The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-12-01
Believed He Was Buying Hub
bard Mill Property.
He Did Not Learn of Fraud In.
til Arrived Here.
Attempted to Place the DOcu'
ment On Record.

John \. Terrett, who appears to be
an honest mechanic, and whose home is
at Grafton, West Virginia, arrived in
the city yesterday to claim a half in
terest i'll the Hubbard Milling company's
property and the Hubbard & Palmer
Elevator company. He paid $500 in
last Aug. 29th, in the office of the Hub
bard Milling company in Chicago, to a
man whom he had supposed until today
to have been h. ID. Hubbard. His de-
scription of the man corresponds exact
ly with that of Mr.. Hubbard, except
that the man was smoothfaced 1t APP
pears that Terrett was every smoothly
buncoed out of his cash, by a sharper
who represented himself to be Mr. Hub
bard.
Terrett's deed calls for half inter-
est in the real estate and also in the
mill property, machinery, etc, and also
in the palmer Grain company The
deed is signed ''Rensslaer ID. Hubbard"
Is dated Chicago, Arg. 20, 1905, and the
consideration is $500 The transfer
OF the interest was to be made Dec lst
Tenett came to Alankato to claim his
interest, and brought with him cxcell-
ent recommendations. He had letters
of introduction to W. w. Smith from
two reputable attorneys at Grafton, and
had Baltimore & Ohio railroad passes
and other papers that identified him.
He states that he is railway me-
chanic, in the employ of the Baltimore
4 Ohio railroad, but for two years was
Il miller in Germany, his native country.
The money that he was swindled out of
represented nearly his entire savings of
years. He is about forty years old, and
seems like Il reliable man. The Grafton
attorneys advised him to place the deed
a. record. 50 when ne came to Man
kato he saw Mr.. Smith about it, The
latter at once saw that the man had
been victimized and advised him not to
offer the deed for record. but to 90
home.
Offered Deed For Record
Terrett concluded to offer the deed
for record, and did so just before dim
ner. but Register of Deeds Bangerter
declined to receive it without the GER
tification of the auditor and treasurer
that the taxes were paid this being the
law. The deed was presented to Treas
urer T. w. Hart, who refused to certify
to it.
The deed appears to those who have
seen it, or to some of those, as though
it had been prepared entirely by one
man. 1t is made out with a pen, and
the writing of the body, signature, and
witnesses, etc, is very similar. One fea-
ture about the paper is that Mr.. Hub
bard was represented as being a wild
over. This was doubtless to avoid the
necessity of the wife's signature being
added. The wording of the deed is
somewhat indefinite, but not enough to
excite suspicion in stranger
Terrett took his deed last August and
went home. He did not learn of Mr..
Hubbard's death until he passed through
Chicago Then he called at the COM
pany's office. and was told of it. He also
looked up the persons who were fam
liar with the facts surrounding the
death. 1t is a strange coincidence that
Mr. Hubbard was in Chicago the day
that the deed was, given, and that he
died that very night.
At the big mill nothing is known of
Mr.. Terrett or his deed.