The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1867-11-30
An American Claim 10 an E,ig-
1IsIl CITY.

\ meeting Of about two hundred Of the Ingra-
ham family. representing delegates from all the
New England AMI several other States. assembled
IN the Actor House. New York. un the 9th ult..
70 take action concerning the right of the family
10 possession. under the Will Of Joseph Wilson
Of Yorkshire, England, 10 tue whole land On
which the city of Leeds stands. The vii. in ques-
ton had been missing. but had recently been dis
covered. and the meeting agreed 70 raise 500 600
by subscription 10 purchase IL for SlO. 600. ut
which value IL l. held by it, present owner OF
Owncrs- who besides exact One-tenth of the pro-
occls, should the reputel heirs come into posses
zion Of their property. The following i the his
tory Of the claim
=. This remarkable claim 70 lands which were
bc1uesthei nearly 2u0 wears ago. and on which an
Dpulcnt and busy city Of 30 900 population has
been built. involves a lO;e story which might
form the thread Of a readable romance. The
daughter Of Joseph Wilson. u wealthy irecholder
u proud descent. married, without her fathers
approval, Edward Cowell, Il ~plebeian Of York
shire, and the Young couple. renowned bv VIII
son. cmigrated 10 the american Colonies and east
their lot in Boston. in lO>O Wilson died. with
cut. however, rc!enting toward his daughter, and
when his ls-t testament was opened IL appeared
that he bad given his property, consisting OF lands
on the river AiTc-abDut six miles in length by
three in width-to his granddaughter, Sarah Cow
ell. ~entailing il, however, 10 the fourth generation.
The VIII was sent To Sarah COwell long before
her marriage with Timothy lngraham, and was
handed down To her daughter; but the estate. be-
Ing unsettled and Welding no revenue. and being.
moreover, cntailcd TO the descendants of heirs
dwelling at a great distance, was left in the hands
Ut agents. and almost wholly forgotten except by
them. At length a manufacturing town Of con
siderable importance rsc On the Wilson lands,
and a grandson Of the dSyiSJr made an attempt 70
recover the property, but he died ON ship-bOard
before reaching England. The next effort Was
made ia lSU3 by Capt. SJiOInan IngTaham. n
grcat-grandsOn of the dcyi-Or. lie was an East
India captain, and sailed with hs wife from New
York, taking all the IaIcrs relating Ia the estate.
These he intrusted To Mr.. Erskinc of London,
then an eminent lawyer, but afierward Lord
Chancellor of England. Capt. lngraham having
died ut Madras. the papers were retained by Ere
kline in London, nobody making further inquiry
touching the property until lS25, wien the In
family learned that the London newsIa-
Iers had contained advertisements seeking the
heirs. They then sent Isaac Smith 10 England 10
look up the estate, which was then reported To be
more than 100000 a year. He learned
that the papers had been left by the first Lord
Erskine 10 his son and successor, then Minister to
and that they were locked up in London. I
Therefore Smith returned, unsuccessful, TO Amer
No further effort was made until 1852, when
Gilbert X. Gladding of Providence, and Column
bus Smith of Vermont, the latter Il lawyer who
had been eninently successful in prosecuting Amer
claims 10 English estates, went 10 London and
the late Lord Erskine, To whom the papers
fallen but Lord Erskine dallied with Messrs.
Gladding and Smith until, their funds failing.
they were compelled to return to America. Mr..
~iladding pursued his researches, and, after scour-
ing England in vain, died in Providence in the
ull belief that the Will had been brought back TO
the United States and was somewhere To be found
IN this country. Mr.. W. Ingraham and others
the task in hand where Gladding left it, and
we're until recently subjected to the SCOTS of many
ncredulOus heirs; but the announcement of the
hiding of the Will silenced cavil. and drew toge-
her the largest multitude of the heirs that ever AS
Mr.. Ingrahan has no doubt whatever
hat the defendants of Sarah Cowell can recover
his enormous property, which he estimates to be
worth more than 800, 000, 0O0-exclusive of the
,acks rents, for which it may not be worth the
While to contend.'