The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1899-10-19
REEVES old CLAIM.
P. C. TOrrey, of This City, Asks the
Government to Pay for the Prop
erty of His Ancestors.
CLAIM DATES BACK 100 YEARS

Mr.. Torrev Has Made Application to Con-
gressman Cooper to Have the Claim of
the Torrey Estate Examined and They
Granted Pay ment for the Vessel Faith
full" Which Was Destroyed by French
Pirates in 1798-An Interesting Case.
P. c. Torrey, Register of Deeds for
the county of Kenosha, has just filed
with Congressman Cooper, of this
district, an application for an examin-
alton into a claim which Mr.. Torrey
alleges that he has against the United
| States government.
The old claim which Mr.. Torrey will
open up dates back for over a century,
but he claims that the claim is just as
valid today as it was when it was con-
tracted by the government in 1898.
Mr.. Torrey is a native of Maine, and
his great-grandfather James Torrey,
was one of the early settlers in the
pine forests of Maine. The story of
the claim as told by Mr.. Torrey is as
follows: In 1887 James Torrey, being
a merchant by trade, purchased ner-
chant vessel know as the Faithful. -
The vessel had just been built, and
was known as one of the best of it's
kind owned by, American merchants.
At the time of the building of the yes
sci it was worth a little over thirty
thousand dollars. For some time the
elder Torrey was engaged in the bus
mess Of shipping along the coast of
New England, and he was thus en-
gagged when the war broke out between
Great Britain and France in 1898. His
trade had increased, however, and he
had added several foreign points to his
business.
At this time the people of this coun-
try took a great deal of interest in the
war, and the feeling against the French
was very strong. On account of this a
number of French privateers began to
prey on American commerce, and the
''Faithfu1'' was one of the first vessels
taken by the privateers. She was
captured and run into French port
and sold. Later the owners made a
demand upon the government for pay
ment for the vessel and her cargo, but
the demand was referred to the French
government.
When the matter was finally settled
the government of this country agreed
to pay for the stolen vessel, but up to
the present time no congress has ever
made an appropriation for the benefit
of the people interested. James Tor
rey has long since been laid away to
rest, but the payment for the old YES
sci is still due to his HERS, of whom
P. c. Torrey is the main representa-
tive.
The matter has been brought to the
attention of Congress several times
and they have gone so far as to recog-
nize the righteousness of the claim,
but, with the usual delay of the body,
no appropriation has ever been made
to reimburse the heirs of the early
Maine merchant.
In speaking of the matter today Mr..
Torrey said he had every assurance
that Congress would take some action
on the matter. He has secured the
assistance of Senator Frye to bring
gresham Cooper will probably see that
the House hears of the facts in the
case. The papers in the case which
will show the exact amount due to the
former owner of the vessel and his
heirs have been buried in the vaults of
the First National bank in this city
for many years. All these papers will
at once be forwarded to Washington
to assist in making the claim valid.
Mr.. Torrey is not able to state the
exact amount due the heirs from the
Government, but thought that it was
something in the neighborhood of $50
900. There are quite a number of
heirs to the estate of James Torrey
and the outcome of the fight for
settlement will be interesting.
A PLEASANT PARTY.