The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-22
sWINDLER sHELDON,s LEGACY.
HOW the Missing Loda Banker Made
indiana Farmers Suffer.
Special % the India Ta,,rooI

Farmers SuHeF.
Special to the indianapolis Journal.
RENSSELAER,, Ind, March 21-A case
Oh more than usual interest was decided by
jury In the Newton Circuit Court at
hen'iand, last Friday. On April 20, 1897,
John b Sheldon. banker, of Loda, Ill., dis
appeared, and from that day to this there
has been nothing heard of him. His life was
heavily insured, but the companies have re-
FUSED to pay the policies on the grounds
mat he is still alive. Sheldon, besides being
banker, also engaged extensively in MAX
ing farm loans throughout the southern
part of Illinois and this part Of Indiana
His habit was to take notes and mortgages
payable to himself and negotiate them in
the East, or when there were funds in his
hands belonging to others to make the ma
pers payable to himself in any event. and
mdorse them to parties who had the funds
then in hands. In this way, shortly prior to
his disappearance, Sheldon had taken mort
cages in northwestern Indiana aggregating
$4,000 to $4,000 Before paying out the mon
ey to borrowers he required that the pa
pers be executed and sent to his office in
Lola, Ill. The last batch of mortgages, i'm
medlately upon receipt, he negotiated to
other parties, then disappeared, consequent
ly, mortgages appear of record on several
hundred acres of land in this section of In
diana. and the farmers whose lands are
mortgaged have never received any consid-
Grafton whatever for them. although the
mortgages are. apparently, in the hands of
innocent purchasers.
The case just decided at Kentland was
one OF these mortgage loans. John Reed
purchased a tract of land already incum-
bered by 81 900 mortgage to John S. Shell
don. In December, 1891, Reed the owner of
the land applied to Sheldon for an extern
nf 10 LII IL.
sheldon, and five coupon interest notes were
executed by Reed, payable directly to Shell
don After the execution of the interest
notes and their delivery Sheldon sold the
principal note of $1,000 and the five interest
notes to the Home Insurance Company of
New York city. The Insurance Company
never gave Reed notice of the purchase,
neither did Sheldon notify Reed of the fact
of his having sold the notes Reed paid the
interest notes direct to Sheldon as they be-
came due and received the interest notes
from Sheldon marked paid. Each of the
ment of Sheldon to the Home Insurance
Company. In April of 1897, just prior to the
time that Sheldon disappeared, Reed re-
mitted to Sheldon for the whole principal
of the debt. This sum Sheldon placed to
the credit of Reed without renting to the
Home Insurance Company and Immediate
ly thereafter disappeared without releasing
Reeds mortgage Reed Immediately brought
an action to quiet title and the Home In
Surance Company filed a cross complaint,
asking to forecloSe it's mortgage. The jury
in the case found that Reed was the owner
in fee of the real estate and that his title
should be quoted as against the Home In
Surance Company.
:, The 6, case was contested on behalf Of the
city, and on behalf of the defendant by
Judge Reynolds, of Monticello, and Cum
minis & Darroch of Kentland. 1t will be-
least twenty to thirty other cases involving
all the way from $500 to $4,000 on which
farmers have executed notes and mort
cages sent them to Sheldon, and have re-
ceived no consideration whatever for them.
The gist of the decision is that Sheldon was
acting in the capacity Of agent for the as
sgnees of the mortgages.