The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-07-02
LEDBETEREsTATE
vALUEOA At $4,000
WIDOW FILES PETITION FOR AD-
MINISTRATION OF PROPERTY.
A. H. Schroeder, Real Estate Dealer
in Free Press Building, Appointed
Special Administrator; Estate VAL
ued at $4,000 Few Years Ago,
But Dwindled Down to About Half
This Sum.

Holley j. Ledbeter died possessed OF
personal property of the value of
81 800 and real estate worth $4,000
according to the statement of his
widow who today filed petition for
administration of his estate.
Judge Hughes appointed A. H.
Schroeder of this city as special adj
ministrator.
The valuation of the estate as es-
timated by Mrs. Ledbeter agrees with
that made by William Schwandt, her
sisters husband who managed the store
Ledbeter once owned at Redwood Falls.
After his arrival at the Jail yes
terday forenoon Schwandt admitted
that Ledbeter was not altogether sat
isfied with the manner in which he
handled the business entrusted to him
and letters between him and his wife
now in the hands of the county Off
Gals would tend to further prove
this condition.
Schwandt said that Ledbeter lost
heavily in his mercantile venture, and
also that other transactions had proven
costly for him. He said that Led
better was worth about $4,000 a few
years ago, but now had not more than
$4,000 or $4,000.
Funeral of Mr.. Ledbeter.
Many people attended the funeral of
Holley J. Ledbeter which took place
this afternoon at the town hall in
Medic.
The body Of the victim of Blue
Earth cOunty's most brutal murder,
was placed i'm metallic casket and
Theoretically sealed this morning at
the undertaking rooms of Landkamer
Bros. & Davidson where the post mort
EN- was held yesterday, and then taken to
Medo, the township in which Ledbeter
once resided, and where his relatives
still live.
The service in the town hall was
quite largely attended by friends of
the unfortunate man.. Interment was
made in the Atcherson cemetery where
Ledbeter's father and brother and
sister are buried
Wanted to See a Seer.
This story appeard in The st. Paul
Pioneer Press this morning:
Mankato, MIMI, June ga st. Paul
policeman, George F. Kumrow of the
central precinct police station, detailed
at Third and Sibley streets, is respon-
sible to a large extent for p A. Led
beter's persistent search for his miss.
ing brother that resulted Sunday in
the discovery of the murdered mans
body on his farm near Mankato.
Much distressed at the news of the
disappearance of mis- brother, and ad
vised by friends to consult a clairvoy
ant in st. Paul, Ledbeter arrived there
from Hayward, Wis, June Is. Near
the union depot he asked Officer Kun,
row to direct him to q seer.
The policeman, after long talk, ad-
vised Ledbeter to drop the clairvoyant
idea and asked for the entire story of
H. j. Ledbeter's disappearance.
Forgets About Clairvoyant.
"The policeman told me the best
thing for me to do was to 60 to Man
katO and not stay around st. Paul on
such an errand, to question the neigh
bors about my brothers farm, and try
to find out just what had happened y
said Ledbeter "For he told me he
believed that my brothers body might
be found on the farm itself. The Off
GERS advice so impressed me that l
did not go any further up town but re-
turned to the depot and took the first
train to Mankato"
The trend of events since the dis
covery of Ledbeter's body in the po-
tato patch on his farm is held by the
authorities to discredit the story told
by Frank Smith, the hired man now
under arrest.