Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1882-07-12
Estates of the unknown.

Three men climbed the stars at AZ Beck
nan street, New York, 10 the Public Ad-
miuistIator's Office, one of them beneath a
heavy load OF valises and bundles These
| he dumped on the floor in the office.
Effects of dead man." he said, as he
Strengthened up.
One OF the other men, who proved TO
be Mr. Daniels, purser of the steamship
Colon, then explained that there had come
aboard that vessel at Aspinwall an invalid
named G. Schneider, the head of the firm
of Schneider il Martin, propnetors of the
Great International Hotel of that city,
and that he died the following day. His
remains were buried al sea, and, after an
inventory of his effects had been taken.
they were tied up, sealed, and when the
steamer reached her dock, brought al once
TO the Public Administrator. The assist
ant in charge of the Office was making a
minute of these facts when the man VINO
brought the effects interrupted him.
''Gve me dollar and let ME go,
said he.
show can 1 give you dOllari"
why, there's plenty of money in that
envelope" the messenger replied, pointing
to an envelope that the purser had put on
the desk together with collar box and a
pocket book. The assistant tore the enve-
lOpe open and took from 1t bills and gold
pieces amounting to $50. He gave the
messenger one dollar. Then he licked off
the items in the purser's inventory: One
hundred and fifty dollars, gold watch, gold
chain. amethyst ring. diamond ring, 81 40
in soils, three SHIRT studs, pocket-book, va
Uses, etc. lie gave the purser an itemized
receipt, and the purser said tnst Schneider's
brother lives in New York.
"Now. wha, Will the Public Admins
traitor do with those things?" the assistant
was sske,'.
First, We will enter all the facts In
what We call our rough book. and next
we will put the saluables and money IN
the safe" said he, land store the goods in
the back room. When the brother has
qualified as administrator we will turn the
estate over to hun. If there had been no
brother or O,her relative here we would
have sent the jewelry to the safe deposit
vaults, stored the valises in our s,Ore-roOm
IN Duane street, and deposited the money
in one of ihe banks, which, under the law,
the Comptroller specifies shall be used for
that purpose. After a certain time, if we
had not heard from the relatives or friends
of the dead man we should have sold his
effects and turned the proceeds and the
| other money over to the CITY Chamberlain,
who would hold 1t in trust forever for the
| next Of kin. We very often 90 through
this. and cur sales, which are by public
| auction and are advertised, are attended
each time by about the same men and
women. They are dealers in second hand
materials and are our regular customers,
50 to speak.
"You had right to pay that messenger
for bringing those things herel"
''Oh, yes; just as We should ave had
right to bury Schneider and pay for the
/ funeral if his body had been brought here.
Ii his brother administers on the estate
We will account to him, but if We admin
lister upon II we will act exactly as if we
were private party, paying the debts of
the deceased, collecting what was due
him, and selling his properly to the best
advantage. A cousin could qualify as
well Us brother, If he was neat cf kin.
The law Is, first the wife, next the chill
dren, third the father, next the mother,
then the brothers or sisters or cousins,
males of the nearest degree OF relationship
being preferred to females. Yhe Public
! Administrator comes after the relatives,
but ahead of creditors, friends and all
others. We have on hand the case of
John ID. Grady, who was receiver of
stolen goods. His fence was a sort of
iewelry OF pawnbroker's shop ia Sixth
avenue. He died, leaving relatives, but
they were not able to give security, and a
man named HaughtOn, who claims that
Grady had property that had been stolen
IRON him, applied for letters of admins
tratlon. We applied also, and the Surro-
gate appointed us. We hold the estate
and dispute Haughton's clam"
'.In the last annual report of the Public
Administrator are very many names oil
persons classified as unknown, whose es
tates are represented by sums ranging
from So SO down to ten cents. What
about thelnf'
"rhey are cases of those who Gie al
sea-often s.ilors, vagrants who die IN the
streets and in the public institutions, per.
sons who die in hotels and boarding
houses, and Coroners' cases Of all sorts
The master of every vessel upon which q
death occurs must report and surrender
the estate of the dead person to u.s. ,,
must boarding-house and hotel keepers