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William's brother, George, age 69, and George's third wife Josephine (Burford) Biddulph, age
<br />44, inside their home at 25896 Butternut Ridge Road (which was declared a North Olmsted
<br />Landmark in December 2011). George had murdered Josephine with a shotgun and then taken
<br />his own life with an old fashioned pistol. The motive was not known. It was a sensational story at
<br />the time.
<br />William Biddulph passed away at age 74, on November 25, 1922. Anna was 54, Josephine was
<br />27 and Ruth was 25, when William died. He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery next to his first
<br />wife, Thirza. In June of 1922, five months before his death, William had deeded one acre of his
<br />land to Anna. In his will, William "devised" to Anna, the "house in which he currently resides"
<br />and the one acre of properiy that overlapped the northeast corner of Lot 4 and the southeast
<br />corner of Lot 14 (now 4322 Porter Road). William's three sons, John, Frank and Ralph inherited
<br />the balance of William's "property and buildings" on Lots 4 and 14. The property and its
<br />buildings can be seen on a 1930 map of North Olmsted Village, and are labeled as being owned
<br />by the three Biddulph brothers. The one acre of property given to Anna can also be seen outlined
<br />on the map. William's will, the 1930 map, and the events outlined below, more than strongly
<br />suggest that, at the time of William's death in 1922, he and Anna were living in the 1910 house
<br />that is now 4322 Porter Road. Ralph and Lucy, who were by then the parents of three or four
<br />children, were almost certainly living in the stone house at 4302 Porter Road.
<br />After his father's death, Ralph Biddulph and his family lived in the stone house for another two
<br />years. Ralph continued farming the land. In 1924, Ralph founded the North Olmsted Basket and
<br />Feed Company, and purchased land at 26903 Butternut Ridge Road to build a new home for his
<br />family. Ralph and Lucy most likely moved into their new home in 1925. The Biddulph brothers
<br />presumably began renting the stone house after Ralph moved out. The tenants, or hired workers,
<br />may have farmed the land. Anna continued living in the house she inherited from William.
<br />In 1928, the Biddulph brothers, for the sum of $1.00, deeded a strip of land, forty feet wide and
<br />thirteen hundred and sixteen feet long, along the entire western edge of their property, to the
<br />Village of North Olmsted. The land contained one-half the width of the existing "Biddulph
<br />Drive" (now lrnown as Martin Drive).
<br />Sometime after William's death in 1922, (the date is unknown) Anna Biddulph married Arthur
<br />E. Weston. Arthur was obviously a man of some means. He owned seven sublots on Lot 47, and
<br />a parcel of land on Lot 48, along Hall (Columbia) Road, in Dover Township. Anna and Arthur
<br />may have lived in the house she inherited from William.
<br />Anna Biddulph Weston died on April 16, 1933, at age 65. Stunningly, Arthur died just six days
<br />later, on April 22nd. Anna's will directed that her daughters, Josephine Limpert and Ruth
<br />Schindler, and her husband, Arthur Weston, each be given one-third ownership of her one acre of
<br />property on Lots 4 and 14. The stone house was not described or mentioned 'm Anna's will.
<br />These events, and the associated deeds, further serve to illustrate that ownership of the majority
<br />of William Biddulph's property, the stone house, and other buildings, had remained with Anna's
<br />stepsons, John, Frank and Ralph. Additional events that occurred after Anna's death also support
<br />this conclusion.
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