American citizen., 1877-11-03
A Scrap of Evidence Worth
$4,000.

Z" {, 5,333-BrOwn vs.. kerby-Rehearln9 de-
MED"
These words and figures simply meant
that Brown had lost $50, 200 and up
ward, and that Mrs. Kerby was that
much better off in this worlds goods,
and that the long litigation over the In
ternational Hotel property was at an
end. In 1855 Mrs. Kerby, then Miss
Stevenson, purchased the International
property, and the same year went East.
She left her property in charge of one
George Brown, who was to act rs her
agent at salary. Years rolled on.
The hotel, which was then in the heart
of the city, and was the rendezvous of
the fashion and elite, became less fash
ionable as the city grew, and instead OF
being the hostelry of the Brodericks,
Perleys, Terrys and other lions of the
day, became a second-class establish
ment in a second-class locality. Neces-
sarily, the value of the property de-
creased. Then came the Montgomery
Avenue scheme. The bill was passed,
the Commissioners appointed, and when
IL w do uCClNICd Illelu LAlC thClAoO ShCHAN
pass through the International property,
the Commissioners allowed the owners
of the property $4,000 in gold
coin for the privilege. 1t
was about this time that
the agent of Mrs. Kerby appeared
in new role. In 1873 suit was qui-
etly entered in a court in Alameda
County by George Brown, against Mrs.
Kerby. Brown alleged in his complaint
that he was the owner of the Interna
tional property; that it stood in Mrs.
Kerby's name simply as a matter of
trust. He therefore wanted the Court
to set aside the trust and decree that he
was the owner of, and entitled to, the
property.
When Mrs. Kerby, who was then in
New York, received notice of this ac
ton, it fell upon her like thunderbolt.
For nearly 20 years she had not paid the
slightest attention to her property, hav-
ing left every thing, save a few papers,
in the hands of her agent, Brown.
Those papers had been deposited with
lawyer in New York named Smith Bar
ker, and when she inquired for him she
learned that he was dead, and no trace
of her papers remained. She was, there
fore, without any documentary evidence
to establish her claim, and the result ap-
peared to be one of inevitable disaster.
Nevertheless she came on to this city
and employed j. G. Winans and Il. H.
Lloyd to defend her interests. These
gentlemen, after thorough investiga-
ton, found that they were without the
least evidence to present their case on.
All the papers of Mrs. Kerby were lost
or in the hands of Brown, and the
course for them to take was not very
clear.
One day Mrs. Kerby remembered a
jewel-case she had deposited in one of
the city banks when she left New York
nearly 20 years before. She went to
the bank, presented her receipt, and af-
ter some trouble the jewel casket was
found in the vault covered with the rust
and dust of years. Mrs. Kerby opened
the box to examine her jewels, and as
she did so she noticed a small piece of
paper attached to the inside of the lid.
She curiously detached and unfolded it.,
and found in pencil marks the follow
! ing figures: "S,500, 1850, 10000,
10000, 10, $500"
She could not remember what the
figures meant, and why she should have
placed the paper in the jewel-box, until
after some thought, when it occurred to
her that in 1855 the figures had been
written on the paper by her agent,
Brown, and handed her to aid her testi-
mony in a certain suit before the Court
of Sessions in this city. The figures re-
presented the various amounts she had
paid for her property. She told Mr..
Lloyd the incident of the jewel-case. He
questioned her as to the circumstances
under which Brown had given her the
figures, but all that she could remember
was that she had testified in court that
they were the amounts she had paid for
the hotel property, and that Brown had
given them to her, and that they were
in his writing.
Her attorneys searched the records OF
the old Court of Sessions, and were re-
warded by finding a suit in which Brown
and Mrs Kerby had figured. Messrs.
Townsend and Crane were the re-
spective counsel in the case, and on in
quiry at their offices Mr.. Lloyd ascer-
tained that they remembered the action
well, and had even kept their notes OF
the evidence. In these notes it appeared
that Mrs Kerby had testified to the very
figures found on the sheet of paper in
the jewel-box, and that Brown had
sworn that he had no interest, directly
or indirectly, in the International prop
erty, but was simply the agent of Mrs
Kerby The clew led to other evidence
and when the case was tried in October
1874, Judge Wheeler rendered adecisior
in favor of the lady. Brown appealed
to the Supreme Court and the judgmen
of the lower Court was affirmed. Brown
then moved for rehearing, which wa
denied last Monday.
This finally settles the matter, and OF
Wednesday Mrs. Kerby was placed il
possession of her property, the $50, 00(
awarded by the Avenue Commissioners
and some 100000 rents that have ac
crued during the litigation. Messrs
Winans and Lloyd both attribute tn
, victory to the piece of paper found il
: the iewel-box, and to Mrs. Kerby it vii
, ever be souvenir of pleasant memory