185 Iowa 1057 | Iowa | 1919
1. The estate of deceased amounted to from $2,500 to $3,000. Deceased had had some misunderstanding with her sister Genevieve Jacobs, one of the contestants, over the will of a deceased sister; but the jury could have found from the evidence that there had been a complete reconciliation, and that nothing had occurred to disturb the friendly relations with her mute brother, or two nieces, daughters of a deceased sister, and contestants, or with another niece of her •husband's, of whom deceased
When asked to tell how that came to be in the will, she says:
“Well, Mrs. Ray had it written down on a slip of paper, and she handed it to Mr. Haddock, and he read it. On the slip of paper was, ‘I give Mrs. Josephine Ray the bed and dresser and its contents.’ Before this was said, Mr. Haddock asked Mrs. Kersey if she had any relatives or friends that she would like to have her property go to. She hesitated for a while, and then she said, ‘Mrs. Ray and Mrs. Keith have been good to me.’ Then, at that time, Mrs. Ray handed Mrs. Kersey the slip of paper. Well, that was all that was said. They just jumped to the conclusion she wanted it left to those two ladies. I think that, if she had been given time, she would have said other people were good to her. Mrs. Kersey did not say she wanted to leave it to these two ladies. She said they had been good to her. As to the balance of the property, the home and that sort of thing, Mr. Haddock asked her what she wanted to do with these. She said, ‘I don’t know.’ Mr. Haddock says, ‘Mrs. Kersey, you will have to sign this. If you are unable to write your name, just make your cross.’ He said, ‘There will have to be two witnesses;’ and he turned to Dr. Sollis and said, ‘You will be one,’ and he said Miss Iva Larison would be the other. I did not hear Mrs. Kersey say any
Error is predicated upon the ruling of the court just stated, and this will be referred to later.
Another witness testifies thfft she was at the home of deceased, one evening after deceased had been hurt, at which time deceased contended that there was a black cat on the foot of her bed.
“I thought that was queer, and said, ‘What is the matter?’ Mrs. Keith was there, and she says, ‘Oh, she has been that way frequently since she was hurt.’ There was no black oat there. She thought there was a coat or something else on her bed, and there was nothing there at all.”
Dr. Paschal was the family physician for deceased and her family for years, but was himself sick at the time of her last sickness; was well acquainted^with her. He testifies that the tendency of the mind is to weaken, along with the body; that the tendency of administering opiates and anodynes to patients of that age is always to affect the mental condition, if continued for any length of time. It is weakened. In answer to a hypothetical question, he gave his opinion that she was weak-minded, and that, knowing her as he did, all his life before that, she wouldn’t be of a competent mind, — wasn’t at that time, — from the effect partly of the suffering and pain, and perhaps as much from the drugs. Other witnesses testify to her appearance and