Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-05-13
The Western Deed-Forgers.

X. K. Turner, whose exploits in the
alleged manipulation of land-titles in the
West have been the occasion of consider.
able litigation and widespread alarm
among property -hoiders, and whose recent
arrest and Indictment in Chicago upon tho
charge of forging deeds and securing
their record caused much satisfaction 10
the victims Of his supposed criminal on
erations, is reported by the Chicago Trib.
une to have forfeited his bail-$5O ,OOO-
and fled to Mexico. The Tribune thus
speaks of the deed -forgers:
The evidence said TO have been given by
Reed before the Grand Jury is of a char
acter which warrants the expectation of
full expose of the operations of the gang of
deed -forgers, whose exploits cover several
States and a long term of years. The con.
tents of Reed 8 trunk, now in safe-keepinp
in this city, will probably supply the miss,
ing links. There is now little doubt, who.
ever may be finally implicated or excul-
pated, that there was a regular organiza-
ton for Matchmaking property-owners
in Illinois, Missouri. and some other
Western States, by means of forged
deeds, and that thousands of dollars
have been realized in various parts of the
country from this practice. Reed is cred
tied with the statement that he has been
engaged in this business for twenty years,
and its success is pretty certain indica
ton that prominent persons have been as
ISOLATED with him. The practice was to
place on record deed from some former
owner of the property, antedating the title
of any living person, and then to bring
suit for ejectment. The suit once begun.
there was cloud on the title, and, if the
owner desired to SELL it was necessary TO
remove this cloud The holder of the
forged deed was then willing to give
quit-claim for consideration gagged by
the value Of the property and the nervous.
ness of the real owner.
The mOdus Operd1adi is fairly illustrated
by the Hyde Park case which Jed to the
detection of Reed and the arrest of R. K
Turner, who was tax-lawyer in Quincy
This property was owned by Mr. Hill,
who got his deed from Hoxie in New
York, whose title came from r. p. Robin
son, the young man who is supposed to
have murdered his mistress, Helen Jewett,
and burned the house Afterwards case
that attained widespread notoriety at
the time. The deed on which suit was
commenced against Hill was in the name
of one George A. Kibbe, of Massachusetts,
VINO Is IlOt hUOW III III tiIc w tSt anu WIN Is
represented by Turner. Kibbe's title
comes from Helen O'Hara Harrell, who
has since been lost track of; hers from
Enpson Hamilton and his from r. p.
Robinson in deed antedating by some
two years the transfer which Robinson
actually made to Hoxie. After the
suit was commenced Hill became satisfied
that the deed from Robinson to Hamilton
was forgery, and set about to run it
down. He got information that a man
named Tanning, then in the Penitentiary
on a charge of forgery, could furnish a
clew. Hill procured pardon for Fan
ming on the agreement of the latter to ex
pose and apprehend the deedforgers, and
it was through Fannings agency that Reed
was committed for trial without a prelimi-
nary examination. Turner, after his eX-
animation, was held to bail in $50 900, his
father, rich man, becoming his surety.
1t is now rumored that Turner has fled to
parts unknown, after having failed to in
duce Reed to suppress his knowledge of
the operations, but this cannot be definite
ly known until May 3, the day set for
Turner's trial.
This kind of deed-forging is not entirely
new, though it was probably never carried
on to the same extent as by the Illinois
gang. Early in the present century there
were many forged deeds, purporting to
represent French and Spanish titles. AS
the forged deeds always come from per-
sons long since deceased, and are generally
removed beyond all living verification
other than the forgers can furnish, this
kind of forgery is freer from the danger of
discovery than every other, and the pros
pect for profit is, particularly good be-
cause of the necessity for removing the
cloud thus put upon the property 1t is
to be hoped that the prosecution of this
case will be vigilant, and the punishment
of the guilty persons severe, that the insidi-
Gus fraud may be rendered more perilous
in the future than it has been in the past.