeals of
Mrs. Sallie F. Smith &C., and the ap-
peal of Mrs. Grace Butler Bradshaw,
were consolidated and tried as one case.
On the trial the contention of Mrs.
Bradshaw's attorneys was that Judge
Butler died intestate, that he had not
capacity to make either the February
or March wills and was unduly in
fluenced to do so. The result of the
trial was that Wednesday last the jury
returned verdict rejecting the will
made on March q, 1905, and. finding
that the will made on the 10th, day of
February, 1905, was the true last will
and testament of Judge Butler. This
will had been destroyed in March, 1905.
but the jury found what it's contents
were from the evidence adduced on the
trial.
The provisions of the will of Febru-
airy 20, 1905, are as follows, viz: it first
devises to the brothers and sisters, Of
Judge Butler, no are living, and to the