The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1875-09-03
A LAW ROMANCE.
An Interesting Search for Evidenee-The
story OF the Title tn n million Doll
lars Worth OF Property in Toledo
tied.
From the Toledo blade Aug. an


Clark Gaines case in our city short
time ago, in which property valued at
nearly 81 200 900 was involved, and
which had for important factors in the
case the troublesome questions Of lawful
marriage and Legitimacy of Children,
that always prove such intricate and
costly problems To settle when lapse
of time has made il difficult To directly
establish the status of the relations of
various parties. BY singular good for
tune, and the address and perseverance
of two young lawyers of our city, the
case of which we speak was brought to
satisfactory termination, but had
not n peculiarly happy conjunction of
circumstances favored this result, the
consequences would have been disas-
trous, and involved long and tedious
litigation.
But TO the story. Among those who
upheld our flag upon the ocean in the
second war with Great Britain, was q
certain Captain of a priyateer, named
George l.. Ford. What vessel he com
manded and what services he rendered
during the struggle are not material 10
this narration. They were probably not
very brilliant, rs his name does not APP
pear conspieuously in the annals of that
war. Suffice it to say that he was cap
tured by the enemy, and suffered n
term of Imprisonment at Plymouth,
England. He was released from inn
prisonment at the conclusion of the war,
and returned To his home in Baltimore,
where his wife was. 1t seems that he
L.1 II. 4 81 10 f,.e,
prosperity of this section of the country,
for he came out here and pre-empted
land, and in 1921 he received patent
for l55 acres, located in what is now
the Fifth Ward Of this city. II is
known as River Tract No. g. and lies
between Western Avenue and South
Street.
In due time the gallant privateersman
was gatherd To his fathers, and the pro-
perry descended 10 his only daughter,
Emeline Ford, who, in 1885, conveyed
it To one Randall Wilcox for "A small con-
sideration A wear later Mr.. Wilcox
conveyed the land to Benjamin f. Wade,
afterwards United States Senator from
Ohio Wade and his grantees retain
possession Of large portion Of the land
yet.
In 1873 these possessors of the land
were startled from the sense of security
by the information that the descendants
Of the brothers and sisters of Captain
George l.. Ford had laid claim 10 the
tract and were about to ask the courts
10 put them in possession of il. A. the
first step in this direction they had Civ
en- an interest in the claim Ia Judge Ill
den, of Cincinnati, who, in turn, con-
yeyed il to his son Howard Tilden.
The case of the claimants was sup
ported by allegations:
|. That Captain Ford was never le-
gally married TO the mother of Emelinc
Ford, the girl from whom the present
possessors hold their title.
,. That Captain Ford was prisoner
in England AZ the time of the birth of
Emeline Ford, and for so long time
previous 10 that event rs 10 preclude
the possibility of his being her father.
These were serious matters for the pcO-
pie who had their money invested in the
property, and they resolved upon instan.
asrion. The matter seemed "a present
almost insurmountable obstacles AT the
outset. There were no groundsto hope
for discovery Of the proofs of the mar
riage at this late day, at lapse of more
than sixty years from the date Of the
consummation of the same, but il was
resolved 70 make the effort, and last
year Messrs. j. II. Doyle and Il. j.
Mcdonnell were dispatched to Balti-
more, Md, to begin the search.
Their first essay was search of the
marriage licenses among the dusty old
tonnes in the Courthouse records. Be
ginning with those of 1872, they pa
tiently wadcd backward through APP
parently interminable lists Of names of
those who had been given in marriage,
until under date Of July, 1912, they
were rewarded by finding the record Of
a license issued TO George l.. Ford and
Lovey Buskert. This was a hopeful be-
ginning, indeed. A memorandum OPP
posite the record stated that the parties
had been directed to Rev. Joseph g
Bend as proper person to solemnizc
marriages.
a visit to the Mercantile Library was
next made, and after delving around in
the old Directories on its shelves, il
was found that the Rev. Joseph G..
Bend was, in 1912, the rector Of st.
Paul's Parish Church, at the corner of
Saratoga and Charles streets. Repair
ing thither, access was gained TO the
old registers of the parish, and success
number two was gained when an entry
was discovered to the effect that the
ceremony of marriage between George
l.. Ford and Lovey Buskert was per-
formed by Rev. Joseph G.. Bend, July
IL, 1912. Procuring certified copy Of
this fact from the Parish Clerk, the
next step was TO demonstrate that the
daughter Emeline was lcgitimately be-
gotten.