The sun. (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1906-07-21

erty County since the days of William Augustus
Bowles.
When he returned to Tallahassee he began buy
Ing tax certificates to land In Liberty County,
from w, ID. Barnes then Comptroller. AT FIRST ne
bought them covering forty-acre tracts, then one.
hundred-acre tracts, next whole sections anu
townships, paying IN some instances LESS THAN
FOUR MILLS PER ACRE. For certificates COW
ering one tract Of forty-fve thousand acres he
paid $175.00. Abstracts now on record In Liberty
County show that Graham had tax deeds to two
hundred thousand acres, purchased from the
State for a song.
In 1887 Graham returned to Liberty County
and began logging on a large scale supplying tho
large mills at Carrabelle with logs. He EN-
ployed large number OF teams and men and paid
big wages. He operated In the county from 1887
to 1893 During those years he cut a wide swatn
in the section, he fitted UP a handsome office In
Tallahassee and became known as young M
poleon OF Finance"
His manner were pleasing but he had the face
of villain, the ethics Of freebooter and the
methods OF pirate
During the years 1887-1S92 he sold 100000 acres
OF land in Liberty County to which he mad
ABSOLUTELY NO LEGAL TITLE, except tax
deeds that were QUESTIONED ON THEIR
FACE, to 100000 acres.
When Graham set out to steal Liberty County II
was necessary for him to have assistance The
clerk of the court, D. G. Harrell, was q man d.
scribed good, well-meaning man, but very
weak and drunkard. Graham's keen eye dls.
covered In him an easy victim. He bent all L.s
accomplishments Of tongue and manner, sr3-
plemented by bountiful supplies of whiskey II ee-
ly administered, and Harrell became as wax In
mis- hands. The things he would not have done
sober, he did drunk.
Graham had access to the clerks office AT ALL
TIMES and spent his time there. He made alb.
sracts OF deeds which HARRELL CERTIFIED,
making alterations 1t Is said, to include lands NOT
originally included IN the schedules.
Another victim he found In Haley T. Block
er, who was the last receiver appointed by the
court for the Apaachicola Land Co. This corn.
pany had large holdings Of timber lands, of the
original Forbes purchase, granted In payment OF
Bowles depredations, early In 1900. These lands
had practically ALL BEEN SOLD by John Beard
and other former receivers OF the ApalachicOla
Land Go. When Mr.. Boards receivership was
terminated, Haley T. Blocker was appointed to
confirm Mr.. Boards sales and to wind up the af.
fairs Of the company.
Page 652 OF Book +, Records OF Liber.y County
shows entry OF deed from Haley +. Blocker, Ro-
Geiver' TO John Alexander Graham, under date OF
Feb "a, 1888, to $4,000 acres Of land Following
this Is an entry OF tax deed from the state To
Graham conveying 100000 acres and four other
entries OF deeds from Blocker to Graham convey
Ing various large tracts. Entries show these
lands In tracts varying from 10000 to $4,000
acres sold by Graham to James L. CAFES of Mil.
waukee, Wis, for which he was paid approxi-
mately 100000
Whether Graham actually had deeds from
Blocker to all these lands or not IA not known
but after he had fortified himself with abstracts
to everything he wanted certified by Harrell.
Clerk OF the Court he went to Chicago and 500
the lands, about 100000 acres, to James L. Gates
Of Milwaukee.
The deeds from BlocSer were later SHOWN To
BE FRAUDULENT, the lands having already
oeen sold by former receivers and were set aside
by Judge Walker in a decree In which he declared
them void. See record Leon County. Carr
ct al vs.. Apalachicola Land Co.
AFTER the sale to Gates the question of the
validity OF Granams title was raised, and Gates
sent his lawyer to Bristol to make inyestiga,
lions, but when he arrived late I'm 1889 he found
ONE OF THE RECORD BOOKS HAD mystic
hiUOSLf DISAPPEARED. He went back 20
Milwaukee to confer with Gates and uDon his
return found that Harrel had abandoned his Of
nee. and THE OTHER RECORD BOOK HAD
ALSO DISAPPEARED. Harrell had become q
hopeless sot and few months later was re.
ported to have died in Georgia 49,
Inat Graham stole, or caused to be stolen the