Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-05-06
BLYrHE,s MILLIONS.
An English VIII Spreads Dlsmay Among
the Pacific Coast Claimants.

An Eng usA W Ill spreads DlsAnay Among
the Pacific Coast Claimants.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 3O.-The dis
covery that Thomas Blythe, the million
aire, who died here two years ago intes-
tate, as was supposed, had left will in
England has thrown the numerous al
legged heirs and widows on this coast into
a panic. BlYthe's millions have been the
object of contest, as have those of nearly
every rich man ever known in California.
When he died no will was to be found,
and Immediately three or four women
who protested to have been his wives put
IN claims for the estate. One of them had
a child, which she said was Blythe's
daughter, and she produced several let
ters from him in which he by inference
recognized her. The property left by
Blythe has been in the custody of the
Probate Court and the Public Admins
traitor since his death, and the suits
brought by his alleged wives have not
made much progress. The British Consul
here has been at work for a long time in
an effort to discover the dead mans rela-
tives in England, but this has been very
difficult undertaking.
Blythe was one of the Forty-niners,
coming here in August of IS49 without a
dollar. He never did much in the way of
mining or specializing in mining stocks,
but, going at once into the whisky bust
ness, he made money and invested all he
got in land. This policy soon made him
independent, and eventually rich. Dur
ing the last years of his life he had bache-
Tor apartments in Geary street, and it was
there that he was found dead one morn
ing in his bath tub, from a stroke of par
alysis. During all Of Blythe's career on
the coast no one knew anything in parti-
cular about him. He never made any
disclosures concerning his friends and re-
latives in England, and when, after his
sudden death, several women appeared,
each claiming to have been his wife, it
was thought to be only on eOf the ordinary
California demonstrations ON the death
of a rich man. 1t was believed that some
of these women would get his property in
the absence of any other claimant, when
news was received Of the existence Of the
English Will, and that it had been for
warded to this city.
The will in question is explained in a
curious way. 1t is said that in 1913, be-
fore sailing for America, Blythe fell in
love with a young girl in London named
Caroline Grover. They were engaged to
be married, but as Blythe intended to 90
to California to seek his fortune, the we'd
ding was postponed. Before starting he
drew up and signed Will bequeathing to
Miss Grover everything that he had, or
might have, and left the document with
her. Their parting was a painful one,
but, like many others, they soon forgot
each other, and in the course of time the
young woman married man named Rob-
son, with whom she is now living.
Blythe seems never to have paid any at
tentiOn to her after making his fortune,
and, as the story goes, she forgot all
about him, and only by rare good luck
was she able to find the will among a lot
of old papers which she supposed had
been destroyed. The British Consul eX-
poets to prove the genuineness of the
viii, and secure for the English woman
the greater part Of the property, which is
valued at about 100000
Since this new claimant has appeared
the lawyers are expecting to have prof
liable settlement of some kind, not unlike
those effected in the cases of several
other milliOnaires here. 1t is argued that
the English woman VIII hardly want to
stand a long contest, and that if her claim
should be passed upon favOrably she VIII
be willing to pay the women here snug
sums to induce them to drop the subject.
The woman who has the child has what
is considered in California an excellent
may produce documentary and other evil
dence that Will be worth money. NeXttO
getting the fortunes themselves the
claimants to Pacific coast estates Ike to
see some one else get them, for then there
is an opportunity to trade. The trustees
of the Lick estate gave the philanthroD-
lists illegitimate son half million TO get
rid of him. anda brother of w. S. O'Brien,
who had been thought dead, and who
turned up just after the will was filed,
was bought off for $500, 900. In the case
of other milhOnaires settlements were
made with several women who had letters
and claims at round figures.
Up to the present time the energies Of
all the other claimants to Blythe's mil
lions have been devoted to a combined at
tack on the woman who processes to be
the mother of the dead mans child. All
sorts of stories have been circulated about
her. Now that a woman has appeared
with what purports to be a will, it is eX-
pected that all hands will turn in to beat
her, and. failing in that, will combine to
get what money they can from her. But
tor the overshadOwing sensationalism Of
the Sharon case, the dispute over the
Blythe millions would have attracted
much greater attention.