The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-05-14
sEARCH ZOE MIsER.s MONEY
IFrom the London MALL

II was announced at a meeting 81
the EPSON guardians that letters Of
administration in regard to the estate
OF William Bachelor, the octogenarian
miser of Eiwell. had been granted to
Edwin Burgess. of Gray's Inn road,
". c.
No fewer than tHenty-seyen claim
ants TO the property have put in an ap-
pearance. The board decided to retain
eS8 to defray the cost OF the Old mans
maintenance and funeral and the ex-
pense Of searching and guarding his
house, and to hand over the rest Of his
property to Mr.. Burgess today.
An extraordinary story of the search
for Bachelors hidden property Is told
by Mr. Pearman, assistant to the clerk
to the guardians, under whose direction
the Investigations were carried out
The exterior Of the old miSer'S house
which stands at the foot of Beggar's
Hill. EWeH, on the main Kingston road,
is quite in keeping with the sordid 70
nance which was enacted within. II IS
a dilapidated wooden structure, with
all the windows boarded up. and
great pile Of old timber rotting by its
side.
The house contains a sitting room,
three bedrooms, a kitchen and a soul
lery, while attached to it are some old
sheds. It is entered by side door,
reached by a narrow path streWn with
old bricks.
When the searehers entered the cot
tage on December 13 they found the
kitchen floor strewn with a singular as
sortment of old nails, pots, kettles. car
penteFs' tools, and other articles. There
was not a clear space of six inches to
be seen anywhere.
The sitting room doorway was piled
up to within a few inches of the ceiling
with old laths taken from some houses
belonging to Mr.. Bachelor, which had
been pulled down.
In the kitchen there were a few pic
lures, a grandfather's clock, two tables,
. nd fo41r pT1nhAapCc
recesses under the stairs several little
drawers had been fitted, which were
filed with nails
ITO the best of my memory" says
Mr.. Pearman, about 4150 was found
under the nails, and about ESQ in old
match boxes and the drawers Of the
table and sideboard.
After We thought we had ransacked
the kitchen of all cash we adjourned
up stairs to the back room, where after
a short time we found a bag containing
about ESQ in the top right-hand drawer
of one of the two chests of drawers
which that room contained. We also
found under his bed long wooden
box containing deeds, etc, and in an
other of the drawers IS silver spoons
and two pairs of sugar tOngs. Just be-
fore leaving for the night we found an
other tin box in the front bedroom con-
tanning deeds, etc.
The next day we made a start on
the front bedroom. In an old hat box
with no lid to it came across a post
Office savings bank book, with e120 9s
Sd. to Bachelors credit. In an old
wooden box there were three bags of
gold, which we found to contain one
6 545 los, another 1888 los and the
third about $50
In another box by the side of the
bed we found ten-pound Bank of Eng
land note, one-pound Bank of Dork-
ing note about ninety years old, q bank
token for IS, a William III shilling. and
another bag obtaining some gold, quite
bright dated 1870 md 1870
We also found in several other old
boxes gold watch and chain, four sill
yer watches, silver chain, five silver
plates, and sundry articles of jewelry
such as bangles, bracelets. mun chains.
etc
The following days haul was sgd.
in bronze, a burned halfcrOwn, a half
farthing three silver spoons a gold pin
such as bracelets. necklaces, etc
A search was made the next day
through the deed boxes, which had been
deposited with an EPSON bank. No viii
was found, but the boxes contained $40
in gold IS. in silVes, two Chirles II
crown pieces, one Charles II six-pence.
Queen Anne shilling, an Elizabeth
shilling, George II siX-pence, a Will
liam III six-pence, a William II fOfur-
penny bit, a small Elizabeth coin (bent),
a half-farthing and some other old coins
On January the guardians gave fur
Their instructions for a thorough search
to be made Of the whole Of the premises
and garden.
we moved everything in the front
bedroom, Mr. Peafman states, test
ed the walls and took up floor boards.
and after about two hours and a half
We're rewarded by finding a small bag
of gold containing 8S los. and a Geor-
glan sovereign in a small drawer at
tached to what we thought before was
only a shelf with a small looking glass
fitted in 1t. On moving the mattresses
we found splendid lady's gold watch,
a gold chain with locket and spade
guinea in splendid condition attached,
/ twenty-one silver spoons and four sill
! Yer sugar tongs.
After lunch we found a black box
under the bed. which was locked When
/ it was opened We found inside tin box
1 like a cocoa tin. marked on the lid
4 Money. After a lot of persuasion the
/ lid came off and out tumbled some sill
Yer and goddess in gold and &2 13s.
in silver.
We then started on the back bed
room again and were not long in get
ting on the scent Of more gold. In one
/ drawer we found a -four bag contain
/ ing Ell les. in gold and in another Is
4 Cd. and a four-penny piece, five or six
old copper coins, and some old consol
receipts We also found, as we thought,
| another big haul. but after we had I'M
/ done about seven or eight lots of paper,
which were carefully sealed up, we
found Sd. in half-pence, and in another
similar packet Sd. in bronze
For two more days the absorbing hunt
went on, but nothing further of any
ever. came across a number of old re-
ceipted bills, one Of which, dated nearly
! $50 years ago, was for 21kd.