The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1879-10-31
A REMAREALE CASE.

Twenty years ago DR.. David Crawford
Of Prince George county, Maryland, died.
He was a man Of great wealth and was
unmarried, his nearest relatives having
! been first cousin Mr.. r. s. Blackburn,
of Clarke county, Virginia, and two
second cousins, Mrs. Kearney and Miss
/ Forest, of Washington, ID. G. DR.. Craw-
| ford's brother, who died some years be-
! fore him, had cOhabited with Miss Eliza
! beth TAYLOR, his housekeepeT, by whom
he had one child. On the baptism OF
/ this child. the clergyman, a Catholic
priest Of Washington City, who perform
/ ed the ceremony, informed the mother
: that she ought not to return to CTaw
/ ford's house unless she went as his wife.
/ She acted on the counsel Of the clergy
man and refused to return. Crawford
/ thereupon consented to marry her, sti-
: pulating with her that the marriage
should be kept a secret, and the priest
united them in wedlOck. Three other
/ children were born after the marriage.
DR.. David Crawford belonged to an
/ arisJocratic family, and keenly felt the
disgrace which his brother had entailed
! on the family name. Regarding all the
( children as bastards, and the cOhabita-
tion of their mother with his brother as
criminal, the doctor broke off all relations
with them and ignored their existence.
! He was known to be much attached
/ to his Virginia and Washington cousins,
and his neighbors were satisfied that he
/ would leave his princely estate to them.
He died after a short illness, in the win
, ter of 1859. Mr.. Blackburn attended
I the funeral After the burial a diligent
search for the will was made, but with
out success. Mr.. William Duvall, a
neighbor, informed Mr.. Blackburn that
h.,I "A hot
. he and two others were witnesses to it,
one a Mr.. Bayne, of Prince George coun-
ty, and the other a stranger whose
name DUvall had forgotten.
The children of Thomas Crawford
and Elizabeth Taylor 1.-THE name she al
ways went by) now set up their claim
10 the estate as the next kin. Then fol-
lowed the bitteTest, the longest, the
most celebrated contest which ever took
place in the COurUs of Maryland
MI Blackburn was aided in the fight
by John Augustin Washington, of Mount
Vernon. who was his cousin, and by 9TH
er Virginia relatives. They went over
to Upper Marlboro, the county town of
Prince George county, Maryland, stop
ped with DR.. Edward l. Sheehy, who
had long been the physician and inti-
mate friend of the deceased DR.. Craw
ford, and who was quito sure that a
will had been made by him.
The contest began in 1859. Whole
battaliOns of lawyers were marshalled
on either side. The claimants as next
of kin were represented by General
Thomas F. Bowie and other able cOun-
sci Blackburn by Thomas 5. Alexan-
, der, William Schley and Governor Pratt.
, 1t was bitter fight, and before it was
over, many more of the most prominent
lawyers in the State of Maryland were
; called into the contest. The priest was
: finally discovered in Rome, who testified
, to the marriage OF Thomas Crawford
and Betsy Taylor. The Virginia con-
testants were thus beaten.
Meantime the Crawford children Of
J Betsy Taylor got the property, spent the
T personal and sold the real estate and
. squandered their inheritance. Now
comes the stTangest part of the story
The statement of Duvall that David
. Crawford had made a viii was true. \
Washington lawyer named Miller had
drawn II for Crawford, and after 1t was
E signed and witnessed Miller, who was
} one of the witnesses, kept the instru-
l ment at the doctors request. He plac-
ed it in 2 box directed to Dr. David
] Crawford. The war coming on, he
: soon went South. Before leaving he
! told his Office boy that, in the event of
. . his not coming back TO Washington, he
2 (the bOy) should send the box and OthaT
: papers to the parties TO whom they were
D addressed. Miller never returned. hav
= ing been killed in battle. The boy went
= away to the country, taking the box and
: the other papers Of Miller with him.
He put them away and thought no more
o about them.
After nearly twenty years had elapsed
1 the boy, now q settled man, bethOughI
0 him of the Crawford box. and sent it tC
. one Of the lawyers in the case last March
: Blackburn. since dead. and the two
Il Washington cousins, were the devisee:
=, Of the will, Thus, after having been
u beaten in all the Maryland Courts anC
u in the Supreme Court OF the United
: States. the discovery of the Iong-lost
u viii placed the Virginia and Washing
: ton cousins, or such of them as survive
l III the way of getting their estate. or
y rather the land which third parties had
! purchased from the Crawford -TayIoI
> heirs. and the innocent third partie
/, viii now be apt to lose their money, a.
we'll as the title and all.
i The strange part of the story is tha
u nearly all the lawyers and principal con
. testauts at the beginning of the lawsui
. are now dead. It is a veTitable Jarn
:, dyce VS.. Jarndyce cbancery case, stran
: ger in many OF its features than tn
Il widest fiction.-NcC York Star.
, CRIME FROM A GEOGRAPHICAL STAND