None
Will left behind
Estate entered intestate probate
400+
Properties in estate
Chicago and Cook County
2
Supreme Courts
Illinois and U.S. both ruled against heirs
55 yrs
Legal battles
Disputes continued until 1943
Seven Cases
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No Will Found
Amos Snell was murdered without leaving a will. His $2 million estate — 400 properties across Chicago — entered intestate probate, and the battles began immediately.
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Heirs v. State — Toll Road Rights
The heirs tried to keep collecting tolls on the Northwestern Plank Road. The Illinois Supreme Court said no — the franchise died with Snell.
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Snell Heirs v. Chicago — Federal Appeal
The heirs took their case all the way to Washington. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Illinois. The toll rights were gone forever.
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Mary Snell Stone — Adoption Dispute
Mary sued for her share of the estate. The court ruled she was an adopted daughter — not a biological heir — and denied her claim entirely.
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Albert Snell — Dissipation of Inheritance
Albert received his share and lost every penny of it. By 1901 he was living in the barn. He died in a rooming house in 1910 with nothing.
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Grace Snell — Multiple Marriages & Estate Claims
Grace ran away at 16 and married eight times. The press called her "The Most Married Woman in the World." Legal complications followed every union.
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Estate Battles Finally End
Fifty-five years after the murder, the last Snell estate disputes were finally settled. The fortune was gone. The courts were done.
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"The fortune that Amos Snell spent a lifetime building was entirely consumed by legal fees, family conflict, and mismanagement within two generations."