The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1890-12-19
UNCLAIMED MILLIONS.
FORTUNES IN THE HANDS OF PUB
Lie ADMINISTRATORS.

the State Treasurers Keeps increasing.
Speaking roughly there is at the pres
emit time over =. 900, 900 in hard cash in
the hands of the various state treasurers
In this country awaiting the claim of
legal heirs. This large amount has been
deposited with the treasurers from time
to time by public administrators. Of
this s., ,000, 900 the New York state treas
urer has about $3.50. 900, and although
he pays out now and then certified claims
from the administrative fund it keeps
steadily increasing in a ratio with the
population of the state.
The public administrator of Brooklyn
furnishes the following cases from his
record books:
Thomas Wilson sold newspapers in
Brooklyn's Twentieth ward for gener-
alton. His route was an aristocratic
one, comprising such streets as Clinton
and Clermont avenues, in which are the
homes of millionaires. He peddled his
wares in all sorts of weather, appeared
on the streets in rain and shine every
day and far into the night, and even
made a feeble attempt to brave the fury
of the big blizzard of March 10, 1885,
He had no friends, no confidants, no as
Eociations, and he lodged in the attic of
a miserable tenement house. One day
in the spring of 1889 his legs refused to
carry him along his route, and he went
for succor and shelter to the Brooklyn
hospital.
Here he was warned that he had but
short time to live and was told to com
municate with his friends, if he had
any. Old Tom shook his head negatively
and died that night without making a
sign. Five bank books were found under
his pillow, showing three or four thou
sand dollars to his credit in different in
stitrtions. The administrator could learn
nothing about him in the banks, where
he had told different stories about him
self. 1t is thought he was of Swedish
origin and that his real name was Nil
son, not Wilson.
THE CASE OF LANGIER
Then there was Joseph Langier, a
name common enough in the south of
France, in Marseilles especially. Langier
was also a solitary man, hving-or,
rather, grubbing-in an Atlantic avenue
garrett He paid the janitor dollar
month for his miserable room. He went
out and he came in, spoke to nobody and
answered questions by shaking or nod |
ding his head One day he went forth
for the last time staggered and fell at |
the next corner, was taken into saloon. |
thence conveyed in an ambulance to
Long Island College hospital, where he
died after few hours
In the pockets of his coat were found |
bonds, mortgages and bank books worth |
$4,000 to the owner, also a will drawn |
mp In excellent legal phraseology and |
written in q beautiful hand His sigma
ture was affixed to the will, but it lacked |
the names of Witnesses So careful had
he been in preparing the instrument
that he affixed an explanatory para
graph, underlined in red ink. In a codi-
Gil he revokes the will, so that he really
died intestate. Rumor says Langier's
heir is nephew living in Marseilles, a
sisters son, whom, if the administrator
could locate, would inherit $17,O0O
] William Cato is another of the great
intestate for whose heirs the admins
TRAITOR is looking. Cato was no tramp or
news vender. He was a marine in the
service of the United States. and had
been one for such length of time that
he had only n vague memory of what he
had been before. His comrades had an
idea that he was Scotch, and that is all
they could tell about him. He died sud-
denly while still in the service, leaving
81, 900 or SO he had saved out of his small
pay.
Patrick Gresham lived on Third ave-
nue., near Forty-sixth street, South
Brooklyn, and was in good circum-
stances. His wife died in the spring of
1889, and the loss drove him crazy. A
week later he committed suicide. He
left good deal of property to which his
little 4-year-old daughter was heiress
His brother, well to do New York car
rage builder, was the legal guardian of
the little girl, but there happened just
then to be in the house sister of the
child's mother. She was on visit from
Ireland, and had arrived just in time to
see her sister die. The night of the day
Gresham committed suicide the aunt
took the little girl stealthily out of her
bed and out of the house, went over to
New York, and on the morning follow
ing sailed for Queenstown in the Um-
bria- Mr.. Gresham, the uncle and legal
guardian, reported the theft to the DO
hce, and they cabled to Queenstown to
have the aunt arrested on her arrival in
that port. Now, it happened that owing
to great storm the Umbria could not
put in at Queenstown, and so went di-
rectly on to Liverpool, where no police
were waiting for handsome lady of the
name of Miss Grove and her 4-year-old
niece. Miss Grove and the child are
still in Europe, and the legal fight has
not yet been decided.-New York Tele-