Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-06-08
SHENANDoAti WIDOW oGTl
MONEY ON INSURANCE POL.
lcY LONG LOST.
husDANp DEAD THIRTY YEARS,
COMPANY INVESTIGATES
Took Out Policy In 1867, Died in 1881,
Policy Recently Rssurrsctsd and
Paid This sprins-Widow Did Not
Know Of Existanes Of Poliey-Idsnti-
fieatien 10 Difficult.

Shenandoah, June S.-If you ever had
any relatives die and you didn't. think
they left any insurance, because you
hadn't seen any policy lying around,
and consequently didn't investigate to
sec II they might have left any, 1t may
pay you to look into the matter. Mrs.
Mary Friess didn't dream that her
husband had left any for her. and
thereby hangs an interesting tale.
Abner Friess, her husband, died in
1881. He was hard working. hon.
est, respected man with a rough edu-
cation. He had come from Illinois to
Iowa. where before he died he had ac-
cumulated fair sized farm. No word
about insurance ever. crossed his lips.
and his wife would as soon have sus-
pected him Of leaving her public
library as an insurance policy. At first
his wife got along we'll, but OF late
years reverses had come to her which
did not leave her so well fixed as for
merly.
Policy Turns Up.
This spring q letter, addressed to
Abner Friess came to Mrs. Friess from
the Aetna Life Insurance Company
saying that in 1867 certain Abner
Friess had taken out a policy in that
company, and as they had not heard
from him for over thirty years. they
were beginning to get a little curious
as to what had become Of him. Mrs;
Friess gave the letter to Attorney
Frederick Fischer who attempted to es-
tablish the identity Of the dead man
as being the same as the one to whom
the policy was drawn in favor of.
Task Of Identification.
It was no easy task to prove the
identity and facts concerning the death
of q man, who has been dead for thir-
ty years, to the satisfaction OF big
insurance company. The undertaken
was dead, the pallbearers were dead
the only man who attended the funerai
and was still living, suddenly went
crazy and finally died before he could
be located and his evidence taken. 1t
was even almost impossible to get
proved specimen Of Abner's writing, for
he was an unlearned man and signed
his name in all kinds Of ways and IN
all kinds of writing. But Mr.. Fischer
persevered and finally established, to
the satisfaction of the Aetna company,
the fact that this Abner F'riess was the
same man WHO 4oVS SOOA =" SAuNSAA
within and took out q policy for $1,000
in favor of his wife. He had evidently
forgotten to mention it to anyone dur
Ing his lifetime. and had not paid
much on 1t, giving notes to the COM
pany for few payments, which. with
the interest, made the sum which Mr..
George Hughes. Of the Des Moines
branch Of Aetna, paid to the widow the
other day a total of six hundred eighty
some dollars.
There are a good many worth while
things connected with this story, 1t
hardly sounds like real life. but 1t IS;
the money coming when the widow
was beginning to need it, the unex-
pected and miraculous discovery that
there was a will, the good fortune
and tact OF the attorney in discovering
and proving the connection. and the
honesty OF. the big corporation. in these
days when most all we look for Is
thickness and squeezing from the
trusts and monopolies'-isn't 1t a little
out Of ordinary?