Hermit J. Richards

The estate of James Richards, whose tragic death startled this community, Feb. 1, 1897, has been amicably settled by the several heirs, the most of whom reside in England. The basis of settlement is that four-fifths of the estate which consists of $1,100 and 80 acres of land in the township of Superior goes to the brother and sister of the deceased and the remaining one-fifth to his illegitimate daughter. Mr. Joseph Applin, of Philadelphia, whose mother is a sister of Mr. Richards, arrived here yesterday and after looking over the ground carefully with his attorney, M. J. Cavanaugh sanctioned this settlement.

Mr. Applin, who is the manager of a large manufacturing concern in Philadelphia, gave an Argus representative some very interesting reminiscences of James Richards. Mr. Richards was in early life a railroad contractor. In company with a civil engineer, he enjoyed some very lucrative contracts during the building of the great English roads. Trouble with the mother of the daughter who is now a claimant for his estate induced him to leave the old country and he followed his friend the civil engineer to America, where they pursued the arrangement which had worked so satisfactorily in the old country on one of the Pennsylvania roads - the one employed as an engineer, the other as a contractor securing valuable contractor through the engineer. After a time the civil engineer returned to England and Richards drifted to Ann Arbor. Richards was out of joint with his family in England and very rarely communicated with them. Many letters from them were never answered. During the winter that Mr. Richards was killed, Mr. Applin was in England and promised his people there to go to Michigan and look the old man up. It was their intention if Richards was in need to induce him to return to England where they could take care of him. It was some time after his return from England before Mr. Applin could arrange his business to make the trip to Ann Arbor and before he had done so the information came through his relatives in England that Richards had been murdered.

The woman who was the mother of Richard's daughter married another man shortly after he came to America and that fact may have had much to do with the old man's evident desire to avoid all intercourse with the friends of his earlier years.

Mr. Applin returned to Philadelphia today.