The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1878-06-14

anu many WNAN tAAN AAAVt&&Ars @tt&&N <FN4&
OF noble birth, who saw in him yalua-
BILE prize for their unmarried daughters.
But Jennengs rightfully calculated, that
to take unto himself wife would email
the expenditure of some Of his precious
gold, and this idea was so repugnant 70
his feelings that he eschewed the mar
ried state and died crusty and morose
old bachelor.
After his death the executors made an
autopsy of his chest and strong box, and
also opened his will and codicil. They
found that his wealth exceeded the Wild
est estimates which had been made dur
/ ing his lifetime. There was landed es-
tate Ia nearly every part Of the country,
and stocks Of almost every English fund
which was then in existence. There
were mortgages innumerable. Hid in a
mortgage deed in the iron chest, the key
OF which could not be found until after
long search, were found roll Of bank
notes Of one years issue amounting to
upward Of 100000, together with $780,
600 in gold coin. Another 100000 in
notes and gold coin were found in his
country and town residences. At one
banking house was massive chest con-
tanning his mothers plate, jewelry and
valuables, which had never been open
ed since her decease, while at another
was deposit Of $3.50, 900, which he had
kept in view Of any sudden emergency.
A check on this amount had not been
drawn for nearly twenty years. When
the sum total had been counted up, it
was found that the deceased miser, for
such he really was, had been worth no
less than 1920, 900.
Who are the heirs? P" puzzled the
executors as soon as the inventory had
been completed. The contents Of the
will did any thing but answer the ques-
ton. Ii merely contained the superflu-
Gus limitation that the property should
go to the heirs-at-law. The executors
spent three years in investigating and
tracing, and finally arrived at the con-
clusion that no direct heirs were in ex-
istence, and that the search must 60
back to the descendants Of his brothers
and sisters, If he had any such kindred,
and il not to the relatives of his father
and mother. So proclamation was i'm
mediately issuedinviting the Jennengses
of the United Kingdom generally to
come in, prove property, pay charges
and carry of the booty.
This announcement brought small
army Of claimants upon the scene, every
one of whom was sure that his or her
genealogy could be traced to the dead
millionaire. Among these were at least
a score Of women, who were ready to
swear that they had been married in Sc
cret to the said William Jennings, by
whom they had each individually borne
q numerous progeny. Twenty years
were occupied in investigating the mer-
its of the claims of the would-be heirs,
ending with their entire rejection, ex-
ccpt il one solitary instance. A con-
Meeting link was traced from one of
Mr.. Jennengs's aunts TO the family Of
Lord Howe, one of the richest Of Eng
lands arissocratic families. The exec
utors, only too glad TO have the burden
transferred from their shoulders, pro-
posed to turn the possessions over to
the Howe family, but to this arrange
ment the English Government, which
held the property in trust, interposed an
objection. Finally, however, the Court
Of Chancery determined to allot the
Howe family portion Of real estate
which, in the opinion Of the Govern
ment, was about as much as SO distant
relationship was worth. The noble
peer grasped at the offer, and to-day
what the family term " the Jennengs
windfallr is counted as the most valua-
BILE of the large possessions which be-
long to the noble house Of Howe.
Meanwhile the unclaimed legacy, like
q snow ball, grew larger rs each sue
ceeding year added dividends on bonds
and interests on mortgages, while the
real estate also steadily increased in
value. At last, more by accident than
design, new discovery was made.
Some one found that some time during
the year 1854 the grandson of one Of
William Jennengs's brothers, accompa-
MED by his wife Ann and three small
children, had come to America and
landed at Fredericksburg, Va. The ex-
ecutors thought the right vein had been
struck at last, and in 1649 they caused
an advertisement to be inserted in q
number Of American papers setting
forth the details Of the property which
awaited an owner. In America the
Jennengs Is an extensive house.
In the summer Of the year in which
the advertisement was issued, the vir-
ginia Jennengses held meeting, and by
resolution invited all persons resident in
that State, claiming to be the heirs of
William Jennengs aforesaid, to face the
music. Three months later a conven-
ton Of would-be heirs assembled in
Nashville, at which seventy delegates,
representing branches Of the Jennengs
family in eight States Of the Union,
were in attendance. This was followed
by convention Of another set of claim.
ants held at Charlottesville. Both Of
these bodies appointed committees to
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