The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1909-01-21
ONCE cALESWOMAN
NOW HAS s25O,0ol]
Bride of Three Wce,,s Becomes
Widow Of Her E.ch
Employ or.
he HAD COURTED FIFTEEN Yi,.,.SS
Elderly Head of Department St,.l.c
Firm Marrics When Told He Cam
not Live Long-Girl Took Fit, for
His Loneliness.

Wilmington, Del,-Relatives of
Joseph Hill, for most of his business
career head of the department store
firm OF Crosby g. Hin, admitted they
could see no use in trying to break
a will leaving his entire estate to
Clara Elizabeth Wells Hill, who be-
came a widow when she was a bride
of three weeks. This means Mrs.
Hill has $250,000 after twenty-se,-
en- years of service as a aaloswomaN
in the firms glove department. 1t
was hoped the amount to go to her
could be restricted to her dover, but
eminent counsel convinced Hills
nephews and nieces IL would be
waste of time to attack the WILL so
they decided to make no contest.
Mrs. Hill, therefore. though less
than a month before she had only
her salary as saleswoman, is one
of the wealthiest women in Whining
ton. She also is young enough to
look forward to many years of enjoy
mont. The forty other employees of
the firm, as far as is known, are not
a dollar richer than they were when
the old man died.
The strange part of it is that the
widow, when she was Miss Wells, re-
jected Hill steadily for fifteen years,
changing her mind only in time to
get the property. Hill wooed her
persistently all through that period.
He was many years older than she
nd ha 20 10 i,,,n he, nAi
ciently to induce her to give up even
the independence of a saleswoman.
She listened to his courtship and al
ways was pleasant to him, but she
invariably had the same answer for
his proposal. How many times Hill
heard her mo" in those fifteen years
is guesswork There is tradition
in the department store that he Of
fered marriage at least once a week
in that time.
Miss Wells apparently never
wearied of receiving his proposal
and, until a month ago, never wav-
cred in her refusal to become his
bride. So circumspect was she that
only her closest friends knew the
elderly merchant was interested in
her any more than in other efficient
employees. 1t now is recalled by all
the saleswomen, however that Hill
passed the glove counter oftener
than other departments and that ocoa-
sionally he stopped long enough for
a word or two with Miss Wells. But
on those occasins others in the store
assumed he was talking business, as
his face alway wore serious eX-
preston.
The marriage of Miss Wells to
Hill, therefore, was surprise to
most of those who knew them. Other
saleswomen in the store said they
were astounded by the news. Mrs.
Hill heard all the gossip at second
hand with perfect composure. She
gave no explanation of the change
in her intention to remain single.
1t was learned, however, that
short time before physicians told
Hill he had small chance of re-
covery from a complication of mala-
dies that suddenly broke his long
vigorous health. There is no sug-
gestion Miss Wells was Influenced
by mercenary motive, but it is sup
posed that when Hill told her he
had not long to live and begged her
to brighten his last days, she con-
sented in pity for his loneliness. The
old man had no relatives in this city,
all his nephews or nieces living
either in massachusetts or Rhode ISL
| and.
/ When Hill died almost all the re-
latives fastened to Wilmington to
learn what their chance of getting
part of his property was. They were
confronted with will bequeathing
the entire quarter-million to the