The Washington times., 1894-09-03
AFTER MANY YEARS.
Suit Brought Against the Georgetown Gas
Light Company TO Recover Some
OF Its Property.


Suit Brought Against the Georgetown Gas
Light Company TO Recover Some
OF Its Property.
The officials of the Georgetown Gas Light
Company are a good deal puzzled by the suit
brought against them Friday by William E.
yansciyer, OF No. 1919 E street northwest, and
Charles Javins, fish dealer, stall a, Center
Market
Thomas Knowles is one of the defend
ants in the suit and is also secretary Of the
Georgetown Gas Company. 1t is he whom
the Yansciver bill charges with having i'm
which is a part of the ground where the
Georgetown gas plant is located, to William
B. Dixon.
His mother, Lydia Knowles. sold the prop
erty TO William Yansciver, grandfather of the
pr esent plaintiff, away back in the ffties for
81 500. She received 800 in cash and took
notes for 81. 100. These notes were paid and
a re ceipt 10 that effect, a time-browned bit
Of writing paper, is pasted on the crisp type
" rItten manuscript Of the plaintiffs bill in
evid ence Of the fact. Thomas Knowles, a
youth when the sale was made. had power to
release the trust when the notes were paid.
/ Yansciver claims that he went further than
this and actually decided the property to
| William B. Dixon. About the same time the
| property was also sold 10 Dixon under trust
/ for 1881 put upon ii by Mrs. Irene Yan5ciyer,
| the widow of the grandfather. Lawyer
! Jackson. who was also Thomas Knowles at
/ torney, as trustee made the deed to Dixon.
Dixon conveyed it TO James Wardell in
l-n - sr,v.
| dollars, and it was sold by Charles NJ. Mat
thews, as trustee, in 1876, to an agent Of the
| gas company for =, $50.
! YansciYer complains that Knowles had no
| right to make the conveyance TO Dixon and
/ that there were other irregularities. and fur
! ther that the payments made for the ground
/ were wholly inadequate. the largest amount
| 81. .O50. being $3.50 less than his grandfather
had paid for the place in the early days Of
| Georgetown.
Mr.. Knowles is a grocer at No. 1904 Thirty
| second street, Georgetown. To TIMES re-
! porter he said:
Il don't see why he sued me- I can't un-
derstand how I have anything 10 do with it.
| well" he continued, whatever convey
ance made was upon the advice Of my law
/ yer. Mr.. Jackson. l think when Jackson
| was conveying the property to Dixon be had
| me join in the conveyance as an extra pre-
| caution. / am very sure / never received
I
| property from our family was the sale by my
| mother to Yansciver, which was made when
/ was boy and with which had nothing to
do"
Mr.. Knowles could not remember when the
gas company had located part of its plant
| upon the Yansciyer ground nor how long it
| had been in operation at its present location
Henry c. Winship, president of the gas
| company was as much in the dark about the
| suit as was Secretary Knowles. When ques-
| toned, he said:
Il don't understand it. When the bailiff
came with notice Of the suit, about O'clock
Friday night. and called me out from dinner,
| / said, what's this? Some fellow fallen down
the bank at the gas works and broken his leg?'
Don't know he replied with a grin, and
| was off,
Eyes, know the gas plant has been upon
the ground where it Is .ow since back about
1853, or something of The kind. l was clerk
in an Office right across the street. and ] re-
member they supplied US with gas The VAN
SEWERS in those days lived down that way.
The father was fisherman-had fishing
shore somewhere up the river
Edwin Sutherland, of Yansciyer's counsel
said yesterday: Il called on Mr.. Knowles
before i brought the suit and talked with him.
What he said pretty much corroborated the
facts upon which we base our suit. He was
rather uncommunicative and gave no expla-
nation Of the irregularities which we think
invalidate their title. / saw Mr.. Knowles be-
cause did not care to go into Il case when
facts ohtainable would show their was no
grounds for a suit
Joint heirs with William Vansciver the
plaintiff, in case he should recover the prop
erty left by his fathers will. are Mrs. Francis
J. Monrote, wife OF the jeweler at No. 5Il
Twelfth street northwest. and Mrs. James A
Hoover, wife of the hat manufacturer at No
S1l II street northwest. The first is younger
sister and the second an older But chiefly
benefited by success of the suit will be Mr.
Vansciver's mother, who is still living, ant
makes her home with the Hoovers.