The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-11-11
HISTORY OF THE WADsWORTH
ESTATE.
The Benefaction OF forgotten Ph1ian'n1o-
pist Now to be Realized in Laurens
A Scattered Property OF S3oo,ooo
Serious Distress Likely to be
Caused-Some Innocent
Purchasers.
1Greenville News


The "Wadsworth poor school fund"
and the Wadsworth estate have been
heard of by many people in this State.
but the story that surrounds them Is
not familiar.
Inasmuch as the estate concerns
many Greenville people and many
Others in nearly every county IN the
State, the story is repeated below:
Thomas Wadsworth died IN Charles
ton about the year I'LL. He came to
America from England when young
man, first settling in Massachusetts,
and later in Laurens County, in this
State, near Milton. He became i'm
men ely wealthy, owning thousands
Of acres Of land and hundreds OF slaves.
After living in Laarens County many
years he moved to Charleston sad went
into the mercantile business with a.
Mr.. Turpin, the firm being Wadsworth
& Turpin.
When he died he owned lands from
the mountains to the seaboard ofSouth
Carolina, principally in the counties OF
Laurens, Spartanburg, Greenville,
Pickens, Anderson, Newberry, Lexing-
ton and Orangeburg. After abundant
" providing for his wife and mother,
for he had no children, he left about
"a OC0 acres in various counties for a
poor school fund. The property was
not to be sold. Everything was left in
the hands Of board Of trustees, COM
posed of five men. The trustees were
to be elected every two years by the
white freeholders of Dunlap's battalion
Of Laurens County and the school to
be supported was to be located in the
battalion.
In Mr.. Wadsworth's days the eoun-
ties were divided into battalions in
stead of townships as now, and there
were four battalions in Laurens Coun-
ty. There were also fo4F d4s Greenviile-
Deeds for the lands were left in the
hands of trustees and are now in The
possession of the present trustees:
elected last February by the white vo-
tiers living in Dunlap's battalion. A
school house was built in the battalion,
now Hunters township, and has been
in use ever since, although the vast es-
tate has not until now, yielded enough
to pay teachers salary. The trustees
rented the lands for a while and finally
leased them for terms ranging from
fifty to ninety-nine years. The money
received was loaned out and much Of
it was lost. Some of the leases were
renewed by other trustees, but a num-
Der efthem are beginning to expire and
distressing state of affairs is in store
for numbers Of people now in possess
sion of the lands.
R. G. Wallace and W. H. Workman,
two of the five trustees are in the city
and are looking up the part of the es-
tate located in this county for the pur-
pose of selling or settling in some man
ner. An act of the legislature short
time ago empowered the trustees to sell
the lands and re-invest in lands in
Iaurens township, near the Wads-
worth school.
The trustees find by old records in
the register of mesne conveyance's
office that there are about ], 400 acres
belonging to the estate in this County.
Over 800 acres of it are located about
two-and-a-half miles from the city, and
the worst part of the story is that about
forty-seven persons own the property
and that there are over twenty houses
| on it.
Persons to whom it was leased and
released years ago sold it to unsuspect-
ing and careless persons, and there is
| not much doubt but that many people
| will have to suffer. Part of the land is
! in the possession of Capt. William
Goldsmith. Much OF the same land lies
in the Sandy Flat section Of this coun-
ty. No property in the city is includ-
ed in the estate and real estate owners
| here will breathe easier. In one tract
in Spartanburg County there are 1900
acres.
IT was said at one time that the town
saDst ana 1os66Eson o6EEso was built on the property,
, AnShorder, ,;f c;efrfreed the property there
the conrts,ee. lie. About one hun
80 'soro further trouble W. acres east of the
lu ,red and twenty-five c3gi %biss ssstate, and the
toUn' t,s belonged to the e9 9pa.stees some
soS, snsrs settled with the trAbeto COM
time tmnsas ago by paying fair pFics VI
tlme ,iss as0 wberever the present 0'sss ".
p.O' prs have fought the matter in couls
thew have lost. This wou'u .erasr . in
fr;chten all who have any 'n'e'
the property .,;. o;tv lately in-
od Ons ~ some Of this land east OF ne,e'
Ss 10 ia now worried. All over W ths
sau s.ota ~ wherever there is any OF u.
| land, there will be uneas'nS'' 1 ~
a few may lose their all: hove
The trustees Of the fund no" nave
about 5000 on hand. They piopIn' ;n'
aoJ to hush matters to settlement and IN a,
w orease the fund. They have planned y
build two more school houses IN, IN nun -
,"n,s r battalion, one at Cross Hill an, u,
One at Mountvine. The Wads%ore' sooo
estate is now valued at between 9-0''
IS nm and $500, 600 at low estimate