The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-10-28

Fanny Dnvenport's Half Million Es-
tate DNfndIes to $4,000.

New York Herald.
When Miss Fanny Davenport male her
will in 1892 she considered herself to be a
very rich woman-One of the wealthiest
American actresses of the day. In deciding
the bulk of her fortune to her husband, Mr..
Melbourne MacDowellf she considered that
she left him at least $300, O0O and, if all
went we'll with her investments, that he
might receive even much more. That was
When Miss Davenport died recently those
who knew her best said that her wealth
was greater than generally estimated; that
amy Davenport was business woman
as we'll as an actress, attended to her own
affairs and kept her own counsel, let no one
know all that she had accumulated in a
long and prosperous career that the mini
mum or her fortune was $350,000 its maxi
mum $6VOOOO and that in leaving $4,000 to
comparative shilling. and that Mr.. Mac
Dowell by the will became possessed prob
ably of half a million dollars.that the
young actor was made wealthy for life
How rich she considered herself then to
be was shown in this addition of perhaps
Sl2OVVO to previous loving but comparatively
small bequests. But she felt that was not
cutting deep into Mr.. MacDoweils fortune,
for all the balance, all the great bulk of
houses. lands, bonds-why, there were
those who believed that when her Duxbury
companies visited, her lawyers nterrogated.
land registers searched. 1t would be found
that even the acknowledgements dollar
mark would be passed in the final account
ing of the accommodations of some eighteen
starring years of one Of the most popu-
lar women on the American stage. Wait
till the estate is examined they said.
The estate has been examined "A careful
search has been made for deeds bonds.
counted up in money and estimated where
it was in property and here is the result,
which the. Herald is enabled to present on
The relatives will receive about $4,000 in
legacies. >Mr. Mcdowell will receive about
$4,000 and her MSS plays. That is believed
DAVpnnOTfS
estate-all that it would bring were it dis
posed of now. That it was once a great
no one knows. What has become of ii is
not now known. How it dwindled. shrunl,
took wings, flew away, it is impossible to
say.
The Heralds authority for its statements
in regard to the discovered state of affairs
is undoubted. and the same authority said
to a Herald reporter Yesterday that when
Miss Davenport drew her will she undoubt-
eddy believed herself as rich as, or. richer
than, the public estimated her wealth.
1T is true that she was very rich, said
the Herald's informant, "but values In some
Of her investments have !,, , shrunk greatly lily
met with some serious losses IN her theat-
rical ventures-as to which she kept her
own counsel. Thirty thousand dollars was
produced. She was extremely liberal to her
family She lived well, but lot exit avagant-
seasons presumably successful were really
at times disastrous. Her '~hi,aSo property,
reported as immensely valuable, on exam
ination proves to be iinlmprOVnd real eS-
tate that had been Of great value. per-
haps. when the boom was on in that
section of the city. but is Ct little or no
value now-perhaps $4,000 or $4,000 above
1T is said now that the Canton (Pa) prop
erty mentioned in Ter will she no longer
OWNS. Her iewelry, believed to be worth
$751; has been collected by the executors;
what they find she had at her death is per-
haps worth $4,000 Her plays are of prob
lematical value-not very much, perhaps,
though they were of valae to her. The
Duxbury property would perhaps bring to-
day half the amount she estimated II at;
some of the bonds she held are practically
worth little or nothing-and so on"