Iowa
Old Press
Maquoketa Excelsior
Maquoketa, Jackson County, Iowa
October 22, 1881
JABEZ SMITH
Jabez Smith of Sabula was drowned in Plum River slough near
Savanna, last Thursday. He was rowing a skiff, and in passing
through some trestle work the boat was upset. Mr. Smith was a
brother of Hugh Smith of this city., and has been for a number of
years mail messenger on the Cedar Rapids line of the Milwaukee
Road. He leaves a wife and several children in comfortable
circumstances.
A Will Contest
The will of the late William Current was filed for probate in the
Circuit Court last Wednesday. He died possessed of property, real
and personal, estimated at a value of about $30,000. His estate
includes farm land near this city, timber land, city property
(including the Opera House), and notes and mortgages to the
amount of $5,000. His heirs are two sons, a daughter and six
children of a deceased daughter and her husband, H. Taubman, the
clothing merchant. To these six children $500 each is devised,
and the remainder of the estate is bequeathed to the three other
heirs in equal shares. Mr. Taubman, as the next heir of his
children, has taken steps to contest the will on the grounds of
undue influence exercised by the more fortunate legatees and of
the incapacity of the testator to equitably devise his
possessions. L. A. Ellis and F. M. Fort have been retained by Mr.
Taubman as attorneys to prosecute the contest. Lyman Bates has
been appointed by the court special administrator of the estate.
[transcribed by K.W., May 2009]