The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1877-02-23

claim TO MllllOHS- ii III tumeDSe Estate
in Chancery-Property Sold for Five
Shillings Century Ago, Now Worth
Eighty Millions of DOllars-Business
Portion of the City of Baltimore In
yolyed. as well as Property in Eng
land Worth an Almost Fabulous sum
The Grounds upon which Proceed
ings in Ejeement are to be Brought.
At Sandy creek, six miles from this City |
on the line of the Allegheny Valley Rail
road, resides man named Israel Chilcote, |
about forty five years of age. He is a coal |
miner by occupation, and depends upon his
daily work for the support OF himself and !
family. Some months ago he received
through the mails copy of London pa
per, which had been sent to him by an En-
glish attorney. Upon opening the paper
marked paragraph met his gaze. The arti
Gle was brief one and was to the effect
that "the Chilcote heirs in America should
be on the lookout for lease of valuable
property in Baltimore that would soon ex
pire." It is also stated that there was in
Chancery in England for the Chilcote heirs
millions of property"
This was bit of news TO Israel Chilcote
that rather astonished him. 1t recalled to
him to the story that had been told in his
youth, that his great-grand-father Chilcote,
about a century or so ago, owned consider
able property in what is now the built up
City of Baltimore. The English attorney
who sent him the paper he did not know,
neither could he conjecture, how it was as
certained that he was a descendant Of the
Baltimore Chilcote or how his address was
obtained. The very fact, however, thathis
address was known in England was evil
dence to him there was something in the
thing and he concluded to investigate it.
After arranging matters at home for
brief absence, Israel started down to Vir-
ginia for the purpose of seeing man whom
he understood knew something about
lease made by his great-grandfatber of his
property in Baltimore. He met this man,
but all the information that he could give
him was that his ancestor had executed q
lease of the property for a term Of ninety
nine years, but he had no idea as to when
this lease expired.
Mr.. Chilcote then returned to Pittsburg
and concluded to go about the matter in a
proper way, by securing attorneys to hunt
up the thing. He accordingly y retained the
services of w. 6. Crawford and James
Fitzsimmons, Esqs., of the Pittsburg bar.
Mr.. Crawford decided to visit Baltimore to
examine the records, and two weeks ago he
started there for that purpose and returned
! but day or two ago. 1t is the custom, and
it was the same century ago, to index all
deeds or leases recorded.
Mr.. Crawford naturally, therefore, when
he commenced on the records in Baltimore
looked over the index, but could find moth
ing to indicate that there had been any
transfer whatever executed by the dead
Chilcote. The attorney then went to the
great labor of examining the records them
selves, and after an investigation covering
J several days, he succeeded in finding the
record of the lease.
} When Mr.. Crawford went to Baltimore
he discovered that another of the Chilcot'
} heirs had arrived there the day before OF
the same errand as himself
, The lease on record is a transfer from thu
dead Chilcote to Robert Woodcock o
eight-nine and a quarter acres of land il
Baltimore for period of ninety mine years
the consideration being the sum of "tel
shWings" The law relative to leases fo
ninety nine years. with rent issuing out O
: them from year to year, has been construed
t in Maryland as perpetual leases. Thi
lease of Chilcote to Woodcock, however, i
given, as before stated, in consideration O
: ten shillings, absolute, and as there is n
rent issuing the property, at the end of th
} ninety nine years, reverts to the heirs Q
the original owner.
The property leased by Chilcote for tn
mere song is now worth fabulous sum
8 being estimated at eighty millions, an
8 possibly one hundred millions of dollars
1t is part of tract known at the time G
: the lease as "James Delight" and it com
} prises the most valuable built-up porto
of the City of Baltimore. This will b.
n readily seen when we state that the proper
ty includes the city-hall, custom-house
: Bennet-house, Barnum's hotel, Guy
a Monumental hotel, the St. Clair-hote
e Howard house and numerous other valua
b BILE buildings, both private and public.
n possibly inclndes also the courthouse.
e Mr.. Crawford states that the term c
= ninety-nine years, as stipulated in the leas'
= shortly expires, and it is the intention c
t the Chilcote heirs, of whom there ar
n about forty, including Mr.. Israel Chilcott
& to claim that valuable property when tha
e time comes. The exact time of the expirs
q tion of the lease is not given, for reasons {
n the attorneys own. The person owners {
e the property came by it through a pater
1t issued in Woodccck's name. AS the leas
IL is on record and is not indexed like otht
70 transfers of like order, there is strong su
n picion that it was originally indexed an
h the index has been erased. There is also
l. strong suspicion that the patent purporte
i to have been issued by Woodcock was
d forgery.
,e il also turns out, as intimated by Il
Ia London paper which set the Pittsburg he
Of to looking up the matter, that there a
IN also immense properties in England whit
Is rIghtfully belong to the Chilcote estate
of& .e
ct but the sum is almost fabulous, being p
1T down by one as worth four times as mut
of as the Baltimore property.
is Thus the matter stands at present. 1t
le altogether probable that as soon as comm
II, nication can be procured with all Il
s. Chilcote heirs a meeting of them will
in held and steps taken to bring proceedin
ge for the recovery of these immense estate
te Once the matter is in the court there is
ty telling where it will end. 1t may take m
ss ny years to settle the thing-the prese
a generation possibly might not see the el
ne of it. The struggle that would be made
ab the present holders Of the properties to
It's tain them can be imagined. At all ever
or the thing is likely, when it is once put
20, legal shape, to create most interest in (
es City Of Baltimore and in England.
of A dispatch, however. received at t
Of Leader Office at late hour last from t
lr, Baltimore Sunday Neus, from which
if would seem that this is not the first tin
re that this Chilcote interest has been up
ly that City The News says that "the cot
ic, of appeals of Maryland decided the poi
is upon which the claim hinges" but it is
of together likely the new points will be {
lie, vanced in the claim of the Pittsburg
er and that the matter will haye to ags
er come up before the courts, no matter h
satisfied the Baltimoreans are that they
secure