, 1879-05-05
STUPENDOUs LAND.SWINDLE

1Mn,cn.e Estatcs In Tenresaes ltcid for
Many ycnr~ upon t'rautInlont TItlcs-Tho
WfnnE KIeht~d at Th.Kt.
fHttafrh n Cincinnati Enquirer.
NASHVILLE, Tcnn,, May 1.-One Of tic most
important a,ul Interesting land cases ever
brought befoso our Courts was decided ycstcr-
day aslcrnnnu by Judge I'axtcs, of The District
Federal Court. DR.. Auram lt..on ct al.
brought suit ngainst john Alfred ct u!., 10 have
declared forged deeda II tract Of land In
Orcttou, rcnttess, Putnam, unl Cumberland
Cnunt!es, nearly twenty-five miles square. The
Litton family based Their e1alts pn runvGyance
New York manufacturing CDmpany, null also
Oh deeds executed BY James MsDniny. ..
Ono oi tie deeds alleged ~ he falso burporsrd
70 tlavc heen executed Hept 8, lS52, by .jhhn u.
Ahfcd for $',0e0 cash several hunlrc,!s ot
thousands Of Rvres In the HfNve mentioned
counties. The deed nlto purported 10 hare
hcsn acknowledged 1Y McCurrIck IN 1879, in
person. befDrr thu Clerk Of the County Court IT
injury. An elderly lnae wnlked Into the Clerks
ollicc, Introducing htinsclf as John B, Ac~
Corfnlck, md, after tnentlDnlnE as friends tarI-
Gus wcll.known citizens nf Maury County, htl
iuquirIng abnut olhers, spoke oi h's IarEc lanl-
Cd posscss Ions In tiiu mountain Counties, etnt.
Ing tlnt theg wgro now coming into the market.
anil tint hu intended to dispose Of cor.
stderahle portion Of them. .Flnn1ly tic strangcr
got thu Clerk 10 take his acknowledgment of the
deed in question. when he tlepurtud, and was
not aitosward heard OF. This was shown to
has0 been a clear case Of fnise pessoDAtton. The
real slcCnrnck Ind for sonle years previously
resided at Dayton. o., durIag which Time, down
70 his death. nc hid nnscr visited Tennessee.
| Nor did the spurious rctclnble the genuine
party. There were two subacr!bing Httucsscs'
| nntncs signed TO tho deed, one Of whom was
| shown mt to hare been horn nk the latc Of H.
| ati'i lle other to have hucn only ten or twelve
years. old at tn. time. McCormtrk, II was shown,
died several years buforo tl,c nllcged proceed
lngs, nt,l II was atso proved tllut tho countlcs,
| contrary to Tho wording oi The dccd, were not
| established Until many years alter tho date Of
| the document Almost identical proof Was in.
! trolucrl to Dvcrcu,nr thu Other deeds.
The Manning lred included precisely the sama
| iandH as tile Mccormick decd II WAS shown
| ttut Manning was dead at He date Of the deed.
The salnr two uufnrs wcro signed as 70 tic ottler
| rs subscribing witnesses. # was shown tint
neither Of the parties lad signed It. The third
| deed was also Clearly slDwn to have been fur,
! gerry. Iliu consideration expressed In the Man
Mug deed was $4,000 caals, that n the large
| Mccormick deed being. ns atate1. $4,000 cush
| botI deeds, wga poor und could not have com
| u1antiei anything like either eu!n.
| The Court dccTctfa thnt ull theso deeds wcrc
forgerles A,ta tlat they be annuel 80 fnr as they
con1ictcd with the title OF ronplatnnnts to tIli
| lnuds claimed BY them In their bill. The pruo
showed thr wliulc Echenle to he une Ut The .uus
| atupen1ous land sw{utl'e6 Oh record. The lint
IL iii il.e fertile uprlyer country. and the Lit
tnns, bv Judge Bnxtcr's lrrsston, lind thcinscve.
entitled to one of tho largest estates III III,
| country.