Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-02-22
HENRY FARNUSps MILLIONS.
a Death Bed Marriage to Prevent Lit
CATION Fails to Effect It's Purnose.


A Port Jervis, n. Y, dispatch in the
New York World of February 10 says:
A lawsuit brought by the heirs of Henry
! II. Farnum, who died in this village in
1879 worth over 81, 200, 900, against Charles
| st. John, administrator, while it does not
| affect the disposition Of the property as it
was intended by the dead millionaire, de-
1 feats his extraordinary efforts to prevent
! litigation in the settlement Of his estate
! Mr.. Farnum came to this region as a
/ rOdman in an engineer corps en-
! ployed in the building of the Della
/ ware and Hudson canal in 1926, before
/ Port JerVis had an existence. At the
/ completion Of the canal in 1929, although
| he was but u, he was made assistant
| chief engineer, and subsequently chief
| engineer. The canal called many vii
| lagos into existence along its route,
among them Port Jeryis. Farnum pur-
! chased large real estate interests here.
and nearly all of the present site belonged
| to him and his father-in-law, Stephen st.
John, when the Erie Railroad was built
| through this region, in 1913. This increas-
ed the value of the land a hundred fold,
and made Farnum a rich man. In 1858
he started the Port Jervis Bank, and in
1856 he had Port JerYis incorporated
as a village, and was elected its
| first President. The same year he organ
lied n gas company, and subsequently
a water company which had eXtraOrdi-
nary charter privileges. BY toll bridge
across the Delaware, the Barrett bridge
Company, of which he was the chief
spirit, controlled all communication be-
tween Port JerYis and the lower Della,
ware valley in Pennsylvania, of which
this place is the trade centre. BY these
and other enterprises he accumulated his
wealth, and his friends had long known
that it was his desire to leave the bulk of
it to two nephews, sons of deceased
brother. He had many other relatives,
however, and he dreaded contested will
if he disposed of his property I'm that way.
Mr.. Farnum's wife died in 1873. Shortly
afterward he placed the widow of the de-
ceased brother mentioned in charge of his
household, as he was childless. In Sep
TENDER, 1879 he was Frustrated with
bronchitis, and died month afterward.
He made no will, but on his deathbed
married the mother OF his two favorite
nephews. Dying intestate, half of his
wealth went to his widow and the other
half to his next of kin. This necessitated
the division of the second half into seven
equal parts, one Of which fell to the two
nepheWs as the share of their late father.
Their mother, falling heir TO one-halt
the estate, left them the only heirs
to that at her death, and SO
the desire of their uncle that
they should be his principal heirs was in
sured of eventually being carried out
without litigation. Charles st. John, who
was appointed administrator, found
among the effects a number of unpaid
notes which had been given to Farnum
from time to time by certain of the heirs.
In settling with these heirs the admins
traitor. deducted these notes from the
shares. This the heirs held he could not
legally do, and they brought suit to re-
cover the amounts thus deducted. The
case has just been argued in General
Term and the decision is pending.
Mil Dr. I 80. g 60. ,lIl.o,.r..,.