Evening journal., 1891-04-04
so STINGY SHE STARVED
Miss Catharine Roche Was Dy-
ing of Hunger,
WITH GOLD ALL ABOUT TEE HOUSE

Her Money Was Dearer to Her Even
Than Her Life-A Remarkable story
from the Metropolis Of Female Mi
ser who Clothed Herself in Rags.
NEW YORK, April 4-For forty years
Miss Catharine Roche has been known as
;he miser Of James street. During all that
time she has lived alone in two little
rooms, dirty and dark, on the third floor
1f the house ut 60. She has paid her month
y rent OF s. regularly, but always under
protest. She has no relatives in this coun-
.ry, and her only friend for many years
has been Mrs. Mari, formerly the house
keeper, who provided her with meals three
Zines daily. Mrs. Marr moved three
months ago, however, and since then Miss
Roche has been subsisting mostly on ale
She is seventy-five years old Some of her
neighbors frequently offered her food, but
she always refused it. She thought they
wished to poison her so as to get her
money.
The Police Notified.
| Five days ago Miss Roche went into Sc
clusion. She locked herself in her rooms
and refused to open the door, Yesterday
Janitor O'Tool got nervous about her, and
he peeped through the keyhole in the door
He saw bundle of rags lying in front Of
the stove. Rags were always associated
with Miss Roche, and he concluded that
the bundle was she. He went to the Oak
street station and reported the matter to
Sergeant Magan. Policemen Walker and
Drissler were detailed to make an investi-
cation They climbed the fire escape in
the rear and entered the back room through
a window
Dying Of Starvation.
The miser of James street lay on the
door in front Of the cold stove with very
little over her and that little was shreds
and patches. She could not talk nor move
so much as a finger, and was, to all appear
ances, slowly dying of starvation. The
two small rooms were in the iilthiest con
dition imaginable.
A crust of dirt covered the floor aud
heaps of rags, from which arose a horrible
stencil, were strewn about A dirty milk
bowl partly filed with bread and water
stood on the hearth Of the stove directly in
tronteof the starving woman. 1t had not
been touched.
They Found $4,000.
While waiting for the ambulance Police
man Drissler picked up a piece Of ragged
quilted skirt which was lying at her feet
Il was suspiciously heavy, and hasty ex-
animation showed that money was sewed
up in it. The policeman then turned over
the rags with their feet and found gold
pieces on the black, dirty floor. The wom-
an was taken to the Chambers Street hos
pital and liquid food was administered to
her
The policemen reported at the station
house their discovery Of money Captain
0Connor sent Sergeant Mangan back with
them to make thorough search. They
found some $500 The oil piece of skirt
was ripped open at the station house, as
we'll as several long pieces OF flannel Sewed
up in them were l59 English sovereigns.
Seventy dollars in American gold were
found under pile of rags. All Of them
we're minted in the forties. Bills and silver
coin aggregating S90.67 were found hidden
in odd hooks.
Bank Books Too.
In one corner Of the room, under pile
Of rags, lay two bank books. One was for
money deposited in the Emigrants' Indus
trial Saving bank, 81 Chambers street, and
the other was issued by the Bank of Saw
Ings of Bleecker street. The former is
numbered 65,469, and was made out to
Daniel Roche or niece. The first deposit,
s65, was made on June %, 1868.
On July 70, 1877, $50 was deposited
This was the only big sum that was put
in. The book showed a balance of si.8i2.
The book of the Bank of Savings was
made out in the name OF Catharine Roche,
and is numbered 226,949 II was taken out
on Jan. 81, 1862 when 500 was de-
posted. A week later 800 more was put
in. No deposit was made again until
Jan. 26, 1866, when an entry of 500 was
made. Three years later $50 was added
and year afterward SOS more. There was
a balance Of 81 $50 on this book The book
of the Bank Of Savings showed that the
interest, SIS 46, had been drawn for the
last four years.
Jewelry and silk Handkerchiefs.
Besides this money, the police found a
| quantity of iewelry, including watch
/ with an antique open faced silver case
There We're also two chests in the rooms.
One was filled with fine white under
clothing yellowed with age
| Scattered about the rooms were at least
a hundred silk handkerchiefs of all sizes
and colors, and hammers and tools A
| quantity Of stove wood was piled up in
one corner Of the room, although the old
woman was never known to have a fire
! There were potatoes on the floor, and an
uncut loaf of hard bread on the table.
There were eggs in the room, too, but they
had not been cooked. So Miss Roche had
food enough to eat, but She either wouldn't
or couldn't eat it. The only thing among
her effects which told anything about her
or her family was letter written BY her
brother John in Killarney, Ireland two
days after Christmas, 1888.
They Gave Her Bath.
Ia it he expressed his anxiety in oonse-
quence OF not having heard from her and
requested her to help him to get to this
country. II would not ask for anything, .
he said, ''as | know full well il was never
necessary for me to do so, but for my
miserable loneliness. | would like to be
with you for the rest of my life
n hope therefore dear, dear SISTER that
you will kindly write to me and that you
viii not forget my wishes TO be with you
soon il it would be convenient to you.
The old woman was well known at the
nearby saloons, which she patronized free
ly, although she always objected to paying
the full price for beer or ale The police
knew her well as a miser, religious crank
and an inebriate. The board of health
knew her well too. They found her much
in need Of a bath several months ago and
gave her one. At the hospital last night il
was thought she would die