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DW carried our ancestral lineage down one more generation. Residences & events in DW's life: Moultrie Co, IL. He amassed hundreds of acres of land over the yearsas shown by the many entries in the county land records, the totalamount is not known. He bought from his in-laws, siblings, children,parents, and ordinary citizens of the county. 1900 Sullivan Twp, Moultrie Co, IL. According to the census hisbirthdate was 2/1860, not 1859 as family records state. He was listedas a farmer with 5 children. 10/19/1912 Brother, Elmer, sued DW and Laura for the sum of $2182.66and won. The court appointed 3 commissioners to appraise 40 acrescontaining the house "for the purpose of having a homestead of thevalue of One Thousand Dollars, including the dwelling house set off toyou (DW and Laura) and for your benefit as a homestead, if the samecould be done without injury to the interest of the parties therein."The appraisel came back stating it could not be divided and set thevaluation at $11,000. Details of the suit are not stated but from alater letter to Laura, one concludes that DW and Laura bought landfrom her brother, Chenny, for which Elmer must have loaned them themoney but they never paid Chenny in full or paid Elmer back. Bef 12/1913 Marion Co, IL. DW owned a farm near Salem which son,Robert, operated for about a year, having a daughter this date whileliving there. Abt 1919 He built a grand home which was known throughout the countyas the Van Gundy mansion. The Van Gundy Curve, on the northwest sideof Sullivan, is so known, because of the house's location. The housewas two story with a wraparound porch and lots of gingerbread. It wasthe first in the county with indoor plumbing and bathroom, and it hada basement with outside access so farm hands could shower and clean upbefore entering the house. To this day local residents always mention the "mansion" whenever theymeet someone with the Van Gundy name. 4/1924 DW took bankruptcy, the "report shows no property fordistribution among the creditors..." In view of all the assetsabove, this seems odd 4/8/1940 Marion Co, IL. DW sold the property that he had owned therefor at least the past 27 years, selling it by quit claim deed on thisdate to his 4 children for $1.00. Descendants told of a competition between DW and the local banker,each having extreme dislike for the other, each always trying to outdothe other. Following DW's death, the banker bought DW's land andrazed the mansion. |
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He died of a heart attack on the street at 16th & Broadway in Mattoon.His funeral was held
at the Christian Church in Sullivan, IL. His will, dated 1/29/1941, bequeathed $2250.00 each to sons, Robertand John. The balance of the estate was to be sold and dividedequally among the four children. Some of the children, beingdisatisfied with the terms of the will, threatened to break it incourt by having their father declared incompetent. An agreement wasnegotiated by their uncle, Elmer Van Gundy, to split the estateequally in exchange for his promise to make up the difference toRobert and John in his own will. However, Elmer never carried throughwith that promise. Other family members said DW intentionally triedto make up for unpaid loans by giving a lump sum to the children whodid not owe him money. Cancelled checks verified the childrenborrowed from their father regularly. Sons, Dewey and Robert, were co-executors of his estate. |