The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1886-12-04
STARTLING HEADLINES.
A WISCONSIN LAND CASE.
Disputed Title To A Tract in the
Heart Of Superior City.
Chicago Tribune Nov. 29th.

tNlcagD 1TlDunc NOV. -Jti
MILWAUKEE WIS Nov. Especial a Mil
Waukee firm of attorneys have just completed the
papers in suit which. for several reasons, prom
ises to be. of great interest to the legal fraternity of
the country and to the public at large on account
of the prominence oil the ntgants. ms uuSa-
ton, which is for the possession Of l6Q acres oil
land in the very heart of Superior City, this se,
will first demand the attention of the Douglas
County Circuit Court. but will unquestiondbiy
soon have place on the United states Court Cal
endar The groundwork for this great case the
present value of the property at stake being near
" Sio10D, dates back TO the hfties, when much
land in that section of the country was secured
through prescriptions. half-breed Indians being
hired to hold the property and secure the tue
from the Government the Indians then turning
over the property to their employers. The land
now brought into litigation preempted by
two halfbreeds named Dennis and G5Htiier IN
1854 which they decided to two different persons.
They first sold the property to George J. Becker
July II, 1854, and June Z, 1850, they sold 1t TO
James T. Greeyes The first conveyance was re-
corded July q, 100, more than year after the
deed was given. The second conveyance was
about eleven months after the first yet the gran
tee got his deed III the Registers hands about six
weeks prior TO the time when the other ed was
filed for record. These two gentlemen became
interested with land and town site companies,
and their property disposed of III parcels to
numerous individuals. One ofthe land syndicates
whose members or their heirs are now indirectly
interested, vas known rs the 'Iown-slte Com
pany." shares III this Synd cate were ulYlqed
among the following prominent men OF that DAY:
Two shares allotted to stephen \. Douglas,
United States Senator from Illinois, who i'll 1860
was the Democratic candidate for the Presidency
against Mr.. Lincoln. One share went 10 John &.
Brccknridge, who was Nice-Prestdent, and after
wards the candidate of she sligyehOdlng wing of
the Democratic party against Lincoln and Doug
las, and one share went 10 Il. u. /. Hunter, IL
member OF Jefferson Davis CabineHt during the
rebellion Robert J. walker Secretary OF the
Treasury under President Polk, received two
shares; Mr.. Granger q brothcr-in-aw of stephen
4. Douglas one share; Jesse ID. Bright, United
States Senator from Indiana before the War, and
who was expelled from that body, two Spares; W.
". GarrOran Of washinston, who Is several times
a millionaire and owner the great art gallery
at the Capital, two shares; MT. Rice OF Il. Paul, a
member of Congress from Minnesota, one share;
W. 4. Richardson. Democratic member OF Con-
gress from Illinois one share. Judge r. Il. Nelson
OF 81. Paul, two shares; and the remaining eleven
shares to James StinsOu. ID. A. Robertson, ID. a. L.
Baker. w il. Newton, Benjamin Thompson Geo.
f. Nettle'on, Edmund Rice, and John L. Dawson.
Besides the above named members OF the Town
SITE Company the following persons are inyoly-
ed IN one way or another III the pending htiga-
tiCu. James b. Beck Of Kentucky, United States
Senator: Bethel College Of Logan, KY, institu-
ton with a speculative interest III Wisconsin
lands, probably acquired by bequest similar TO
that Of Cornell University, which owns large
tracts OF lands in Wisconsin, George l.. Becker,
the original grantee, to whom the quarter section
was first sold by the half-breeds; II. Haupt OF II.
PAU. a railroad magnate of some prominence the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company; George ".
Riggs, IA leading banker Of Washington d. G.,
and NJ L. Riggs of Baltimore, his brother; Thorn
A. Scott of PENNSYLVANIA, the great railway
President deeeosedE d. L. Bright, J. J. Bright,
and ~ :. Bright, heirs OF ex-senator Bright VI In
IN various parts OF the Union and long list OF
persons whose places of residence are unknown.
The cOIHliainaHts are: Charlotte X. Ellis, daGgh-
er OF Franklin ripley, formerly OF Milwaukee,
Christine +. Perrine, then wife of Franklin Rip
ley; Chrrlotte \. Newton Henrietta w. Newton
Frederick \. Newton, Mary H. Hotchkiss, Helen
T. Arnold Josephine Z. RiOrdan, Edward p
HotchkiSs ClariSsa NJ. Abel, Francis NJ. Doug
lass, and james H. Dodge. The principal defend
ants aside from those before enumerated are
james Barion, the leading and most wealthy res
ident of Superior; Anna Bardon, Sarah Il. Ander-
son, Elmer +. Btrton, l.. Bardon. Richard Bardon,
Gen. r. \. Buckner, G.. L. Brooks, Charles >. Cat
lin, ID. II. Perry. James $. kitch1e James Syre, {.
H. Sunderland, and o. y Murdock, all Of whom
with the exception Of Gen. Buckner, reside at Hu-
perior
The manner III which large tracts of land were
in early days secured by preemption is quite GER
tain 10 be brought out in this trial, and will un-
douhtedly have an important bearing on the case
1t Will, therefore, he watched with great interest
~ many property holders whose possessions will
be effected BY the final decision on the case just
inaugurated.
A TIMES reporter has made some
inquiries about the above case of some
of the defendants who reside here, and
learned that they have been served
with copies of the summons and COM
plant requiring an answer in twenty
DAYS. OF course the non-residents
will have to be served by the usual
publication of six weeks All there is
of the case is that two parties claim
the same land, and as each party
thinks his title is the best, there is no
way save through the courts, of de-
Gliding the question as to which party
is really the rightful owner.
The land has no such value as stat
ed above The tract contains 100 acres
and is sub-divided into lots and blocks.
Average blocks containing two and a
half acres have been selling at 500.
to $500. APIECE. At the most the
tract is worth not over $500 an acre;
in fact few here would say it was
worth oyer 500. an acre. 1t lies west
of the business portion of Superior
about half mile, and is cut by Bak-
er Stinson, Thompson, Becker, and
Nettleton avenues, and is cut in two
tliagonally near the centre by West
Fifteenth Street. The north east cor
ner of the tract is on west 9Th street
near Nettlelon avenue, from which
point it runs west a quarter of a mile
and south one mile. There are nc
buildings or improvements on the
tract, except that a considerable por-
ton of it has been fenced and cult
yated for many years by those hold
ing adversely to the present claim
ants. We are informed that some OF
the owners there under Becker have
"hedged" against the Greeye's title by
buying up enough of the latter to GOV.
er their property,
The litigation promises to be long
and Interesting, and what the result
may be no one can tell till he sees the
final decree of the courts.