Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Illinois - University Library

2/6 JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS ( „ Tuesday,
) Nov. 18. 1913.
he, affiant, saw and talked with said Paris Wilson and that said Paris
Wilson was then in good health bodily and mentally; affiant further
says that on the first Monday of October, 1908, he left Macomb, Illinois,
for Hunnewell, Kansas, that he arrived at Hunnewell the following
night; that upon the day following his arrival at Hunnewell he went
to see said Paris Wilson; that he did see him and found him in
excellent health; that said Paris Wilson worked in the hayfleld that
day and informed affiant that his; (Paris') health was good. Affiant
further says that on Friday following his arrival in Hunnewell, to-wit,
October 9, 1908, Paris Wilson had a stroke of paralysis from which he
never recovered.
Statement of Frank Wilson: "Am a nephew of Paris Wilson;
during the period from January 1st to October 9th, 1908, saw Paris
Wilson frequently, and Paris Wilson frequently did work on the farm;
that on at least one occasion during that period Wilson assisted in
stacking hay."
Statement of B. A. Ellsworth: That he has known Paris Wilson
for many years, to-wit, from and during 1907 to 1909. That affiant
for several years, including the last half of 1907 and all of 1908, was a
U. S. mail carrier and carried the mail to Paris Wilson, depositing it in
a box about a half mile from the residence of Wilson; that some time
in the fall of 1907 he heard that Wilson had had an attack of sickness
of some sort, but as to the exact nature of this attack he knows nothing,
except by hearsay. That from about the first day of January,
1908. until the 9th day of October, 1908, he frequently saw and talked
with said Wilson, whom he knew well, and that during that time Wilson
often walked from his residence to the mail box aforementioned;
that during said time he often saw Wilson plowing and doing other
farm work such as no sick man could perform; saw Wilson working in
the hayfield at various times during said period; that during the^many
conversations between affiant and Wilson during said period the mind
of Paris Wilson did not seem impaired.
Affiant further states that Mrs. Wilson's enmity to him arises out
of political matters in which he believes he was correct, and that at
her instigation he was arrested and fined for playing cards on Sunday,
which is an offense under the laws of Kansas; that he was playing
"pitch" with a few friends and that no stakes of any kind were being
played for, and that he was not gambling.
Affiant further states that only a few minutes before I. E. Wittum
signed his affidavit in this case, he, Wittum, stated in the presence of
Dr. F. B. May and others substantially as follows: "That during the
period between January 1st and October 9th, 1908, Paris Wilson was
able to do his work and attend to his business as well as any ordinary
man of Paris Wilson's age, and that in his (Wittum's) opinion, Wil-