The Savannah morning news., 1901-09-06
HE CLING TO HIS GOLD.
Wanted to Carry 1t to the other
World with Him.
From the New York Herald.

From the New York Herald.
Testimony in the contest of Miss
Jane Townsend against the final ac-
of her father, the late Sheriff Nathan
iel Townsend, is creating a sensation
in Paterson. Miss Townsend is fight
ing for the possession of the famous
strong box of the sheriff, and If she
cannot get that, she will sue the es-
tate for nine years services, at $25 a
week. In fact suit for the latter has
been begun. Friends have done their
utmost to bring about a compromise,
but in vain. In this strong box it was
generally supposed the sheriff had
more than $4,000. After his death
it was found that there was not much
more than half that amount in the box,
most of it gold and bills of a high
denomination, and the rest of the
money that he was supposed to have
in the box was found pinned to the
inside of his vest. A few days before
his death he slipped and fell, break
ing his thigh bone, and was carried
home.
Miss Townsend testified that her
father told her on his deathbed that
for her self-sacrifice in remaining with
him and taking care of him when she
might have been happily married he
would give her the strong box and it's
contents. This box, Miss Townsend
says, was always hidden in the bot
tom drawer of an old dressing case
which stood at the foot of his bed.
Zebulon Townsend son of the de-
ceased, and brother of Miss Jane,
has been a deputy sheriff of Passaic
county since 1870. He testified that he
was called into the home of his father
at midnight, few hours before he died.
He said his father was evidently in
great mental and physical pain, and
had one foot over the side of the bed.
while his broken hip held him in bed.
The dying man was crying at the top
of his voice:
Jane is stealing my money, Jane is
stealing my money!" Exhausted, he
would sink back and scream again.
She's got 1t and will not give it up
to mel"
Zebulon swore that the father kept
repeating these words, and all he could
do to quiet him was of no avail. He
insisted on having hold of his money
as he died, and he stormed and storm
ed again when Miss Jane appeared to
be so frightened she could not find the
key of the drawer where he always kept
It, This excited the old man so that
he seemed to forget his acute pain at
times. But he died before he got his
hands on his treasure.
Mr.. Townsend testified. on cross-ex-
animation by Judge Scott that his
father was 81 years af age when he died
and that for the last twenty years he
and the daughter Jane had lived to-
gether. but not very happily. On one
occasion he struck her with a cane
when she tried to get 500 from his pock-
ct. Miss Jane declares that the money
was put into the box regularly by her
father, and that he often told her that
the money was for her alone.
Another sister, Mrs. Gardener, of Jer-
sey City. testified that she was home
the day her father died, and that she
heard him say Jane had taken his
money and that he kept calling for the
strong box in which all his treasure
was placed. and that finally, to quiet
him, Jane gave him the strong box.
but told him that he could not have the
key, and refused to give him the key.
The possession of the box seemed to
quiet him somewhat, and he did not
call for the key often.