The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-03-19
COUNTING ON A FORTUNE
Lease of Land Was Made Over
100 Years AGO
Lease Recently Expired N a Dc
Of Mrs. Rebecca Springer
Thinks He Can Establish His Claim
To Valuable Tract of Land-Matter
Put into the Hands OF Judge hoh'Z
of Atlanta.

A Georgia man-Of course, ne Hoi'
from Atlanta-has been having dreams
lately that he is to come lnto d siea'
fortune. the fortune consisting IN the
ownership of the tract of land on
which Wilmington is situated. II
ancestors of this man, a MI. Frank L.
Ridge. of Atlanta, he claims, acquired
vast tracts of land in this section and
became owner of practically all of tee
land where Wilmington now lies. Some
Of this property was disposed or but
one large tract was leased for a period
of one hundred years and papers nave
been found recently showing that the
lease expired about two years ago.
Mr.. Ridge has confidence in the
claims hat have been handed down to
him and he has placed the whole mat
ter in the hands Of Judge Kontz.
The interested parties AVE already
computed the number OF heirs 20 be
belHiittG0. WHICH VII IS0Sh -O'
but on account OF the value OF the city
soon they think to come lnto tne1r
hands, they are already beginning 10
believe that a large fortune Will De
theirs.
In regard to this matter, The Atlanta
Constitution of Wednesday, under the
head Albanian May Be Heir to IN
Immense Fortune Located in Whining
ton" says:
"A fortune running up into the seven
figures. or at least a portion OF that
great bulk of wealth, is likely TO End
its way to Atlanta, and if it does come,
it will come to one Of the most deserV-
ing, Woodworking, popular and success
full young men in the city.
Frank T. Ridge, years ago d skilled
Dressman, now a metal office TX
ture man, with residence at 156 Court
land avenue, is the luck-hit Albanian
The property from which the seven
figure aggregation of dollars is to CGLle
is located in Wilmington, n. c., and is
anon the most valuable in that city,
where real estate rarely changes han0S,
because of the great value it constantly
commands. In fact, nearly the entlre
city of Wilmington is planted on tins
land in question, and there are lew
property. occupants in that tar-heel
metrODOliS who will not in some way,
be more or less affected by the deVel-
oped conditions. The actual value CT
the land and the improvements upon
il. which mus necessarily GO with It
if Mr.. Ridges title is made good, can
not be computed further than to say
that that value Will require seven hg-
ures, possibly eight, to give it an eX-
preston.
'TMr. R:Goe, however, is not the only
heir to tne treasure trOve, it might be
called. There are heirs all over the
country and traces of something like
one hundred and fifty claimants nave
already practically been located. Ii
st, Louis, in Louisville, and at other
points, Mr.. Ridge has kith and kin, Whc
stand in the same relationship with che
fortune that he has.
away back in the days Of Washing
ton, probably before there came iron
Stockholm, Sweden, a family o
as the Springers. That family located
III Wilmington, where the member
acquired great tracts of land. On,
member of the family was RebeccE
Springer, who married a Ridge. Il
Ridge was the great grandfather o
Frank T. Ridge, of Atlanta, II tOl
years he resided in Wilmington. IL
the old cemetery at that place are tom
stones telling Of Ridges II Springer
who once moved and took a leading
part III the affairs of that city. Elthe
the Ridge who married into the Spring
er family, or possibly II of his imme
: diate descendants leased large tracts o
land in that section which is now likel,
to become productive OF a great iega
battle. The lease was made one hun
dred years ago, and "a duly recorded
Some time after that lease was mad
members of both the Springer II tn
Ridge family moved away from the O.
home, some going one way, some an
other. Among those who left the Oh
Carolina town We're Senator Springer
antecedents, who went to Wisconsin.
That h~undred-year lease expired tN-
or three years ago, n when it Wen
out there was no demand for posses
sion again by the heirs of the on
who made the lease. But that be
cause none of the heirs in that sectio
appeared to have any knowledge Of tn
situation. In Louisville, however, thel
was an aunt of Frank Ridge, who ha
papers in her possession telling II
whole story. These papers We're Of
and musty. They had been with til;
aunt for a long time. She dug the
up not long ago, and finding that Il
lease had expired put herself in con