The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1886-05-07
IoHs nrRoIs,s MILLIONS.
PennsyIYania's Lumber King GiVes
$4,000. 900 Estate TO HIS Nephew.

On Tuesday of last week, John Du-
bois, the lumber king of Pennsylvania,
filed in Clearfeld an absolute deed con-
veying all his property, valued at about
$4,000. 600, to his favoTite nephew, John
E. Dubois. The deed bears date Jan.
II. 1884, so that, although for more
than two years young John Dubois has
been in his uncle's employ, taking or
deTs from whatever superintendent he
chanced to be working under, be has
been the actual owner Of the entire
property. Nobody knew it but himself
and his uncle. The senior Dubois, who
is II years old, has been ailing lately,
and decided to make the deed public.
The only consideration in the deed is
that John f. Dubois shall pay all debts
and fill all contracts that his uncle may
make till the day of his death.
His purpose in making the deed was
to make sure that his business should
go on in single and absolute ownership.
just as he had conducted it for the pc
riOd of twenty years, after his death,
and that the 800 wOTBmen in his employ
should not be distressed by the stoppage
or embarrassment of his enterprise.
The deed makes no mention Of any OF
the other heirs, Of whom there are a
great many, John Dubois being the only
bachelor in a family of fourteen. 1t IS
left entirely to the conscience of John
Z. Dubois whether any of them shall
ever have ary share in the estate or not.
The young man is about twenty five
years old and unmarried. He was edu-
Gated at Chester Military Academy.
The Pittsburg Dispatch says that John
Dubois stood easily at the head of the
lumber business of Pennsylvania. 1t is
doubtful if there is any man between
Maine and Michigan who owned more
timber land and cut more timber than
be did. Every year he cut and sawed
| ABOUT SO, 900, 900 feet of boards, enough
| TO build the dwelling houses of town
| of 10000 inhabitants. He owned at
| the time of his death $4,000 acres OF
/ land in one connected body about his
I town of Dubois, on which there is
standing about $50, 600, 900 feet of white
/ pine lumber. besides many million feet
| of hemlock. About 5000 acres ot 1T is
/ underlaid with valuable vein OF coal,
being on the western side of the Rey
noldsville basin.
Besides his large buildings in Pits
burgh, John Dubois had a One-fourth
| interest il a tract of 10000 acres in
/ West Virginia, which the axe has never
touched, and large real estate interests
in Havre de Grace and Williamsport.
At Dubois, where he has lately lived,
he owned mill Improvements worth
$3.50, 900. When he went there, ten or
twelve years ago, there were only three
houses in the town. II now has 1,OOO
population.
John Dubois began life with almost
no capital, and was Taftsman on the
Susquehanna at the age of II. His in,
ventive genius helped him greatly. His
mills are full of his devices. Whenever
he found an impediment in his path, he
! invented something to overcome 1t. lie
recently recovered $50, 600 from the Bal
timere and Ohio Railroad Company FOL
the use of his patent for deep water
[ foundations. The automatic dam which
: bears his name is well known. He
! owned about fifty patents altogether
? He owned the fine hotel and about bal
! the property in the town OF Dubois
! and had Just completed a new opera
house, the finest in the State outside o
2 Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
{ He got the first large start in his for
q tune by investing in cheap timber lands
and the secret of his large profits in re
cent years has been the perfection o
D his machinery and the variety OF hi
D | products, which enabled him to use u
I all LD6 IlLlUtI Ub cut dllu dNOiu "dol'
and mIddlemen's s profits. He manufac
tured houses, and shipped them all fitte
and complete, so that hatchet ant
nails were all that were required to pu
= them together at their destination
. a rough pine log brought from th
O woods to his mill, over his own line O
railroad, came out at the end of tn
: works in the shape of boxes, boards
e lath, and barrel heads. Every scTa
J, was turned to profit. There was n
n waste except splinteTs and sawdust.
His works at Dubois have capacit
! of $1,000 feet of lumber, 5000 boxes
O 5000 barrel heads, and 10000 shIngle
f per day, besides a hemlOck mill with
!. a capacity Of 10000 feet daily, and
\ large tanneTy and machine shop. Fl
had a farm of l 600 acres, employed SC
d men, and knew every one of them. II
d had been seriously i'll for severS
s months, and recently had Dr. AgneV
, of Philadelphia, taken up to Dubois o
! a special train, He stayed just thirty
FIVE minutes. Though a man Of war;
a heart and genial disposition, Mr.. DI
It bOis never married. He never use
IS liquor or tobacco.