Barney Johnson of Mayer, Minn. sent me this tale of honesty from long in the past:
My mother's family members were Griffiths. My great-great grandparents divorced in 1862, with my great-great grandfather spiriting the eldest son back to Pennsylvania to live with Griffiths. The youngest son, Thaddeus, was given up for adoption.
My great-great grandfather remarried in Iowa and had two children, a boy and a girl. The son was named Clark C. Griffith.
Thaddeus knew he was adopted and eventually learned of his brother and half-brother, but must not have known much about them. He assumed the Clark C. Griffith who owned the Washington Senators was his half-brother (he was not).
In his will, Thaddeus left the Senators owner $10. I don't know if this was a lot for 1943 or an insult. He also left Clark C.'s three children, Mildred, Thelma and Calvin C. $100 each.
Clark and his family knew it was a mistake and donated their share, half to Father Flanagan's Boys Town, and half to the Methodist Church that Thaddeus belonged to.
I hope this adds to your appreciation for baseball lore. -- Barney.
[Clarification: Mildred, Thelma and Calvin were the three oldest Robertson children from Montreal, two nieces and a nephew to Clark C. Calvin and Thelma came to Washington, D.C. to live with Clark and his wife (their aunt) and later inherited the Griffith share of the Senators.]
