David McGinnis was apparently in very poor physical health for about five years toward the end of his life. He had asthma and could not work outside on his farm( 31 acres of mostly pasture land) or even go out to the local store for provisions, during the long, cold Crown Point winters. Hence, he had no income. So he became impoverished and depressed, according to testimony of his family and neighbors. He suicided by shotgun.
His surrogate papers( he died intestate) indicate that he had worked for Henry S. Betts and was described as having been a “hard worker.” His daughter, Fanny McGinnis Provencher, helped to support him for several years toward the end of his life. David’s sister, the musically talented Eleanor Jeanette McGinnis Betts, wife of Civil War veteran, Henry S. Betts, was referred to in the 1915 surrogate letters as an “invalid,” who could not visit her brother easily. She was in her sixties then.
The estate of David McGinnis was administered by his daughter, Fannie McGinnis Provencher. She decide not to hire an estate appraiser, because the appraiser’s fee would possibly exceed the value of his personal property. The most valuable items of his personal property were: 1 cow, $30.00; 1 horse, $20.00; 1 heavy wagon, $10.00; hay to be cut, $10.00; 5 hens, 1 rooster and a “stone boat(?); 1 sleigh, $1.00; 1 gun, $2.00; and 1 barrel of flour, $5.00. Other items of interest include two rocking chairs, a looking glass, a small picture and a large picture.
The amount received upon the sale of the personal property of the decedent was $123.65. The amount received from the proceeds of his real property was $325.00, giving a total value for his estate of $448.65 in 1915 dollars. Grace Wade McGinnis, the widow of David S. McGinnis, died seven days after the death of her husband.
