Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1883-04-23
SHARP SUDAN
Caught Up Ia Another Gig ,ntlc
Land SWindie
In West Virginia Lands = "reminiscences
Of Suydam by a Wheeling Man
The 0-dest Scoundrel
on Earth"

Abraham Suydam, real estate agent and
land lawyer, now reposes behind the bars
in New York for completely in gigantic
fraud in West Virginia lands. The papers
are full of the minutie of the transaction,
which will come in its proper place below,
but none of them have given any account
of Suydam and his little shadowy &C ions
in this State and elsewhere prior 10 his ar
rest. The REGISTER of August IL, 1875,gaye
full particulars of his arrest in Chicago and
meh toned his having been for years law
yer of this State. Yesterday afternoon
REGISTER reporter dropped into party OF
gentlemen engaged in discussing the New
York arrest, and one of them sal he had
been well acquainted with Suydam and
gave
SKETCH OF HIS DoISGs.
"Suydam," said he, is a great character,
sharp as a tack and wonderful account
ant He was born an orphan. HIS father
was a bank president at Brunswick, \. j.,
and was murdered before Abraham was
born. He was an eminently reputable
old gentleman, but he mad terrible bad
son. Abraham is the d-dest scoundrel
on earth. He came to Barboursyille in 1868
as agent of the Transmontsne Land Com
pany, of West Virginia, which had its head
quarters in New York. 1t owned the old
Smith survey, embracing land in Lincoln,
Boone and other counties, and he paid the
taxes, settled the claims and attended to
Junior patentees. He was lawyer, but
without much business, and was civil en-
gineer, and a good one He was quite an
accomplished man and the finest mathe-
matician | ever knew. Well he figured
about Barboursville for some time
in this capacity. In 1870 or II he waa
changed with having
FORGED AN ENDORSEMENT
on a check for $500 ard nego ated il with
a Cincinnati Jew named henry Huwee.
A warrant was issued for him and Huwee,
as agent for Ohio came to Brownsville
with a reQuisitiOn aud took Suydam away.
But in two or three days he appeared again
al Bsrtoursville, having got out OF the
scrape in some manner unknown. lie was
mixed up in several other little matters
down there, Bthat would not like TO men.
ton. He soon after left there and sni he
was going to New York. Nothing was heard
OF him again until he turned up In Chicago.
where he was arrested for land frauds. lie
sold parts OF the Robert Morris survey, in
Mcdowell and adjoining counties and
thus raised some $4,000. He had
NOTORIOUS WOMAN OF THE TOWN,
named Kate Chilling, to acknowledge her
signature TO the deeds, as his wife, and
sign away her dowry, while his own wife
was living in New York. Her maiden
name was Gertrude MuSgrave aud she WAS
entirely respectable and of g God family.
/ don't know what was the result OF this
h,t inl- ha n a "A n.
itentiary. By the way, he had a little
transaction in Wheeling, in which Auditor
Miller brought him up with round turn.
1t seems he paid N 5000 TO redeem some
land that could not be redeemed and after
ward made application to have the money
refunded. But it was learned the money
was paid for George NJ. Weston, of Boston,
a member of the Silver Commission, and
Auditor Miller wrote him Incerning it.
The matter was finally compromised by
Weston paying Suydam $500 Of the 800.
That's the last ever heard OF Abraham
until his New York arrest.
THE NEW YORK ARREST.
Suydam was arrested on Thursday night
by Detective Sergeants Mcknight aud Cos
grove on a warrant issued by Justice Pat
terson, on the complaint Of James Madison
Flagg. OF No 24l East Thirty-fourth street,
q
who is more or less tavorably known in
Chicago. The prisoner was ar-aigned in the
Jefferson Market Police Court, aud WAS
committed for examination on the 3Jth
inst in the Essex Market Police Court in
default OF 81, 100 bail. The atii iayits in the
case charge that on or about the 18th OF
May last Suydam obtained 500 by false
pretenses from Fagg who was the owner
of lands in Virginia and West Virginia
L l.. 1 ~ 4 -, ,.ol
Suydam to furnish an abStrac, of the titles
TO the lands. The abstracts. or documents
purpor,ing TO be such, were delivered, and
altogether Flagg, according to his story,
paid Suydam ST. i5D. 1t has been discover
ed that the abstracts are false and fraIdu-
lent, and they are
BELIEVED To he FORCERTES.
The proceedings before Justice Patterson
are but side issue OF transactions between
a firm OF lawyers in New York aud Eng.
lish capitalists, which transactions are re-
lated in a brief drawn up by Mr.. James &,
Janeway, of Alexander Il Green, No. l2O
Broadway, and Mr.. ID. Forbes Dallas, SoliC-
itor in the Supreme Courts of Edinburgh,
Scotland, 1t is stated in this brief that
Mr.. ElleshOuSen, OF Nova Scotia, visited
New York about the time of the holidays
last winter while on his way to EIglanL
He met several lawyers of good standing
there, and some of them, il is alleged, sag
geSted TO him that certain large tracts of
land in Virginia might be very profitable
developed il the money could be raised tor
their purchase. After little talk praCi-
cal negotiations were opened, AMI in the
course Of few weeks contract IF sale was
entered into between James Madison Flag.
OF Chicago, and Capt. Albert Berwick Gun
bingham, Of London; the latter Investing
his money on the recommendation of Files.
housen. Flagg transferred 100000 acres OF
land in Virginia and West Virginia 10
Capt. Cunningham at a good price, the
purchaser being assured that The property
was "all right" Capt Cunningham pail
large sum to bind the bargain without
waiting for a rerihcatiOn of the titles or an
inspection Of the property. In the mean
time. Mr.. d. Forbes Dallas, a lawyer, OF
Edinburgh, Scotland, was engaged by Mr..
Elleshousen. in behalf of Capt Cunning
ham, to make a thorough investigation
into the CoDdition of the virginia lands
Mr.. Dallas, accompanied by Mr.. Marcus
Robinson and Mr.. William DudgeOn, ar
rived in this city March % and after con
sulting with a New York law firm proceed
ed TO Abingdon, Va, wnich was the near
est railroad point to the lands in question.
The interview which followed revealed
that one OF the abstracts OF the title gwen
10 Capt. Notwithstanding 2)J0O
acres Of land
WAS ALMOST ENTIRELY FALSE.
Mr.. Dickinson, the clerk of the court of
Russell county, Va, declared that certain
pages had been inserted in the abstract at-
ter his official signature had been attach
ed. Other Irregularities concerning the
abstracts were discovered including the
forgery of signatures. In none of the
cases was any title found in the person OF
Mr.. Flagg, the reputed owner OF the lands.
In the case of the 300 900 acres, Mr.. Dallas
traced the titles to the third parties, and on
the face of the records these parties appear.
ed TO be the lawful owners Of the property.
The investigating party returned to New
York, reaching there last Sunday, and the
law firm of Alexander & Green was in.
strscted TO take immediated steps for the
detection Of the frauds perpetrated upon
Capt. Cunningham. Upon looking over
the papers furnished by Mr.. Dallas, the
New York lawyers observed that many of
them were in the handwriting OF Abram
Suydam, whom, it was learned was I'M
favorably known to the police. An inter.
view was had with Mr.. Flagg who stated