Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-07-07
NEW YORK MYTHICAL ESTATES
How Some New York Lawyers Make
a Living in the West.
From the Brooklya Eagle { Dem

How Some New York Lawyers Make
a Living -Gudgeons in the West.
From tie Brooklva Eag1e (Dsm.l
The story telegrapbed from Chicago
about $500, 100000 Mercer estate in this
city which awaits legal claimants was
rdiculed at the tax office and in the
Registers office yesterday. "Tnat is pro-
badly another scheme by which some
lawyer seeks 10 make money out of gud-
geOns," said President Coleman, of the
tax department. 1--WE hear them every
now and then. 1t is surprising how they
succeed In getting people to put up money
to secure mythical estates. This parti
cular estate, they say, is in and about
Mercer street. | have for manV years
he'd after some property there, passing
titles, etc, and never heard Of such an
estate, and | don't think it exists"
One OF the searchers in the Re2ister's
office, who has grown gray in the business,
said: 'People have been here already to
look up this estate. some MERGERS came
here to-day from New Jersey to see ii Iney
would not come in for Il snare of the es-
tate Now 1t so happens that there is not
in this office any record of a deed or any
thing else that would lead to the belief
that any such person as the sO-cailed
Moses Mercer ever existed. The dispatch
says that the properly is in and around
Mercer street. Why, recently all That
property belonged to the Bayard estate
and was part of the old Bayard farm, and
was held by the Bayards long after TIE
time OF the so called lease. Mercer stree
aud Eldridge, Wooster and others We're
named after officers in the war of 1872,
and not after persons who Owne d property
there. 1t Is one of those schemes by
which INSCRIPTIONS lawyers catch fool
ish people who put up money to pay the
expenses OF litigation, which money the
Ori2inators Of the scheme pocket"
alt is a curious fact" added another
searcher, ''that these speculative schemes
always originate in the West and South
west. The people who come here, and |
have known some Of them TO come hun
dreds of miles on this sort Of business,
are always lOng-haired, gullible persons
from the West. | never knew New
England man to be caught in this bust
ness. A while ago a large part of Harlem
was claimed in this way, and only few
months ago similar claim was made to
an alleged estate on the East SIDE. The re
are lawyers who make regular business
of it. la one instance the sO-called heirs
paid nearly 5000 in assessments for
litigation. | never knew one OF these
claims to be successful. If you look up
the record of an assignment OF deed in
the Edwards case you Will find now these
things are worked"
The so-called Edwards claim was
started In Ohio in 1876. 1t was claimed
that one Edwards owned a plot of 30 acres
in this CITY, which was leased TO the
crown of England for 80 years and that
the lease expired IN 1872. 1t was first To-
Gated about Broadway and Canal street
and afterward over on the East side.
Meetings Of the heirs were held, assess
ments were levied, and finally on August
IL, 1876, an assignment of deed was filed
in the Registers Office by which Justus
g. Edwards, Catherine Tennis, Amanda
Edwards and others, of OHIO, ''fOr good,
valuable and sufficient consideration, viz
the sum of 500, released, sold and quit
claimed forever" to Henry W. lngeTsoll
and Henry Edwards, "the following real
estate or inheritance, property and prem
ises in remainder or reVersiOn, situate IN
the city OF New York and known and
| bounden in substance az follows, VIZ:
The Edwards estate, so called, formerly
owned by one Robert Edwards, VINO inter
married with Margaret Culln, and leased
said premises to the crown Of England
for ninety-nine years, which said lease
expired in 1872 as supposed. Said prem
ises and estate are situate, as understood
at present, on the east side OF Broadway
from the Battery up the street far enough
ana deep enough 10 contain tnlfty 10
thirty-tYe acres OF land"
1t would trouble the most expert real
estate man in the city to find that prop
erty according to that instrument. The
property where the estate is said 70 exist
was all divided and occupied a / the time
the lease to the crown of England is SAID
t. have been made. a large percentage
OF the heirs who made that assignment
were unable TO write, but made their
marks. Men with pioneer look ire
quently come in to see the record of the
Edwards estate, so that the work Of find
Ing gudgeons is probably still going on.
Not long after the record was made in the
Registers office some one obliterated the
figures 500 and wrote $1,000 over them.
1t is thought in the Registers Office that
good sums of money are made by lawyers
WAC get up these mythical estates. The
law which secures person after twenty
years peace8hle possession 81 property
does not apparently interfere with this
DuSluo32.