The Real Estate Swindle
Edward Kennah accuses his partners of using his money to buy land while securing a secret ownership share for themselves.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Edward Kennah brought suit yesterday in the superior court against R. J. Huston and Charles Kakeldy to have his interests protected in a real estate deal in which he claims that the defendants defrauded him. His complaint alleges that Huston by false representations induced him to furnish $4,000, as two-thirds of the purchase price of a piece of land which they bought of Kakeldy for $5,000. The deed made by Kakeldy placed the title to two-thirds of the property in the plaintiff's name and one-third in Huston's name. Kennah claims that he has since discovered that Huston and Kakeldy were in collusion and that in fact only $4,000 was paid for the land, so that he furnished all the money and Huston secured title to one-third of the property without expending a cent.
“Kennah claims that he has since discovered that Huston and Kakeldy were in collusion.”
Land speculation was the heartbeat of 1890s Seattle, and this story mirrors modern concerns regarding transparency and collusion in real estate transactions. The 'booster' culture of the era often left individual investors vulnerable to sophisticated local scams.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.