Jessup Family Members Tried in 1909 to Take Back Some of the Lands Conveyed to Form the Lands Developed by the Pelham Manor and Huguenot Heights Association

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I have written before about the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association formed to develop lands that became much of the Village of Pelham Manor.  For examples of such postings, see the listing with links at the end of today's posting.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes the text of an article published in 1909 describing a lawsuit brought by heirs of Edwin Jessup.  Following Jessup's death, the heirs conveyed an important 50-acre tract of his farm in 1873 to Charles J. Stephens, one of the principals of the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association.

More than thirty years later, after fits and starts of development finally took hold and the little Village of Pelham Manor took off, the heirs had a severe case of sellers' remorse and sought to void the original conveyance claiming that they, as heirs, had no authority to sell the property more than thirty years earlier.  Rather, they claimed, the executors of Jessup's estate had that power.  The article reads as follows:

"HENRY W. TAFT IN $2,000,000 LAND CASE
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Brother of President-Elect Appears as Counsel for Defendant at White Plains.
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Henry W. Taft, brother of President-elect Taft, appeared before Judge Tempkins in the Supreme Court at White Plains, N.Y., to-day as counsel for the defendant in an action brought by the heirs of Edwin Jessup against the Witherbee Real Estate and Improvement Company for the sale and partition of about fifty acres of land, situated in the heart of the town of Pelham and valued at about $2,000,000.

Mr. Jessup died in July 1846, and in his will he directed that the land now in dispute be divided equally among his children, but as they were then all minors he left the property in charge of executors.  In 1873 they all joined in making a deed conveying the property to Charles J. Stephens.  In the same year Mr. Stephens conveyed the land to the Pelham Manor and Huguenot Heights Association.  In 1877 foreclosure proceedings were brought by the widow and children against the association, and Henry W. Taft bought the land.  In 1887 Mr. Taft and his wife, Julia Taft, conveyed the property to Silas H. Witherbee, who in 1901 conveyed it to the Witherbee Real Estate and Improvement Company, the defendant in the present action.  The plaintiff's allege that in view of the fact that the property was left in charge of the executors of the estate they, the heirs did not have the right to convey the land in 1873 and they now ask that the conveyance be set aside."

Source:  Henry W. Taft In $2,000,000 Land Case, The Evening Telegram - New York, Jan. 25, 1909, p. 6, col. 7.

What follows are examples of previous Blog postings that deal with the Pelham Manor and Huguenot Heights Association.

Fri., May 14, 2010:  1885 Article on Alleged Failure to Develop Pelham Manor Said the Development "At Best Resembles the Collapse of a Wild Cat Land Scheme."

Wed., November 11, 2009:  1874 Evening Telegram Advertisement for Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Development.

Monday, March 2, 2009:  1884 Advertisement Placed by Charles J. Stephens of the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association Offering Home for Rent.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006:  Mystery:  A Lawsuit Filed Against the Dissolved Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association in 1915.

Monday, June 12, 2006:  Early Deed of Land to the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006: Prospectus Issued by the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association in 1874

Thursday, December 22, 2005: Area Planned for Development by The Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association in 1873

Monday, March 20, 2006: Charles J. Stephens and Henry C. Stephens of the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association

Monday, March 27, 2006: 1057 Esplanade: One of the Original Homes Built by the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association

Monday, May 8, 2006: Edmund Gybbon Spilsbury Who Served as Engineer for the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association

Wednesday, May 10, 2006: Horace Crosby, the Civil Engineer Who Laid Out the Chestnut Grove Division for the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association in the 1870s

Friday, May 26, 2006: The 27th Conference on New York State History Will Include Presentation of Paper on Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings

Early 20th Century Lawsuit Brought Against the Witherbee Real Estate and Improvement Company Over Title to Lands in Pelham

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Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

A brief news article that appeared in the June 5, 1909 issue of the New-York Tribune offers an intriguing reference that seems ripe for follow-up research. The article describes a decision by Justice Tomplins of the New York Supreme Court for the County of Westchester in which he rejects plaintiffs' claims for a partition of 19.74 acres of Pelham land held by the Witherbee Real Estate and Improvement Company. The text of the article appears below.

"Title to Land Valued at Two Million Dollars Confirmed by Court.

Justice Tompkins, of the Supreme Court, filed a decision at White Plains yesterday in which he dismisses the action brought by Mrs. Josephine W. Jessup, Maude A. Apley and others against the Witherbee Real Estate and Improvement Company, involving the title to a $2,000,000 estate in the town of Pelham, which has been contested in the courts for several years. Henry W. Taft, a brother of President Taft, who appeared as counsel for the defendants, at one time owned the property.

The action was brought for a partition of 19.74 acres of land. The plaintiffs are the widow and children of Edwin C. Jessup, who died August 30, 1908, intestate."

Source: Title to Land Valued at Two Million Dollars Confirmed by Court, New-York Tribune, Jun. 5, 1909, p. 14, col. 2.

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.