Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1907-10-10
THE LOST BONDS
OF MT. AdoIphus cornelson's Es-
tate Cannot be Found.
INTEREST COUPONS

Cashed by Farmer i'm Australia,
Who Says He Found Them i'm a
Hollow Tree.-It is Said Mr.. Cor
nelson Died by This Tree Out
There, and His Brother Is Trying
To Solve the Mystery.
Mr.. Adolphus Cornelson, who will
be well remembered by the people of
Orangeburg, as well-to-do farmer
lving afew miles out in the country
on his valuable plantation, and whose
dead body was found leaning against
a tree in Australia about six years
ago, where he had gone in quest of
health after trip to the Father
land, was the owner, along with a
large amount of other property. of
$4,000 of South Carolina State
bonds which will likely never be re-
covered to his estate.
A strange and interesting story of
the lest bonds is revealed by the ex-
perience of Mr.. George II. Cornelson,
of Orangeburg, in his long quest to
recover this and other property left
by his brother, who died without
leaving will nor any explanation as
to his property. Mr.. George II. Cor
nelson, who is executor of the estate.
is a wealthy retired merchant and cot
ton mill man, whose own estate IS
valued at a million dollars.
After several years work the ex-
ecutor has Just been able to trace
possession of the interest coupons for
one year, which turned up in a mys-
terious manner at the State treasur-
er's Office for payment the very day.
and perhaps the very hour, that the
legislative committee reported favor
ably on bill introduced by friend
of the Cornelsons to have the State
the lost bonds, Mr.. Cornelson being
prepared to put up an indemnity
bond of $4,000 to protect the State
in case the lost bonds should ever
turn up.
This interest bill amounted TO $3.50
and in order to reimburse the Aus
tralian brokers, who cashed them
through the Bank of Australia, the
farme" who sold them to the brokers
has had to mortgage his little Aus
tralian farm. This farmer says that
these interest coupons Wee all that
he had, that he has never seen the
bonds and never heard of them. He
goes on to explain that the coupons
were found in a hollow tree on his
place by farm hand.
Possibly 1t was this same tree
against which Adolphus Cornelson
leaned when he breathed his last. He
was living in that neighborhood and
it was his custom to go out for long
walks, and he died while out on one
of these trips. Whether this expla-
nation needs further elucidation.
whether he was murdered, whether
these bonds are not now being held
secretly in New York by persons
awaiting opportunity to present them
for payment the public are left to
guess.
at the State treasurer's Office for pay
ment through the Palmetto National
Bank of Columbia along with 10000
others amounting to $143,000, which
represents the State semi-annual in
terest bill on the bonded debt, Chief
Clerk Carter had much difficulty in
tracing their arrival in South Caro-
lima. Finally il was discovered that
they were sent here by the Hanover
National Bank of New York Armed
with letters OF introduction, Mr.. Geo.
II. Cornelson went to New York
here the president of the Hanover
Bank informed him that the coupons
anne from the Gerald National Bank
through whose president Mr.. Cornell
son found the New York brokers who
had cashed them.
The brokers refused to give any
information, but finally by a court
order they were made to explain. Mr..
Cornelson knew from the stamp on
the back of the coupons that they
had been cashed by the Bank of Aus
tralia originally, and the brokers
gave him the name of the Australian
brokers firm who sent them to New
York.
A decision Of the South Carolina
Supreme Court just rendered makes
South Carolina bond as good as
currency, decides that the innocent
purchaser of even a stolen bond has
perfectly valid claim against the
State for the face of his bond. So ii
would seem II these Cornelson bonds
are being secretly held they can now
be easily transformed into cash. Fur
ther interesting revelations are there
fore expected.
The case on which the Supreme
Court has just passed involved the
validity of $12,500 worth of State