The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1904-02-03
FORTUNE FoR ONE He HATED.
Eccentric Man All His Life, He Did
Not Change When His End Came.

Not Change When His End Came.
To become wealthy after living In
poverty for years is the peculiar for
tune of Mrs. Elizabeth Wright, now OF
Plymouth, Mass. And the wealth
comes from the man who hated her,
and whom she despised beyond all
things ON earth, p. G. Wright, an &C.
centric miser of Putnam, Conn.
For 35 years the wife of a poor
stone cutter, and on his death com
PEELED to earn her own living by house-
work and other menial labors; too
proud to seek charity from more for
tunate relatives and able to perform
only the least remunerative laDo"3,
she has suffered her full share of hard
ships.
Mrs. Wright was seen this morning
performing the duties of housekeep-
er poorly dressed, but with a smile of
hope as she talked of her changed
conditions and remembered her past
trials.
She is now residing at the parish
house of the Episcopal church. going
out by the day to do housework. She
is intelligent and refined, and has won
the respect of the good people of Ply
mouth, who are as much elated at her
prospects as the good lady herself.
ITO think" said Mrs. Wright, that
| any good fortune should come to me
from my husbands brother. Why, at
the funeral of my husband he wouldn't
treat me decent and did everything to
disgrace his brothers memory"
II was no intention of the eccentric
man that any of his money should go
| to his brothers widow. 1t all comes
about from his dying intestate.
A few weeks ago she began to hear
| stories of the queer doings of an aged
brother of her husband, Peter G.
Wright of Putnam, Conn. Now, Peter
| Wright was the last man in the world
she would have gone to for aid. The
two brothers were sworn enemies.
| Queerly enough, on his deathbed 1t
was ascertained that after making the
most grotesque preparations for his
burial the man had made no DISPOSE
tion of his property.
"If he could have devised any way of
taking his money to the grave with
him he certainly would" said Mrs.
| Wright. Putnam is full of the stories
of his queer doings in these last few
months He had a monument con-
| structed with what was meant to be a
| likeness of himself. When IL was COM
pleted the old man declared it looked
| like Hottentot Indian. He went at
1t with sledge hammer and 1t soon
resembled football player 1t was
rebuilt after his own ideas.
| The reconstructed tomb was a mag
net that drew a great many visitors.
| Wright would sit in front of II on fine
days and tell "reminiscences to the peo-
| pie that came there to see It. A few
weeks ago he sat for his picture, with
the tomb as background On one oc-
casion Wright held a small party
there.
| He had grave bricked up to a
height of seven feet and used to keep
liquors there. When he felt like IL he
would enter the tomb and proceed to
have debauch.
There was the inevitable love affair
in Peter Wright's life. A fair maiden
from New Hampshire won his affec-
tions. They were never married, al
though son survives him who is now
about 80 years old.
Mrs. Elizabeth Wright will share his
wealth with two sisters, and there may
be contest before she gets her share.
p. G.. Wrights fortune may be consid-
erably over 100000. It was said he
held a mortgage on half the property
of Putnam. He was tight-fisted, typ
ical old money lender.
His tombstone bears the inscription. !.
Going, but Know Not Where" The
majority of the residents of Putnam
think they know. But they won't tell.