The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-01

HBOyS, DO 1OU $40 AAAS Lana ~
an Mine, All Mine."-Stealing Brush
GOOD Proves Possession-Roman
of Rhode Island Town.
From the Boston Globe.
CENTRAL FALLS, R. l., May 26.-It was
..r+ainly 100 years after old Francis Rich
srdson made his will before his descendants
Ionrd if. And if the spirit of Francis Ricn-
ardson's poor outcast daughter, to whom
tbor will gave most of his possessions, could
No called back long enough to answer mo"
10 lust one question, how happy those de-
s,ardants would be. For on that one word
q most strange story hinges.
Wov back about 1900 there lived in an old
.,mhie-down house, about a mile from this
.;iiooe. a shiftless, worthless couple by the
,an1e of Fuller. The husband was Ben;
t ira wife Abigail. They had half a dozen
ob1dren. who were just as Shi'tless and
wort Hess as their parents. Abigail's mother
bad died on the poor farm when Abigail
vas n child, ana her father, a revolutionary
missioner. also died on the poor farm. But
TTbea Abigail was yet young girl she had
[eard her father say that there was strip
of land in Central Falls that once
GaIonqed to his wife. but that after
had (iletl Ill Ilb pun hOuSts anu Willie he
Iros away from Rhode Island, a man by the
nome Of Jerry Richardson had claimed the
land as his. and then sold it, Abigail al
wavs remembered this, and it fell that when
she was nearly 80 years old she and Ben set
lied down on the old Barrows place, less
than n mile from the land her father said
,cas hers by right, for she was the only liv-
ing child. From her door yard she could
SEE the great ledge of rock that rose up in
the upper end of the lot, and often pointed it
out to her troop of five ragged boys, saving:
"That's all mine, all mine, If | only had my
Along about 1882 the old couple died. the
wife onfliving the husband a year or two.
The ragged children had now become old
men, and almost every one was a candidate
for the poor farm. Four of them had mar
Iied and been blessed with numerous little
Fullers One of the brothers, George Full
Ter, used to gather herbs and make essences
and hniments and peddle them in basket
that he carried on his arm from door to
door He was always known as the doc
tor Another brother, Benjamin, was
basketmaker, and he used to steal out on
RAINY DAYS and dark nights to the ledge lot
his mother had pointed out to him and cut
ash saplings to make his baskets. His broth
ers too. were in the habit of visiting this
same wooded hill and bringing home in
4 baskets, and on their backs, dead branches
and sticks to burn. They were all inoffen-
sive people, but given to petty pilfering and
4 hard drinking
But the younger generation was rather
more Industrious. In 1886 one of them,
who was keeping little store and had got
few dollars, actually entered suit to re-
cover the property his father had told him
was theirs IF they had their rights" But
his money ran out before the suit came to
trial and the matter was dropped. But
THE TRADITION STILL REMAINED,
and even as late as 1850, the brothers, now
very old men, picked up sticks and cut
basket stuff on this ledge lot, sometimes
hitching up their ancient horse to haul it
home. Finally all were dead and their
dwellings, went to decay.
Now the younger generation was of an
altogether differ ent sort. They learned
trades and became respectable citizens. But
each and all cherished the tradition of the
family-that the land was theirs, 'if they
but had their rights Finally, one of them.
Nathan Fuller, determined to have his
rights. He visited all the heirs and induced
them ''to pool their issues" Then in 1874
he brought suit.
The lands that two generations back had
been of little value was now worth more
than 500, 900. 1t ran from the old ledge
straight through the thriving village of
Central Falls to the Blackstone river. On
1t were factories, stores, dwelling houses.
But the occupants of the land were
wealthy, very wealthy. and did not propose
to vacate without being obliged TO- Both
sides hired as shrewd lawyers as there were
within the borders of the State Old town
records were hunted up, deeds were copied,
a cloud Of witnesses summoned, and finally,
In September, 1880, the case came to trial.
VI this trial it Is not necessary to speak
10 detail. The claimants did not present
Inc case they were able to after wards, and
the verdict Of the jury was against them.
But they were able to convince the Supreme
Court Of the State that the verdict was
against the evidence, and so in 1881 what
was really the great trial began.
First, the claimants showed a warranty
deed OF a strip Of land containing 221I acres.
running back from the Blackstone river.
his deed was dated 1850, and by it one
James Reed free negro" conveyed this
strip OF land to Francis Richardson. When
Francis Richardson died three or four years
alterward, he wilied to his married
daughter, Mrs. Ezekiel Fuller, that 22A
acres of land.
ms was the document through which
tle rulers claimed the land, for they were
Ee Only living descendants of Mrs. Ezekiel
IleT husband couldn't sell the land
without her consent, and no deed of it
signed by her or her husband has ever been
found This woman's daughter was old
Aoigall Fuller, the woman who stood at the
uoor OF the old Barrows place and pointed
g gu the ledge lott to her FIVE ragged boys.
mere were all the links, strong and sound.
ana the otner side could not make dent
after ' ''Ne ~ A0' VI
ITS HUNDRED YEARS OF SLEEP,
Was plain enough. 1t said: 81 give and
TV9ueaeh unto my daughter, Abigail
ruler, wife of Ezekiel Fuller, and to her
t uglSl lot of land lying in Smithfield,
, mlch l purchased of James Reed; this
sa-u i9t OF land give unto my said daugh-
VT abigail, and to her heirs and their heirs
'n1 assigns forever"
Dlg there was yet another point to prove,
-aleiy, that the Fullers had been occupy
os tne land. The law says that if, under
NJ ioI5 conditions man occupies a piece
~ IL =. alu undisturbed for twenty years, even
oi. u Sn t his, it stops the real owner from
aiming 1t. But this is only under
lain conditions. The Rhode Island
@ rsS declare that this barring
to.; statute, the statute of limi-
tEa snail not apply TO that woman who
bs .I L ilrSt heir to land till ten years after
r w, nuS, and dies. Now, the mother of the
e6 S5ei ooys was this kind of an heir, con-