Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1850-11-28
s.leI.ononsl,, sl,c MiEIionaire.


The New Orleans papers contain ma
:. PARTICULARS in relation to John Nc
EHonoIph, the eccentric millionaire, who
i Ion died Of cholera at his residence
nnnosite that city, in The list year of his
T Fs His estates are variously estimat-
Z at from five to fifteen millions of dol
lars His real estate is very large, is
S;stributed in all parts Of Louisiana, be-
dos lage amount in New Orleans, the
rsarv rental Of which, amounts to about
,wo hundred thousand dollars. Except
.be latter, however, his property is I'M
improved. The N 0. Bulletin says.
Some ten years since he consulted
an eminent lawyer of this city, to know
whether he could not place the whole of
his property in the hands of trustees, to
accumulate for three thousand gears 1--WE
make no mistake in stating thousands
and not hundreds J and then TO be distri-
buted among the poor of that distant
generation, unless indeed all generations
Should have been previously swept away,
and the milleneum be come and even
gene in the mean time. He told us in a
conversation within the last four years,
that the provisions Of his viii would not
all be carried out in less than fue hind
red gears, and that it would surprise
the world when they became acquaint-
ed with it. How far his e sober second
thoughts may have modified or changed
his views on the subject of the DISPOSE
ton of his property, we Of course are
unable to say, but there will be good
deal of anxiety and speculation afoat on
the subject until the tenor Of it is known,
and we are prepared to hear of queer
provisions and directions when it is pro-
mulgated.o
The Picayune says:
"To his relations, who were quite
poor, he preserved severe and studied
coldness-only relieving their poverty
by the most meagre contributions. OF
enterprise, the spirit of public improve
ment and progress, he was as destitute as
the old planks Of his house were of sap.
Owning immense property in the city,
he left the greater part Of il entirely I'M
improved, until his possessions became
a great nuisance 10 the corporation.
When induced to build, he would only
erect the toughest and most unseeinly
buildings, usually put up by his slaves,
who brought the bricks with which they
were made across the river. Many Of
these building are now eyesores in our
city, tenantless and dangerous from their
dilapidated condition. So too of his i'm
nense property in the country. But a
small portion Of it was in cultivation.
He usually bought tracts of land by
leagues and miles, instead of acres. He
was said TO own fifty miles fronting on
the Mississippi, in Louisiana. Four
iifths, Of the swamp land in the State be-
longed to him. He had, too, immense
possessions in Florida, Mississippi, and
Texas. The area OF his property would
equal that of one Of the small States Of
the Union, and exceed that of several
of the Kingdoms or Principalities of
Europe. The preservation and admin
istration of this immense property must
have required vast deal of labor, and
great administrative talents. These Mr..
McDonough possessed. He was well
educated, wrote very well, understood
the law, and was quite familiar with the
history Of the country"