Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-03-08
An Heir for william Wilberforce Mann's
PrOperty,

4 daughter OF the city hermit, William
Wherefore Mann, says the New York
Times of Feb. %, who was found dead in
Brooklyn recently, made herself known
yesterday to lawyer who is interested in
settling up the old mans estate. Though
the mysterious tenant Of No. ,2l3 Broad
way, Brooklyn, always pretended to he
very poor, he was at one time rich man.
Among the papers found in the Old her
mit's trunk was a copy OF a VIII, the
original of which is said to be in the pos
session of a gentleman in Norwich, Conn.
Mr. Mann was born in New Hampshire
in 1903. His parents took him to Georgia
when he was young. He grew up there,
practiced law, made a few thousand dol
lars, and went to Paris with it. After
living there few years
practiced law again, maze some more
money, and returned to Paris. He was a
well-read and generally well-educated
man, and found no difficulty in getting
his correspondence printed in some news
papers. During the war he wrote a series
of articles on the United States, and par
ticularly the South, for few foreign
papers. He lived In a sort of Bohemian
style, spending great deal of time in
hunting up odd books and in diligently
cultivating some of his personal pecu-
llarities. He married a FrenchwOman
while in Paris, but she could not live
him. Soon after child was born to them
the wife got French separation and
married another man. She was light
hearted and fond OF society, while Mann
was sullen and at times paid little atten-
ton to any cody or anything but his books
and his papers.
Somewhere about 1870 the husband came
to New York with his daughter Marion
and bought two houses in Thirty-eighth
street. He always seemed to have plenty
of money, and liked to speculate with 1t
in his own peculiar fashion. He put his
daughter in the Convent of the Sacred
Heart and gave her a good education.
When she came out he wanted her to take
special studies in music and metaphysics.
The Young woman was more of her moth
er's disposition. and was not fond of
study. Her quick-tempered father flew
into a passion when the girl showed OppO-
sitlOn to his plans for her, and at once dis
owned her. That was in 1879. Mann
sold his Thirty eighth street houses, and
retired to the curious rooms in Brooklyn,
where his body was found. He never
asked again for his daughter. She went
back to the convent for while, and finally
secured employment in private family
in this city. She is now a woman over 80
years old, and first read of her fathers
sad end in the newspapers.
A niece of the old hermit has written to
the Public Administrator claiming that
the daughter Marion is illegitimate, and
that any property lett should be divided
among herself, her sister and her brother,
children of the dead mans sister. 1t is
said that the hermit's library of about
1000 volumes includes some rare first edi-
tions which will command a good price
In the book market. His friend Louis w
Ginter, of Richmond, Va, expected to re.
ceive the old PERMITS library. Mr.. GinteI
said that he used to send money to Mr.
Mann regularly, and 1t was understood
between them that he should have the
books when the old recluse died.