Thanks to Wayne Loney, a Kalamazoo genealogy volunteer, I have my great-grandfather’s probated will with list of assets at the time of his death. He found the document, located at the Probate Court in Kalamazoo, so that I could order it.
Fifty-eight-year-old Adrian Zuidweg, Sr., died on 19 December 1929, which happened to be two months after the Wall Street crash. The cause of death was uremia (for three days) and chronic interstitial nephritis, as well as a valve disease of the heart and mitral insufficiency and general artheroma (disease of the arteries). I looked up the nephritis because it sounds like the real disease behind his death, but read that it usually is caused by medications or auto-immune disorders like lupus. So I don’t really know why he was sick or why he died.
The family story version is that he ate a dinner plate-sized steak every night for dinner, and that that routine caused the nephritis. I guess it might cause some artery damage, too.
But before we assume his eating completely caused his death, I will say that heart disease does seem to run in the family through my grandfather to my grandfather’s children–and my 23andme report shows that by far my worst health genes (that are researched through 23andme) are all coronary issues.
This probate document is signed by my grandfather, who was 21; Adrian Sr.’s sister, Mrs. Marinus Van Liere; and my great-grandmother, Cora, his wife.
In this will, Adrian leaves his entire estate to his wife, Cora, to do with as she sees fit. He expressly does not leave anything to grandpa, his son. However, he seems to suggest that Cora might want to use some of the estate for the benefit of Adrian’s “belofed boy,” (his first language was Dutch) but he is not tying her hands to do so in the will.
I wonder how common it was to make a will out this way. Perhaps he thought that Grandpa would be able to make his own way in the world, but Grandpa was blind in one eye, so I am a little surprised that nothing was left to him.
Here is a typed version of the handwritten will.
I don’t plan to post an image of the estate inventory. If family members want to email me and ask to see it, I’ll be happy to send over a copy. What I thought was interesting was the list does not include any cash at all, whether on hand or in banks. The listing includes real estate, notes payable, and stocks. I think this means that the money was already in Cora’s name. Again, I wonder how common this practice would have been.
It seems to me that there must be more of this sort of document available for my other ancestors, but I am not sure how much light it has shed on anything for me. Adrian was apparently a good husband, father, and provider, but maybe didn’t take the best care of his health, if the steak-eating story is true.
What information have you gleaned from probate records?
I will be taking off blogging next week for some needed time away from the computer. See you in a couple of weeks!
The Family Kalamazoo 
I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on television, but kidney disease and heart disease often seem to occur together on many of the death certificates I’ve seen. I don’t know whether kidney failure leads to heart issues or vice versa. I can tell you that my father went into kidney failure, but his death certificate says he died from heart failure. I think when the kidneys fail, the fluid then leads to heart failure, but as I said, not a doctor!
As for leaving everything to his wife, I think that is pretty standard even today. Our wills are made out that way, with our children only inheriting after we are both gone. My parents’ wills are made out that way as well. So I am sure that your great-grandfather was not being mean to your grandfather!
Interesting about kidney and heart disease. I did not realize that. And I always heard the story about it being kidney disease that killed him. Grandma and Grandpa never said a word about his heart.
I wonder if there are stats on what is more common with wills. I would think it’s fairly common to give children something if the estate has enough, even if it’s a piece of jewelry or other memento or smaller sum. And maybe it depends on subcultures–or perhaps only the circumstances of the family and its members. For instance, my grandfather was still quite young and just starting out in life. But did he take over the business or did his mother do it? The business is not listed as an asset!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t know of any way to get a statistical study of wills. I’ve read enough of them to know that except perhaps in wealthy families, the surviving spouse commonly inherits the bulk of the estate, though specific bequests of smaller amounts or specific items isn’t unusual. Plus when did your GGF write this will? Perhaps when your grandfather was still a boy and it had never been updated?
Don’t trust me on the kidney/heart analysis. As with the wills, my evidence is purely circumstantial!
LOL, you crack me up, Amy. I am pretty sure you have a lot of information!!!
PS Have a good break!
Don’t you love all the insights that can be gotten by having a document one willfully (pun intended) drew up. Many of his era never bothered with a will.
Oh, I didn’t realize that! I think I read so many mysteries as a kid that I thought a will was very common, even if it was only something hand written (as his was originally). Maybe it was because he had enough assets, although you do read wills where the instructions are there for who gets the bedstead and the accordian.
Maybe I just have to look harder or, maybe understand the prevailing law – perhaps farms owned without mortgage simply passed to wife without a will. Have a great “vacation”
This is an area of genealogy we need a class in! Yes, what happened with the businesses, including farms?! I suspect that what looked to be the situation wasn’t always the legal situation. Like a son running a farm but his mother actually owning it, maybe?
Class would be wonderful!
The cause of death seems to have been heart failure. Valves close when heart chambers are filling, allowing the pressure to build up so blood can be pumped around the body. If valves don’t work, circulation fails. This low blood flow was likely a factor or cause of the kidney problems. In many old people there is no clear cause as the body is generally worn out.
Leaving everything to his wife suggests her children may not have been keen on caring for her if or when she became frail. Giving her control of the inheritance ensured the kids were good to her, or risk being written out of her will.
Heart failure. I wonder why they always said kidney disease. So maybe he had kidney disease and it gave him heart failure? Does that fit?
Grandpa was an only child, and I think he was always a very responsible type. I don’t think his father would have thought he wouldn’t take care of his mother. But she was still quite young, in her fifties. So he might have thought she would need enough to last her 30 years. In fact, she sickened (cancer) and died only a couple of years later–and my grandparents (newly married) took care of her on her sick bed. I’m sure they would have done that anyway!
Bless Wayne Loney!
He is a treasure to Kalamazoo genealogy!
Luanne, I think it was a common practice to leave everything to the wife with the expectation that she would take care of things in the right way.
Things got a little tricky if she died first which is what happened with my grandparents.
You are so fortunate to have this copy – I have to say many of my people never even had a will so I find this one most impressive.
Enjoy your time away – I will miss you, though.
Good point about not having a will. This is the first one discovered for my family, so I consider myself very lucky to have it in my hands!
Thanks, Sheila!!!
Luanne: I think this type of will was fairly normal at the with few second marriages at that time. Also dad took control of what his mother had and mother took care of her. There may have also been care of Richard DeKorn.
What would really be interesting is the will of Richard DeKorn as the houses on Balch street were divided between Uncle Joe, Aunt Jen, and dad even though the two Adrian’s took care of the houses and maintained them for years with dad continuing on after his fathers death. Don
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Wayne is trying to find Richard’s will, but thinks it might not have gone through probate, unfortunately. I need to send you and Mom the asset list by email.
What an amazing document to have. Enjoy your break
Thank you, Derrick!
The only death record for my husband’s Great Grandfather is via a probate record I discovered when his Great Grandmother relinquished two of her children to the state because she could not care for them. In this record, it states that her husband died in May 1898.
Wow, that is quite the treasure to locate!
I atually read through all the comments and found them just as interesting as the posting. I am thankful you were able to ge the will. I have not been able to find a one for a direct ancestors 😦 Enjoy some time off too Luanne
I wish I knew more about the laws regarding this. I am assuming the only way to find a will is if the estate was probated.
I recently found a will that left everything to the wife to “do as she sees fit” as well. I think it is great that some husbands had confidence in the women to have common sense – even when society as a whole didn’t. Society didn’t even think women had enough sense to have the right to vote! (argh!)
That’s such an interesting way to look at it. It’s also a very positive way to see it. The downside is that the widow could get married again or have health issues that could mean that any children would never see anything. You could view it that the wife and husband created their estate so that is as is fit. So complicated!!!
All so interesting but also sad that medical care was so primitive back then. Given his diet, I would guess that clogged arteries led to kidney disease. Clogged arteries also lead to high blood pressure, which is terrible for the kidneys.
Wills are very informative–they sometimes create big questions, too, like yours. I’ve seen wills where it’s made very plain that nothing from the estate is going to one or another child–or that what is left to them compared to others is insultingly little. Sometimes it’s b/c that person had already been given something significant of value and the person writing the will is trying to be ‘fair.’ Or maybe one child has more responsibility (children but no spouse, etc). Other times it seems like an old feud playing out or one last ‘Gotcha.’–pure meanness. Seems that happened a lot based on my explorations. That doesn’t seem to be the case in this will–I agree with others that he loves and trusts his wife and knows her needs.
I know kidney failure is usually the actual cause of death with congestive heart failure.
So interesting to hear your experience with this. I have no doubt you are right. What a terrible thing to do though, to play gotcha with a will. Creating trauma just to be mean.
I did not know that about kidney failure and congestive heart failure.
[…] Last June I posted Adrian’s probated will at Great-Grandpa’s Will […]