Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-05-06
com I'm HAnFoRD ooUxrr.
A small Mine which Yielded a Rich
Deposit.

GOLD In HARFORD COUNTY.
small Mime which Yielded a Rich
Deposit.
Morning Herald.
When old John Stump died in the
Early part of the present century at his
home at Stafford, 10 miles north of Havre |
dc Grace, in Hartford county, his heirs
were surprised that they did not find
piles of glittering gold slowed away in
the little iron safe In which IL was
thought that he had been heaping
treasures Cor years. Instead they found
bundles of mortgages, deeds, promissory
notes and other papers, which told that
his fortune was 100000. They were
satisfied with the snug little inheritance,
and soon forgot their disappointment in
were still al loss, however, to account
satisfactorily for the disappearance of
large sums of gold which it was known
had been paid to Mr.. Stump years before
his death, and numerous were the theories
advanced TO throw some light on his dis
posal of his money. As the years wore
on the matter was dropped, except by a
few people, who firmly believed
that Mr.. Stump had hidden his
treasures somewhere in his house
or had buried them around the
premises. The old stone house was ran
sacked from roof to cellar, and excava-
tons were made in every spot where it
was thought likely that he would have
hidden his cash. No trace of it, however,
could be found, and when 20 years ago
the house came into the possession Of Mr..
Stump's granddaughter, Mrs. Smithson,
of Cecil county, the story of the buried
treasures existed in the neighborhood
merely as q tradition. A few years ago
Mrs. Smithson handed the old homestead
over to the care of tenant named Will
son. He was duly informed by his
neighbors when he took possession of the
place of the tradition about the buried
gold. He was too practical q man to give
credence to the stories. The tradition,
however, had different effect upon Mr..
| Wilson's brother, Alexander, whose mind
| did not run in the direction of raising
corn and potatoes, but rather inclined
| to books. He spent his time in
perusing old books and papers
which he found stored away in
the garrett, and he never tired
of rummaging among the chests of
| time-worn and dust-covered documents
| His brother told him that he would be
more profitably employed in hoeing corn
and grubbing bushes than in searching
| the old chests. Two or three weeks ago,
while Mr.. Wilson was looking through q
ponderous book, probably century old,
he found q slip of paper which indicated
| the location of the hidden treasurers.
Two days later big hole was seen by n
neighbor in the garden of the old Stump
farm. AT the bottom of the excavation
was q cavity from which box Is inches
square had been removed. There were no
rotten bits of wood in the hole, and from
this fact il is believed that the box must
have been metallic one. The tenant
said that he had had some cabbage buried
there. This explanation satisfied the in.
| quisitiye neighbor. The brother of the
tenant, who had been rummaging among
the old books, was missing from the
house, and upon inquiry it was learned
that he had gone to Cincinnati.
These circumstances excited no com
ment until the mind of Farmer Wilson's
wife, to whom the discovery of the golt
had been related, had become SO over
burdened with the secret that it could M
I hOhBSA hOAd At1 hhu nllI l1thNl W ktl uuOtut
woman to help her keep it. Like til,
confidante of the Presidents bride-elect
Miss Folsom, Mrs. Wilson's friend toll,
the story to another woman, and it wa
put on its travels. The lucky discovery
which the Wilson family intended shout,
be kept profound secret, has now be
come public property. They feared tina
the heirs of Mr.. Stump would claim tn
money and that in the litigation tina
would ensue they would be deprived Q
their suddenly acquired fortune.
Mrs. Wilson has said that the amour
dug up was $50, 900 in gold, but the boz
, the size of which is indicated by the hole
would not contain so much coin, and
! is generally believed by those who hay
. made estimates of the contents of the be
! that about $50, 900 was found, and Gel
tainly not more than $4,000. III
amount may have been as low as $25, 00l
= Anyhow, the Wilson family is comfor
1 ably fixed now and the object of the eny
f of the surrounding country.
e Mrs. Wilson gave it out that the slip
= paper said something of lines which Il
Q to the discovery of the gold, and Il
/ other day old Mr.. Stump's great-gran
son, Mr.. Robert Archer, son of Ho
d Henry w. Archer of Belair, visited d
n place to ascertain how the location of d
k money could have been ascertained. /
+ sighted from the corners of the stol
house to those of the stone foundation
v the old barn which was burned sever
years ago, and at the intersection of Il
70 two lines was the hole from which Il
- box had been extracted.
" The slip of paper is also said to expla
10 why Mr.. Stump buried his money.
70 1872 British fleet entered the Ches
10 peake, and, after burning the Capt.
buildings at Washington, sailed for Bal
= more. While General Ross prepared
attack this city he sent detachmer
:" northward, along the west shore of t
bay, to burn the towns and private re-
y dences. A portion of Havre De Ora
n was reduced to ashes and several dwt
- lings on the outskirts were sacked al
:. then burned. Among these was the hou
~ of Admiral Rodgers of the United Stat
p navy. His silver was taken, and befo
s. the war was over the admiral captured
2, ship, on board of which he found |
u stolen silver. Governor Yeazey, the o
cestor of Postmaster Veazey, led t
~ militia against the invaders.
Old John Stump, who was then mu
enfoebled by age, learned that stories
% his fabulous wealth had reached the Ell
~ of the British at Havre de Grace, a
that they contemplated an attack up
's6 his house to rob him of his gold
% save his money he buried it. The
tended attack was never made. II is s,
'e- posed that Mr.. Stump was satisfied
es have his money remain for the pres
where he concealed it, and that he d
ed before he concluded to resurrect it. 1
~ also supposed that he feared sudt
m death, and to leave some knowlet
behind him of the buried treasure
Q placed the slip of paper in the be
re hoping that it would be discovered by
NJ. children.
ge Mr.. Stump made his money from
er. flour mills which he built along d
I'd, creek, q narrow but swift stream VIII
Id flows by his home and empties into
g. Susquehanna 10 miles north of Havre
rs. Grace. The farmers of Hartford
Cecil and of the counties of South
Pennsylvania brought their wheat
mi. corn to the Stump mills to be gro,
lie into flour and meal, and the toll that
.rs' exacted was considerable. He was all
his farmer and ve-holder on an extern
He Annr ,,,oa no.,,o1 ,ua,. L..