The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1890-02-08

some lVe years ago Joseph Brewster
dlcd IN st. Louis, leaving nearly $780,
900 worth OF property. His estate was
| prObated in the usual manner: but
when the heirs brought forward proof
OF helrship, three children Of Caroline
! Phalis, who had been a member of the
| brewster family before her marriage.
ana had died previous to the probat.
! ing OF the estate, came into court and
claimed "A full share in the estate.
They produced what purported to be
a letter Of adoption signed by 10.
| Seph Brewster and wife and Caroline
! Phalls. 1t was dated in 1868, and bore
the seal Of the Probate Court Of this,
La Sale, county. As it seemed a little
irregular in form, it was sent to a
! prominent law firm of this city for
investigation
The document arrived in Ottawa a
Few days ago, and the investigati lion
has been conducted behind closed
doors, but an inklng of the matter
escaped from around the window cas-
lngS in the reporters ear.
Joseph Brewster was an eastern man
VINO began moving westward early in
IN the tifties. He lived in Ohio from
about 1854 to 1860. and then came to
Illinois, residing near Peru. where he
was well known. until in 1870 or 1872,
he removed to st. Louis, where he ac-
cumulated large fortune.
with Brewster and his wife was a
young woman by the name of Phalis,
who was quite an attractive person.
She married a st. Louis man and was
the mother of three children. After
Brewster's death it appears that the
children of his late charge concOcted a
scheme TO get share OF the estate by
producing the alleged letter Of adop-
ton. This document is written on
the old style blue tint legal cap of the
fiftics, and appears on its face TO have
been prepared in Ohio in 1857, and ac-
knowledged before the Probate Court
of this county in 1868. 1t bears the
signature of A. b. Moore as Probate
Clerk, and a fac Sin'ile Of the seal of
the present Probate Court.
Now it so happens that there was no
such court known as the Probate Court
in La Sale county in 1868, for that
court, as Il distinctive tribunal, was
not created until the year 1882. There
was, of course. no seal of 1.-THE Probate
Court i'm existence in 1868, for the
seal attached to probate matters prior
to 1882 was that of the county clerk,
who had charge of probate business.
The present seal was, therefore, not
in existence until 1882, when the court
was organized as separate court with
its own Judge and clerk. The sigma
ture purporting to be that Of Col.
Moore does not in the least resemble
his signature, and is self-cvident
forgery.
This paper was recorded in the re-
corder'S office in this county in 1887,
but was not noticed particularly, as it
had no bearing upon any La Sale
county case.
The forgery was not at all clever,
and appears to have been the work of
bunglers, who were making bold at
tempt to capture large slice OF a
large estate at any cost. The seal of
the Probate Court was easily obtained,
as it has stood upon desk in the
clerks Office and was accessible to any
one, especially when crowd was in
the office.
These facts, when reported in st.
Louis, will probably create a scatter
ing" among the descendants of Caro-
line PhaliS