The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1875-12-01

seized III lSOO, If not before, by the
acts of his sister in taking possession of
and conveying away the estate, but as
he was anon-compos during the whole
of his long life, the statute of limita>
tons did not begin to run against him,
and his heir in tail, namely, John
Rogers, the Oldest son of his then de-
ceased brother, John, was allowed by
Mass. Gen. St, C. 154, S 5, ten years
after his uncle Peters death, within
which to bring his action. As these
ten years did not expire until 1864,
this action brought in 1868, was sea-
sonably commenced; and it was prose-
cuted with success, Judgment in his ia
vor having been recovered by John
Rogers in 1865.
The case of Rogers vs. Jones was
naturally subject of remark among
the legal profession; and it happened
to occur to one of the younger men,
bers of that profession that it would be
well to improve some of his idle mo-
ments by studying up the facts of this
case in the Suffolk registries of deeds
and of probate. Curiosity prompted
this gentleman to extend his investi-
cation beyond the facts directly in
volved in the case, and to trace the
title of Mr.. John Buttolph back to an
earlier date. He found that Mr.. But
tolph had purchased the estate in 1870,
of one Hosea johnson, to whom it had
been conveyed in ITO, by Benjamin
Parsons. The deed from Parsons to
Johnson, however, conveyed the land
to johnson, simply without any men
ton of his "heirs;" and the young
lawyer, having recently read the case
of Bufum VS.. Hutchinson, l Allen,
SO, perceived that johnson took under
this deed only life estate IN the grant
ed premises, and that at his death the
premises reverted to Parsons or to his
heirs. The young lawyer, being of
enterprising spirit, thought it would be
well to follow out the Investigation
suggested by his discovery. He found,
to his surprise, that Hosea johnson did
not die until 1856, the estate having,
in fact, been purchased by him for a
residence when he was twenty-one
years of age and about to be married.
He had lived upon it for twenty years,
but had then moved his residence to
another part of the city, and sold the
estate, as we have seen, to Mr.. But
tolph. When Mr.. johnson died, in
1856, at the age of ninety-seven, it
CHANGED that the sole party entitled to
the reversion, as heir of Benjamin
Parsons, was young woman, grand
daughter, aged eighteen, and just mar
ried. The young lady and her hus-
band lived, as sometimes happens, to
celebrate their diamond wedding in
1861 but died during that year. As she
had been under the legal disability of
coverture from the time when her
right of entry upon the estate as heir
of Benjamin Parsons, first accrued, at
the termination of Johnson's. life es-
tate, the provision of the statute of
limitations, before cited. gave her heirs
ten years after her death, within which
to bring their action, These heirs
proved to be three or four people of
small means, residing in remote parts
Of the United States. What arrange
ments the young lawyer made with
these parties and also with MIR. John
Smith, specializing moneyed man of
Boston, who was supposed to have fur
nished certain necessary funds, he was
wise enough to keep carefully to HIM
self. Suffice it to say, that in 1869
an action was brought by the heirs of
Benjamin Parsons to recover from
Rogers the land which he had just re-
covered from William and Arther
Jones. In this action the plaintiffs
were successful, and they had no sooner
been put in formal possession of the
estate than they conveyed it, now
worth couple of hundred thousand
dollars, to the aforesaid Mr.. John
Smith, who was popularity supposed to
have obtained in this case, as he usual
ly did in all financial operations in
which he was concerned, the lions
share of the plumber. The Parsons
heirs probably realized very little from
the results of the suit; but the young
lawyer obtained sufficient to establish
him as brilliant Spectator in subur-
ban lands, second mortgages and pat
ent rights. Mr.. Smith had been but
a short time in possession of his new
estate when the great fire of November,