Schmitt v. Schnell

7 Ohio Cir. Dec. 662
CourtCuyahoga Circuit Court
DecidedJanuary 15, 1897
StatusPublished

This text of 7 Ohio Cir. Dec. 662 (Schmitt v. Schnell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Cuyahoga Circuit Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schmitt v. Schnell, 7 Ohio Cir. Dec. 662 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1897).

Opinion

Marvin, J.

This cause comes to this court by appeal from the court of common pleas of this county.

The plaintiffs are the children of one Joseph Schmitt, who died in Germany, about the year 1858, and Catherine Schmitt, who subsequently married the defendant, Yincens Schnell.

Yincens Schnell," after the death of his wife, (the mother of these children), married the other defendant in this case.

The suit is brought to have a trust declared for the plaintiffs in certain lands, the legal title to which is in Yincens Schnell.

The evidence shows that the father of these plaintiffs, Joseph Schmitt, at the time of his death in Germany, left a small amount of property; that after the marriage of the widow with Schnell, Schnell became possessed of the property so left by the father of the plaintiffs, but the amount was very small, and from all that appears, may have become the property of the mother of the plaintiffs.

In 1860, Schnell came with his wife and her children to the city of Cleveland, arriving here in July. 1860; that he had then a very little property, converted into money, which was a part of the estate left by the deceased husband of his then wife; that he purchased in 1863, certain real estate in this city, taking the title to himself. At the time of this purchase, August Schmitt was about seventeen years old, John was about thirteen years old, and Agatha about twelve years old.

The down payment made on this purchase was fifty dollars, and consisted of money saved by the famly after they had come to this city, and whatever was left of the money realized from the estate of the deceased father of the plaintiffs, and the later payments were made out of the savings of the family from wages thereafter earned.

[663]*663It is claimed by the plaintiffs, that such property so purchased, was apon the agreement that it should be the property of the plaintiffs, subject to the life estate of the defendant, Yincens Sehrell, and his then wife, the mother of the plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs were all born in Germany; they came to this country as I have already said, and to this city, about the month of Jnly, 1860.

One of the plaintiffs is a daughter, Agatha Long; the other plaintiffs are August Schmitt and his brother John.

The evidence clearly establishes that the plaintiff, August Schm'tt, worked faithfully from the time he came here until he was about twenty-six years old, and that his earnings, all, except what was necessary for his very economical support, were paid by him to Schneil; that he earned good wages from very soon after he came here up to the time when he was about twenty-six years old, when he left his stepfather’s home, or ceased, at any rate to pay his earnings to him.

The bank deposit of Yincens Schneil, introduced in evidence, shows deposits made by Yincens Schneil in the bank, and they were considerable each month up to the time when August ceased to pay his money, to his step-father, which was when he was married, at the age of twenty-six. From that time on they were scarcely anything.

The evidence shows that the stepfather earned very much less than August earned.

The evidence shows that the daughter Agatha, went to school for a little while after she came here, and thereafter went into service and earned for a part of the time, $1.50, then $2.00, and part of the time, $3.00 a week, and paid her earnings to her stepfather, and was supported by him except that, as she was working in families, she had her board with the families for whom she worked.

There is no doubt in the minds of any member of the court or anybody who heard this evidence, that the money that purchased this real estate was earned in a great part by August Schmitt.

Some part of it was earned by Agatha. It is not clear that John ever contributed more than he received.

He was in school for a considerable time. Then he went to learn a trade and boarded at home, and his wages were small; so it is doubtful whether John earned more then he received from his parents. But it is clear that the others did; surely that August did.

But, does that establish a trust, when we take the other facts in connection with the case into consideration 1

The family lived together. So far as we can judge from this evidence, there was no thought among any of the family of treating Mr. Schneil otherwise than as their father would have been treated. They spoke of him as “father,” and he spoke of them as his children. The trust, if there was a trust here, is an express trust. Evidence introduced by the plaintiffs and relied upon by them, is the statement made more than once by Yincens Schneil, that he was buying the property for the family — buying a home for himself and the children.

August testified 'Shat soon after they came here there was talk in the family about the children going to work; that Schneil said, “We will get, a home so we won’t have to pay rent all our lifetime.” Arid he said, “I will buy a home and buy it, not for my sake, but for your sake.” [664]*664“That’s the very expression be used.” “He said that.” This is what August testifies to. That was prior to the purchase.

August says that at-another time he and his mother were asked by Schnell to look at a lot which he thought of purchasing, and that his stepfather said this to him: “You make pretty good pay. We will buy this lot. It is not for my sake, it is so the children have a home.”

And again, after August became of full age, Schnell said this to him, quoting from the testimony of August:

‘ ‘ He told me himself, he had 'an idea some people was talking to me that I was foolish for giving up my money.- He says, pay no attention; you will get it all back. Nobody will ever touch it except you children.”

Again he said at one time his mother and her husband had been into the business part of the city and came home.

And this language is used by August in his evidence:

“They were up town, both of them, and told me at supper time— they both had a smile — he says, we should have to woriy no more. Everything was fixed all right now, nobody could touch that property except us children, if anything should happen to them.”

This conversation clearly referred to a visit made by the parents to some lawyer’s office where a will was executed by one or both of these parents. There is some conflict about the matter of the will, but it is clear that Mrs. Schnell did execute a will by which she undertook to bequeath to hey children this property, the title to which was in the husband. After the death of Mrs; Schnell, the husband brought that will to the office of the probate judge, and the testimony is, that upon the advice of the probate judge, the will was destroyed. Perhaps they misunderstood the advice, as there is no authority that we know of for any one to destroy a will. But a will was made without question, by Mrs. Schnell, and we think Mr. Schnell executed a will at one time, devising this property to these plaintiffs. But after the death of his wife, he went abroad, and married again, and came back, and he repudiates any trust. He says the children have no interest in the property, and hence, this action was brought by the children to have this trust declared.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
7 Ohio Cir. Dec. 662, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schmitt-v-schnell-ohcirctcuyahoga-1897.