Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1866-08-10
THE mnnERn NOME nHaIsTn.


For some weeks past the interest Of
the whole country has been excited by
paragraphs 10 the papers, relating TO "a
fortune Of $50 ,000,00J, in England, said
to have fallen to Mr.. Halsey Church, Of
Stock bridge, Massachusetts, and turned
over by hInI to his daughter and her hus-
! band, a mechanic named Eli Walker,
residing in Hartford, Connecticut We
shall probably astonish our readers this
morning by informing them that the
claims Of Mr.. Halsey Church and of his
/ daughter, Mis-. Eli Walker, have been
completely overturned, and that the real
| heir to this vast piece of property is an
old resident of Erie county who for
! thirty years has been living upon mod
/ est farm within sixteen miles Of Buffalo.
/ The Monte Christie thus suddenly elevat-
/ ed to rank among the Rothschilds and
/ Astors, is Mr. John Church. of West
/ phalls, in the township of Aurora
A week ago Saturday last, as Mr..
! Church was reading the Christian acYo-
cate, to which he piOUsly subscrlbes, ms
eye fell upon one of the paragraphs to
which we have alluded, and his system,
we suppose, must have been slowly cleo
tri6ed by the intelligence it bore him.
In the name of Mr.. Halsey Church, he
recognized that of a younger brother, for
forty years neither seen nor heard from
Forty years ago, 1t seems, this John
Church, now nearly eighty years OF age,
left his family relatives at East Haddam,
Massachusetts,, under some circumstances
of disagreement which prevented any
communication, and then emigrated to
the then Far West" of Western New
York Never afterward heard from by
his Younger brother, Halsey the latter,
long ago, resigned himself to the cOnvlc-
ton that death had left him (Halsey)
alone, the solitary representative OF the
family of Church.
For thirty years, as we have SAID, Mr..
John Church has been living at West
phalls, on little farm of twenty-five or
thirty acres, worth at the utmost, not
more than 50, 900 or $3 600, cOntented, no
doubt, with his possessions, and never
dreaming of wealth, beyond the little to
be gathered from his scanty acres. His
first glimpse of the gorgeous vision which
such figures as $35, ,00O,00 summon up,
was caught, as we have said, week ago
last Saturday. The Monday following,
advised and prompted by some Of his
neighbors, Mr.. Church came to this city
and that evening took passage upon the
cars bound for Massachusetts. -Four
days ago, his family received letters from
him. announcing the complete success OF
his mission. Mr. Halsey Church had
recognized him as his elder brother and
the rightful heir to these thirty nYe MIL
lions, and the Walker family had. aDan-
doned their proposed visit to England,
after a fruitless attempt, through Cover
nor Seymour to obtain power Of attorney
from him. What his next step will be,
we cannot say. The age of Mr.. Church
will undoubtedly prevent his visiting
England in person, but some of his Ramiy
ly may be expected to make the journey
soon.
The great fortune of Mr.. Church con
sists, in the main, we understand, Of
British government securities, but IN
cludes two large estates on the Thames,
not very distant from London. It de-
seends from a great grandfather of Mr..
Church, and has been held for many
years past by an elder brother of Thomas
Church, his father, who came to this
some time in the last century
The late possessor died without heirs. and
his $35, ,000,0 600 have been patiently wait
ing several months for the American de-
scendents of Thomas Church to present
Buffalo E.rpress, July %.