The Savannah morning news., 1901-06-04
BRINGS SERIOUS CHARGES.
PROMINENT CITIZENS OF SOUTH
WEST GEORGIA ARE INVOLVED.


pected-Dead Men Accused of Grim
inaI Conspiracies' and Live Ones
Arraigned in Like Manner-PIain-
tiGs Say Advantage Was Sought
TO BE Taken of the Widow and Or
phan-Defendants More Than n
Score in Number.
The papers in one of the most interest
ing equity cases now pending in the
United States Circuit Court were filed in
the clerks Office here yesterday morn
ing. Dhe case is that of Caroline A Kill
gore and others against ]. B. Norman
and others. The bill in equity was filed
in Macon a month ago, when the Morn
ing News told the story, and it reached
Savannah yesterday.
The case makes sensational charges
against some of the leading and most
prominent men in Southwest Georgia The
two against whom the most serious and
sweeping charges are made, Henry NJ.
Hit and A. T. Mcintyre, Jr, are dead.
but several others are still living. In the
case of other of the defendants bad faith
is not directly imputed, but they are sued
merely as holders of the lands in contro-
versy, under deeds from Hit, Mcintyre
and other of the alleged principals in the
conspiracy to defraud, that is charged
distinctly and in so many words.
The compainants are Mrs. Caroline
A Kilgore, Mrs. Armina 1. Anderson and
S. Robert H. Anderson, the last named
minor Is years old, who sues by his
mother and next friend, Mrs. Armina l.
Anderson. The defendants are score in
number, and include individuals, firms
and corporations.
The lands in dispute are nineteen tract.
in Colquitt county, each containing, ac-
cording to the original survey, 400 acres
and worth in the aggregate about $50 COO
Between the title claimed by the plain
tiffs and that presumably to be set up by
the defendants there is a difference of but
a single step The plaintiffs claim to in
herit the property from Robert H. Ander-
son, father of Mrs. Kilgore who is the
daughter of his first marriage, husband
of Mrs. Armina I. Anderson, who was his
second wife, and father of S. Robert II.
Anderson. The defendants title comes
from Mrs Jane E. M. Foster, widow and
executrix of the man from whom the
mother of Mrs. Kilgore bought the proper
ty in 1S47.
In 1s47 John Foster, the original gran
tee of these lands from the state of Geor-
gia, sold them to Mrs. Eliza Anderson.
the then wife of Robert H. Anderson. By
operation of the Georgia law, as it was
at that time, these lands passed immedi-
ately to the husband of the grantee The
first Mrs. Anderson died soon after the
war, and Rober H. Anderson married the
second plaintiff in the pending suit. When
Av,Ha dfeuI fHov 49, l..
equal shares to his child by his first mar
rage, Mrs. Kilgore, and to the widow and
son of the second.
The petition recites that John Foster
died testate in 1862, making no reference
in his will to the lands now in dispute
which he well knew he had sold years
before, and that his deed was on record.
For many years after his death his widow
and executrix, Mrs. Jane E. NJ. Foster.
never asserted a claim to the property
FOR sought to exercise any right of own
ership IN or to it.
Then come the sensational charges. In
1890 the petition declares, Henry NJ. HIT
who is now dead and whose executor
Nirginus G.. Hit. is made a party to
the suit, and A. T. Mcintyre, Jr., also
dead, but also represented by his admin
istrator, Henry G. Turner conspired and
confederated together to deprive the
rightful owners of the property of their
title and the fruits and benefits of own
ership. In execution of this alleged con-
spiracy, Hit and Mcintyre induced Mrs.
Foster to make them a deed to the prop
erty though they had both legal notice
and actual knowledge of the fact that
the property did not belong to Mrs. Fos-
ter nor the estate of her husband. The
deed was for an alleged consideration of
$500, though say the plaintiffs, as a
matter of fact no such consideration was
ever paid, and the entire transaction was
merely cloak to hide fraudulent prac-
tees. AS a further matter of fact, they
aAege the timber and turpentine on any
one of the lots in question was worth
at that time more than the gross sum
said to have been paid for the entire
nineteen.
J. B. Norman, ]. F. Cooper and Matt J.
Pearsall are said to have assisted from
this time on in the further prosecution of
HIT and Mclntyre's scheme to make
money To help him in the conduct of
his enterprise it is charged that Hit OBJ
tanned power of attorney from Mrs
Kilgore, which was to authorize him to
evict trespassers and squatters from this
property and to collect rents or damages
from any of them that could be reached
by process of law. He is said to have
Kept Mrs. Kilgore in complete ignorance
OF what he was doing and at the very
time ne was acting as her agent is charg-
go with selling the property to other per-
sons, under another claim of title.
The answer of the defendants will be
Med in July, and it will probably be as
interesting a document as is the bill of
the plaintiffs. The suit is one of several
tor large amounts that have recently
been filed in the United States Courts, in
which the title to lands in the same Sec
ucn of the state has been placed in isue
and in which similar grave charges are
made The plaintiffs say that about ten
years ago land frauds of the kind they
charge became exceedingly common in
southwest Georgia. this being accounted
Tor by the fact that turpentine and lum-
Der lands suddenly increased in value and
decreased in available quantity and there
We're not wanting unscrupulous men to
accept any title they could get, in the
nope that they would have cleaned up the
umoer and made their profit before the
real owners of the property, ofttimes nom
residents of the state, had heard anything
oil the transaction
lhey charge that advantage was taken
oi the fact that two of the plaintiffs are
Women and one of them a boy, who at
he time Of the alleged conspiracy was but 5
years old. All are non-residents of this
saie' Mrs Kilgore living in Utah and
MFs' Anderson and fher son in Alabama.
-s
SUIT OF 81 900 DAMAGES