Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1870-05-12
From Saturdays N. Y. Times.l

cOr0-IWenIy 10 thirty miiihOhs
to be Distributed. -
From Saturdays N. Y. Times.l m
Some time ago an article was pub
lished in the Times, stating that num-
Der of persons living in Sandystone, n.
J. and Port Jervis, n Y, had fallen
heirs to an estate in Scotland vari-
ously estimated at from twenty to thirty
million dollars left to VIM. Irinis. The
person who gave the information to the
heirs was man named Smith, who
makes it his business to look after and
collect claims Of this kind. The parties
who were reputed to have fallen upon
this streak of luck are mostly farmers,
living in Sandystone, n j.; Bradford
county, Pennsylvania, and two Or three
merchants and railroad men in Port
Jervis, N. Y. Some of the heirs are in
good circumstances, but most Of them
are poor and when the news of their
vast inheritance in the Old Country
reached their ears they could not believe
it was true, and for time nothing was
done and the matter was dropped. One
of the party, however, wrote letter to a
prominent member of the House Of
Lords, England, making inquiries as to
whether any such estate had been left.
In the course of two or three months he
received an answer, stating that such an
estate had been left to VIM. Innis, and
if the heirs could prove their claims
there would be but little difficulty in get
ting their money.
Since then Mr.. VIM. Keyte,. one of the
heirs, went to England and found that
the statements of Smith, and also that
contained in the letter, were true. He
consulted, while there, with able counsel,
who stated that IF the claimants could
produce the old family Bible, with the
records, it would be the best evidence as
to their title" At this time, however,
Mr.. Keyte did not know that any such
Bible was in existence, and returned
home to consult with other members Of
the family h
The facts in regard to the claim are as
follows: 1t appears that George Innis,
of Edinburgh, Scotland died intestate,
without children, and his estate fell to
his only brother, William, and his maid
en- sister, Jane. William, however, had
previously sailed for America, in 1882
settling in Sandystone, N. j. As he
failed to acquaint his friends Of his
whereabouts, Jane, his sister, entered
into peaceable possession of the entire
estate. Afterward she died and willed
it to her brother William, who she snp-
posed had gone to America. The estates
are now in the hands of trustees, and
have swelled to the enormous sum stated
above. NiNll
William Innis was one of the founders
of the Reformed Church in Port Jervis,
and was forty years a member thereof.
He was a school teacher and widely
known, but for some reason OF other he
never wrote to his brother, neither did he
know of his death. He had eight chill
dren, all of whom are dead; and it is
their grandchildren, eighty in number,
to whom the vast Scottish inheritance
belongs. A few days ago the
link, the old family Bible, was
found in the hands of an lnnis, living in
Bradford county, Pa, with the family
record complete. He came to Port Jer-
Wis with it on Tuesday, and now the heirs
intend to take the proper measures to |
secure the property, and a committee /,
will shortly sail for England for this |
purpose. The Bible was printed in
in 1872, and is in good pre-
A number of persons named |
Innis, at Newburg and elsewhere in this !
country, have until now laid claim to the 1
estates, but their claims are now set /
aside by the discovery of this old relic.