Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1912-09-11
BOARD SUIT IN
CIRCUIT COURT
Mrs. Board is Principal Wit
ness Against Insurance
Company.
$1,000 is INVOLVED.
Defense Will Endeavor to Prove That
B. F. Board Came to His Death by
Suicide. :.

Dressed in the deepest mourning,
Mrs. Jessie T. Board, now of Wake
Forest, N. c., was the principal wit
ness in the Circuit Court of AleXan-
dria this morning in her suit against
the Mutual Life Insurance Company,
of New York, to recover $1,000 on
account of the life insurance policy
held by her husband, Benjamin Fleet
Board, prominent manufacturer of
Alexandria, whose death occurred at
Wake Forest, N. c., March 18th.
Mrs. Board, in clear voice which
could be heard in all parts of the
court room gave the facts connected
with her husbands life from last Oc-
tober, when the policy was issued, up
to his sudden death in March. She
stated that she first noticed his fail
ing health last December. Mr.. Board
was working very hard about this
time as he had just organized the
Board Motor Truck Company. lie
spent considerable time at night die
tating hs correspondence. He did not
sleep we'll and was somewhat ner-
vous. In February Mrs. Board wrote
to her father asking hi INTO come to
Alexandria and persuade Mr.. Board
to leave his work and go for rest.
Her father came to Alexandra and
shortly afterwards she and Mr.. Board
went to Wake Forest where the lat
ter's death occurred.
In response to cross examination by
Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Board stated that
she had endeavored to get Mr.. Board
to enter a sanitarium in Richmond
for nervousness.
The suit against the insurance com
pany was commenced this morning at
ten o'clock in the Circuit Court, Judge
J. B. T. Thornton, presiding. The fol-
lowing constitute the jury: John T.
Harrison, C. NJ. Lennon, E. ]. Alexan-
der, C. w. O'Meara, C. S. Carter, AL
fred C. Moss, H. C. Griffith, c. w.
Howell, ]. B. Fitzgerald, A. Sidney
Mankin, John A. Goodrich, Joseph M.
Petit, jr.
Mrs. Board is represented by Attor-
news Charles E. Plummer, of Peters
burg, Gardner L. Boothe, Judge c. E.
Nicol and Samuel G. Brent, all OF
Alexandra, while John NJ. Johnson,
is the attorney for the insurance COM
pany.
The opening for the plaintiff this
morning was made by Mr.. Plummer,
whose addres swas Of the formal
character. He stated that under the
law of the state it was necessary for
the defense to prove suicide to be
exclusion of every reasonable hypo-
thesis of accidental death.
Mr.. Johnson in his opening address
spoke for over an hour and outlined
the evidence by which the insurance
company hopes to prove that MI
Board came to his death by suicide
He claimed that if he was able to
prove that Mr.. Board was insane at
the time of his death it would shift
the burden of proof to the plaintiff
and would then have to show that
Mr.. Board IS death was purely accl-
dental and not caused by suicide.
Judge C. E. Nicol read the insur-
ance policy to the jury.
It will be remembered that MI.
Board was found dead at the foot OF
a water tower at his father-in-law's
home near Wake Forest. 1t was stated
by his family that he had climbed the
tower for the purpose OF adjusting
some machinery which was out OF
order but the insurance company re-
fused to pay the policy on his lie on
the grounds of suicide.