The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-11-03
STORY OF old POP
DUBOIS, MISER.
A SCHOOL PRINCIPAL WHO USED
ROUGE AND CURL PAPERS.
Then He Became Money Mad and Saved
Half a Million on $4,000 Year--
Daughters Suit to Break His Will.
New York Times.

The story of the life Of ssPopO Du
Bols, who was for half q century a |
public school principal and amassed a
fortune OF half million dollars on
salary OF $5,oOo year, was told yes
Jury IN the supreme court. Mr.. Du Bots
daughter has begun suit to break his
will in an effort to get . 100000 share
OF his estate.
Pop they called him In grammar
school No. SO, where he was principal
for fifty years, died on Dec. l3, 1903,
his most intimate friends believed that
ne died IN poverty. His relatives even
did not know that he had strong box
filed with gold and gilt-edged securi-
ties. IT was only after his will had
boon filed that the fact became known
that the old school principal was worth
half million dollars.
How did he do it on salary of
$500 year. asked the justice yester-
daay, ana 1M The lawyers answered in
The school principals daughter, Mrs.
suit to break his will, had been brought
up from childhood under the impress
sion that her father had died about the
time OF the civil war. In April Of last
year, after Du Bots had died, she
learned the true story of her life and
that of her father.
Principal Du Bots lived the life Of
q recluse and died in a small, poorly
age Of Il years. One Of his relatives
found q will among. his effects and filed
it at the surrogate s office for probate.
It was evident that the old man did not
know much about his daughter, for his
will contained this paragraph:
- give and bequeath to my daugh,,
ter, Ivy Blanche, marriage name and
| residence unknown, $10,000.''
10 one Of the teachers in his school
he left. $4,000 and to another $4,000.
The residue Of his estate he bequeathed
to his sisters, Mary d. Jones and Caro-
line D. Seaman, and to his brother, Will
liam Du Bots.
According to the testimony in the
suit yesterday cold Pop' Du Bots was
a dandy in his younger days. One of
i fyo handsome, and 10 painted G and pow
dered his face every night and put his
hair up in curl papers, That was be-
fore he became money mad, said the
PLAINTIFF attorneys, Manierre &
When he was % years old he married
was a poet, a musician and an artist.
A little later he composed an operetta
which was produced. Then he began
to take less interest in these things and
became careless about his personal ap-
pearance. He became SO close in finan-
: cial matters that he allowed his wife
only $40 a month for the household.
trate for nonsupport. The name Of the
lawyer that defended him was Aaron
Burr. 49,
It was. in November, 1854, that they
were, married. j, They separated a few
years later, after their child, Ivy
Blanche, was born. Mrs. Du Bots had
a hard struggle to Support herself and
InS1s61 he obtained. divorce in Iowa.
Mrs. Du Bots Drought up her daughter
in the belief that her father was dead.
| The daughter married, lived here. for a
time, and then moved to Florida, where
she was found after her father died.
issa student at Columbia college, and a
daughter, Elsie Mckee. It is in their
interest that Mrs. Mckee is now seeking
a large share Of her fathers estate.
4 Neither she nor her mother had seen
Du Bots for forty-fve years before his
death. ~ -...x.s,-
! Mrs. Du Bots, who is now almost 70
| state. Her sister, Mrs. Louis c.. Vail
Freligh, was examined out Of court,
and her testimony was read to the jury.
! According to her, Du Bois was very
close in money matters. His wife had
to sew to help support herself, and at
the same time she made her husband g
clothes. She testified that Du Bots
was in the habit Of doing his hair up in
papers, putting rouge on his face, and
! powdering his cheeks. He was so hand
some that he attracted attention every
where. the witness added. When the
witness was asked whether Du Bots had
assigned any reason for leaving his wife,
the witness answered:
"None, but the birth Of the child.''