The sun., 1893-06-14
BARNUM CHILDREN SUING.
PAPERS SERVED At THE FUNERAL
or MRS HENRIETTA @. BdRSUM


OF nm Iniestntc'. Miiion.Doiar Estate,
and that the GrnudchiIdren Have Grown
Up Amid IIardsbips-One OF Them D,ips.
Funeral services were held last n ight over
the body Of Mrs. Henrietta c. Barnum at her
residence. 1.416 Boston avenue. While they
were going on a clerk in the of1lce Of Lawyer
Stephen NJ. Hoye waited outside with copy Of
q summons In n suit which was begun yester-
day for the purpose OF forcing division Of the
estate OF Jeremiah q. Barnum, who twenty
years ago was one OF the wealthy citizens Of
New York.
Henrietta Barnum was his widow. Tho plain
tifls in the suit arc her grandchildren. Ida Nc
Kenzic Houson and Mary Florence Barnum.
The defendants are her children. Robert Duke
Barnum Of Pitt & Barnum. produce merchants,
in Reade street and Mrs. Henrietta Wheeler.
tho wife OF the late Senator John Wheeler OF
Connecticut. The defendants are uncle and
aunt of tho plaintiffs.
jeremiah &. Barnum was for a great many
years connected with tho firm OF II. B. ClAflin
Co. He was man OF n saving DISPOSITION.
and the money he made he invested in real es-
tate In the upper part OF the city, He died in
1870. and was reputed to be worth about
| S1.OOO.O00. oil OF which was In real estate. He
left no will. He had three children. jeremiah
G.. Barnum. JE. Robert Duke Barnum. and
Henrietta Wheeler. Jeremiah. Jr.. had mar
ried Miss Mary Mckenzie. who was q teacher
In ono OF the public schools In Grand street.
They lived in one OF the Barnum houses They
had three children. Ida Mckenzie Barnum.
Mary Florence Barnum. aud Frank Barnum.
jeremiah Jr.. died in 1870. There had been
no division Of his fathers estate up to that
time. and his wife and family were left with
practically no means. Mrs. Barnum went to
work again teaching school. this time in the
public school in East Fifth street She contin-
ued to live in the Barnum house. according to
Lawyer Hoye and her children. until the rest Of
the Barnum family said to hcr:
Now you are teaching school down town
this is an inconvenient place to live You had
better give up the house and take a fiat down
town: we will pay tho rent" She acted on
their suggestion. but her children say that
| only one months rent Of the fiat was ever paid
| by anybody but herself. 1t was hard work for
| her to support her family on the meagre pay Of
| q school teacher. and she ran down in health.
| She died in 1887. leaving her children little IL
| anything.
Ida had In the mean time married Frank
| Houson. who was employed as a guard on the
| Third Avenue railroad. He had helped to
| support the family. He was going to bury
Mrs. Barnum. but Robert Duke Barnum. it is
said. intertered, and she was buried at the
expense Of her husbands family. At tho same
poSeb Ss poard er to
I'M month nth p board 'f Tor Frank. Thsy have done
| that -
cold which deyeIored into consumPtion. and
g me with f snS % SS
wife and her brother and sister were probably
entitled TO eSnsiderMable part Of the estate stat Of
Lawyer Hoye. who made an investigation.
which has resulted in tho beginning Of this
In the complaint which the lawyer drew up it
Is set forth that the three children are the only
who wSs ened ep to o. 3 R
estate, Of Ris~ father: that his father died on
JHns IL. 1872 leaving n no WILL and d that the
| ters Of administration were taken out on the
estate by any one.
departed this life on the 18th day 9f June: that
fGr four or ys years Prior to her death she vas
transact any business: that .notwithstanding
| this she was induced to transfer from time to
%f EiT2s pff5ftshs faftheq Of says tho
plant :. that they verify. believe that they arc
to q said nat
them out ' Of their sss rishts purpose 0l
plant is a block 'ounded by Boston v avonue. @
Union avenue. and ldoth street; where the
308 and 3IO Fulton avenue. and 1857 Third
avenue. The complaint ends:
s m to 5aa
si tSs SSsI 3 j fTS q
s sAt e a". ~ be
Se for '1ch n.h nS and p.ho relief as
It also prays for an accounting OF all the
moneys. received as rentals since the death OF
tho Old M: Bqrnum;; Lawyer Hoye SAID yes:
property he had discovered that mortgages
bad been put ON good deal OF the property
Jeremiah 6. Barnum. ST." he said. died
yithopt a VIII and. under the laws q New
division Of the rest; There being three chill
He s never received that, and his children have have
actually wanted for the necessities Of life,
ss wt any6ns "h His His d. haa;
she is to-day had she had sufficient money, to
Robert Duke Barnnm has been trying 70 In
heHs fSe Hoasons aSe iSo at East l15h street.
p6r,s phss wsFf Tso SSsf s Ass small
one: 1t is well furnished. Mary Florence
gsnm Il bsd HSsatn th1 ihs
vile had Just returned from the funeral They
Ola not know tn that the na5etTss In & Their suit had
Hoye had told 1t. He said that as soon as he
learned that his wife and her brother and sis |
ter wero entitled to share OF the estate OF their
grand parents he had lawyer Hoye make
search OF the records OF the court and Of the |
Public Administrators office here and White
Plains to ascertain Il there had ever been any
been granted to anybody. There was no
record.
Then the records of the Registers office
were hastily gone over and two transfers OF
property wore found one made by Mrsi Bar;
another by Mrs Barnum to Robert Duke Bar |
nun July %, 1882. Records OF mortgages
against the homestead to city savings bank
were also found.
:, he and his family. he said; had had very
little 70 do with Robert Duke Barnum or with |
Mrs. Wheeler, Ho had gone to Robert on oc-
easlons. when ho was very hard pressed. to
borrow money to care for his sister-in- law and |
from time to time had obtained small sums. |
but his wife. who he believed was entitled to |
money from the estate. had never received n |
cent nor Rad her brother and sister. excspt |
the money that was paid for their board aud |
for their schooling
Whom thc sister was In ken III he was too rOor |