The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-09-24
ON SERIOUS CHARGES
Suit to Remove Two Trustees of
Millionaire Rogers Estate.
EMBEzzLING LAID At THEIR DOOR.
One of the Trustees a Son of the De-
ceased, the COmpIainants His Two Sis
ters, and Nearly s213,5OO Is
the Alleged Deficit.

NEW YORK, Sept. PA summons
and complaint filed in the county
clerks office here asks for the removal
of two of the three trustees of the es-
tate of Jason Rogers, the millionaire To-
comotive builder at Paterson, N. J.,
who died at Morrisania, N. Y, in Au-
gust, 1868, on the ground of ihisappro-
priation and embezzlement. These
charges are made at the instance of
Mrs. Mary j. Westerfeld and her sister,
Flora E. Rogers, daughters of Rogers
and heirs to the estate. The trustees
accused are Thomas Rogers, brother of
the complainants and also one of the
heirs, and William Caudwell. The
third trustee, who is said to be blame
less in the wrongdoing, is William Shill-
aber, Jr. The latter, it is stated, is
willing to resign his trusteeship.
Trustees Rogers and Cauldwell, the
papers state, in September, 1S93 pre-
sented their accounts to the surrogate
of Westchester county, N. Y in which
they claimed to have balance on hand
of the principal trust fund of $4S9,5S
and on account of the special estates in
trust for Mary j. Westerfield $12S, S,953.4s
and for Flora e. Rogers $145, 1852.
Inc complaint next says.
"Since the entry of the last decree the
plaintiffs have learned that at the time
decree was entered the defendants, Will
liam Cauldwell and Thomas Rogers, did
not, in fact have the same or anything
like the amount they claimed to have
in their possession; but, on the con-
trary, a very considerable part of the
assets and amounts wherewith they
were charged as such trustees had been
withdrawn and misappropriated by
them in and prior to January, 1896 and
that there was then a deficit of $213,-
4S0.95, which sum the said William
Cauldwell and Thomas Rogers have ap-
propriated ard applied to their own use
in violation of their duties as trustees
and of their duty to plaintiffs"
1t is said that as a result of the mis-
appropriation of the funds of the trust
estate the latter has been seriously i'm
poverished and wasted and that the
plaintiffs are not in receipt of sufficient
amounts for their proper support and
maintenance as designed by the testa-
tor.
In conclusion, the two sisters say that
the trustees are still in possession of
all the property of the estate which
their brother Thomas and Cauldwell
have not msappropriated and embez-
zled and ask that they be removed un-
til suitable trustees and receiver are
appointed to loo; after the estate. In
addition the sisters ask that proceed
ings be taken to recover the amounts OF
the deficits and that Thomas Rogers
be debarred from any further interest
or claim in the estate until the amount
of the deficit is paid back.
When Jason Rogers died, he, before
creating the trust fund for the benefit
of his son Thomas and two daughters,
provided literally for them with abso-
lutte bequests, and in the case of Thorn
as he was left large number Of bonds
and mortgages, 100 shares in the Rogers
Locomotive works at Paterson. N. j.,
and stock in the Paterson and Hudson
River railroad and the Paterson and
Ramapo railroad.
Among the property left by Jason
Rogers which figured in his large es-
tate was extensive real estate in the
upper part of this city, sprincipally in
the Harlem and Annexed district.