The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-03-20 00:00:00

THE CLAMANT FOR ESTATES IN
IRELAND.

The Central News Dublin correspondent on Satur-
day had an interview with Mr. Frank Flood, the
American who has travelled to Ireland to establish
his claim to valuable estates in county Kilkenny.
According to the claimant, King Charles I. granted
the estates to a distinguished soldier, Colonel William
Warden, who had three children—Henry, John, and
Anne. His sons died without issue. Anne married
Major Francis Flood, an English officer, residine
on a neighbouring estate at Callan. He took
the Warden property in right of his wife,
and was the founder of the Flood family in
Ireland. There were issue of the marriage seven
sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Warden
Flood, became Lord Chief Justice of Ireland,
and by his marriage with a Miss Whiteside had
three children, of whom the survivor was the states-
man, Henry Flood, the contemporary of Chatham,
Pitt and Grattan. The Great Harry Flood, as he
was called, married Lady Beresford, daughter of the
Earl of Tyrone, and died without issue. By his will
in 1790, subject to a life estate te his wife, he de-
vised the estates to Trinity College, Dublin. in fee
to establish a professorship of the native Erse, or
Irish language, but the then Lord Chancellor Manners
and Lord Chief Justice Downes held that no legal
estate passed to the college, there being no statute
enabling a person to devise to bodies corporate, and
that the gift over to charitable uses was not such that
a court of equity ought to execute. Thus Henry's
line becoming extinct, the property became vested in
John Flood, grandson of the founder of the family.
John Flood made his will in 1807 devising the lands
to Lord Doneraile and Richard Aldworth in trust to
the use of his eldest son John for life, with remainder
in tail mate, and with similar remainder respecting
his other children, Robert and Elizabeth; failing
which "to the use of his own right heirs for ever,
and to and for no other use, intent or purpose what-
soever." John died in 18:38 without issue, and,
anticipating that his brother Robert and sister Eliza-
beth would also die without issue, he directed the
lands to be sold. Robert predeceased him, and
Elizabeth, who succeeded to the property died
in 1857 without issue. She assigned the lands
to William Lloyd, the defendant in the action
brought by the present claimant, conditionally on
his assuming the surname of Flood and the Flood
family arms. It is also alleged that the defendant
bought tho lands under the power of sale in John's
will from the trustees. The defendant is a graduate
of Cambridge, and married Miss Hanford, daughter
of an English baronet, through whom he derived
estates in Worcestershire. He accordingly took the
surname of Hanford, so that his name is given in the
writ, with aliases, the last being William Lloyd Han-
ford Flood. The claimant maintains that on the
death of Elizabeth the rightful heir was his brother
Henry, a lunatic, who died in America on May 4,
1881, without issue, leaving the claimant, his next
brother, heir-at-law. Asked, why he did not assert
his claim before, Mr. Flood said he left Ireland in
his boyhood, during the famine period, and that
family affairs induced him to return to Ireland in
1875, when he obtained his own baptismal and his
father's marriage certificates; but he could do nothing
during his brother's lifetime. In August last he again
visited Ireland, and ever since has been engaged in
searching registries and hunting up information. He
has served notice on the tenants cautioning them
against paying rent to the defendant. On the other
hand, the defendant puts the claimant upon proof of
title, and pleads the statute of limitations. He has
retained the Attorney-General, Mr. Walker. The
claimant says he is sanguine of winning on his docu-
mentary proofs, which are of considerable volume.