Mexico weekly ledger., 1894-11-15
Buried His Gold.
COUNTLESS AND UNKNOWN RICHES
HIDDEN SOMEWHERE IN THIS
VICINITY.
Old "Uncle" Thomas Barry, who
Died q Few Weeks Ago, a Miser
of Unlimited Wealth. Curl
II Story.

readers of the LEDGER that the
death of old"Uucle' Barry,
an employe on the c. & A. railroad
who died on Sunday, Sept. %, at
the Sullivan House in this city,
while eating his dinner, was chron-
icled in our columns on the next
day and that tho Coroner's jury had
decided that his death was caused
from fatty degeneration of the heart.
Now, this old man was rich, but
at his death only Is cents was found
upon his person. The rest of his
treasures still remain to be dis
closed.
Uncle Tom was of a misery char
acter, only spending money for his
board coarse clothes and what liquor
he thought necessary to make life a
success He had lived in Mexico for
35 years. When he first moved here
he was running & train on the Wa
bash during the war. About this
time his wife died. He was then a
foreman on the same road and later
became a section boss on the C.. &
A. railroad. Finally, from either
lack of ability or on account of too
much responsibility, he quit this po-
sition and worked as a day laborer
on the same road, which work he
has done for the last s years until
his death. 1t was never known what
was done with his money. He earn
ed good wages, spent comparatively
nothing and never had an account
in any bank.
About 7 years ago, while employ
ed on the road near Littleby, 4 miles
west of here, he became a little
nervous one day and asked a prom
inent official of the road if farmer
should find someone else's money
buried on his ground, could he (the
farmer) claim it. The official told
him certainly not if the owner of the
money could identify it, and asked
the old man if he had any buried.
Uncle Tom squinted his eyes and
with a typical Irish expression of
satisfaction on his face replied,
"Thot l how; bout $4,000 ID gold,
sor." No persuasion from the Off
cial could induce the old miser,
however, to deposit bis coin in some
bank.
About this time OF the year three
years ago Uncle Tom became quite
sick at the Sullivan House in this
city, run by Mrs. Mary Sullivan,
with whom be boarded for Z or s
years. For several weeks he was
thought to be past recovery. Mrs.
Sullivan knowing that he must have
some money somewhere, asked him
about it and ne told her that he had
plenty of money buried in different
places but would not reveal its
whereabouts until he was certain of
his death.
One afternoon he sent for Mrs.
Oldest son, Henry, and
told him where some of it was.
Henry, after school, shouldered his
gun, told his mother he was going
out to kill some squirrels for Uncle
Tom, and went a little piece north
east of the old backyard behind the
Old Judge Macfarlane place, for
run by Sam Buckley, some 7
s years ago, and where the old
man had told.him found the money
and returned to him with it. The
amount was 5000 in gold. Uncle
Tom called his landlady up to his
room, gave the money to her and
told her if he died to give him a de-
cent burial, erect a tombstone over
his grave and what was left keep it
and give Henry some for his trouble,
but that if he should recover to re-
''ivery cent? to him.
The old man got we'll about two
weeks after Christmas, 1891, and
getting his money back, again hid it
no one knows where.
He kept working, stinting and
saving till the day of his death,
when he died so suddenly that he
had no time to tell any one about his
secrets. The evening before his
death he had cashed a check and
walking down the railroad had stuck
the money away in some secluded
nick or hole, never, probably, to be
found again.
When asked once by Mrs. Sulli-
van why he did not put his money
in a bank instead of burying it in
the ground, and when warned that
he would die sometime and leave it
buried unknown to his friends, he
replied, SWELL, l got it from the
ground, so let it stay thor"
The old miser had no relatives.
1t was undoubtedly his intention to
give his money to Mrs. Sullivan,
who had cared for him so long and
who buried him nicely at her own
expense (the old fellow having only
Is cents on his person at the time OF
his death, as a stately and refus.
ing to 60 to the city authorities Ior
help.
Now the question is, how much
money did the old Irishman have
buried and where is it "at?"
The coDjectures in the Ease are
that Uncle Tom had about $1,000
in gold buried near Littleby, and
100 nnnI a. $500