“A parent’s devotion’ - Daughters of pioneer Brazito resident involved in lawsuit settled by state’s supreme court

George Zillig immigrated from Germany to the community of Brazito, becoming a farmer, blacksmith, merchant and founding member of Friedens Church. Following his death in 1926, vagueness in the terms of his will resulted in two of his daughters becoming involved in a lawsuit settled by the Missouri Supreme Court. Courtesy of Friedens Church

The passing of a parent can lead to strife within a family as arguments can ensue regarding the true intent of one’s final wishes and the distribution of assets. The Zilligs, an early immigrant family to the Brazito area, suffered such a situation that resulted in a legal entanglement between sisters eventually settled through a decision of the Missouri Supreme Court.
 
George Zillig was born in Bavaria in 1845 and, according to his obituary, immigrated to the United States in 1869. He went on to become one of the early settlers in the Brazito area and married Henrietta Werkmann in 1872. Seeking to provide for his family that grew to four sons and three daughters, Zillig opened a blacksmith shop in addition to farming. Very active in community affairs, Zillig was a charter member of Friedens Church in Brazito when it was organized in 1902. As a pillar within the community, he was also offered a special position of service to his neighbors.
 
“Charles Arnhold has resigned as postmaster of Brazito,” the Daily Post printed on October 25, 1915. “His successor has not been named for the reason no one seems to desire the job and responsibilities attached thereto at the small salary paid. Mr. George Zillig has been offered the position.”
 
Arnhold, like Zillig, was a charter member of Friedens Church and operated the Arnhold Store, established years earlier by his father. George Zillig purchased the store and it was later run in partnership by his children, Herman, William, and Lydia.

“Mrs. George Zillig passed away this morning at the family home at Brazito,” reported the Daily Democrat-Tribune on November 26, 1923. “Mrs. Zillig was 74 years of age and highly respected in that community.”
 
The concerns of family property and the beginning of strife between siblings began to unfold three years later, with the passing of their patriarch. The 80-year-old George Zillig died April 23, 1926, and was laid to rest alongside his wife in the cemetery at Friedens Church.
 
At the time of George Zillig’s death, four of his seven children were living with him at his home in Brazito—his sons, Henry, William and Herman, and his daughter, Lydia. For many years, Lydia had helped care for her parents while also working full-time. In his will, Zillig left his land and home to Lydia, explaining that his other personal property should be auctioned and distributed among his children.
 
The Zillig family operated the store until the mid-1930s, at which time the business was sold to Norman George Busch.
 
A suit filed by Lydia against her younger sister, Emma Patzer, in the early 1950s noted, “Before this suit was commenced, all three brothers died single, unmarried and without issue.”
 
Two years after their father’s death, in 1928, all of Zillig’s children conveyed to the Brazito Farmers Telephone Company for the sum of $50.00 a tract of land 100 square feet in size for the telephone exchange building. In 1934, Lydia deeded to the State Highway Commission a strip 40 feet wide of their home place for the construction and right-of-way for State Highway 54.
 
The general merchandise store operated by the Zillig family for many years was never in question since the building had been rented and the business operated by George’s children. 
 
“(Patzer) contends that her father failed to name or provide for her in his will, and, therefore, died intestate to her; and that under Sec. 468.290 she was entitled to one-seventh interest in the land and has inherited additional interests from two of her brothers …” explained a Missouri Supreme Court case summary.
 
By the early 1950s, Lydia Zillig, who never married, was planning to sell the homeplace and move to Kansas to live with her brother Otto. The suit would determine whether she had the legal authority to sell the property.
 
“We think the reasonable construction of the will is that only Lydia was to have anything more than an equal share of (her father’s) property and that he meant that, except for the specific property given to Lydia, everything else went to all of his children equally,” the March 12, 1956, opinion noted. It added, “We, therefore, hold that (Emma Patzer) has no interest in the land involved.”
 
The Miller County Autogram printed on October 21, 1954, “Several people from this community attended Miss Lydia Zillig’s sale at Brazito on Saturday.” On the same date, the Eldon Advertiser shared, “Miss Lydia Zillig, who has lived in this community almost her entire life is leaving for Kansas City to reside.”
 
Lydia Zillig lived out the remainder of her days in Overland Park, Kansas, where she made her home with her younger brother. She was 89 years old when she passed away on August 3, 1972. Her body was returned to Brazito and interred in the cemetery of Friedens Church.
 
“One only has to watch aging siblings scrap over the worthless pots and pans and scuffed furniture of a deceased parent's estate- like toddlers over toys- to see how desperate is the need to wrest some last, pathetic, tangible measure of their parent's devotion,” wrote author Victoria Secunda.
 
What should rise to the top of the legacy left by George Zillig is that of a young immigrant who imparted his best in helping establish the Brazito community and a church, both of which have outlasted and outshined any remnants of forgotten family strife.
 
Jeremy P. Ämick is author of the history compilation “Moments on the Moreau.” 

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Lydia was one of three daughters of George Zillig. She not only worked full-time with her brothers in their Brazito general store but helped care for her parents in their later years. Courtesy of Friedens Church