The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-28
STORY OF A LOST HEIR.
Wrestling Secrets From the
Forgotten Recesses Of
Time.
Some Fancied Sights Lead to the
Discovery of New Possible
Claimant.

Another heir is going to appear IN the
mysterious case of the estate OF Alexander
Smith. 1t is no less a person than James
Smith, who was before thought to be a
brother and is now found to be son.
Urged on by professional pique and the
fascination which the unearthing of mys-
teries affords, Oscar T. Shuck is doing his
best to bring this man to court to share
his fathers estate with his sister.
Mrs. Jane Harvey, who up to few days
ago was supposed to be the sole heir to one
of the unclaimed deposits in the Hibernia
Bank, was found by Attorney Shuck after
he had with infinite pains and trouble
established the identity of the ownership
of a deposit now amounting to nearly
$40 900, which has been accommodating
in the vaults of the Hibernia Bank
since 1862 Shuck thought his work
done at the time, but Mrs. Harvey
did not recognize his efforts, nor
did she acknowledge his interest in the
case in any way When therefore, few
DAYS ago, she said that she had no uncle,
and that she had a brother alive, Mr..
Shuck again put his shoulder to the wheel,
and he is now fast on the trail of the
missing brother. al will get him. he says,
land | will bring him or his heirs into
court to divide that money, and | only
wish had fifty more, whom [ could bring
in for their shares, all of which goes to
show that the attorney does not like the
way he has been treated.
That he has been working diligently in
his new quest is shown by the fact that he
has already traced James Smith for thir-
teen years after his family last heard from
him. The last information OF the missing
man showed him to have been in South
eastern Nevada in 1875. The last his sister
had heard of him was in 1862.
The successful search for the owners of
this unclaimed deposit reads like a ro-
nance. In December 1898, In compliance
with the law requiring it, the Hibernia
Bank published in its annual report a list
of the unclaimed deposits which for
years had rested forgotten in its vaults.
Among these deposits was one, originally
small, but subsequently swelled by accu-
INFLATED interest to $I7,752, which was
down on the books as belonging to one
Alexander Smith of 233 Stevenson street,
San Francisco On the suggestion of j.
D. Sullivan, attorney for the Public Ad-
ministrator, Mr.. Shuck took In charge the
search for the owner of the money, or, il
dead, his heirs His search was a long
one, but was intensely interesting, and his
treatment by the heir he found has had the
effect OF redoubllng his efforts, and sue
cessfuI search for the second heir may give
rise to story quite as interesting as that
of his original investigation.
The first refuge was the old directories,
those OF the years from 1850 on and right
up to the later ones. The name of Alex
ander Smith of 233 Stevenson street APP
reared but once in the directories, and was
In the one published in 1852 the year the
deposit was made. There was also James
Smith of the same number on Stevenson
street. who was put down as a clerk in the
New York warehouse. He was at first
taken to be the brother of the depositor,
but is now known to have been his Oldest
child. A search through all the names IN the
directory of 1862 failed to unearth any one
else who resided at 233 Stevenson street.
An examination of the indices OF all
estates in probate and of all mortuary
records and all property conveyances OF
every kind in San Francisco from 1850 to
1880 also failed to show the name OF Alex.
lnder Smith. AT the bank they had
thought he was a cook, and he had made
ais deposit in the spring of 1862, and that
vas all they knew about him.
The long interval since the missing man