Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-02-13

The biggest fortunes On the Pacif
! coast are those Of the Central Pacit
| raliro2d C2aggates. and ex-GoyeTno
Stanford Is t1e riches. of the crolr
his wealth IS estimated at 5000. GO
that Is, his yearly income is equal 10 ID
interest," on SUCH capltal-and hi
property Is constantly increasing Il
value. he Owls more than SSUn.o o.
alone IN San Francisco In real estate, I
say nothing Of his farms. VINEYARDS
breeding ranches, de- l he ex-Governo
| has a child, Leland. Jr., lad about IF
teen.
Ihe richest widow on the coast, or i,
the country for that matter, with th
possible exception OF Mrs. Cornell,
Stewart, Is Mrs. Mark Hopkins. widow O
one Of the Central Pacific syndicate
bel husbands estate proved up S13.
GO 100, and the only two men in Cali
forala who could justify on the widow,
bond as executrix were Leland Stanford
and Charles Croker. two of her hrs
bands business associates. They wer,
compelled to justify in twice the amour
OF the estate, and each swore that b.
was worth S45,OO0.OOO. Mrs. Hopkin,
Is an elderly woman. They had n,
children, but had adopted son. whom
Mrs. Hopkins has just married to Nils,
SHilenden, protege of hers, providing
her with the dot of a princess. There
are other heirs TO the estate. but tn,
adopted son Tim" will get the bulk OF
it.
The richest young and unmarried
woman on the Pacific coast is Miss Jen,
ME Flood, only daughter of the Bonanza
ming: When her fathers income from
the Dig silver bonanza was at its high.
est, he bought S2.J00.0OO of United
states four per cents. and gave them to
MS daughter outright. having them reg.
lstered IN her name. He also gave his
son Sl,UOoOOO In the same securities: bu,
the latter does not promise well. and the
bonds have gone back to his fathers
bank vault for safe keeping.
The richest prospective heiress in Cal
lfornia Is Miss Hattie Croker, the only
daughter of Charles Croker, one of the
railroad syndicate. She was sought in
marriage by Lord Beaumont. an Eng
lish nobleman, but she gave him no en-
couragement. Mr.. Crocker has two
other children, sons; but his immense
wealth will give taem all a priucely for
tune.
The luckiest young man in California
IN point of wealth is MIR. James V. Cole
man. of Menlo Park. A few wears ago
ne was clerk at d mine in Nevada. ar
500 a month. But he didn't expect to
be always, for William L. O'Brien, one
of the Bonanza kings, was his uncle.
ana Mr.. " Brien was bachelor. One
day Mr.. y Brien got sick and sent for
Jimmie as he was always called, to
be with him and care for him. In the
last days of his illness the nurses said
that Uncle Billy and Jimmie" We're
closeted together good deal: and one
evening Jimmie" came ont of Uncle
Bllly's room with big tin box which
his Uncle had given him. 1t contained
f5UO,UOOl In per cents. A week later
Uncle Billy died, and by his will all the
nephsws and nleces were left $500, 900
each, including Jimmie, who got that in
addition to the ante-mortem Gift of
f5OO,OOO. But not content with that,
Uncle Billy made Jimmie an executor
without bonds, and his fees as such
amounted to $46iOO0. The whole value
of Uncle Billy's estate was a little over
$9,00O,OO0. After the legacies were paid
the residue was turned over to MIR.
y ,Brien's two sisters, Mrs. Coleman
(Jlmmie's mother) and Mrs. Joseph
McDonRough. The two ladies inherit
ed $500. 600 each. The lucky young
man referred to is about thirty three. a
graduate Of Georgetown College. ID. c.,
and has just been elected to the Assem-
bly, of California. Jimmie has gone in
to training for Congress, and will get
there ia 1884.
The unluckiest man on the Pacific
slope, in point of wealth, is Senator
Jones of Nevada. Thece has perhaps
never been SO vast fortune so quickly
scattered as that of Jones's. In spite of
popular belief, Senator Jones TODAY is
poor, comparatively speaking. When
he was elected to the Senate, in 1873, he
was worth at least Sl0,0O0,OC0. Today
he is not worth $50, 700 above his debts,
and his Congressional salary is no long
er despised as a source of income. 1t
would be hard to tell where Jones's for
tune has gone, or more correctly speak
ing, to tell where it hasn't gone. No
man ever sunk so much money in CHM
erlcal schemes, invested SO much in
bogus friendships, or became SO easy a
prey to financial sharks, as Jones. He
sunk S2,OOO,O00 hard money in mines at
Panamint, Cal, which never yielded a
dollar. He sunk another million in the
Sumner mine. in Southern California.
He built railroad in Southern Cali
fornia twelve miles long. ard it cost
enough to have had every tie of
mahogany and every rail of sill
yer. The Central Pacific after
ward bought it for about $1,000
mile. He bought every ranch ever of
fered him; indeed, he bought one in
Nevada which has never been located
to this day. JOnes's agents could never
find it. He started an ice factory in
New Orleans. He never saw the facto-
~, and never but once or twice the man
who got him into it. He opened the st.
James Hotel in New York, and of course
it never paid. The last cruel wipe that
Fate had in store for Jones was the
'SieIra Nevada deal,' as Californians
all call it, of four years ago. On mere
prospect the stock was jumped from So
a share to 1915. Jones got in at about
500, on the drop. The stock is selling
now for less than S..
The fortunes of the bonanza men of
not only greatly exaggerated in the first
RAbSCs Ous lNO ycdIo tucy AdNc
sadly dwindled. Their great source of
wealth was in working the ores of the
Big Bonanza, hauling the bullion. and
managing the mines, and that has
wholly stopped. Their mining stocks
have sunk in value to almost zero, and
it is hard to tell now wherein their great
fortunes consist. OF course all are rich
men, but nothing like as rich as they
were five years ago. 1t is doubtful If
any of them, with the possible exception
of Mackey, who always had twice as
much as the others. would new cut up
$5,0OO,000 Mr.. Flood owns but little
real estate-Mr. Mackey none at all.
Senator Fair owns sbout $1,000, 600
worth. Their mining operations have
for two years been burden. Their
bank does not pay, and never has paid,
for it never became popular with
The business community. The only
property any of them has that
yields an income, except Fairs
business blocks, is their Government
bonds. 1t was but four years ago that
Fair got caught to the tune Of million
by Robert Sherwood, another mining
capitalist, who used to sell watches and
finger rings. At the time of the Sierra
Nevada deal Sherwood owned sos
shares of Union Con, then rated in the
market at 500 share. Fair was bust
ering around one day in Nevada Block
ahOrt what uas Cnipr, n, la ch,,vp =, r, ~,