The Yesler Will Conspiracy
Prominent Seattle figures face charges of destroying the last testament of the city's pioneer founder as the defense fights for a dismissal.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The informations charging Mrs. Minnie B. Yesler, Dr. J. Eugene Jordan, and Dr. H. Martin Van Buren with making away with the will of the late Henry L. Yesler were filed in the office of the clerk of the superior court yesterday. The first information accuses the three defendants of unlawfully conspiring to defraud the city of Seattle, J. D. Lowman, and others by combining to destroy the last unrevoked will of Henry L. Yesler. The second charges the same persons with feloniously destroying the will with intent to cheat and defraud the city and other unknown beneficiaries. The defense has moved to dismiss the charges, arguing that no information was filed within the thirty days prescribed by law after the defendants were bound over. Attorneys for the prosecution maintain that the delay was justified and that the case remains a vital legal matter.
“The statute which requires the information to be filed within thirty days also excuses delay in filing if good reason be shown. The matter is accordingly largely in the discretion of the court.”
Henry L. Yesler was one of Seattle's most influential pioneers, and the legal battles over his estate were headline news for years. This saga mirrors the modern complexity of large-scale probate disputes involving the legacies of city-building tycoons and the competing claims of public versus private interests.
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