Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1878-06-07
FORTUNE AT STAKE.
The Three Hundred Million Dollars
that were Lert by William Jen-
DinEs-His Heirs Fighting fer
the Possession OF his Inn
mense Wealth NearIya
Century After his
Death

CAMDEN, n. j., May 30-An heirship cas-
has come to light In this city involving tn
succession to property in England valued a
over three hundred million dollars, and whic
promises to become as famous as the well
known litigation for the Anneke Jams estate
: About eighty years ago, on June 10, 1875
William Jennings, an Englishman, died i
, London, leaving immense wealth. At tn
time OF his demise, 1t was stated that ne wa
worth In actual cash one hundred and twent,
million dollars. The executors made every
effort TO discover the heirs at-law. but with
out success. No direct heirs were found. am
the estate was thrown into chancery on thu
contest OF certain parties, who claimed to b,
distant relatives. In this condition affair
have renamed for almost century, and nov
the old estate has again become the subiec
OF active litigation. The history of Jenning
was somewhat remarkable one. During hi
lifetime there were several families bearinc
the same name in England Wealthy Jen
nlngs some called him, and ''Stngy Jen.
nlngs he was denominated by others. Left
an heir to an enormous fortune, which by in.
dlclous management he managed to treble
during his lifetime, he nevertheless subsisteC
IN penurious style. Yet he was favoraby
regarded at court, probably on account Of
the fact that King William III had
stood as his sponsor at the infant bap.
tism, and had manifested mis- regard for the
family by presenting the unconscious babe
with silver ever of magnificent desi On
de was appointed page Of George l, and his
misery habits were well illustrated by the
fact that, although so wealthy. he did NOT
scruple to accept paltry honorarium of five
hundred dollars per annum for performing
TINS service. His presence at court brought
him into continual contact with the galaxy of
female wit and beauty which crowded the
royal halls, and many were the mothers, some
even OF noble blfth, who saw in him yalua-
| nF fhnI ii l. -,
Jennengs rightfully calculated that to take
unto himself wife would entail the expend-
iture OF some of his precious gold, and this
idea was so repugnant to his feelings that he
| eschewed the married state and died a crustv
andl morose old bachelor. After his death
the executors made an autopsy of his chest
| and strong box, and also opened his will and
codIcll: They found that his wealth exceeded
thekwlldest estimates that had been made
during his lifetime. There was landed estate
In nearly every part of the country, and
stocks OF almost every English fund which
was tnen In existence; There were mort
cages lnnumerable. Hid in 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 wears
ISSUE rss lean amounting to upward of one hundred
sand dollars in gold coin Another one hum
dred thousand dollars in notes and gold coin
were found in the country and town resi-
dences. AT one banking house was a mas
slve chest containing his mothers plate Jew
elry and valuables, which had never been
opened since her decease, while at another
was deposit of two hundred and fifty thou
sand dollars, which he had kept in view of
any sudden emergency. A check on this
amount had not been drawn for nearly TWEEN
ty 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 one hundred and twenty million
dollars. WHO are the heirs?" puzzled the
executors as soon as the inventory had been
completed. The contents of the will did
anything but answer the question. 1t merely
contained the superhuous intimation, that the
property should go to the heirs-at-law. The
executors spent three years in investigating
and tracing, and finally arrived at the conclu-
sion that no direct heirs were in existence, and
that the search must go back to the descendants
of his brothers and sisters, if he had any
such kindred, and, if not, to the relatives of
OF his father and mother. So proclamation
was Immediately issued inviting the Jen-
ningses OF the United Kingdom generally to |
come In, prove property, pay charges, and |
carry off 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 |
score OF women, who were ready to swear |
that they had been married in secret to the |
SAID William Jennings, by whom they had |
each individually borne numerous progeny. |
Twenty years were occupied in investigating |
the merits of the claims of the would-be |
heirs, ending IN their entire rejection, except |
In one solitary instance. A connecting link |
was traced from one of Mr. jennings aunts |
to the family of Lord Howe, one of the rich
est OF England's arlstocratic families The |
executors, only too glad to have the bur-
den transferred from their shoulders,
proposed to turn the possessions
over to the Hove family, but |
which held the property In trust, interposed |
an objection. Finally, however, the court Of
determined to allot the Howe fam
lily portion of real estate which, in the opiu-
ION OF the government, 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 Jennings wind
tall Is counted as the most valuable of the
large possessions which belong to the noble
house OF Howe. Meanwhile, the unclaimed
legacy, like SNOWFALL, grew larger and
larger as each succeeding year added divi-
bends on bonds and interests on mortgages,
while the real estate also steadily increased in
value. AT last, more by accident than de-
sign, new discovery was made. Some one
found that some time during the year 1854
the grandson of one of William Jennings's
brothers, accompanied by his wife Ann and |
three small children, had come to America, and
had landed at fredericksburg, Virginia. The
executors thought the right vein had been
struck at last, and in 1849 thew caused an
advertisement to be.inserted in number of
American papers setting forth the details of
the property which awaited an owner. In
America the Jennings is an extensive house.
In the summer of the year in which the adj
Vertisement was issued, the Virginia Jen-
nlngses held meeting, and by resolution
n1 oil H. /
claiming to be the heirs of William Jennings
Aforesaid, to face the music. Three months
alter a convention of would-be heirs was held
n Nashville, at which seventy delegates, rep
,esenting branches of the Jennings family In
sight States of the Union, were in attend
lnce. This was followed by convention of
another set of claimants held at Charlottes-
vile. Both of these bodies appointed com
nlttees to obtain the necessary legal evidence
% substantlate their claim, and employed
commissioners to proceed to England TO
prosecute their suits. One of these individ-
lals discovered from the English records that
)ne Joshua Jennings had emigrated to Con-
lecticut In 1859. This reused the eastern
Denningses, and they, too, sent a delegate
abroad to make a strike for the cash.
de had scarcely reached his destination |
Then the families of the Lippincotts, Prices,
tlanagans aud Burroughs, of Camden and
were induced, through some cir
;umstahces, to believe that they, and only
hey, were the legal heirs. An organization
vas formed, and one more delegate, T. B. i
Price, Of this city, was added to the group of
American lawyers In London. Their com
oined efforts, however, were of no avail |
LINKS were wanting, and records had disap-
peared. The English Jenningses fought the
American ones, and the lawyers found them.
selves battied at every step. An Irish asso- :
cation sprang up, and fifteen thousand dol /
airs were subscribed to meet the expenses of | '
An investigation on behalf of the Jen- {