Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1875-11-19
gelert Misrellany.
A TALE OF A TITLE.

When DR.. Warren's novel, Ten Thou
sand a Year. was at the summit of its
popularity, there was great increase
of the business of searching titles to
real estate in England Families that
had held property for many genera
tons. suddenly became uneasy and
had their archives investigated. The
attempt of Arthur Orton was so much
like that of Tittlebat Titmouse, that
there is room for the suspicion that
the scheme which put forward the
Tichborne claimant originated with
some student of Quick, Cannon and
Snaps methods. There was during
the Tiehborne trial similar worry
about tides to estates throughout the
Kingdom. Perhaps we may have a
similar anxiety developed here; at all
events the permutations of title in
Boston have recently given fair ground
for it, and the circumstances have
supplied our lawyers with lively
topic of conversation.
Divesting the story, as told in TIE
.ImericGa Lar Rerietc, as far as pos
sible of technicalities, it is briefly
this: Fifteen years ago Mr.. William
Ingalls, owned piece of property in
that part of Boston which has since
been ravaged by the great fire. His
father had left this property to him
by viii, his mother having life in-
terest in it till her death in 1876
The will also contained two legacies
of S25 900 each to the nephews, named
Jones. Of the elder ingalls,: but before
his death he lost ell his property ex-
ccpt the real estate, and the legacies
were not paid. There is no limit as
10 the time in which an action can be
brought in Massachusetts to recover a
legacy; about the year 1860 the bro
theirs Jones began suit for theirs, and
two years afterward recovered the
amount, with interest; total Of Sl43.-
600. The Ingalls, real estate was sold
to meet this claim, producing not
quite enough, by $4,000: and the bro
theirs Jones bought it as good invest
ment for their legacy. Mr.. Ingalls,
inheritance thus became less than
nothing. The ground of the decision
WAS that rs his fathers will gave him
exactly what he would have got if
there had been no will, the devise to
him was void and he took title by de-
scent; but the legacies, being valid
devise, took precedence.
Scarcely had the Joneses stepped
into their property before John Rog-
ers began suit for it He showed that
in 1850 an owner of the property had
willed it to his brother, '.if he shall
die without issue" That brother had
a daughter, and she left the estate BY
will in 1890 to her daughter, who sold
it to the elder Ingalls,. But the daughter
who left it BY will had not IN law the
right to do so. The will of 1850, con-
tanning the phrase above quoted, was
meant to give the estate to the heirs
at law. The daughter to whom the
property had been willed in 1890 was
not the heir; Peter Rogers was. His
son, John Rogers, sued for the estate
and recovered it in 1865 from the bro
theirs Jones. Then a young lawyer
went to studying the case. He went
back of 1850 to 1710 and found that
the property had then passed by a
deed which conveyed the land to one
Johnson; but the document did not
say, as is usual, ''to his heirs" Con-
sequently, when johnson died, the
estate reverted to the man who sold it
to him, or rather, to his heirs. These
heirs We're found; real estate opera
tor in Boston supplied the funds for
the suit, bought off the heirs for a tri-
file, won the case, and gained posses
sion. When the fire swept over the
property he bought lot alongside,
and erected on both lots large, deep,
substantial stores.
Meanwhile Mr.. Ingalls,, the first Of
the list of owners, had been studying
the title to his lost property in records
of a yet earlier date. He found that
in 1860 it had been willed on the con-
dition that a certain portion of it
should never be built upon. This
condition had been violated i'll rebuild
ing after the fire. Stranger still, Mr..
Ingalls, found that the testator of 1860
was his ancestor. and that he, ingalls,,
was the direct heir. He brought suit
against the real estate operator. The
latter, it is said, consulted the spirits
and was advised to compromise on the
best terms attainable. Mr.. Ingalls,
received back his property in the
ground and gave mortgage for the
building, finding himself on the whole
q much richer man than at first. The
mortgage was subsequently transfer
red and Mr.. Ingalls, title again tho
roughly searched and pronounced per-
fect.-N. 7. Tribune.