The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-11-11
[Greenville News.

[Greenville 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 Ill. 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 Laurens County many
years he moved to Charleston and went
into the mercantile business with a
Mr.. Turpin, the firm being Wadsworth
& Turpin.
| When be died he owned lands from
the mountains to the seaboard of South
Carolina, principally in the counties of
Laurens, Spartanburg, Greenville,
Pickens, Anderson, Newberry, Lexing-
ton and Orangeburg. After abundant
ly providing for his wife and mother,
for ne had no children, he left about
"a, 900 acres in various counties for a
poor school fund. The property was
not to be sold. Everything was left in
! the hands Of a board of trustees, COM
posed Of five men. The trustees were
t 1e elected every two years by the
white freeholders of Dunlap's battalion
Of Laurens County and the school to
be supported was to he located in the
| battalion.
In Mr.. Wadsworth's days the coun-
ties were divided into battalions in
stead Of townships as now, and there
were four battalions in Laurens Coun-
ty. There were also four in Greenville.
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 num-
ber efthem are begin ming to expire and
distressing state of affairs is in store
for numbers Of people now in posses
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 a short
time ago empowered the trustees to sell
the lands and re-invest in lands in
1laurens 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
torty-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 vo'ln-
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
Of Anderson was built on the property,
but the courts freed the property there
from further trouble. About one hun
dred and twenty-five acres east of the
town, belonged to the estate, and the
owners settled with the trustees some
time ago by paying fair price to COM
promise. Wherever the present own
ers have fought the matter in court
they have lost. This would tend to
frighten all who have any interest in
the property.
One gentleman in this city lately in-
vested in some Of this land east ofhere,
and he is now worried. All over the
State, wherever there is any Of the
land, there will be uneasiness and not
few may lose their all.
The trustees Of the fund now have
about $4,000 on hand. They propose
to push matters to settlement and in
crease the fund. They have planned to
build two more school houses in Dun
laps battalion, one at Cross Hill and
one at Mountville. The Wadsworth
estate is now valued at between $780,
600 and $500, 900 at a low estimate.