New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-08-07
TRACED BY HIS WANDER-BOOh.
STORY OF A BAVARIAN'S WILL.
SIGNATURES on FADED PAPER WHICH ENABLED

/
| A case OF singular interest recently closed IN
the Surrogates Court Late In the year looi Johaih
V;Iho,m Eger n native Of Albertshofcn. Bavaria
| came 70 this country. He jolrneyman haKer
| by trade and carried with him book known rs
| wanderbuch n journal by Bavarlan law 10 ~ h'p'
| nv tradesmcn and mechanics. II IS, as us name
| implies a record Of his wandcrings-a wanner-pooh
and this record kept by the poor German poy' MS
been the means by which his survivors In the Father
| ,ord have beon enabled to obtain lnrge sums OF
money loft bv Eyer who died friendless and alone IN
q rarret I'm Hudson-st.. leaving cash In various
savings banks to the amount OF 1892 d. pesiues
| seven bonds OF the Northern Pacific Railway ana
eipbtecn per cent coupon bonds OF the United states
No claimant appeared and the property was turned
over IN the Public Administrator under the law
| one day n claim was filed with the fuohc hu
| m,n,s,rator by Francis Paul Eger OF Quincy, Ill.,
alleging that he brother OF the dead man, anu
the money was about to be paid over TO h'il' "heh
| somo flaw was discovered in the record by the 'or
| noration Counsel and the money was gwen 10 '"e
| controller TO await the proper claimant hI'eg'u
relatives in Germany applied to the German Cons"i
| at the port OF New York. and Richard NJ Bruno
rrosonted the claim of Appolonia Horn, Johann Fred
erck schulcr and others. claiming TO be nextofkh
IN the dead man. and demanded their shares oi 'he
estate. m,
. reference was ordered to cx-Judge Gedney. Inc
CORPORATION Counsel. through his assistant Mr. N'l
tried TO ascertain II he could get clew 10 lrlchu.
comrade employer or fellow workman OF the deao
man. but In vain. Learning that man by the name
~ Frer had been living in Frankn-st Inquiry WIS
made tbere but the old dwelling In which tha'
Eyer had lived had been torn down. anu All
,mposing store had been erected upon us size hahos
for whom he had worked had long before oien anu
No trace OF any one who had known the dead man
in this country could be found. lie han i've" "
,one,v life and had died alone. The woman WIN
whom he had boarded In ludsonst. simply knc" ,n"'
the solitary man paid his rent, glided out pe,o,e
she awoke In the morning. and came IN NJ hiHn'
and went TO his room in the attic. lie Saiu "'
neddled eggs to bakers for living de hnd no
friend who visited him; he 1requeh'eu ho 'iP"'
stor,.-he was a silent plodder
"Th,s name. Eyer" said Mr.. Bruno the represent
alive Of the German Consul. ais as familiar IN parts
Of Germany as Brown Is in America. NO DOUBT nun.
dreds YES thousands Of men named Wilhelm hSer hSi
come TO America ~
The only guide for long time was tho Nahoerpn'"
md tx signatures and the story OF the savings pahN
and The referee and counsel followed them IKE cd'
Robert D. Bronson. chief clerk Of the Pubic Al
roinistrotor's Office testified thai two savings h'nN
hooks one Of the BOwery saving Bank ana one Of me
Bank for savings. together With the "ahu'r'n'". ""
been left at his Office the property OF Wilhelm r-'r'
and had been handed into the office by the coroner
Charles G; willing testified This j. n l"urheynah
travelling book and IS called wanderbnch' u Is
issuod 10 Johann wilhelm Eyer and It's number )
3543 II is Issued to a bakers jonTcyman and CIV"
his birthplace as Abertshoen and residing at hran'-
HEINZ Ills birth in 1890. II describes MN ~
sim Of stature long face. broad nose. Drown h'''
blue eyes and free Killed.. and gives his Signature o'e
have read me wanderbuch am satisfied that the
testimony and the evidence contained In The l"''e's
and documents from Germany relate to the owner u
the hook and that relates 10 one and the same man
Ils bapt.emal name Johann Wilhelm Eyer
The second assistant secretary OF the Bowery
Savings Bank OF this city, testified That an account
was opened by Eyer with the Bowery savings Hahh
on May 81. 1879
Samuel DelIsser, a boOkkeeper In the Eank Tor
sayings in Bleecker.st. produced the signature book
| n, tho Rank for savings and identified the tenth
| e.uature O, Nav 81 1879, that Of wilhelm Eyer.
who opened the account with the Bank for savings
| ON that date II appeared from the evidence mat
Eyer was a baker by trade being mnde an apprenuc"
| In Schwenfurt Bavaria, and the following WIS Oh
fered in evidence:
the two representatives Of the Bakers ""c''F'
Johann Ceorg APPEL and Casper Dicman the above
named Johann Wilhelm Eyer advanced from
opprentice to jorncyman after satisfactory evidence
Of skill V. Scgnitz"
According 10 the marriage certificate OF Albert
shofen Johann Christoph Eyer mhrrcd Anna ''"'
paretha Duobner March 10. 1sle' ana 'o"''"
wilhelm Fer (he dead NAM was their SON.
married opain and Inc second husband waN FARMER
named Johannes WILL who moved 10 krahiAm' h're
voung Eccr went to school soon he began 10 ieA'"
the trade OF bakcr And 20 he Wandered ir"" pi"''
10 place working at his trade ana appcaHng pe'",'
no naodstrates wherever he visited who ensed ms
hook: visiting Lndau. B0lsbach otn'teir'' A"P~h'
until at last he came TO the house OF 'he "'"e''''
Cons.,, at Vienna where that official spread upon 'he
,dcd and yellow pages OF the wandcrbuch the eagc o
tbo United states shortly afterTard Eyer lett Aus
tria for the United States.
one OF the serious questions In the case was J."
identify the signatures the wanderbuch, In tue o"
NJ ALLEGIANCE and those written In the record BOOKS OF
,Io sovinrs hanks and upon this point DAVID CaVaiho'
nc ON e.pert gave interesting testimony. lie viewed
,he signatures made In the record books OF inc savings
ho,,. and those in the waudcIbuch and oath oi al
Ieyiance with critical eye, and thus testified
ain INV opinion All the writing on the face ana
hack NJ this paper 0he oath OF allegancel Is by one
and the same hand" signature book OF Eahk ior
Savings shown witness) 81 have compared 'he SIX
nature I'm the oath ale dnnce with the signature Oh
the Bank for Savings Signature book, the ieh'h gh''e
being that OF Will Eyer and am OF the opinion 'ha'
they were both written by the same person. nave
,olcn the oath OF allegiance and compared II Win
the signature wilhelm Eyer In the signature DOOM
the Bowcry Savings Bank, and 1t IS my opinion tha'
tho signatures in both written BY one ana the
same person." (Wanderbuch shown witness.l g com
pared all these signatures and HANDWRITING one VIII"
the ether before and after have been on the witness
stand. l know the German script. me iahh sleh'
trcs are I'm English script they both Angicised
The two signatures In the wandcrbuch were written
by the same person. There but two letters IN the
German script which be compared with English
leters-the and the These seem to BE- OF the same
swing and slope In the making: other than that can
only say there Is general resemblance In the zig
natures The signatures Of the two bank books were
made by the person. and they seem to have
been made the same day. / cannot account why 1t
should be VIII Wilhelm In the oath OF allegiance
one of the signatures is VIII and the other Is Wilhelm.
cannot that the signatures in the wanderbuch
we're made by the same person who signed In the
signatures book Of the savings Bank testify In this