The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1886-07-06

A Fortune Accumulated I'm Ten
Cent Lodging Houses
I'm New York.
Appearance of q Niece Who IA
After Her Portion
of the Cash.

4
ments for single gentlemen only
Margaret Buckley. inscribed in the ar
chives of the Surrogate's office as the
"belOved WIFE Of old Joe Buckley
the late prince of the ten-cent lodging
houses, braces her $50 avoirdupoi:
and awaits the shock of battle. A
stern and naughty creature is Mar.
garet these days Her high forehead
is frequently corrugated with the lines
of wrath, and her dark hair. combed
a La POmpadour over a mighty dome
of thought and above a tongue that
knows the choicest Saxon current in
the fish markets, rises on end wi h in
dignation whenever the red-rag words
next the OF kim kin are ef shaker in her face
points has already been made known
in The World. Old Joe passed in his
checks last August, leaving a small
portion of his $500, 900 or so of prop-
erty to his longtime clerk, Thomas
Burdett, and the remainder to his he.
loved wife, Margaret. The will pro-
vided that stone wall should be built
around his grave in Hollywood Gene
terry, Brookline, Mass, and that no
one else should ever be buried inside
OF this stony ring save the aforesaid
wife, Margaret
For years this buxom woman had
kept with neatness the house In Sec
ond street, which cheerfully faces the
old cemetery where bodies are some
times "buried above ground" as one
might say. Having faithfully mourn
ed his loss and duly taken out letters
OF administration, she was just get
ting her second wind in widowhood
anG was turning her eyes from the
marble shafts across the way to the
more handsome mascalinity that pass.
ed the door, when a next kin appear
ed in the shape of contesting Iiece
and Miss Margaret was notified that
the Surrogate would take testimony
with reference to considering the adj
visibility of reopenlng the probate.
At once Defiance, with a big, big D
perched upon the martial forehead of
the substantial Margaret. She con.
signed the next of kin to the bottom.
less pit in language that was plain.
and mentally sat down upon the wheIe
with all the force of her ample avoir-
dupOis. When the young man with
the subpoena calls at No. IL East Sec
ond street he may look for cold water
by tn bueketful and defiance ad lib.
A stenographer's hearing has al
ready been held in the case, Col. E.
j. McGrau appearing for the litigous
next of kin and Alexander Finelite,
known to the widow as Lawyer Fan
light, appearing for the latter and the
the will, which he drew two weeks
prior to old Joe's death. The claim
of the contestant is undue influence,
with dim back ground of an attempt
to prove that the unc ious Margaret
had q legal stumbling block to her
claim of wifehoOd so far as the an
cient Joseph was concerned.
Mr.. Finelite swore that he had
known Mr.. Buckley for years, and
that he was Of sound mind and memo
ry when he executed the will. He
repeatedly introduced Margaret to the
witness as his wife. The lawyer had
successfully defended as many as thirty
suits for old Joe when they were
brought against him for loss of bag
gage in the dime lodging.houses. He
admitted that Mr.. Burdett, the clerk.
had held his hand when he signed his
name. 1t shook some, bu: not serious
Iy; he had never known Mr.. Buckley
to be troubled with the palsy. Mrs.
Buckley, the witness testified, had a
dark complexioned daughter by q
former husband.
Thomas Burnett, the manager of
old Joe's two dime hotels, swore that
Buckley had called Margaret his wife
many times in his presence. He told
something of the process of conduct
ing cheap lodging houses, and men
toned profits that seemed extraordi-
nary considering the fractional
amounts that come in per lodger.
Buckley kept no books. The money
was good enough fer him. The mana
ger collected it in little tobacco boxes,
and during the night Mr.. and Mrs.
Buckley would count it, and if there
was short box Tom would be called
to account. About all the saving
banks in the city were called into
requisition for the deposit of the mon
ey. Mr.. Burnett did not know wheth-
er Margaret could read or write, but
she was certainly able to count, and
he shook his head lugubriously.
The case will next come up before
the Surrogate in person, and fun is
~ IL