The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-12-03
KAVANAGH OWED $4,000
HE Is NOW LIVING IN ELEGANT
STYLE IN ROCHESTER,, n. Y.
His Assets $5OO-His Heavy Telephone
BiIIs-"Fixing'' COmmer-
ciaI Agency.

Attorney T. ]. Carbon. who was year
ago appointed assignee for James p. Kava-
nagh. insOlvent wholesale tobacco dealer at
104 South Pennsylvania street. is preparing
TO make final report of the trust to the
court. The report will show that Kava-
nagh's debts at the time of his assignment
aggregated about $4,000, while his assets
amounted to less than $500. Kavanagh left
Indianapolis about the time of his assign
ment, leaving an Indebtedness here of about
$500 in this city. He is now located in
Rochester, N. Y. A few weeks after leaving
Indianapolis the insolvent tobacco merchant
procured some funds and made trip to
Ireland, returning from there last Feb
ruary at the solicitation of Assignee Carbon,
who seemed to have a hopeless task ahead
of him in settling up Kavanaghs affairs.
The assignee made several trips East in his
efforts to straighten out the tangle and
learned a good deal about Kavanagh's ro-
mantle career.
During his operations here the tobacco
merchant appears to have lived a gay sort
of life. He appeared to be about twenty
four years of age and was a young man of
dashing and attractive appearance. Kava-
nagh was raised in Rochester, N. Y. At
the age of nineteen he was married in Buffa-
10 to woman of forty who had consider
able property. She died seven months after
the marriage, leaving an estate valued at
about $1,000. The entire estate fell to the
young husband, and 1t is said that he imme-
diately began to spend it. He engaged in
the life insurance business, fitting out an
office with handsome furnishings and en-
ploying a large number of clerks and
stenographers. While carrying on this bust
ness Kavanagh had good time and spent
his money with free hand His life insur-
ance failed to yield large profits, however,
and he went out of it. Kavanagh, as the
story goes, made the acquaintance of a
woman who took a great interest in him
during his last year in Rochester and about
the time he gave up the insurance business.
This woman was Mrs. Georgiana Britt
nearly twenty-five years his senior. Mrs
Britt, although she was fifty years old at
the time she met Kavanagh looked very
much younger and was a woman of hand
some appearance. She was married, but
her husband was at the time an inmate of
one of the New York asylums. He was
Mrs. Britt's third husband. The wife had a
good deal of property in her own name and
lived in frst-class style. Tt is asserted that
he had little trouble in inducing her to
mortgage her property for $4,000 OF this
amount she gave Kavanagh $4,000 and he
came to Indianapolis to invest it in the
wholesale tobacco business. He started in
business here in April, 1885, During his resi-
dence in Indianapolis Kavanagh made many
trips East, though Mrs. Britt never visited
him here but once. They corresponded regu-
larly, however, and Kavanagh resorted to
the use of the telephone.
A HEAVY TELEPHONE BILL
After his assignment the Central Union
Telephone Company sent in a. bill for $780,
One of the items charged to him was for
talking to Mrs. Britt over the long-distance
phone The assignee in looking over Kava-
nagh's effects found number of letters
which Kavanagh had received. These epis-
ties usually began with dearest" but only
one was signed. In this letter the woman
chided Kavanagh for something he had said
to her in his last letter. Her remarks in
dicated that Kavanagh had doubted her love
for him. She declared that she would sign
her name to the letter to convince him that
she was not afraid for the world to know.
A few days before Kavanagh's financial
collapse Mrs. Britt came to Indianapolis.
Her mission was to help him out of his
financial trouble if possible, and she con-
suited Attorney r. j. Carton, who had
transacted some business for Kavanagh 1t
was decided that the best plan was to have
an assignee appointed, and Mrs. Britt asked
the attorney TO take charge of the trust
He consented to do so. 1t was charged by
the attorneys for some of kavanagh's
creditors that he had left the city in COM
married man, this was the cause of consid-
cradle comment. Mrs Britt is living in
Buffalo.
TO FIX" DUN AGENCY.
Il,
and Mrs. Britt met Attorney Carton in Ro-
chester, and on this occasion Kavanagh
made a clean breast of his affairs to the
attorney and his statements, as far as Mrs.
Britt were concerned, were corroborated by
her. Kavanagh went further in making his
confession and made serious charges
against one of the largest wholesale to-
bacco firms in Chicago. Kavanagh said
that while he was in business here he was
heavily indebted to this firm. He said they
entered into a conspiracy with him by
which they were to make certain represen-
tationS to the r. CT. Dun commercial
agency; According to his story, the to-
bacco dealers were to represent to the COM
mercial agency that they had investigated
kavanagh's accounts and books and had
found him TO be perfectly solvent. BY this
means 1t was hoped TO have him rated as
being all right financially, and he would
thus be able to purchase more goods on
circuit. AS q TOT the services
rendered by the Chicago firm Kavanagh
was to settle his bill with the house. He
told Attorney Carton that he had letters
that would prove the truth of his state
ment, but he said the letters were in the
possession of one of his travelling statesmen,
q main named Shane. Attorney Carbon, in
making his investigation of these charges,
found Shane and the letters. There was a
postscript to one of the letters which 1t was
claimed had been received from the Chi
cago firm. The postscript said, 1--WE have
fixed Dun" Attorney Carbon saw the
members of the Chicago firm and the
denied.
1t is said that Kavanagh is now luxuri-
ously situated in the Guarantee building in
Rochester, where he is doing a loan bust
ness. He claims to be making from $25 to
$50 day. 1t is reported that one of the
Rochester papers some time ago contained
Kavanaghs advertisement TO the effect that
refined people" could obtain loans from
him on diamonds and valuable jewelry and
their affairs would be kept strictly quiet"
husband n claimed.