Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-06-20
REMARKABLE STORY.
SEARCH AMONG peTERsBURos RE-
CORDS OF A CENTURY AGO.
Tradition About q Child who Crossed the
Ocean and Grew weslthy-A Tale
of Romance and Interest.
rorr..Douueuce Of the Richmond DIspach.l

PErrnspuna, Va, June 19.-Mr. Robert
Gillian. clerk OF the courts OF this city. IL
In receipt of letter from the far-of State
CT Nebraska which has excited q great
deal of interest. IL covers q case OF ro-
nance and tradition Of the rarest sort. IL
ia az follows, and comes from gentleman
whose name is quite familiar in the annals
of our town:
NORTH PLATTE, NrB.. June IA, 1898.
To ne County Clerk Of Petersburg. Va:
Dear Sir,-Of all the queer letters you
have received land clerks get many odd
ones) you may regard this the queerest.
But bear with me. -,
There is a tradition in our family which.
| I fancy. has grown from some small basis
! of fact. We are from Virginia and are
proud Of 1t. The tradition / speak OF is
that boy. who could not clearly tell ms
I age or name. was consigned to tho owner
| OF the ship on which he landed in Phila::
delphia. When he grew up the owner OF
| the ship put him in business in Petersburg,
! Va, where he became prosperous and
wealthy But the part you may be able TO
corroborate or refuto is that the suit OF
clothes which he wore across the ocean
green velvet trimmed in gilt lace-to-
gether with the ship-owner's statement OF
on file in the Clerks Office in Petersburg.
ANOTHER LETTER.
copy from recent letter from Mrs.
Ann (Hardaway) Kesterson. now living in
Memphis, Tenn, 81 years OF age. She
writes.
There was wealthy merchant of
Philadelphia. by the name of Joseph
Thomas, He owned some vessels. and
upon the arrival of one of them from Eng
land a servant man came to the said Joseph
Thomas. bringing little boy dressed IN
green velvet and gold lace, who was legal,
" consigned To Mr. Thomas. On being asked
his name the child spoke so lndlstinctly
that Mr.. Thomas could not be sure. and
asked him if he was trying to say H1rdG,cdy.
He answered that he was. lhcreupon
Mr.. Thomas gave him the name of Thomas
Hardaway and when he became or age
started him in business In Petersburg,
Va. then email place. This was my
great-grandfather. The suit OF clothes
worn 6y Thomas Hardaway when he was
brought 10 Mr.. Joseph Thomas and
sketch Of his being brought. consigned,
&C., written out by Mr.. Thomas himself
,cere deposited IN ne Clerks office at Peersburg.
"a by my grandfather. where they we're
seen by my father and his sisters, who told
me of it.n Yours truly.
w. f. HiRDAwAY.
IN THE LAST CENTURY.
The writer concludes his letter with the
request that the matter be investigated,
that it may be- ascertained. II possible.
whether the records OF the CLERKS ONCE
make any mention of Thomas IIardaway.
or whether any trace can be found OF the
clothes and papers alleged to have been
deposited there. No dates are given IN the
letter, bnt judging from the age OF Mrs.
Kesterson-S7 years-now living in Men,
phis-who says she is the great-grand-
daughter of the boy Thomas Harda-
way, the event narrated IN the letter
must have occurred away back In
the last century. The record-books OF
the Clerks Office show that IN the latter
part of the last and the early part OF the
present century there were many Harda-
ways Ia Petersburg. The records or the
old State District Court were removed
from here to Richmond on the establish
ment of the circdit system and were de-
stroyed by fire when the Confederate army
evacuated that city. There may have been
some record of this case among them.
WAS IT CASE OF KIDSAPPING2
1. is the opinion of those who have read
Mr. Hardaway's letter that the boy was
the offspring of some noble family in Eng
land. as testified by his rich apparel, and /
that he was kidnapped and brought TO !
this country. The depositng N the !
Clerks office of his suit of clothes and a /
sketch of the circumstances under which /
he was brought here would indicate some /
mystery which might afterwards be solved .
by their recovery. /
DEATH OF A CITIZEN.
Mr.. Abner Anderson. well-known build
or and respected citizen of Filth Ward,
died on Sunday after an illness OF some
days.
LARGE CLASS CONFlRMED.
Bishop Van de Vyyer. OF the Catholic /
Diocese of Richmond, confirmed class of .
tbirtv-fVe persons at st. JOseph's church 3
yesterday and preached To crowded con-
Oh the Sacrament OF Penance."
JUMPED THE TRAcE.
The engine of freight train on the
Atlantic Coast-Line Jumped the track near
Jarratts Station yesterday and was over.
turned. Engineer Kenneth Smith, OF
Manchester, and the fireman jumped and
saved themselves from injury.
Rev. DIR. A. G.. Brown, Presiding Elder
of the Ashland District spent last night
In this city.
Rev. s. : Lambeth preached Yesterday
to his old congregation at the Washing
toni Street Methodist Episcopal church.
In the Hastings Court to-day the case
of young Powhatan Pumer. indicted for
stabbing Mr.. Robert Stevens,
was continued until the July term and bail
was allowed in the sum of $500.
Mr.. Charles Collier, q young student
for the ministry, has returned homo
from college in Pennsylvania quite sick.