Anthony Leffel's Will and Probate, part 3

Anthony Leffel Probate

David Miller Leffel Heirs

Of special interest to the descendants of David Miller Leffel, is page 4 of the Distribution of the Will in the previous post on Anthony Leffel's Will part 2.  Since David Miller Leffel died prior to his father, all of his heirs are mentioned in the will of their grandfather, Anthony Leffel.

Anthony Leffel's Will
Heirs of David M. Leffel

All of David's children moved to Texas except for the oldest son, William Jefferson Leffel, who lived in Miami County, Ohio.  William was given Power of Attorney by his siblings to act in their behalf in the estate of their grandfather.  This created all kinds of documents back and forth between the heirs in Texas and the administrator of the estate in Ohio.  Below is just one example of a receipt found in the probate file.  This receipt shows that "George L. Leffel one of the children of David M. Leffel, deceased late of Texas" received his final distribution of his share of the estate through his brother, William J. Leffel, acting as his attorney in fact.

Prior to finding this probate file, David's daughter, Sarah Ann Leffel had been a mystery.  She was listed in the 1850 Census in Champaign County, Ohio with her parents, but that had been the only record I had of her until she showed up in her grandfather's will.  Once I found her married name, I was able to locate her marriage record in Grayson County, Texas.  The name on her marriage record was different -- Elizabeth S. A. Leffel instead of Sarah Ann Leffel.  Probably one of the reasons she had remained a mystery.

Marriage Record for Sarah Leffel to William S Counts
4 Jun 1860, Grayson County, Texas 

By the time of the final distributions of the estate in 1880, the papers refer to the heirs of Sarah Ann Counts, so that means Sarah had passed away leaving her distribution to her heirs.  And, since she never showed up in any census record as a married woman with her husband and/or children, her family was unknown to present Leffel family researchers until being mentioned as heirs in grandfather Anthony Leffel's will.

Sarah Ann Leffel Counts had three children that are known:  Eliza Jane Counts, Joseph F. Counts, and David Counts.  Because their mother Sarah Ann Leffel Counts and grandfather David Miller Leffel had passed away before the distribution of the estate was completed, each is mentioned in their great-grandfather's probate documents.

In this first document, Eliza J. Quirk (daughter of Sarah Ann Leffel Counts) and J H Quirk her husband appoint an attorney to represent them.

The document below is an affidavit signed by J. G. Quirk of Cooke County, Texas stating that "David Counts...died at the residence of his sister, Mrs. Eliza J. Quirk, in the city of Gainesville, Texas on the 31st day of August 1883... said Counts died without issue." 

In the guardianship document below, Anthony M. Leffel of Hood County, Texas was given guardianship of Joseph F. Counts, a minor.