St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-01-09
VOLUME 43--NUMBER 2215.

of the statements of Mr.. Lord. The
Office is in the store of the secretary and
treasurer of the association, III. G.
Parke, who is a .jobber in Oriental
goods. Mr.. Parke is ali elderly gentle
man, with genial countenance, and he
expressed perfect willingness TO give
any desired information concerning the
work of the association. At bis side
was the work in two octave volumes,
by Chancellor Walworth delineating
the genealogy of the Hyde family. If
all the persons who are there represent
ed as living representatives of the true
Hyde heirs are to share in any sum
that shall be obtained, it would require
a marvellously large property to give
each even a small share. While the re-
porter was waiting to gain Mr.. Parke's
attention, a little old man in threadbare
clothing approached, and in a weak
voice said that his wife thought she
was an heir and wanted to put in a
claim. He was handed blank gene
ology, by filling out which the applicant
was to show to what branch of the fam
lily she belonged. The old man was told
to have his filed out and verified be-
fore a notary. Mr., Parke returned to
his desk, which was covered with cor
respondence upon the subject of claims
with persons who considered themselves
heirs. He said that he was not himself
an heir, but his wife was, and while he
had never had any great faith in the
traditions of the immense wealth await
ing claiments, he had been constantly
urged by his wife to take steps to Sc
cure it. A number of the claimants
accidentally met at the Cosmopolitan
Hotel one day last spring, and there
the association was first proposed and
organized. 1t was afterward incOrpOr-
ated with U. Denison Morgan, Presi-
dent, exGoy. w. F. NJ. Army of New
Mexico, and John Hyde Duryea of
Brooklyn, vice-presidents, Mr.. Parke
treasurer, and Hamilton Pomeroy, sec
retary. The association had at that
time little more than tradition on which
to base their expectations. But they
received from time to time information
which led them to believe that they
would be ultimately successful. The
prospectus sent out by the officers to
thousands of heirs sets forth the objects
of the organization. 1t urges prompt
ness in making applications, inasmuch
as the English statute of limitation re-
gardlng these estates will debar claims
unless application for distribution be
made within few months. To meet
expenses, each applicant is asked to
forward SO. "The trustees,n the pros
pectus says, "dO not undertake to col
J lect any claims on these estates, or as
) sumo any responsibility in relation
thereto, their work being simply con-
fined to the investigation of ownership
in the estates, and when found, to take
such steps only as shall be hereafter di-
rected by the several parties in inter-
est" Mr.. PaTke said that Mr.. Army was
) now in London pursuing the investiga-
ton of the subject, and reports were
expected from him soon. The matter
had been put under the charge of Judah
d. Benjamin, the celebrated lawyer,
and would be rigOrouly prosecuted. Out
OF the 1,8OO persons from whom they
had received applications, 26O had paid
the $40 fees. This included some of the
most prominent citizens in New York.