The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-09
LOST FORTUNE BY A BANANA PEEL.
The Strange story of Miss COrneIia
SeibIes of New Orleans.
From the New Orleans Picayune.

From the New Orleans Picayune.
AS small a thing as a banana peeling
kept Miss Cornelia Seibles, the Mississippi
lady who was found a few days ago
wandering in the streets of London, out of
a fortune amounting to nearly $4,000,
money to which she was the only heir.
When Miss Cornelia Seibles was about "a
years old she was in New Orleans for the
first time, having come here for the pur-
post of taking legal advice with regard
to her vast estate, for she has spent a
long life of 81 years in this work. One
evening she accidentally slipped on a
banana peeling on st. Charles street, in
front of or near the present site of the st.
Charles hotel, fell, and after few weeks
confinement from her injuries, found her
self a cripple. She was engaged to be
married to leading lawyer of MISSISSIPPI
pi at that time, and he would have made
no protest on account of her crippled limb,
but she refused to marry him, claiming
that she would not humiliate so noble a
spirit as this gentleman possessed by
linking her life to his. Had the marriage
taken place, through the influence of her
husband who was at that time one of
the foremost lawyers in the state of
Mississippi if not in the SOUTH she would
doubtless have secured the immense for
tune.
The reports which came from London
would indicate that Miss Seibles is a wo-
man of so many peculiarities as to border
upon irresponsibility. This is perhaps
true, for during recent years she has de-
veloped many characteristics which went
far toward making her a subject of ridi-
cule or of pity.
During the last exposition in this city
Miss Seibles met with d Mrs McGregor
a lady from Vicksburg. who was also
visitor to the exposition and who now lives
in this city Mrs. McGregor furnished the
Picayune reporter with some very inter
esting facts regarding Miss SeibleS' four
or five years stay in this city Mrs Nc
Gregor herself is an heir to quite a large
estate in Charleston. and on this account
she and Miss Seibles became very close
and intimate friends. They would often
times get together and talk about their for
tunes. Miss Seibles sought for a long time
to induce Mrs. McGregOr to retire with her
to some quiet place in the country, where
they would figure out their papers and see
just how much money they had coming to
faith in the stories told by her friend. She
said that Miss Seibles, however lacked
a great deal of being a fool.
AS matter of fact, Miss Seibles comes
from a very intelligent German family
She had in her possession when in this
city a large bundle of papers, which show
ed her line of ancestors as dating back to
the family of Temples, prominent in Eng
land. On her fathers side she had papers
showing her direct descent from the Sci
bleses of Elberfeld, Germany, very
wealthy family. Besides this she had a
will or two which she had inherited from
her father at his death.
The story Miss SeibleS told in this city
regarding her papers is very interesting.
She said that upon the death of her father
in Georgia, just previous to the Mexican
war, among the other things to which she
fell heir was large iron box, which, dur
ing his lifetime, was most carefully guard
ed. There was an effort made to rob her
of this casket, but she managed to retain
it, and the precious papers, which she bore
about wherever she went and which she
said proved her right to the vast fortune
in Germany and England, were taken
from this receptacle.
There is more or less mystery, 1t seems,
connected with her early history in Mis-
sissippi. She is said to be near relative
of Justice l.. Q. G. Lamar of oxford,
Miss, but had very little association
with him. The prominent Mississippi
lawyer already referred to is said to have
been very anxious to marry her as he had
every reason to believe that there would
be no trouble in collecting the great for
tune But after she had become crippled
by the fall on a banana peeing and
would not marry her old lover under any
circumstances, she began making trips to
this city, consulting with lawyers regard
ing her claims. She was an intimate ac-
quaintance of all the leading lawyers of
Mississippi just after the Mexican war
She would spend months and months
here. From here she went TO Mississippi