Vaiden,
Mississippi
The Rush Weir Story
Winona
Times, 02/02/1939, P. 2, Cols. 4 & 5. Richard Chalmers Weir Funeral services for Richard Chalmers Weir were
conducted at the Vaiden Presbyterian church on Monday morning, January 30, at
eleven o’clock by his pastor, the Rev. J.K. Parker, who was assisted by Dr.
J.B. Hutton, Presbyterian minister of Jackson, Dr. G.T. Gillespie, president
of Belhaven College, and the Rev. J.W. Young of Belhaven College. Interment was
in Vaiden cemetery with Lee Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. The deceased was the son of the late Dr. Hugh and
Jane Steel Weir and spent practically his entire life in Vaiden, Miss. He was
89 years old at the time of his death which was caused by a heart attack. Mr. Weir was very prominent and well-known for the
many wonderful deeds he has done and the large donation he made to church
institutions and schools. He was a man that wanted no publicity or praise but
who gave for the joy of giving. No near relatives survive. Active pallbearers were: Vernon Anderson, G.W.
Pullen, Claude Hatcher, Frank Hawkins, T.C. Vaiden, Percy Bennett, C.O.
Bennett, Ben Murphy. Honorary pallbearers were: A.J. Coleman, D.R. Hatcher, C.L. Armstrong, W.P.
Kennedy, W.A. Avery, John E. McClurg, V.D. Rowe,
B.W. Holmes, Will W. Milner, Rodney Armstrong, S.E. McConnico, A.J. Stevens,
Jr., J.H. Canon, Cal Coleman, J.H. Hawkins, Jr., Leo Rosenthal, Abb Simpson, W. Calvin Wells, Sr., Tom L. Haman, Sam
Wright, John C. Calhoun, T.W. Woodward, R.F. Sabin, Earl Brewer, A.R.
Tillman, Will H. Watkins, E.E. Laird, Carl Marshall, David Sanderson, Cr.
C.D. Alexander, Dr. M.E. Arrington, Dr. D.J. Murphy, Geo. I. Donald, Fred C.
Smith, J.W. George, J.H. Armstrong, Howard Grantham. Vaiden School
Given $25,000
Coleman, Stevens And Rowe Named Executors In Last Will
Winona Times,
February 3, 1939. P. 1, P. 4. [Ed. Note:
Corrections to Punctuation Only] The Vaiden High School was given $25,000 to be used by the trustees of the school in any manner they might see fit as provided in the last will of R.C. Weir, who died Sunday morning at his home in Vaiden with a heart attack. Mr. Weir’s will was written back in August, 1938,
by V.D. Rowe, local attorney, and the will set out twelve items which he
desired as follows: Item 1 – That the just debts and funeral expenses
be paid. Items 2, 3, and 4 – That his cousins Bessie Ervine and
Faith Thompson,
both of Raphine, Virginia, and Miss Elnora [Eleanore]
Whipple, of Virginia, each be given $10,000 out of his personal estate. Item 5 - leaves to the Mississippi Children’s Home
of Jackson $20,000. Item 6 - shows his desire that the Old Ladies’
Home in Jackson be given $20,000. It
is said that Mr. Weir has many years past borne the expense of one month out
of each year for running the Old Ladies’ Home in Jackson. This was kept very secretive by the few who
know of the wonderful work he was doing with his money. Item 7 - states his wish that the Vaiden High
School be given $25,000 to be turned over to the school trustees to be used
in any way they might see fit for the betterment of the educational
facilities of the Vaiden School. Item 8 - set out his desire that Miss Bessie DeRamus* be supported and maintained out of
his personal estate for the remainder of her life. (see below for detail) In Item 9 - A.J. Coleman, Jr., of Vaiden, and Hon.
V.D. Rowe, of Winona were named as executors to carry out his will without
orders from the court and requiring no bond. Items 10 and 11 - were instructions to the
executors that all of his real estate and personal property be sold by the
executors as they see fit either as a whole or in part or in any way they
think best. Item 12 - sets out that he wants the remainder of
his estate after the other items are taken care of to be distributed equally
among the three state owned schools, the University of Mississippi, at
Oxford, Mississippi State College, State College, Mississippi, and
Mississippi State College for Women, at Columbus. Mr. Weir was 89 years of age at the time of his
death and was a man who never told or bragged of his earthly belongings. Several months ago he gave $135,000 to
Belhaven College and never let it be known who gave the money. He has educated many boys and girls in the state
without anyone knowing where the money was coming from. He was a devout member of the Presbyterian
Church and a great believer in education.
It is believed that he gave more money to church institutions and to
the betterment of the educational facilities than any one person in
Mississippi. His 89 years on earth were spent in helping others
and not working for praise or publicity. He was a careful business man and was always sure
of his investments and when he made a dollar he received great pleasure out
of spending it for the betterment of humanity. * [Ed.
Note: Bessie Deramus died on February 2, 1939, at the age of 22,
just 4 days after Mr. Weir’s death.
She is buried at the head of Mr. Weir’s grave.]
In Full, Item 8 of the Weir will states, as follows: I hereby provide for the support and
maintenance of Miss Bessie De Ramus, of Vaiden, Mississippi, in the manner
following, to-wit: the executors of this will hereinafter appointed shall
continue to support and maintain the said Miss Bessie De Ramus in the same
manner I have been and am now supporting and maintaining her, by paying her
board in a reasonable amount, also reasonable amounts for her clothing,
medicines, and to her for her personal spending money, this to continue as
long as the said Miss Bessie De Ramus lives, such expenditures by my said
executors to be made out of the proceeds of the sale of my real estate as
hereinafter directed as long as such proceeds of real estate last, and
thereafter out of my personal estate.
Source: Carroll County Will Book 2, Page 38-39. Weir
Article -- Date Unknown
Court Decision
Gives Funds to State Schools
The
Conservative, Carrollton, MS. June
6, 1941. P.1 Conclusion is Reached by Supreme Court in Disposition of R.C. Weir Estate In a decision affecting disposal of the estate of R.C. Weir, late Carroll County Philanthropist, the Supreme Court last week made available approximately $235,000 which is to be divided among Mississippi State College, the University, and MSCW, at Columbus. Mr. Weir, who died
January 29, 1939, requested in his will that proceeds from the sale of
lands – after certain specified legacies were affected – were to be endowed
to the three institutions*, but litigation
filed by three cousins of Mr. Weir had kept the case in court. Each of the cousins under terms of the testament,
was left $10,000 each but they attacked the proposed land sale under Section
169 of the 1890 code, which says, in effect, that “every bequest of any money
directed to be raised by sale of lands, to any body politic, in trust, for
the purpose of being appropriated to charitable uses shall be void.” The statute was enacted, the court pointed out, to
prevent evils “which provoked early mortmain statutes.” In the election last fall, Mississippi
approved a mortmain amendment to the constitution which makes it possible to
make such bequests in contradiction to provisions of the ancient law. However, the will was probated before the
new law became effective. Executors filed a bill to cancel all claims of the
cousins to the lands directed to be sold for the institutions, and they were
joined in this action by the institutions themselves. In Carroll County Chancery Court, the cousins were
upheld in their claims, based on the old law, but the supreme court overruled
this decision by declaring the revenues were to be “used by the state” since
the schools are state supported and actually “an arm of the state.” Both Chief Justice Sydney Smith and Associate
Justice W.D. Anderson dissented, but in the majority opinion, Associate
Justice Julian Alexander said: “Had R.C. Weir died intestate and without
legal heirs, the lands would have passed on to the state by escheat. Does it comport with logic or public policy
that while one’s lands may be given to the state by default, a testator may not
by solemn and deliberate testamentary act make the state and those whom it
serves the object of his bounty? We
think not.” Judge Alexander said the outlawed statute is “not
applicable to bequest to the state, and therefore the three institutions are
entitled to share in the residuary estate in conformity.” It was estimated that $235,000 will be available
for the institutions, which will be divided equally. Under a cash settlement of Mr. Weir’s will,
each of the three schools had already received $50,000. Report from the State College indicated the funds
will be used in part to finance construction of a gymnasium, a need long felt
at the campus, while MSCW is planning a remodeling program for the science
building. [NOTE: This case is cited as Coleman v. Whipple, 191 Miss. 287, 2 So. 2d 566
(1941).] *Weir’s bequest to the University of
Mississippi (Ole Miss) funded WEIR HALL on that
campus. The Vaiden School Building was built by the WPA in 1941 from the
$25,000 that Weir donated + an additional $15,000. It is known as the R.C. Weir Memorial
Building.
The Last Will and Testament of Rush C. Weir is as
follows (typed verbatim with exact punctuation, underlining, capitalization,
etc., however active links (in
blue) have been added). Last Will
and Testament of R.C. Weir I, R.C.
Weir, a resident of the Town of Vaiden, County of Carroll, State of
Mississippi, being of sound and disposing mind, memory and understanding,
above the age of twenty-one years, and conscious of the uncertainty of human
life, do hereby make, publish and declare this my last will and testament for
the purpose of making disposition of all property I may own or have any
interest in at the time of my death, in manner? following, to-wit: Item One. I
direct that all of my just debts and funeral expenses be paid. Item
Two. I hereby give and bequeath unto my cousin, Miss Bessie Ervine, of
Raphine, Virginia, the sun of TEN Thousand Dollars; provided she be
living at the time of my death, and I hereby stipulate that if she, the said
Miss Bessie Ervine, be not living at the time of my death, then and in that
event the legacy here bequeathed unto her shall become a part of the residue
of my estate; and I further direct that the legacy here provided for the said
Miss Bessie Ervine shall be paid out of the proceeds of the sale of my real
estate, until such proceeds of the sale of my real estate are exhausted, and
the balance, if any, of this legacy shall then be paid out of the residue of
my estate. Item
Three. I hereby give and bequeath unto my cousin, Miss Faith Thompson, of
Raphine Virginia, the sum of TEN Thousand Dollars: provided she be
living at the time of my death, and I hereby stipulate that if she, the said
Miss Faith Thompson, be not living at the time of my death, then and in that
event the legacy here bequeathed unto her shall become a part of the residue
of my estate; and I further direct that the legacy here provided for the said
Miss Faith Thompson shall be paid out of the proceeds of the sale of my real
estate, until such proceeds of the sale of my real estate are exhausted, and the
balance, if any, of this legacy shall be paid out of the residue of my
estate. Item Four. I hereby give and bequeath
unto my cousin, Mrs. Elnora Whipple, of Brownsburg?, Virginia, the sum of TEN
Thousand Dollars; provided she be living at the time of my death, and I
hereby stipulate that if she, the said Mrs. Elnora Whipple, be not living at
the time of my death, then and in that event the legacy here bequeathed unto
her shall become a part of the residue of my estate; and I further direct
that the legacy here provided for the said Elnora Whipple shall be paid out
of the proceeds of the sale of my real estate, until such proceeds of the
sale of my real estate are exhausted, and the balance, if any, of this legacy
shall be paid out of the residue of my estate. Item Five. I hereby give and bequeath
unto the Mississippi Children’s Home Society, of Jackson, Mississippi, the sum
of TWENTY Thousand Dollars. Item Six. I hereby give and bequeath
unto the Old Ladies Home Association, of Jackson,
Mississippi, the sum of TWENTY, Thousand Dollars. Item Seven. I hereby give and bequeath
unto the Trustees of the Vaiden Separate School District, of the Town of
Vaiden, Mississippi, and their successors in office the sum of TWENTY-FIVE
Thousand Dollars, to be used for the benefit and improvement of the
school operated by them in said Vaiden Separate School District for WHITE
children of said Vaiden Separate School District, as in the wisdom and
judgment of said Trustees is proper. Item Eight. I hereby provide for the
support and maintenance of Miss Bessie De Ramus,
of Vaiden, Mississippi, in the manner following, to-wit: the executors of
this will hereinafter appointed shall continue to support and maintain the
said Miss Bessie De Ramus in the same manner I have been and am now
supporting and maintaining her, by paying her board in a reasonable amount,
also reasonable amounts for her clothing, medicines, and to her for her
personal spending money, this to continue as long as the said Miss Bessie De
Ramus lives, such expenditures by my said executors to be made out of the
proceeds of the sale of my real estate as hereinafter directed as long as
such proceeds of real estate last, and thereafter out of my personal estate. Item Nine. I hereby appoint my
friends, A.J. Coleman, of
Vaiden, Mississippi, A.J. Stevens, Jr.,
of the Vaiden Office or Branch of the Bank of West, of West, Mississippi, and
V.D. Rowe, of
Winona, Mississippi, as executors of this my last will and testament, and
having full faith in their integrity, I direct that no bond be required of
them in the performance of their duties as such executors. Item Ten. I hereby direct that my said
executors shall sell the real estate that I now own at the time of my death,
and for this purpose I hereby clothe my said executors, or the survivor or
survivors of them, with full power to sell and convey by deed or deeds with
general warranty of title, all of my real estate, as a whole or in parcels,
to one purchaser or to different purchasers, without any order of court to
authorize or confirm such sales, and such sales to be either private or
public, as my said executors deem best. Item Eleven. I hereby empower my said
executors, or the survivor or survivors of them, to sell and dispose of all
personal properties, securities and choses in action belonging to my estate,
without the necessity of any order of court authorizing or confirming such
sales. Item Twelve.
All the balance, residue and remainder of my estate, after payment of
expenses of administration thereof, I do hereby give and bequeath as follows:
(a)
THIRTY-THREE and one-third per
centum thereof to the University of Mississippi, located at or near Oxford,
in Lafayette County, Mississippi, by payment thereof to the Trustees of said
University of Mississippi, for use by such Trustees for the benefit and
improvement of the educational facilities of said University of Mississippi, that
such Trustees, in their wisdom and judgment, may deem proper; (b)
THIRTY-THREE and one-third per
centum thereof to the Mississippi State College, primarily known as the
Agricultural and Mechanical College, located at or near Starkville, in
Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, by payment thereof to the Trustees of the said
Mississippi State College, for use by such Trustees for the benefit and
improvement of the educational facilities of said Mississippi State College,
as such Trustees, in their wisdom and judgment may deem proper; (c)
THIRTY-THREE and one-third per
centum thereof to the Mississippi State College for Women, located at Columbus,
Mississippi, by payment thereof to the Trustees of the said Mississippi State
College for Women, for use by such Trustees for the benefit and improvement
of the educational facilities of said Mississippi State College for Women, as
such Trustees, in their wisdom and judgment may deem proper. IN
TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I hereunto set my hand, at Winona, Mississippi, this 21st
day of September, 1938. R.C.
Weir Signed,
published and declared by said testator, R.C. Weir, as and for his last will
and testament, in the presence of us, who, at his request and in his presence
and in the presence of each other, hereunto subscribe our names as witnesses hereunto,
this 21st day of September, 1938. B.F.
Heath H.T.
Holmes Source: Carroll County Will Book 2, Page
38-39. More Information on Vaiden’s
Schools
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