The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1905-06-15
HEIR 10 SERvlA THRONE
Iowa Railroad Agent at County Line
Iowa, Claims to be Heir to the
Seryian Throne.

appeared in the Ottumwa Daily Courier,
was at one time citizen of this county,
coming here in 1898 to be married to
Mrs. Amanda Fletcher, of Decatur City.
Shortly after his arrival here he was ar
rested by sheriff G. c. Beck who had
received telegram telling him to look
out for burglar and he thought thai
Mr.. Streu answered the description to a
dot, so he was arrested and spent a
night in jail, but as soon as he could
communicate with prominent men in
Davenport, his former home, he had no
trouble in showing that he was not the
man wanted and was released from GUS
tody. He then commenced an action
against sheriff Beck claiming $4,000
damages for false arrest and imprison-
ment. but the case was never tried as a
private settlement was made by sheriff
Beck who paid Streu several hundred
dollars damages. He was engaged for a
time in the grocery business at Decatur
City, but sold out and went to work for
the Rock Island railroad as an operator.
''Theodor Macmillan Streu Won Lazar
king of Servia."
1t is far, far cry from station agent
at County Line, Ia, to king of Servia
from telegraph blanks and way bills to
documents that make history in Europe,
from dingy little depot at crossroads
town to the grand palace at Belgrade,
from the humdrum life of the country to
the perilous existence of the ruler of a
treacherous race, but there is one man
within twenty miles of Ottumwa who
hopes to overcome all these difficulties
and to secure the restoration of the
Servian throne and the treasures which
were held by King Lazar and his ances-
tors until the Turkish invasion of Servia
in 1904.
.sT. M. streu, agent and operator at
County Line" Thus the records of the
Rock Island railway refer to him, but
his card proclaims him prince of Shuma-
dia and Shabatz castles in Servia
More than that documents, sealed and
sworn to, are in his possession and trace
his lineage from the time Of the Turkish
invasion of Servia, two centuries ago, to
the present day, showing that he is a
direct defendant of King Lazar, who
persisted at the hands of the murderous
Turks and whose family. save only one
grandson suffered the same fate. This
grandson, Andria LaZar, was the great.
great-great-grand of Theodo1
Macmillan Streu, as is also shown by
the documents now in the hands of the
Iowa railroad agent.
The story told in those papers is one
of the most interesting Of old world ro-
mances. Its scenes are laid in Servia
in Saxony and in America, but the line
is as true as that shown by the family
records of the oldest and proudest o.
families and if King Lazar had conquer
ed the invading Turks in 1904 Theodol
Macmillan Streu would now no doub
be hailed as king of Servia and woulc
concern himself with affairs of state
rather than with the daily reports O
cars on the little side track at County
Line, the cleaning and lighting of switch
lamps and the sale of an occasiona
railroad ticket.
PETER HAS NO RIGHT TO THE THRONE.
Eyes. ! have claim to the throne
which Peter karageorgevitch now occu
pies, and to the treasures that still lie
buried in the secret vaults below the
ruins of the old castles of Shumadia and
Shabatz," said Mr.. Streu to Courier
representative who visited him at the
little way station yesterday. peter
has no right to the throne. Neither
1lSto alOASiAt&OF WIN was luuEucIGu WILL
his queen to make room for the present
king. notice the newspapers say thai
King Peter is considering the advisable
ity of abdicating, saying that there are
pretenders in America, but if he anC
his parliament would examine my proofs
and treat me with fairness they would
have to admit that they are the impos
tors and that it is in my family that the
throne belongs"
Mr.. Streu has made formal application
to the parliment of the land. He has
also placed in the hands of the Ameri
can minister at Belgrade, the American
minister at Saxony, the Servian minister
at London and firm Of attorneys il
Manchester, Iowa, his old home, copies
OF the documents which he guards care.
fully in a locked drawer in the County
Line depot. He showed these papers te
the Courier representative yesterday
together with the translated copies
Years of patient investigation have
heen necessary to secure them from
Europe, but they are complete records
OF the family from the time of the ole
kings death to the birth of his de
scendant who now lives at County Line
Mr.. Streu's parents and an only brothe
are ueau ana ne Is Ine IaSU OF nODlt
line.
The bloody history of Servia is full o
tragic incidents and the early literature
of the little nation is rich in ballads o
an epic character. These are among
the earliest Slavonic ballads to be
found in any Of the collections in Eur
ope and have been of great interest tx
scholars as throwing light on the pos
sible composition Of other poems O
early days. One great cycle of these
ballads is concerned with the battle O.
Sossovo, where the Servia king Lazal
was defeated by the Turks and Serviar
independence was lost. Lazar wa!
killed and with him his son-in-law
Milosh Obilitich, prince of Shumadi;
and Shabatz and by the laws of Servia
heir to the throne after Lazar, who's.
daughter was wife of Obilitch.
THE PLUNDERING OF sHABATz CASTLE.
When. the throne was lost to TIL,
family of Lazar, Madam Obilitch WI.
allowed to remain in the castle of Sha
BATE on the river Sava, near Belgrade
but when the tyranny of the Turks hat
moved the Servians almost to rebellion
the foreign rulers took to plunderins
opH nj lI.,,ri,,tr tho a,SfIac of tho oIf