LOST MILLIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13497, 25 May 1907, Page 2 (Supplement)

LOST MILLIONS.

EXTRAORDINARY CLAIM TO A HUGE FORTUNE.

'.TALE OF ;V AST; ESTATES IN j THE

WEST INDIES.

A curious case was heard at West Ham, London, the inner story of -which, speaks of the Norman Conquest, West Indian afflu- ' ence, ah' 1 latter-day .poverty. Then there is an abiding interest in the romance surrounding a search for a fortune of what one of the magistrates spoke of as " a mere item" —two million pounds. Towards the close of last year, a girl of 17, tall, poorly clad, and evidently sadly in need of .the necessaries of life, called at the house occupied by Mrs. Hannah Rogers, in the Portway, West Ham, one of the old thoroughfares of' West Ham, 'through which Anne Boleyn and ! Queen Elizabeth, her daughter, frequently passedthe one to the still extant castle at Upton Park, used at the present time as a ■ sports club, and the other on her journeys to one or other of her hunting lodges on the fringe of Epping Forest. Almost on the verge of exhaustion, the girl begged for a glass of water, and was invited by Mrs. Rogers into the house. There she was supplied with tea, and under its' soothing influence she told a pitiful tale of being in need of a situation. Eventually she was engaged as maid to Mrs. Rogers, and in that capacity she remained in the house. One afternoon, she was questioned as to her reason for not providing herself with a suitable! . outfit, and exclaimed, "If I had my rights! I would be

RIDING IN My OWN CARRIAGE."- . The remark • was '. taken no notice of, but : a week later Mr.. Rogers returned from.Australia, and the sentence being repeated to him he . spoke to the girl, and soon afterward invited her father to the house. The girl's father, Charles Winstanley Timson, frequently visited Mr. Rogers, who dieted from him the fact that he laid claim to a fortune of considerably over £3,000,000. Mr. Timson, a poor man, earning but 25s a week as potman, was a*ked if he had documentary evidence in support of his claim. He told a surprising story, and the result was that Mr. Rogers generously offered to finance him to enable him to obtain the money. It was suggested that he should leave his situation, and Mr. Rogers thereupon, it is said, agreed to give-him a sum of 30s a week. With this help, Timson was enabled to obtain an extract .of a will deposited at Somerset House, and also documents relating to his claim, and the whole of them were placed in a bag and given to the care of Mr. Rogers.; Timson, joyful at the prospect of obtaining the fortune that his parents had v. fought ■; for, agreed to give his benefactor 25 per cent, of any moneys or property il-at he obtained, in consideration of his help. A week or two later, however, Mr. Rogers died, and the papers were given to the custody of his widow, Mrs. Hannah Rogers;' That lady sought ; the advice .of a solicitor. Acting under his instructions, she invited Mr. Timson to her house, and he arrived with a young fellow, named John William Wolfe, who is courting his daughter. As soon as Timson got into the sitting-room, Mr. Samuel -Rogers (Mrs. Rogers' father-in-law) said, "I want you to number these papers. I am going to put them into the hands of a !solicitor to look at. Timson,.apparently not | liking the intention said, " That's my, bag," and got up as: if. to get.it.' A struggle ensued, and his daughter, who was still in the house, employed as maid, went to his assistance, and eventually ,t.he bag was got/out of the house and handed to Wolfe, -who was close by, and he, it is alleged, .. BAN OFF WITH THE BAG. -\ \ P.C. Hunt arrived on the scene, and within half-an-hour Timson, his daughter, and Wolfe were incustody;at West Ham Police Station on a charge preferred by Mi's. Rogers, of ''■ stealing the bag ■•" and it's contents, which she valued at £25, and which was described "by Mr. Timson as his property. After a short, hearing the Bench adjourned the". case, allowing prisoners out on bail. Inquiries into the matter reveal an astonishing ; story.: J During an interview,- Timson, who •*■ lives "■''' in ra'- four-roomed -" cottage at Queen's Road, " Plaistbw,' produced copies of the documents with the aid of which : he hopes to establish his claim. : His ancestor, he declares, came'over to England with William the Conqueror, and, after the conquest, was presented with valuable estates. <" I can trace mv descent back," he said, " by the Doomsday Book fto • Wynn ; D'Stanley, but there is a'document missing. I have obtained, with the help of Mr. Rogers, a coloured copy of Wvnn D'Stahley's armorial bearings. The copy shows that the family motto was "Prenez Garde' (Beware), and under those armorial bearings my grandfather was entitled ■' to use three names, j Wynn ,; ; D'Stanley, Wyriri Stanley, * and jWinstandley." Asked ; here the estates he claimed were situated, Mr. Timson answered, "There 'are estates ■in Jamacia and the West Indies' worth over £3,000,000. Before his marriage my grandfather settled "a joinIture of £16,000 upon his fiancee, and a will [was left appointing .sole executor, and 'giving me the power to convert the estates into inouev. Here is my grandfather's martriage certificate," added Mr. Tim.-.on, r>nd he [produced a copy of the" ■"/-:

• V CERTIFICATE OF THE MARRIAGE solemnised between W. Winstandley, bachelor, and Elizabeth Stephens, on April 13, 1807. "I couldn't do much," went on. "I was the youngest son of my family. 1 have a brother living in America, and another one in London, but I haven't heard of them for years. My mother, took the case to the Court of Chancery, hut she had no I money and couldn't do much, but I shall i have a try when I get out of this trouble." This "trouble," . of course, was the police court proceedings, Timson, his daughter, and Wolfe, her young man, being charged at West Ham Police Court with being concerned in stealing the bag containing the documents relating to his claim. Timson, when the constable arrested him, and told him the charge,: responded : that, he was charged with stealing his own property. The police inspector could-do nothing but take the charge, but, he allowed accused out on bail, and when they were remanded Mr. A. Govier, the Chairman of the Bench, said they, too, would let them be out on their own recognisances pending the resumed hearing. The most important of the missing documents, which Timson is trying to trace, and bv the help of .which he hopes to get his millions, out of Chancery, is his grandmother's .marriage settlement. This, he says, gave his grandfather only a life interests in the property, and gave his grandmother the • power to make the will which is in his (Timson's) favour. ~; : ,_