The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-08-22
0RTU
VIII / MEN
AcoEoRED LADY MADE#A Will
Ss5S I'm FAVOR OF TWO YOUNG
Isa EN- FOR s75, 900 she HAD
BRoUGHTSThEM UP.

sSfASFtlNSI1oIS,z aug ~. MARY
Alexander A1marol1a,S the remarkable
u colored woman who died in this city
last week, was buried in Mount Olivet
Cemetery. Her will was read after
the funeral, and it was found to be.
aneath all her property, amounting to
h IS, 600, to two young white men
Lewis Alexander; 2 years old, and Joe
Alexander, "a years old whom she had
i adopted in their infanc y and reared
until they reached the age of maturity.
Though the viii has not yet been
admitted to probate, it has been an
snonncedS ~ herslawyers that the two
pied sons are named as the beneh-
ssciarieso the testament, and that no
provision whatever has been made for
& woman negro heirs.
understood that niece of the
woman, who lives in Baltimore, will
contest the will. 1t is reported that
the contest Will develop features that
viii stir to the depths social and politi-
cal circles North and South. 1t is ex-
pected, also, to furnish material out OF
which might be written story ot
mystery and romance that will knock
THE Scarlet Letter and "Pudd nhead
#sYilson''' out of sight and almost out of
memory
Mary Alexander A1marolla was prob
ably the most remarkable negro wo-
man known in the District of Column
SDia In the last half century. She was
the daughter of an almost ful1-blooded
African, Mike Sinner, and her mother
was almost as pure blooded as Mary's
father
The daughter was of dark, ginger
4 bread color, and exceedingly intelli-
gent from early childhood. In her
young womanhood she was married to
an Italian named Almarolla, man OF
some cultivation.
Spoke Five Languages.
Under his guidance she was educat-
ed and became proficient as linguist.
She wrote, spoke and readily under
stood English, French, German, Italian
and Spanish, and was an accomplished
musician. She also had an uncommon
amount of business sense, administer
ling her husbands affairs with remark
{ able success, and with him accumu
Tadngsno small fortune.
She was familiar figure in the Dis
frIct and had a hand for charity. She
{ had the habit of seeking out persons
/ in distress, whites as well as blacks,
and a1leviating their sufferings. In
periods of famine or panic she would
send to the police stations, ascertain
who were in need, and distribute a
thousand Ioaves of bread daily and a
corresponding amount of coal or ics,
as the season demanded In the mean
time she was accumulating property,
investing her income prudently and es-
tab1ishing the foundation of fortune
Provided for Two White Boys.
IT was "a subject of remark twenty
years ago that the Almoralla woman
was rearing in her home two white
boys, who We're called Lewis AleNan-
der and Joe Alexander. She provided
for them plentifully.
Though they bore the same family
name, it was observed that they re-
sembIed one another little. if at all,
and ii was significant that their names
CORES pended with the middle name OF
the A1moralla woman
$$4ss$55 The boys We're put at school. ana
Lewis, the elder, became remarkably
prof cient in his studies. He was grad
nated from the Bliss Electoral College
in his twentieth year, was an instruc
tor there a year later, travelled after
ward as the electrician for many no
table theatrical companies, and finally
settled in New York, where he now
lives. He is now connected with the
American Electrical Decorating Com
8pany. of New York, and resides at 246
West Twenty-ninth street, that city.
5A He arrived in Washington yester
day and attended the funeral with his
foster-brother, Joe Alexander, today.
Joe Alexander, not inclined to study
went to work when young man, and
& is now a .switchman in the employ OF
s the Metropolitan Railway.
Trunks Papers Will Solve Mystery.
8 In addition to the will, leaving all
I her property to the two boys. their
8 foster-mother left also four typewrit-
ten pages, directing them to open a
large trunk after her death and find
there certain valuable papers. which
= would protect their rights and clear up
8 the mystery that invests their lives.
The story of the adoption of these
two white children by this woman is