I have spoken of Henry and Henrietta Schnepel frequently in previous articles. The John McDonald ranch is their legacy. Henry and Henrietta had a daughter Matilda born in Missouri in 1858. She married John D. Wenandy in Anaconda on September 11, 1877. Apparently the marriage was short lived as Matilda was back living with Mom and Dad by the 1880 Federal census with her 2 year old son, John Henry.
Research fails to reveal when Matilda remarried, but by 1887 the news articles spoke of Henrietta, Matilda and her husband D.A. “Archie” McPhail moving to the upper ranch after Henry died in 1886. They built a beautiful large brick house that was enjoyed by Matilda for only a short time. Matilda was reported ill the last week of May and by the June 1, 1888 Mail “ The severe sickness of Mrs. Archie McPhail reported in last weeks Mail, culminated in her death last Friday afternoon about 5 o’clock. The article does not speak of her son John Henry, who would have been about 10 years old.
On July 30, 1897 the Mail carried the following story: “Henry Schnepel, the adopted son of Mrs. Henrietta Schnepel, and James Edwards, both of this place, were captured on the Georgetown flats last Saturday by Stock Detective J.W. Collins, who caught them in the act of driving a band of 23 cattle towards the city… Schnepel and Edwards were lodged in jail and the stock were returned to their owners in that vicinity. The prisoners were given a preliminary hearing before Justice of the Peace Burns in South Butte, at which time they were granted one week in which to summon witnesses in their behalf. Young Schnepel is very well known throughout this section…Henry is not yet twenty years of age and Edwards is about 30.”
Research found in the March 19, 1897 Mail “…At the last session of the Grand Jury an indictment was found against a certain person, then in Granite County, charging him with cattle stealing. His arrest was ordered and bonds fixed at $1,000, but as yet the arrest has not been made, and until he can be found his identity is secret to the county officers.”
The next weeks Mail stated “ while endeavoring to break a fractious bronco one day last week, Henry Schnepel was kicked in the face by the animal…” The August 13, 1897 Mail states “Schnepel arrested a second time, again for stealing cattle.” Then in October a letter was published from Henry and James denying guilt and stating they were not going to accept a plea bargain for an eighteen month sentence, as was being rumored.
The June 25, 1900, Daily Intermountain carried the following article: "Schnepel Pardoned…Governor Smith pardoned Henry who was sent to the penitentiary last February for grand larceny . Convicted in October 1897 he secured a new trial and was out on bail when the supreme Court reversed the ruling and granted a new trial. J. Edwards was acquitted of the crime…”
All was silent until Henrietta died, with her obituary on March 27, 1908 stating “the remains will be embalmed and held until the arrival of Henry Wenandy, Mrs. Schnepel’s grandson, who is on his way from Bend, Oregon…”
Henrietta Schnepel (Picture from "Philipsburg: The McDonald Family")
On April 3, 1908 was a statement reading” A will which was received this week is sealed but according to friends, Mrs. Schnepel bequeaths to her grandson $4,500 which he is to draw from the bank in monthly installments not to exceed $50…” In August 1908 was the headlines ‘He Wants it All” Henry had filed in Butte an action against all the named recipients of Henrietta’s will and insisted he had a right to everything that was left when Henry Schnepel died in 1886. The suit included John J. McDonald and his wife Louise, who were operating the Schnepel Ranch and had legally bought it on April 8, 1899.
During the course of this lawsuit it was disclosed that Grandmother had basically bought Henry out of his troubles with the law and gave him some money to buy him out of his inheritance. Henry signed a release to any further claims. He moved to Oregon and set up a business, changing his name back to Wenandy. The legal wrangling continued until January 6, 1911 when it went to Federal Court.
Finally on July 28, 1915 the Mail article states “McDonald Wins” After much to do the original Judge had been disqualified and Judge Rudkin of Spokane had ruled that Wenandy had received his benefits and now must abide by the rules…and had set aside all claims to the estate by settling for $3,000 in 1901. Obviously, “Cattle Rustling Henry” spent most, if not all of his inheritance, fighting against a very savvy Grandmother.
No comments:
Post a Comment