Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-12-11
FRAUD OF LONG AGO
Deeds of the AstOrs and Van-
 derbilts to be Contested.
ALLEGED INVALID TITLES
The Heirs of Governor Dongan Will Sue for Millions of Dollars in Real Estate.

DoDgan was Governor of the Colony of
 New York in 1890, and 1t is Claimed
 that he Was Defrauded Out of Proper
 Makers Deed-FOrtunes for the LIgi-
 Eants of the Suit is Successful.
 NEW YORK, Dec. 1.-The heirs of Thomas Dongan, Governor of the col ony of New York in 1890, are preparing to bring a sensational suit to test the title to millions of dollars wor tn of real estate located in this city and now in the possession of some of the wealthiest and most influential mon in the city. The property involved includes many lots in the lower part of the city, be- tween Whitehall street and the City Hall, and the majority of the lots touch Broadway, making them the most valu- able pieces of real estate in the city.
 Thomas Dongan was @ confirmed bachelor when he received his appoint ment as Governor of the colony of New York, and he remained a bachelor until the day of his death in 1715. He had relatives in England, but none of them seems to have followed his fortunes in America, nor to have known whether he had amassed fortune or not at the time of his death.
 Years after the death of Cove rnor Thomas Dongan many of the descend ants of his relatives left England and came to America in the hopes of better ing their fortunes.
 The descendants of these, in turn, have scattered all over the country, and can be found in various States from New York to California. In this section of the country, however, the majority of them are located, and some 30 of the heirs in this city and Brooklyn have combined together to contest the dis puted titles Many lawyers regard their chances as very slim.
 Prominent among those who claim to be the heirs of Thomas Dongan are George H. Jackson, Atwood B. Jack son, Charles B. Jackson, Henry P. Toombs, Gilbert E. Stevenson, William K. | Toombs and Walter Dongau of Brook | lyn.
 The property is now in the possession of the Cheesborough estate, James Cor . | don Bennett, the Astors and others. The deed under which the present pos | sessors claim title is a deed known as the 'Shoemakers' Deed" 7" It has often been referred to in historical sketches, and gained it's name from the fact that the majority of the men who sign ed it were shoemakers. The siRnsrs of this deed were four men and one woman All the signers owned property ad- | joining that claimed as the Dongar | property. The Dongan heirs now claim that in executing that deed those who were parties to it conspired together to commit a gross fraud upon the rights oi Governor Dongan and those who might be entitled to inherit his property.
 The alleged heirs will attempt to prove that the signers of the deed waited un | til 1715 to record it, although it wal drawn up in 1896, in order to divide III Dongan's laud among themselves. Don gan died in 1715, and the deed was re corded shortly afterward.
 It is alleged that the conspiracy sue ceeded so we'll that for nearly 200 years the titles have remained undisputed
 Now for the first time, it is claimed has the fraud dulent conspiracy been un- earthed.