Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-08-04
A SUIT WITH A ROMANCE.
BALTIMORE. July 26.

including President Hayes, Chief
Justice Waite, Judge Tilden and 9TH
ers, forward as contestants, has an in
tensely romantic history connected with
it, in which Maryland family consti-
tute the principal characters. The sto-
ry, says the Baltimore Sun this morn
ing, is that some time in the year 1919
a Captain Ford, of this city, was mar
ried to one Lovey Buskirt widow,
formerly Miss Lovey Ward, of Somer-
set county, Nd. Shortly after his mar
riage Captain Ford is said to have left
Baltimore in command of privateer,
which was captured by the British.
| Captain Ford was taken captive and
placed in Dartmoor Prison, where he
remained some time, but finally es-
capped by tunneling his way out. He
went to Sweden and after the close of
the war returned to this city, having
been gone three years. On his return
he found his wife living in good style.
He also found that there was an addi-
tion to his household in the person of
a lovely little girl, whom his neigh
bors said was the captains and Mrs.
| Ford's child, but whom some of their
most intimate acquantainces, it is al
legged, declared was anillegitimatec child.
The captain and his wife, however,
claimed the child as their own offspring.
| Captain Ford did not long remain in
active, but soon after his return fitted
out SLAYER and made several trips to
Africa, landing his living cargoes in
this country at Charleston, Savannah
and sometimes in Cuba. Returning
home again his wife is said to have be-
come jealous of him. Captain Ford left
the house again and went West,
where he located number of land
warrants among which was one at the
Bndian block house, or fort, at the
mouth of the Maumee river, then
Q81D a wilderness, now the site of
the city of Toledo. 1t is over the own
ership of this property that the suits
are pending. Captain Ford, after an
absence of three years, came to Balti-
more once more, but finding his wife
determined not to have anything to do
with him, he left, going to Mexico,
where he entered the navy of that
country and served as lieutenant un-
til 1922, when he died intestate. His
only kinspeople, SC far as known, were
his wife, Lovey, his mother and sis
tiers, living in one of the New Eng
land States, and his so-called child,
the little girl, whose name was Eme-
| line
In 1888 or 1884 persons from the
West came here and commenced
search for the heirs of Captain Ford.
To these persons it was alleged that
Mrs. Buskirt, or Ford, represented that
Emeline was the legitimate and only
child of Captain Ford, and selling her
dowry interest in the Toledo land to
them, she caused Emeline to convey
the fee, receiving for it small sum of
money. There was living with Mrs.
Buskirt sister named Elizabeth Ward,
who, it is claimed, begged Mrs. Bus
kirt to undeceive Emeline and to tell
her whose child she really was, SO
that fraud upon the purchasers of the
property might be prevented.
Meanwhile another party, observing
the growing Importance of Toledo, in
quired as to the title to Ford's proper
ty, then vacant and unenclosed. After
investigating to some extent Captain
Ford's life this second party came to
the conclusion that the captain had
left no legitimate children and 80 pur-
chased the title of the property from
| Captain Ford's mother and sisters. In
the course of time it happened that
Ben Wade got an interest in the prop
erty and sent some of his agents here
to see that the title was clear These
agents found the marriage record of
Captain Ford and 'Lovey Buskirt in
the old ST. Paul's parish record. After
great deal of fighting in the Ohio
courts between the owners of the two
titles, the case was finally decreed in
favor of the Baltimore title. deposit
tions having been returned to the
court alleging that Elizabeth Ward
had sworn that Emelne was the legit-
innate daughter of Captain Ford and
his wife Lovey.
About a year afterwards, however,
Elizabeth Ward, who was then married
to a man named johnson, and was liv-
ing near Marion, a few miles from Girls
field, Somerset county, Md, saw an ac-
count of tho decision in Baltimore
paper, and was heard to declare that o
great wrong had been committed, and
that she and she alone could right it.
To Mr.. John Ii. Handy, of this city,
and Mr.. Hyman, Western lawyer,
who called to see her, she refused to
disclose anything as to who the real
parents of the child were, but persisted
in saying that she had never said EN-
cline was the daughter of her sister,
whereupon Mr.. Hyman filed petition
to set aside the decreee on the ground
that it was obtained by forged and
fraudulent testimony.
Judge Tilden, a cousin of Samuel j.
Tilden, and the principal person con-
cerned, then brought suit to recover
possession Of the property lost by the
decree, after which Judge Irving, of
this State, by special commission, took
testimony to sustain the case. After
great deal of hard and skillful work
Mr.. Handy succeeded at last, in 1877,
in getting Mrs. johnson, nee Elizabeth
Ward, to make statement, in which
she acknowledges that Emeline was
her own daughter, the child of an Irish
sea captain who frequented Captain
Ford's house. To cover her sisters
disgrace Capt. Ford's wife had declar-
ed to the world that Emelne was her
own child, and as such she had lived
for many years. And so at last the
secret was disclosed Emeline was
MARI ed to former captain of an oys-
ter pungy, who is now living in this
city Her mother, Elizabeth Ward,
died ut her house, in Somerset county,
last year. Mrs Buskirt has been