The Washington times., 1901-09-09
CoRCoRAN CHARITY FUND.
Judge Cox Gives an Interesting Re.
view of It's History.

view of Its History.
Walter s. Cox has submitted to the
Commissioners, at their request, state
ment relative to the Corcoran Charity
fund Mr.. Cox informs the Commission
ers that no accounts. records. or minutes
were kept and that he is forced to depend
very largely upon his memory for the
/ facts regarding the fund. He says:
In 1S4S Mr.. Corcoran donated to the
Corporation of Georgetown $4,000 in the
preferred bonds of the Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal Company, in trust, for the
poor of the town. The interest on one
half of the amount was to be applied i'm
mediately to the relief of the poor,
through such benevolent societies as the
corporation might select, and the interest
the other half was to accumulate and
be invested in the stock or funded debt of
the corporation, until an additional 5000
was realized.
The canal company soon ceased to
pay any interest. Mr.. Corcoran paid the
interest himself for some time. and then
substituted for these bonds $4,000 in the
bonds of the city of Memphis. In the
course of time from the interest paid on
these. and, happily. from additional con-
tributions by MIR. Corcoran, stock of the
corporation OF Georgetown 10 tn2 amount
of 5000 was purchased
There must have been trustees appoint
ed by the corporation to manage the fund,
but l have no recollection or idea who
they were. unless they were some of the
persons hereinafter named. / only re-
member that the task was assigned to me.
by some authority. to draw the interest
on the corporation stock and pay it over
to the Female Union Benevolent Society
of Georgetown. which l did for number
of years. / had nothing to do with the
rest of the fund.
when the present District government
was established / think 1 received a re-
quest from the Commissioners to con-
tinue as trustee which will account for
the entry in your appointment record.
This. as far as l know, is the only notice
ever taken by the District government Of
the existence of this trust.
''As appears in the recital of the deed
hereinafter referred to the securities were
left in Mr. Corcoran's hands. to manage
the fund for the purpose of increasing
the same de, in fact added s., 900 more
of the bonIs of the city of Memphis to it.
Mr.. Corcoran seems to have assumed that
he had a right to control the fund, and
on October %, 1872 he executed a deed
reciting that he desired, for convenience
and facility in the disposition of the fund,
to execute a new trust directly to the per-
sons named as trustees. under the cor
poration and others, and by that deed he
conveys the 5000 of corporation stock
and the Sl5,co0 of Memphis bonds to Wal
ter S. Cox, Anthony Hyde, Henry ID.
Cooke Charles NJ. Matthews and William
L. Dunlop, as trustees for the general OBJ
aIr IJa in
this deed that if any of the trustees for
the general objects alreadyi mentioned.
He provided in this deed that il any of
the trustees named should die that the
survivors should appoint others in their
place.
Thereafter Mr. II, de, under the direc-
tion of Mr.. CorcOran, managed the entire
fund and paid over the interest. as col
lected, to the society above named After
a time the city of Memphis repudiated its
bonds, and after some litigation 5000 was
the entire amount realized from that
source so that the fund was reduced to
81 900 Mr.. CorcOran, however, continued
to interest himself in the preservation
and increase of the fund The corpora
tion stock was paid off and the proceeds
invested in Si,S0D of the per cent District
of Columbia bonds.
After the death of Mr. Hyde in 1894
there were turned over to Mr.. Dunlop and
myself, the surviving trustees uSder Mr..
Corcuran deed, bonds of the State of
Tennessee to the amount of $,4vJ; Mem
phis bonds to the amount of 5000, and
81 500 in District of Columbia bonds.
These bonds, except those of Memphis,
have been paid, and the proceeds rein
vested so that the fund now consists of
Memphis bonds, s.. coo; deed of trust notes,
$1,000 and cash in hand, $l5 LOT. The in
terest is regularly paid over to the Fe-
male Union Benevolent Society before
mentioned as has been done for nearly
J half a century. AS required by Mr.. Cor
coran's deed. Mr.. Dunlop and myself have
3 apDOinted in the place of those who have
died Messrs William Corcoran Hill, j.
/ II. Gordon, and Henry B. Matthews"