[Nathalie Smyth ?], [Donemana] to Gustave Lemle, [New Orleans?].

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Document ID 9812031
Date 01-06-1910
Document Type Letters (Emigrants)
Archive B. O'Reilly
Citation [Nathalie Smyth ?], [Donemana] to Gustave Lemle, [New Orleans?].;Copyright Retained by Brendan O,Reilly; CMSIED 9812031
23959
                 Ardcame

 Gustave Lemle Esqu.
      My dear Sir,
             I have just received a copy
of "Preliminary report on Smyth
property" submitted by Frank
G. Raynold atty [attorney?]. There is no date
to the report but the date of course must be
last month May 1909.
   A few days after I purchased
the swamp lands from the State
of Louisiana in 1873. Geo. [George?] T.
Biott (not Robert E. Biott) told me that he
had made application to the land
office to enter sections 15 and
22 (101,22 acres) as the Spanish
Fort Railway with which he was
then connected ran through these sections
and that I had been too quick
for him and taken all the lands.
I wrote and signed or signed a written
paper by him stating that
I would transfer the two sections
to him. This is all the
transference that ever was made
by me, and Geo.[George ?] T.Biott never
paid me a cent for the lands,
and I never signed
any natural act of transference.
I should say  that things of a
written promise to transfer the [----
---- ---- -----?] a real transference
without my receiving
any consideration whatever for them then
George T. Biott had a title to
the lands mentioned in the "Preliminary
report." George T. Biott towards the
last of his career in [is?] a rich man. New
Orleans had no money to invest in
lands of any description. While in the
firm of Biott and Sons he was
permitted to enter lands
already sold by the state.
This letter must be among
Morg [Morgan?] Gurley's effects
- wherever they are. The mistake
of the land office, no doubt,
was due to a change of administration
and was made six or seven
years after my purchases
from the state. The New
Orleans Land Company
have no valid title to
any of the lands, and they
know it - How can they
then be holders in good faith?
The balance estimated to
be due to the United States
Government of $16555.25 is not
due. I have a receipt from
the Treasurer of the United
States that my account
is settled in full, and I
should think that
ends it. I will find the
receipt and send it to
you. On no account would
I pay this claim. I don't
think that the Government
will ever try to collect.
I will, however, write you
more fully on this matter.

Draught [draft?] of Docs letter to Lemle
[---?] from the latters papers.
Docs letter to Lemle in the Reynold'
report.

as to the titles of the
"New Orleans Land Company and
its assignees" to the
New Bas-- [Basin ?] tract and to some
lands along the river canal, I have
to say that the state Land office allowed
the New Orleans Land Company
to enter some lands on the
new canal, lands already
patented to me and other
portions not patented. The land office
in reply to a written inquiry by Morg.
[Morgan?] Gurley replied that it
was a mistake in the
land office and that the company
should not have been

It is very remarkable that
not a whisper was ever heard
of adverse titles to the sections
sold for state taxes to Pierre
[D.?] Olivier , until the sections
were tranferred back to
me, to my representative Morgan
Gurley. That such transparent
fraudulently manufactured titles
could be set
up to the lands while in the
care of Morgan Gurley
and his colleague Richardson
without their opposition nay
more than immediate action
in opposition is wholly thereto
beyond my comprehension. That
Richardson is capable of manipulating
titles to lands is well established.
and the inference cannot be avoided
that the adverse title
was initiated by an expert skilled
at the business.  The Mc Can[?] and
Conery[?] heirs should not overlook
the fact that it was wholly owing
to my holding on to the lands
that saved them from loss,
and Mr. Byron should know
and remember that it was  entirely
owing to Edward Conery's request
not to discharge Dowling
when I told him I was going
to do it that I have
suffered [all?] loss. There is no
gratitude in man and still he
expects God to bless him.
Well, the blessing has not come yet.