The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-12-17
Claimants Are Becoming Numer-
GUS in Montana.
BUTTE LAWYERS skePr'cAL
Believe That I'm View of the Fact
That Twenty-Five Alleged Rela-
tives Have Appeared I'm That
City Alone the Chances of All for
Recognition Are None Too Good
-ReGarded a. somethfng Of joke.

Heirs OF the late John Sullivan. of Sc
attic, are becoming exceedingly plentiful
in Montana, according to a special dis
patch received by the Post-1ntellisencer
from Butte last night. No less than
twenty-five of the name of Sullivan, 1t is
said, have presented their claims for In
spection by lawyers Of that CITY, and the
matter has assumed a phase almost hui
l morous.
Butte lawyers generally, 1t is stated.
are of the belief that the claimants to the
Sullivan estate residing In that city will
and some diffculty In establishing the
facts Of their alleged relationship. The
claimants on the other hand, are san
guine of success and are not In the least
perturbed by the announcement of the
claim of Miss Marie Carrau under an
alleged nuncupative WILL
The state Of Washington, next to Miss
Carrau In most interested In the alleged
weakening OF the case of the Montana
heirs. In case no with can be proved and
no heirs are found the estate will 60 to
the state school fund. The special dis
patch from Butte says:
Tho recent developments concerning
the claimants for the John Sullivan es-
tate who reside in Butte lead to the
conclusion that the persons who claim
man are mistaken There ws are more ea shae
800 Sufliyans in the Butte city directory,
and out of this number as many as TWEEN
ty-five have signfned their Willingness to
accept the fortune waiting for the claim
ants and each Of them tells nearly the
same story Of the alleged relationship.
AT nrst members of the legal fraternity
In the city took the matter seriously and
number were consulted by the supposed
heirs. 1t Is now the general belief among
the lawyers of Butte that the SuIlivans
who have SO far come forward for legal
assistance have no proof OF their reia-
tionship to the deceased resident Of Seat
tie. t8sW
"some Of tile stories were marvsls Of
ingenuity, so far as the details of the
early lives of various Sullivan families
in ireland were concerned hut beyond
the bare allegation that one son left home
and was never heard of again there Is
no relationship established between the
numerous eager claimants III Butte and
the man who left the fortune In Seattle.
James Walsh has recently returned
from a trip to Seattle I'm the interests OF
his wife. who is one Of the claimants
for the Sullivan estate. claiming to be
sister OF the late John Sullivan. Walsh
appears to take II for granted that his
wife Is the rightful heir. but an attorney
whom he consulted appears to be skeptical
regarding his ability to establish the re-
latlonshlp.
New claimants for the property are
appearing every day. and Sullivan heirs
have come to be pretty much of a drug
on the market. A number Of the Sulli-
vans were seen by the Post-Intelligencer
claimant for the estate under the nun
cupattve WILL but none OF them appeared
to consider his own claim sufficiently
valuable to be for moment alarmed at
the prospect Of a rival
ut is the belief OF lawyers here that
even If the Sullivans in this city are
the rightfui heirs they have not sufficient
evidence to satisfy court of the fact"