Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-06-24
ILL.GOTTEN GOLD.
The Romance OF Fanny Haregrove I'M
earthed-A Box Of Papers
and One Of
French Coin that Had Been Hidden Since
1854 Proud WOman's Secret
Brought to Light.

I
solitary house in E.st Eighty-sixth street,
near the river, was peculiar, Gays the New
York Journal. She has lived there until The
memoirs OF the old, ST inhabitant remarks not
to- the contrary. No one knew how she
came there. She appeared 10 have no friends
or relatives. Occasionally an old gentleman
would call on her for an hour and they would
be seen sitting together in the garden, but he
never enuered the house. She permitted no
one to do this. Considerable curiosity was
exhibited in the neighborhood to know some
thing about the interior OF the old house,
but il was never grati6ed. For the edifice is
one Of the oldest on Manhattan Island. 1t
used to be great place in the times OF the
earlier Presidents and Was for a long time
the abode of Col. Joyce, who seems to have
given receptions at which wine flowed deeply
and freely.
Then for long time it seems to have been
uninh abiled, and after a while the people who |
| were sparsely scattered around noticed
middle-sged lady in occupancy. Now and |
| then she would order come small things at |
| the corner grocery stores on Third avenue, |
| but 30 seldom as 10 N axe the neighbsrs won- |
| der what she lived on.
| At length she went the way Of all heeh.
| The first that was known OF hat event was
the sight of hearse driving up at the front
| gate. How everybody had been notified Of
L
| funeral arrangements, nobody knew. But
| the coffin was carried out OF the house then
and there, which proved that the previous
rites had been attended to. 1t is supposed
that che wrote to certain officials to come
| and zee her on such and such night. That
they came and found her dead body and in
| structions what TO do.
| Owen Murphy is a laberer, of No. 2llS
Second avenue. He was called upon
by man dressed in black and
having q foreign accent last Thurs
day, He was asked what he would
charge TO do a job Of digging that would
take a day. He agreed on a price and met
| the man in black the next morning. He
WAS accompanied by another man, who, IRON
his talk, he judged to be an official OF come
sort. The man in black told Murphy TO
come into the garden, and he pointed out
certain spot where 10 dig. He went at 1t and
after about half an hour whenever he dug
down over three feet the man in black told
him 10 come away. Then the two others con-
suited.
"Let US try the next" said the mau in
black, and they went over 10 sycamore on
the left of the garden.
Murphy was again put to digging. The
roots OF the sycamore m ade the job very
difficult one, and Murphy had TO 60 for his
pickax. When he got back the hole was a
good deal deeper than when he left it. be
! was urged to proceed. After moment or
two the tool struck on something that sound
= ed like metal. The man in black then went
down on his knees and then dug away with
his hands. He found the hard substance.
1t looked like sn old piece OF iron, but was
go inextricably incased by the gnarled roots
| of The tree that it could not be budged. The
man in black told him to take the root away.
' To do this he had TO go and get saw. BY
this time quite a number of people had gath
cred and were looking on from the street
They seemed puzzled, and some one said
they were going to bury old Fanny Hare
| grove under the tree. 1t took long time to
saw the roots away, and the saw was badly
| damaged by coming in contact with sm al
y iron box about six inches long by four II
breadth. 1t was more by luck than anything
else that the box was discovered at all
If the pickax had not struck ii
one little crevice it would prob
ably have been lost. The man in black dis
played great joy when the box was priet
out from it's incasements. He took small
key from his vest pocket and tried to oper
the box, but the lock was too rusty. They
worked at it long time, and then smashed
it in two blows of the pickax. The box con
tanned only papers. -Four or five of thes'
they read. The man in black said:
"There ia poor old Fanny's marriage Ger
tfcate." Then he said, "There it lie; TIT
money is in the cellar"
Murphy went with them, but not through
the house. The lna in black went round L
open the cellar door from the inside. HI
brought lighted lamp In the cellar b.
counted off thirteen feet from one wall ant
seven feet from another, and told the man L
dig again. He had to break the cement
which was foot thick, with his picksI
Then he dug quickly, and about foot ant
half under ground came to an iron boz
- Eve times the size of the first box. As it wa
dragged up by the three men-its weigh
demanded the eIertions of all three
rolled over and broke open. A shower o
gold pieces fell ont. The man in black tool
up few and looked at them.
"All coins of Louis Philippe" he said
d. "The box must have been there since 184S, a
least"
"How much is there?" asked the other.
"There should be 10000 francs" said tn
man in black "The box under the hearth
stone had 10000"
He then handed Murphy S. bill, and lie
ii him go, without any injunction Of secrecy
I'd Murphy told the story in the neighborhooo
A Journal reporter found it next to impos
sibe to find out any thing about this siDgula
q. woman, who buried her money 30 CAREFUL
ne in her cellar and went out of the world, leay
ing b srdly an impression Of what she ha
been, though living in New York all thea
in years. The story, as told by one who kne
he her, was that many years ago she was bt
Id trothed TO a paymsster in the French havy-
e. that during the turmoil of the revolution {
se 1848 he ran away to join her, taking wit
re him a chest of gold which belonged to b
al government. They had been together onl
a few weeks when she found that he was
er thief and upbraided him with it. Not Ion
- after, afraid of capture, he blew out h
o. brains. This blow almost dethroned he
reason. The ill-gottsn money she would nj
touch. To give it back would be to ca
40 obloquy on the memory of man she tel
e. DERBY loved. The chest OF gold disappeare
70 The man who found it a few days sin'
l." was no doubt an emlsssry oil The french go
| arnp,ar, cop,a to ol din, ita own