Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1870-11-04


lions FIed-ProbabIe appeal to the su-
prcme Court Of APpeaIs-The trial OF
George OhAhoon, Late Mayor of Rich
mond. Va, Upon the charge OF for
gerry.
f RICHMOND, VA, Oct. II.
Some eight or ten years before the war
there came to Richmond q man by the
name of Solomon Haunstein. He was
shoemaker by trade, and native of Switz
erland. He worked at his trade in this
city until the year 1859, when he was strick-
en- with the gold fever which carried SO
many persons to California about that
time, and thither he went to seek his for
tune in that far distant land. He was sue
cessful there, and accommodating a good
deal of money, returned to this city and
and invested his capital in real estate. He
until bis death, which occurred in July,
1861. He died without heirs, and left On
estate worth some 1900 or 5000 dollars,
chiefly IN real property. He was spoken
of by those who knew him as being man
of intelligence and good business capacity.
He died by shooting himself through the
head with pistol in the house Of O col
ored woman with whom he lived as his
concubine. A well known citizen of Rich
rator of his estate.
George Chahoon, the accused, is d ma
tive of Botetourt county, Virginia. At
the commencement of the war he sided
with tho North, and left the State until it's
conclusion. After the war he was, for a
while. Commonwealth Attorney for tho
County Of Elizabeth City, Va. from which
place he went to Florida i'll the Spring of
1866, where he knew William FL. Gleason,
la r Al
and in December of that year returning to
Virginia, he came to Richmond to engage
in the practice of the law. In May, 1868,
he was appointed Mayor of the city, and
he also now holds tho Office of Commits
sioner in Chancery for the United States
District Court, having received that Office
from District Judge Underwood.
HOW CHAHooN BECAME INVOLVED IN THE
FORGERY AND WHAT HE DID.
In 1866, soon after Chahoon cane to
Richmond to reside, gentleman came to
his law office. and gave him for collection
bond for $1,000, payable on demand to
John Il. Thompson, and executed by Sol
omon Haunstein, and said bond was en-
dorsed on the back by John H. Thompson
to William Gleason, assignee. This bond
was dated on the LIST of April, 1861. It
was attempted to be proved that the man
who gave the bond to Chahoon for collec-
ton was named j. @. Jones, as witness
testified on the trial that such man had a
short time before endeavored to borrow
money upon this identical bond from one
or two curb stone brokers in this city.
Chahoon gave a memorandum of this
bond to Thos. r. Bowden, Esq, then At
torney General of Virginia. and now an
attorney at-law in New York, with whom
he occupied the Same Office, and requested
Bowden to see Mr.. Sanxay, the curator of
Haunstein, and ask him to settle it. Bow
den did so, and Sanxay pronounced the
claim q swindle, and said he would not
pay it. Then Bowden notified Chahoon
of what Sanxay had said, and told him he
would have nothing more to do with it.
In January, 1867. Chahoon brought suit
on this bond against Sanxay, curator of,
Haunstein's estate, and in March, 1861
obtained a judgment for the whole amount
of S., 600, Sanxay not putting in any plea,
but allowing the Judgment to go by de-
fault, although he had employed one John
son II. Sands as his attorney in the case,
and although he had told Bcwden that
the claim was a swindle. This suit was
brought in the name of William Gleason,
assignee, VS.. r. d. Sanxay, CURATOR
Haunstein having left no personal proper
ty, ii became necessary, in order to sub
ject his real estate to the payment Of this
Judgment, that q decree of tho chancery
court should be obtained for that purpose
and to that end bill in chancery was
fled in the Circuit Court of Richmond in
April, 1867, asking for such decree. This
bill was in the handwriting of the said
Johnson 81. Sands, and was fled by him
as counsel, with the knowledge and CO.
operation OF ChahOOn, q decree was OBJ
tanned to sell the real estate of Haunstein,
and it was ordered that the proceeds of the
said sale should be paid to George Cha
hoon, attorney for VIM. Gleason, to satisfy
the judgment which lie had obtained. In
the proceedings in this chancery suit on
Richard S. Sanxay, the son of L. d.
Sanxay, the curator was appointed spe-
cial commissioner to sell the said real
estate. which he did. The property brought
$4 900 IA, and that sum was paid over to
Chahoon, counsel for VIM. Gleason, as q
receipt in tho cause filed signed by Cha
hoon. as said counsel shows. In addition
to this recorded evidence there was pow
er of attorney from VIM. Gleason, author
izing ChahOon to receive tho money for
him. Thus this documentary evidence
brings together these conspirators to cheat
and defraud the State of Virginia out of
$1,000, already impoverished enough
heaven knows, by all the calamities of war,
fire and flood which she has encountered
-Chahoon, Sands and the Mr.. Sankey's
The elder of the latter having died, the
other three are charged with forging the
same bond, and uttering it as true with
knowledge of its being forgery, and with
a conspiracy to cheat and defraud tho
Commonwealth Of Virginia. Chahoon has
been put upon his trial, the evidence has
been heard in his case, and the jury have
rendered their verdict.
SAMUEL n. PAGE
was the principal witness against him. He
is character and deserves a description ::
He is Virginian. He came to Richmond
to reside sometime during the war, and
was engaged for some years in the occu-
patton of baker. In 1865 he left that
trade. and being smart, unscrupulous and
unprincipled, commenced the practice of
tho law, after a three months study. As
soon as our State was established as mill
tary district No. I, and ruled over by mil
itary commander, Page was appointed
Commonwealth Attorney for seven coun-
ties probably because there were not suf-
fcient number of lawyers in them who
oonld take the iron clad oath Tn Hovepn