appropriated and the remained still in Chancery. Whilst from Cornelius Dabney have descended, as alleged, the Dabneys of Hastings and St. Leonards, from his brothers John and Robert have descended all the wealthy and influential Dabneys of America. The following account is extracted from one of the letters in possession of the writer from Mr. Dabney, of Boston.
Claimants of the great Jennings' Estate
About the year 1720, two Huguenot brothers, named John and Cornelius d'Aubique came from England to Virginia, and settled at a place now called Dabney's Ferry, and from them have come the numerous Dabneys scattered profusely throughout Virginia and all over the western and south-western states. They changed their name to Dabney soon after their arrival in Virginia, as shown by a record of Cornelius's marriage (a second time) to Sarah Jennings in 1721. She was sister to Sir Humphrey Jennings, who left a very large estate, including a large part of the city of Birmingham, and to which there are many claimants. Another brother of John and Cornelius, named Robert, came to Boston, soon after from England, the first trace of whom we find in the city archives of a son, with the statement that his name was to be John Dabney. From an older brother, named Charles, born in England previous to their coming to America, are descended all the Dabneys of New England and the Northern States, and of whom the writer of this letter is one....My father, John Dabney, was the eldest son. About 1805 he was appointed U. S. Consul, and as such he resided at Fayal?[a] until his death in 1826, when I was born. On his death, his eldest son, Charles William, received the appointment of Consul, which he held for over 40 years, and in 1870 his son Samuel William Dabney [Samuel and William were the names respectively of the St. Leonards tower-gate William Dabney's two sons] received the appointment of Consul, which he still holds. Thus the Consulate has been in the family 79 years. In 1862, I was appointed U. S. Consul for the Canary Islands, and resigned the same after 20 years residence in Teneriffe
Other letters from the above named gentleman and from Dr. Dabney show that not from their branches of the family, but from the descendants of Cornelius Dabney, through his wife (Sarah Jennings), the claims are made to the Jennings Estate. Several trials have taken place from time to time for the purposes of recovering the immensely valuable estate in dispute, but by the tampering with, and destruction of parish registers, defacing and altering tomb-stones and the suppression of other material evidence, it is alleged, certain wealthy persons (now deceased) were able to divert the estate (valued at thirty millions by the late Vice-Chancellor (illegible text)) from those who were lawfully entitled to it. The latest trial was that at the suit of Mr George Willis, (who it was thought would have succeeded obtaining possession) but who, after bringing several actions and spending £20,000 in litigation, raised partly on bonds and partly from friends became bankrupt, and was nearly stone blind.
Another of the later claimants was Henry Bushe Jennings, an old postman of Biddenden, Kent, who died Nov. 3rd 1893, at the age of 82 years. He had been postman of that district for 35 years and was the second son of James Jennings, late of High Halden, and so with indirect rival descent of John Jennings, once ironmaster of Birmingham in connection with whose death arose the insuperable difficulty of the great Chancery claim.
Claimants of the great Jennings Estate
The budget of documents relating to this case that are in my possession would fill a large volume of interesting matter whether read as an entertaining novel or as an antiquarian production. The foregoing and following bare allusions are, however only here given as reminiscent as-
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