The Sylvester Family of Plainview, Minnesota*

Edwin Sylvester to face additional charges in next term of Court

April 16, 1926 - April 26, 1926

PAGE 216

defiantly announced today. The former Plainview banker, now in the state prison at Stillwater, will be arraigned at least on several of the indictments returned by the last May grand jury, whether there would be additional charges or not, Mr. Foley would not discuss.
However, he stated that he had asked Judge C. E. Callaghan, senior judge of the district, to have a grand jury called in for the May term of district court.
Sylvester is now serving a sentence of from one to five years imposed on his plea of guilty to one indictment before Judge Callaghan at Rochester shortly after he was captured at Gulfport, Miss, and returned to Minnesota.
He was taken directly from Rochester to Stillwater. Here in the presence of his attorneys from St. Paul, Sylvester has been in conference several times with the receiver of the Plainview State Bank, of which he was president, and other banking department officials.
"We will bring Sylvester back for the May term of court," Mr. Foley said today, "To face the other charges. At least we are going to exert every effort to bring him back. I prefer not to discuss whether there will or will not be additional charges at this time. You may say, however, that I have asked that a grand jury be impaneled for the May term of court."
Several other important cases are to come before the May term in Wabasha county. The outstanding one is the retrial of Adolph Stoltz of Plainview, former assistant cashier of the closed bank. The jury disagreed at the last term of court in this action.
For sale or rent – G. F. Sylvester residence. Inquire at First National Bank. ADV.
April 23, 1926- E. W. Schwanbeck closed a deal on the G. F. Sylvester residence, where he will make his home.
April 26, 1926-

E. L. Sylvester Property Here Found Exempt
Land on Two Sides of Homestead Retained by Bank
Decision Made in Bankrupt Case This Week at Winona
The Sylvester homestead and personal property were exempted in the bankruptcy proceedings in a decision given by Referee H. M. Bierce of Winona this week. Proceedings in this case began April 2, 1925 when E. L. Sylvester was declared involuntarily bankrupt. On the petition of Mrs. E. L. Sylvester, claiming her right to the property a hearing was held at Winona, the trustee, C. L. Mikkelson, through his attorney James A. Carley, presenting his side of the case and the expenditures of the Sylvester’s during the past eleven years. The hearing was not completed at that time and after several postponements, E. L. Sylvester was captured and returned to this state where he entered a plea of bankruptcy and Mrs. Sylvester’s claims were dropped. The hearing of the latter petition on March 27 resulted in a decision.
In exempting the homestead, however, the court sets aside only the property on which the property stands, a lot 72 feet wide which cuts off the driveway and extending back 300 feet. The frontage of the property is 252 feet which leaves a strip 96 feet wide and extending back 300 feet on the east side of the house and a strip 84 by 300 feet on the west side beside a garden plot back of the other residences in that block. These two strips have already been sold by Mr. Mikkelson for $2,500 to Matt Schilling.
In pressing the claims for title to the property the banking department in behalf of the depositors cited the fact that most of the property had been purchased with money taken from the depositors of the bank and from trust funds in the bank, arguing that for that reason the property rightfully belonged to the depositors. The same was true of the insurance policies which totaled $20,000, but as these had been used to secure loans they were of not value. They also claimed that Sylvester was not entitled to protection in this state having left here as an absconding debtor with the intention of establishing a residence outside the state.

Previous: Page 215.
Next: Page 217.
Initial: Table of Contents

* SOURCE: Manzow, Ron (compiler), "The Sylvester Family of Plainview, Minnesota - a collection of information taken from the Plainview News, other newspapers, letters, and diaries beginning in 1884": Plainview Area History Center, 40 4th St. S.W., Plainview, MN 55964. Compiled in 2001.

NOTE: from Ron Manzow, December 2001: "Feel free to reproduce the pages for anyone who wants a copy. It was compiled to be shared... All I ask is that they consider sending a check to the [Plainview Area] History Center to help us out. That should be enough."