The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1883-11-09
THE MEANEsT MIsER.

aEI-a.HH 49, $500 Ft------1H M ~ -.HH5eEe
"A Man W no Sent HIS Mother 10 the
Poor house and stole Her Shoes.
From the Philadelphia Telegraph.
Aman who possesses $4,000 in gov
eminent bonds, but who. will probably
not have q mpnrrers In the world,
died in Walden, N. r., recently. His
name was John Wilson. He was we'll
known throughout that portion 81 the
country 8 Doctor" Wilson. He had
lived inssWakien'ffty years. and for thir-
" years lie worked as boss stone mason,
never having been known to lose an
hours time. He boarded avery cent OF
Ibis WAGES pcssibte sEtpnging his living
only when he was driven TO it by neces-
sity.
Ten years ago lie quit work and took
up his quarters in the. garrett .pf. M old
stone house, s. delapidated building
with only one window. There he lived
the life of u recluses The only per-
son who was suffered to enter
his room was a girl, Minnie Oldham by
name, the daughter of a poor luborihg
man of the village. She had been a
special fayorite of his from %babyhood.
She looked after his wants aud por-
formed such household duties as he
wonld permit her to do. The only 9TH
Ter person who ever crossed his TIRES
hold was q tax-collector, who forced an
entrance, and succeeded in collecting
the first taxes Wilson had said in tit.
teen yeara. Many efforts were made
by visltorsto see the home of the miser,
but he was always on guard, and met all
rnlfn 40, Ell III, nft,nf rf thn rtnl-afSy ctoiro
and they co I'D 90 no further.
The mother of Wilson lived in Walden
until some years q o,ssnpporting her,
self until She was so years old by MI sort
of drndgery. When she was unable to
work any longer she applied to her son
for support during the remaining years
OF her life. He purchased her II pair of
shoes and then walked her twenty miles
to the poor-hou;e, where he delivered
her to the authorities, first taking from
her the shoes. She died in a short time
and was buried as q pauper.
Besides the Oldham girl, Wilson had
friendship for only n other person.
This friend. however, was never. per nit
ted to cross his threshold. Some snonths
ago needed improvements III the streets
of Walden led to the condemnation of
the stone house, which was torn down.
The miser, unable to find q shelter with
any of the villagers Or to rent a room,
was forced to buy a shelter. This was a
miserable house in nn isolated portion
of the neighborlood, where Wilson re-
sumed bis life o~fherrnitage, his solitude
being broken only by the visits of the
young girl. He was found dead iii his
hut. His money, it is reported he lett
to Minnie Oldham, who is a respectable
girl OF IA. In appearance Wilson was a
typical miser. He was over six feel
high, with long matted hair and beard
and wore garments made Of endless,
patches of all sizes and colnrs.
The deathsOf Henry Farnam at New
Haven last week recalls the early rail-
road and canal building triumphs of tire
country, in many of which he was a
prime mover. He began active life at
rs, aas..rodman" on the Erie ranaiunder
the then well-knoWn surveyor David
Thomas, soon rose to be an assistant en-
gineer, and worked on the surveys for
several years. He was well grounded
in the principles of surveying. Although
poor and born on a farm at Scipio, Cay
uga county, N. Y, he showed a strong
mathematics and after leaving
this district school lie fell under the
care of a town surveyor who taught him
the elements IF geometry, algebra, trig.
onometry and surveying. He worked
On the surveysin thesummer and taught
school winters. About 4lSA he became
ASSISTANT Rnd ttefward engineer in
charge OF the New Haven and New
hampton canal, for which the railroad
was aiterward substituted. Here he
becams associated with Jo-
M E IL E 4. Ea.nJ1' t r-,,, -. Y- e
the Sheffield scientific department of
Yale college, and the business onnec
ton lasted many years. They built the
New Hagen and Northampton road and
Earnarn became It's first superintendent.
Nextthey builtsthe road from Chicago
to Rock island, and spurfed on the
Michigan Central to connect Chicago
with Lake Erie Mr.. Farnam invented
the modern railway excursion, taking
1000 invited guests over the completed
Rock Island road from Chicago to the
Mississippi in June, 1854, ana 400 miles
llpsthe riyersby bput. His fnilroad lines
finally reached thefMissouri Nj. Fxf-
nam settled in New Haven in>lS69 and
built q fine house there on Hillhouse
venue. He had already given $50. 600
to Yale college and had then added $780,
QUO more, and Farnam dormitory was
quilt in 1870. His private and public
gifts have been large and made without
His last act before being strick.
en- with paralysis wasto procure drafts
for friends who he thought needed help.
He married IN 1899 Anna S. Whitman OF
Farmington,C Ct, and leaves five children,
DIR. George b. Farnam, Charles Ii. Far
nam. William w. Farnam, Prof. Henry
w. Farran. and Mrs. Eli Whitney. Jr.