New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-04-19
ROUND ABOUT TOWN.
4 FOREIGN ESTATE HUNTER.
orEER ROOMS OF AN OLD CLAIM LAWYER
,xoprE INSANE OVER FORTUNE HUNTING-hi0hie

or ALIENS TO ENGLISH PROPERTY.
There is a dingy old building. not far from
Printing House Square, that looks as II had oui'eu
ths period of Its usefulness now entirely out Oh
svmnahy with the yanties of this frivolous age One
might suppose from It's general appearance indee na
stern and rigid sense OF duty was all that kept IL from
weakly falling to the ground Upon Datereo .u os"
that has clnng deyotedly to the front door paeI Ao
nit Of old lace to La Vatre garment list Oh 'ne oo
bp,dings tenants MAY be supposed to be printed Time
has long since got the better OF the paint however anu
,e inscription On Ceope Needle Is quite as ineg
ble to the casual observer the stained ana aht QUIZ
lines that remain on the sign
Ifau adventurous spirit should nSompt you to push
omen the half wide door. and penetrate into the entry
xithered little old man. with squeaky voice and imp
I'm his walk would bob up from stool ana ask you "ha'
Won wanted You wouldn't him at first, ana you
couldnt you did, for 1t Is necessary 10 pecome
scclimated before You conduct even the smples'
of operations IN that entry. You must wait uh'il
your eyes have expanded SO as to admit enongh OF
its DIM gloomy light take in the little OLD man, ana
until your has ceased resisting the musty' mar
rarret half-cellar atmosphere that would seem to be
generated the premises The little Old man owns tic
building and pawnshoI on the first moor 10 WHICH
fact he will direct your attention with many warm assu
apces that times are and money scarce but that nc
will do the best he After you have succeeaeu ny
ronnuous and protests In convincing the
old man that you not reduced TO The necessity Oh
shocking" anything, nor DESTROYS OF rodeemhg any
article previously hooked, and that you are ehtrey
fmpervous to the grmaces which ho intends 10 10 50
seducye as magnetic you into his curious deh he
win reluctantly the names OF his tenants on tne
upper floors demand to know with whom your pusi
ness ia and what is about 1t soon becomes painfully
Which the little old man will not know If you let him
keep yon parleyine there In the hail. When ms questions
bconp tedious aud the interesting novelty OF his ucoun
appearance queer actions wears Off, the wise course
throw him TO one side ana follow your nose up INC
marrow stairway, too clean. TO the lots above.
, In one of these away up under the sky.ight there
lives remarkable man HIS name g, DC st or
he be called Musns Tn9usn le Is nearly sSveh ny
black hair scarcely tinged with gray, tails III clusters
over his broad but STOPPING shoulders AS thick anu
large ana harry every feature is prominent Under
broad forehead, pougled with wrinkles Two G
eyebrows above them are blshy and stern The mouth.
w%e Sn' ISSUES from it, This rare occurrence ind
oates high degree of hmnor and reveals two rows OF
sbayen aud perhaps operation may have occasion
ally beialen IT, An old six skull cap usually sits on the
fashion, around his throat His once siong ana sun
a natter strange to modern taors. the low wastccat
revealing old cotton shirt that looks as II II had never
had the pleasure Of making WashluOs acquaintance
Perhaps Mr.. Mnggnss general appearance may fail to
impress you favoaby but II y'd ins you sn ale an hg's
Is almost the only in America who can decide the
validity Of clam and the br e re- oSs
the hour. ,.,.
every family and coat or arms ut sight, ana mas
thousand dusty n,usty books. and parchment scrolls
his memory. All these thugs with two pine tables, four
chairs 70 match aud little wood stove with h box OF
covered with family crests arms and emolems
Perhaps naTe Ia ROundtOp and you thlnk younre
descen led IN eighth generation from only brother
Of Sir Timothy Bugwug OF Bngwug Mahor pevonsnire;
without issue. having left Oo0 which has been held
IN trust by tne OF tine Brsn Court
cousins Roundtop. removed In relationship however dis
tau jut where tue money 49, 1t really exists ana Just
rat your %
Are estates in England really recoverable" he was
that remains Of Trumpet voice that used sound loud
above the tempests of the ocean, for he was sea cap
Oh YES" be replied. During the last quarter of
century have got back hundreds 81 thousands an 81
meDsc amount of humbug in THIS business fouhave no
idea 9r back of their who are sorey
afflicted with the disease of Their AIRY
that they have gone from office afer ha done my
best sweep away their daares so %n cy
eould scrape together with some interruptions swimmer
~ san, hSow HUNDRED persons now in the solitary
ronnement OF lunatic asyums whose dsorder Is Oh hS
is very easy nd the strength Of claim upon
foreign estates, however difficult the hnaTecovery may
be- Here are containing the names oil ten thou
sand that have been advertised IN Of
law rAere boxes Here ,hs ook Of family
ernts There are volumes OF genealogles here are
books OF S D Da an n ony there sa
ltanal property In any OF these names my man,b
At least ninety per cent of these names represent
nothing. But here is something tangible ~ Is Tue
court record OF estates In chancery printed 0lcay
They out about olce In ten years g., Tnere are
hundreds and several thousand In tie court
every one OF which contains money IL You nave vaid
claim ty relationship these estates there Is chance
OF getting some money"
does not Blackstone say that aliens are ncaI soe
OF inheritance " - ,,,... yu..h. o~n.oa.
provisions Of English law make it possible for an
alien to and hold every species OF persona properly
as fully as II lie native blect;lincluding all
L,pds of property by will. And he iiay inherit by
descent from English ancestors even though his own
rarents were born Of the kingdom For instance,
Richard Yerbury left o small fortune by will In l75i
Dat OF this estate $4,000 was recovered by naive
born Americans OF the OF Goldsborough from the
etriklnQ Ia that OF Frances Mary Shard. who left
fortune of $4,000 in the early part OF the eight
eenh century Her second all s
recovered from the Crown for his Descendants IN ths
Coz utry pedgrees established weres both Old aud
Mary College in Virginia. and $4,000 of 1t WAS secured
in 1863. John Lawrencesiied In lsl4 HIS next OF alh
American. who obtained about S9o.ooo III a 3d.
con was Clement Wood, who came TO FLORIDA IN lIe2
His heirs sued for the estate, and m this case wnich
cost q fortune cOnesting 1t ana wa5 only decided IN
1870 the legal discrimination made between native
and alien heirs Tie Court decided that Clement
WOodss children could not recover because inc pos
sessrs of the estate related to the couple
IN the same degree American calinants c0uid
mention half hundred other cas0s but these are enough
to show that property does not sscneat 10 inc M
heir at law In another branch may recover"
IL usual for those heirs to know the gooi fortune
the contrary odd part OF this business is that
the persOns think they have foreign estates are
usually deceivng themselves while those VINO really
fortune generally know OF such claims ong before lhe
heirs sp?rised OF them someiimes indeed, nave
fisng in half q dozen cases for the Descendants OF
intestae persons in claims that aggregate half million