Robert Edwards (pirate)
Encyclopedia
Robert Edwards was a Welsh
buccaneer given 77 acres (311,608.2 m²) of largely unsettled Manhattan
by Queen Anne
of the Kingdom of Great Britain
for his services in disrupting Spanish sea lanes. From Edwards, who died in 1762, the property passed in 1877, via a 99-year lease to the brothers John and George Cruger, with the understanding that it would revert back to his heirs after the lease expired. Apparently, this never happened. It is alleged that the Crugers were wardens of Trinity Church, an Episcopal Church -- today, one of New York City
's biggest land owners. Maybe everything was tangled in a muddle of colonial Manhattan land giveaways. But, according to family lore, the whole tract wound up in Trinity's hands.
Trinity indeed got a large slice of the land that seems to be described in the Edwards family account. But the church got the last of the ground in 1705, all of it directly from Queen Anne, according to a church pamphlet published in 1955, at a time when Trinity was bedeviled by Edwards family claims.
The legend has since proved persistent, and indeed some high profile claims of rightful ownership to the fortune, now estimated to be worth around 650 billion dollars. The most recent of these was a claim from a Cleoma Foore, whose research led to the foundation of the 'Pennsylvania Association of Edwards Heirs', a body funded by donations in a bid to finally prove that they were entitled to the vast fortune through direct ancestry. This fund attracted around $1.5m at its peak, but no firm evidence was forthcoming. Indeed, the end result was an embezzlement case tried at the federal court in Pittsburgh before Chief Judge Donald E. Ziegler in 1983.
More recently, this ancient claim has been the subject of many multimedia productions including books, TV shows and radio reports and a 1998 primetime UK TV show called 'Find a Fortune' and hosted by Carol Vorderman
amongst others, attempting to shed new light on the topic.
A document held at the Glamorgan Record Office in Cardiff
, Wales
, entitled 'Edwards Millions' outlines the case as it stands today, with claims and counter claims further muddying the issue. Tales of unscrupulous lawyers and fraudulent claims have also hampered attempts by amateur researchers to get to the truth. Finally, the introduction of the 'Statute of Limitations
' in NY State, which sets a time limit for all claims, to be commenced within fifteen years of the expiration of a lease, appears to have all but buried the claim with the death of Robert Edwards himself.
The only document that could prove the matter would be the original of the 99-year lease signed over to the brothers Cruger, but that would now be statute barred.
Edit February 2011
CAPTAIN ROBERT EDWARDS received the New York property, a bequest from Queen Anne of England, as a commendation for service. He leased the land to John and George Cruger for 99 years for "1,000 pounds and a pepper corn yearly" as set out in a lease dated June 1, 1778, signed and executed at Manhattan Island. The land and all improvements thereon were to revert to the descendants of his lawful living heirs and those of his siblings, six brothers and a sister, at the expiration of the lease, i.e. May 31, 1877. Robert was the eldest acting on behalf of his silblings and it is understood died shortly after signing the Cruger lease.
Beginning in the late 1800's, any and all attempts by Canadian and American heirs to file a claim to such land proved fruitless. Lawyers sent to plead cases disappeared. Enquiries often met with stonewalling. The case was eventually carried through all New York State courts and lost everywhere. With the passage of time, claims were defeated by the state's Statute of Limitations.
A copy of the original lease is in the hands of at least one of the Edwards descendants, probably more, and the New York property story has been passed down through families.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
buccaneer given 77 acres (311,608.2 m²) of largely unsettled Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
by Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
of the Kingdom of Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
for his services in disrupting Spanish sea lanes. From Edwards, who died in 1762, the property passed in 1877, via a 99-year lease to the brothers John and George Cruger, with the understanding that it would revert back to his heirs after the lease expired. Apparently, this never happened. It is alleged that the Crugers were wardens of Trinity Church, an Episcopal Church -- today, one of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's biggest land owners. Maybe everything was tangled in a muddle of colonial Manhattan land giveaways. But, according to family lore, the whole tract wound up in Trinity's hands.
Trinity indeed got a large slice of the land that seems to be described in the Edwards family account. But the church got the last of the ground in 1705, all of it directly from Queen Anne, according to a church pamphlet published in 1955, at a time when Trinity was bedeviled by Edwards family claims.
The legend has since proved persistent, and indeed some high profile claims of rightful ownership to the fortune, now estimated to be worth around 650 billion dollars. The most recent of these was a claim from a Cleoma Foore, whose research led to the foundation of the 'Pennsylvania Association of Edwards Heirs', a body funded by donations in a bid to finally prove that they were entitled to the vast fortune through direct ancestry. This fund attracted around $1.5m at its peak, but no firm evidence was forthcoming. Indeed, the end result was an embezzlement case tried at the federal court in Pittsburgh before Chief Judge Donald E. Ziegler in 1983.
More recently, this ancient claim has been the subject of many multimedia productions including books, TV shows and radio reports and a 1998 primetime UK TV show called 'Find a Fortune' and hosted by Carol Vorderman
Carol Vorderman
Carol Jean Vorderman MBE is a British media personality, best known for co-hosting the popular game show Countdown for 26 years from 1982 to 2008. In September 2011 she became a co-anchor of the ITV1 panel show Loose Women....
amongst others, attempting to shed new light on the topic.
A document held at the Glamorgan Record Office in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, entitled 'Edwards Millions' outlines the case as it stands today, with claims and counter claims further muddying the issue. Tales of unscrupulous lawyers and fraudulent claims have also hampered attempts by amateur researchers to get to the truth. Finally, the introduction of the 'Statute of Limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
' in NY State, which sets a time limit for all claims, to be commenced within fifteen years of the expiration of a lease, appears to have all but buried the claim with the death of Robert Edwards himself.
The only document that could prove the matter would be the original of the 99-year lease signed over to the brothers Cruger, but that would now be statute barred.
- * * * * * * * * *
Edit February 2011
CAPTAIN ROBERT EDWARDS received the New York property, a bequest from Queen Anne of England, as a commendation for service. He leased the land to John and George Cruger for 99 years for "1,000 pounds and a pepper corn yearly" as set out in a lease dated June 1, 1778, signed and executed at Manhattan Island. The land and all improvements thereon were to revert to the descendants of his lawful living heirs and those of his siblings, six brothers and a sister, at the expiration of the lease, i.e. May 31, 1877. Robert was the eldest acting on behalf of his silblings and it is understood died shortly after signing the Cruger lease.
Beginning in the late 1800's, any and all attempts by Canadian and American heirs to file a claim to such land proved fruitless. Lawyers sent to plead cases disappeared. Enquiries often met with stonewalling. The case was eventually carried through all New York State courts and lost everywhere. With the passage of time, claims were defeated by the state's Statute of Limitations.
A copy of the original lease is in the hands of at least one of the Edwards descendants, probably more, and the New York property story has been passed down through families.