Complex sentence: On January 2,1873, Dewey's mansion was destroyed in a fire, and he was forced to give up the property to pay his creditors; the estate passed into the ownership of Walter C. Newberry of Chicago.
Split into simpler sentences: On January 2,1873, Dewey's mansion was destroyed in a fire, and he was forced to give up the property to pay his creditors. His property passed into the ownership of Walter C. Newberry of Chicago.