Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-30
5000 O'CONNORS
!. SUE FOR S27),Ol)
E;ineteen-Year Litigation in
Federal Court-FeeS
Double Estate.
areciai nisnatch to The Star.

Mpeclai blSpAbCn 70 Aue oedhs
HASTINGS, Nebr, November S0.-Ne-
braskas famounS 'Jarndyce and Jarn-
dyce," in which about 5000 O'ConnorS
from the United States, Canada, Mex
leo. England, New Zealand, Australia
and some other countries for 10 years
have been trying to get the $25o,oo0 es-
tate left by John O'Connor, Hastings
recluse, has at last reached the Fed
eral Court, after being before every
State court in Nebraska.
The OConnors have paid out more
than 100000 in attorneys fees and
court costs and seem no nearer to the
fortune today than they were in 1918,
when the suits were started. Several
times the case has been settled" al
ways to be reopened, and the case just
brought I'D in the United States Circuit
Court at Omaha before Judge William
S. Kenyon is an effort on the part OF
certain Missouri O'ConnorS to have set
aside the decision of the State courts
discarding all the O'Connor heirs" and
awarding the fortune to the State OF
Nebraska.
Property in Hastings.
The property is here in Hastings. It
consists of fine farmlands, city prop
erty and gilt-edged securities. The
value of the estate was only $l25,0O0
when John O'Connor died, but it has
more than doubled in value in the 10
years it has been in litigation.
In 1918 OConnor died without telling
any one about himself So far as was
known he left no relatives and he left
no will, although several alleged wills
have turned up in the course of years.
When the fact that there was for
tune of $125,000 at Hastings awaiting a
claimant got into the newspapers and
reached the ears of the tribe of O'Con-
nors, that tribe at once set its face to-
ward Hastings
In the first two years 131 claims were
filed in court for the O'Connor prop
erty and more than 1000 unoficial in
vestigations were made.
Claimants Overflow Town.
When the army of O'Connors arrived
In Hastings, they filled every hotel and
every boarding house. Some remained
hut a day or two. Some stayed in
Hastings for mouths. Every lawyer in
Gown had an O'Connor client. Attor-
fleys from adjoining counties were
drafted. A call for Mr. O'Connor'' In
. hotel Office would get dozen an
swers.
III these O'Connors claimed rela-
sonship to the Gead John O'ConEor
pit all denied relationship to any other
O'Connor or descendant of an O'Con-
nor who had come to get share in the
fortune.
The trek to Hastings got under way
so quickly after the death of John
O'Connor that burial was postponed
For days there was a line Of claimants
passing the bier in the mortuary. The
claimants variously identified the re-
cluse as long-lost husband" father, >
@cousin," "uncle" or brother" Burial
was delayed for three and a half years
and even after that the arrivals of be-
: lated O'Connors made examination
necessary. One woman whose husband
had deserted her 81 years previously
positively identified the recluse as hel
: husband.
Time Limit Set by Court.
Five or six years ago the court ruled
that no additional claimants would be
permitted to file suit after a certain
Date. -Four years were required to try
the suits on the docket at that time
And when these had been disposed of
the court awarded the O'Connor estate
20 the State of Nebraska, on the ground
that OConnor had left no heir.
But that didn't settle the case. O'Con-
nor heirs" living in Missouri have
taken the case to the United States
Court. The lower Federal Court ruled
against them, and now they are in the
United States Circuit Court of Appeals
hastings lawyers, many of whom had
devoted ID years to fighting the case ir
state courts, are now hopeful Of getting
another ID years in the Federal Court.