In re Deleglise

114 N.W. 130, 134 Wis. 41, 1907 Wisc. LEXIS 326
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 13, 1907
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 114 N.W. 130 (In re Deleglise) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Deleglise, 114 N.W. 130, 134 Wis. 41, 1907 Wisc. LEXIS 326 (Wis. 1907).

Opinion

Timliw, J.

Giving full force and effect to the decision of this court in In re Streiff, 119 Wis. 566, 97 N. W. 189, and that in In re Welch, 108 Wis. 387, 84 N. W. 550, and having in mind the rule that the findings of fact of the court below will not be reversed in this court unless contrary to the clear weight of proof (Cunningham v. Brown, 44 Wis. 72; Catura v. Kleiner, 95 Wis. 378, 70 N. W. 479; Clausen v. Hale, 96 Wis. 100, 71 N. W. 122; Momsen v. Plankinton, 96 Wis. 166, 71 N. W. 98), we proceed to the consideration of the questions raised on this appeal.

Mary Deleglise is about seventy-three years of age, and with her husband, F. A. Deleglise, came to Antigo in 1877 practically without means, their whole property consisting of about $300 in cash belonging to Mary Deleglise. She was the mother of nine children, six of whom are still living. At least three of these nine children were feeble-minded. During her husband’s life she never took part in the conduct of the business or in the acquisition of the property. Mr. Dele-[43]*43glise died in March, 1894, and after coming to Antigo and up to that time bad accumulated considerable property. He bad failed in business some years before coming to Antigo and was in debt, and all the property be thereafter accumulated up to the time of bis death was carried in the name of bis wife. No inventory of this property was made until about 1897, when the petitioner Mrs. Morrissey, who is a daughter of E. A. and Mary Deleglise and who bad been keeping books for her father since about 1886 and up to the time of Ms death and after bis death and until late in the year 1897, in 1897 made an inventory of the property so acquired, and it amounted to about $75,000 with debts of about $10,000, mostly secured by real-estate mortgages. Eor several years prior to the death of E. A. Deleglise his son-in-law, Mr. Leslie, and husband of the petitioner Sophia E., assisted him in his office. Mr. Leslie was discharged by Mary Deleglise in the fall of 1894. After Mrs. Morrissey left the office and bookkeeping in November, 1897, Mary Deleglise placed her two sons, Ales and Adelbert, in charge, and they continued to run the office and manage the property from November, 1897, until March, 1903, when Mary Deleglise discharged them and placed her daughter, Mrs. Leslie, in charge, who managed the office until October, 1905, when she was discharged by Mrs. Deleglise, who then placed Adelbert again in charge. The inventory, which appears to have been quite specific, made in November, 1897, contained about 100 forty-acre tracts of land, 450 city lots, and some acreage adjoining the city of Antigo not platted, all in the name of Mary Deleglise. At present Mrs. Deleglise owns thirteen and one-half forty-acre tracts and 103 city lots, and about 150 acres of land in all about the city. The rest has been sold by Alex and Adelbert and Airs. Leslie during the time they were managing the property or was included in the division and distribution among the children hereinafter mentioned. A writing showing this division or distribution [44]*44was offered in evidence, and for some unaccountable reason rejected as incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial. A writing offered showing sales of lands made from October, 1897, to March, 1903, was rejected for a similar reason. After the division of property and distribution amongst the children Mary Deleglise had real estate to the amount of $55,000, with debts of from $6,000 to $8,000, which debts are still outstanding and unpaid. During the time that Alex and Adelbert were in charge, from 1897 to 1903, they took in from the sales of lands at least $43,000, but they did not keep books so that this could be ascertained with exactness. Their manner of keeping accounts was such that it was almost impossible to tell what money they received and what lands they sold belonging to Mary Deleglise. Mrs. Deleglise does not know anything about it and she could give no information on the subject. Alex has left Amtigo and is out West somewhere. Mrs. Doersch, one of the daughters, who is living apart from her husband and who is somewhat weak-minded, occupies the same house with her mother at present. Adelbert is in charge of the property under his last appointment, and Mrs. Morrissey and Mrs. Leslie are the petitioners in this proceeding.

Mrs. Morrissey testifies that her mother had trouble with Mrs. 'Leslie and trouble with all of them. She wished a guardian so that the property be properly administered and because she did not want to see her mother on the town in a few years, and she did not believe Adelbert was very honest and considered her mother very feeble-minded. Describing her mother’s condition she testified that Mary Deleglise cannot think of the management of her household for even one day; that she could not provide for herself; that her mother lived like a pauper; and that she surely did not spend the $43,000 gotten from the sale of lands and that it has gone somewhere, and that Mrs. Leslie found lots of taxes unpaid after Alex and Adelbert went out. Her mother gave $5,000 [45]*45to the Bohemian Ghurch as John’s share of the estate, John being dead. Eonr thousand dollars of this was given in a promissory note which she afterward paid. She gave away lots and had them raffled, has given away money to poor children, and spends a great deal of money but gets little for it. Instead of being economical and frugal she is wasteful and lives in poverty and has nothing to eat sometimes. She wanted to give the church another $5,000 which she claimed to be the share of Edmund, the weak-minded son who is still living. Since these proceedings started she has given Mrs. Doersch $10,000 or $12,000 worth of property. The witness describes her mother as living in poverty, her house in general disorder; hard for her to let them get her the actual necessaries of life; does not take care of her bedroom and has not for years been able to take care of it herself, but locks her bedroom up when she leaves it and keeps the key. There are old clothes there which have been there for years and are worm-eaten. When they brought her dainties or oranges she would put them away and not eat them or let any one else eat them, and they would afterward find them decayed where she had hidden them. She also hides money. She goes around upon cold nights in her nightgown. She sits by her table and broods over business affairs and she cannot grasp them, and they seem to be such a heavy burden on her shoulders, and she cannot understand them and makes complaints. She has accused different doctors that have been to see her of trying to poison her, and accused the physician that attended Mr. Deleglise of poisoning him. She is superstitious — thinks she is bewitched by Mrs. Uovak. She associates or has associated with one Mrs. Hammond, a fortune teller, and she knows nothing about the transactions of her agents with her property.

The other daughter, Mrs. Leslie, corroborates this evidence, and adds some further particulars. She took possession of the office March 1, 1903, at request of her mother, who was [46]*46then dissatisfied with the way that Alex and Adelbert were running things. There was considerable discussion then about applying for the appointment of a guardian. This witness describes that she found that the books had not been kept up, sales of her mother’s lands of which no record at all had been kept, and a chaotic condition generally.

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Related

Loker v. Oshkosh Savings & Trust Co.
196 N.W. 823 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1924)
Deleglise v. Morrissey
125 N.W. 452 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1910)

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Bluebook (online)
114 N.W. 130, 134 Wis. 41, 1907 Wisc. LEXIS 326, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-deleglise-wis-1907.