The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-12-01
PLAYING ON oREDULoUs PEOPLE.
Difficulties I'm the Way OF Proving Heirshi
to Old English Estates.

ON IN ILL.,
Difficulties I'm the Way OF Proving Heirship
to OLD English Estates.
New York Tribune.
The Tribune has upon several occasions
denounced the practices of the so-cslled
supposed heirs of large English estates
which are said to remain in the keeping of
the English Treasury. simply waiting
for some one to come and prove his title
and get 1t. The Tribune recently published
q warning against putting too much trust in
o recent arrival from England, one of these
phllanthropic legal men whose chief de-
light it is to recover large English estates
and hand them over to the poor and lawful
heirs in America. These fellows come
here with plausible stories about how easy
1t is to recover my thical millions of pounds
sterling locked M IN the Bank of Eng
land, simply waiting To be claimed; and
oil these solicitors ask Is IN subscriptions just
dollars have been expended in this way by
the OyercOniident heirs, but tie millions
have not yet been distribu ted. In che last
two weeks many letters have been received
thanking the Tribune for it's warning. and
one or two from the solicitors have criti-
oised it as unjust.
One of these letters, from Benjamin Willis
Jennens, Of Salt Lake City. says: Il re-
member the efforts made to discover the
Iineal descendants of Williams Jen-
cnS oFcI uAbJ ycuIo dBO. ~ mhJ
serve to show any claimants in Amer
lea the difficulties before them in
en~deavoring TO establish any claim to the
estate. VI course. something may have
turned up since the time l speak of to put
a different light uuOn the matter. My
father was an important manufacturer in
Birmingham. England. closely connected
with the fine arts. so prominent that he
was appointed manufacturer to George Nv,
William Nv and to the present Queen Vic
foria In his frAnnanf Vtaita IN fha MALAGA
he became well known to Lord Howe and
to his sons. the Curzans. and with the lat
ter had many conversations about the Jen-
mems estate.
They honestly admitted that they ie-
lieved him TO be one of the heirs to the es-
the proof. i am now sixty-fve years of
age, and well remember the efforts made
by my father to establish his claim. He
and some relatives employed lawyers and
others to search church registry books for
entries of births, deaths and marriages of
the Jennens family. and my father had
piles of documents t~estifyiEg TO
the thoroughness of the investiga-
deeply interested in the proceedings and
used to read all writings that were COM
piled. i we'll remember that there came re-
ports from those engaged IN making the
search of missing leaves from the church
registers corresponding with dates of the
events referred TO in the Jennens family.
At length after many years of time and
great expenditures of money my father
gave no the case az hopeless. A missing
link in the coupling brought the business
to an end as / understood it."
Another letter from l.. w. Kervan, Of
Norwalk, Fla, says: such circumstance
serve two purposes. even though the funds
remain in old England, where they were
accumulated. 1t leads many people to look
up their genealOgy who never would other
wise realize they had any such thing, and
1t is productive of many amusing stories.
In regard to the Jennens estate, of course
it is q big subject to think OF. Ono
some twenty-five years ago was that
none Hbearing the name of Jennin gs
can be an heir. unless by marriage into the
families of the descendants through the
female line; for the Jennings name of that
particular family ran out with the genera
tion of our great-grandfsthers grandfather.
Michael jennings.
Here 10 the line: John Rhosdes and
Easter Peck married at Milford. Conn,
Dec. 8. 1904. John was born at Wethers-
field. Conn.,, Jan. 20, TIA. The parents OF
John were Joseph Rhoades. of Wethersfield
and Sarah Green, of Milford. The parents
of Easter. who died at Bethlehem. Conn,
born In Milford in 1885. and Samuel
Msrchsnt, who cam to this country from
England. The parents of Michael Peck
were Samuel Peck and Hannah Jennings.
Samuel Peck was born in los. and came to
the United States from England. He died
at Milford. where be was owner of large
property. In 174. Hannah was a daughter
of Michael Jennings. who was q son Of
Joshua jennings. q son of Humphrey Jen-
ninRs. of Ellington Hall. Warwickshire,
England. Joshua jennings was landed at
Say brook from England. on the ship Mar.