Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-03-02
LONELY HOME OF
POOR WOMAN IS
TREASURE HOUSE
Fortunes in Gold and Currency
Found Hidden When
Owner Dies.

BURLINGTON. March Miss Eliza
that she was too poor to employ a
housekeeper. that she had just enough
TO purchase the bare necessities of life.
died suddenly Monday night at the age
of Sc years, in the lonely farm house
on the river road near here.
Going through the old farm house
relatives found the place to be a
yeritable golden storehouse, and 1t is
now believed Miss Hays left an estate
valued in excess of 800, 900.
owing to the rumors flying through
the neighborhood concerning the
amount of gold discovered in the house,
armed guards were stationed about the
place today to keep off curious sight
seers and TO guard against robbery. A
complete search of the tumble-down
farm house will be made tomorrow. and
relatives believe a fortune, in addition
to the thousands of dollars found to-
day, will be discovered.
The most out-of-the-way places gave
forth their hidden store of golden
riches. An old family Bible was al
most completely interleafed with wv
notes. some of them bearing dates oil
issue shortly after the Civil War.
Despite the fact that it contained 5000
the old book reposed on a parlor table.
In a cupboard. among odds and ends
of every description, was a little paste
board box. The investigators were
about to toss it aside when a jingle OF
coin drew their attention, and they
49, A. IA - H,1 IL ti11n1 with
golden coins, mostly eagles and double
eagles, amounting to nearly $500.
Old bags and purses were discovered
in many parts of the house. They
were filled with an assortment of rare
coins Nearly a thousand old coins of
copper, nickel, silver, gold and alloys
and minted in a dozen different coun-
tries in the last two centuries were dis
covered. The ancient coins were mixed
with modern none of all denomina-
lions. With coins that bore the date of
the seventeenth century were gold
eagles and double eagles minted in the
United states within the last five
years.
Even The old beds gave up hidden
wealth. Rolls of bank notes, all of big
denominations. were found stuffed be-
tween the mattresses and mixed with
them were quantities of Civil War cur
rency known as "shin plasters.'
In addition TO the cash discovered,
%neighbors declare the house contains
"A small fortune in ancient silver plate.
Rare old furniture is i'm every room and
paintings that belonged to ancestors OF
Miss Hays adorn the dingy old walls.
A curio collector is said to have offered
Miss Hays a princely sum for a single
picture that hangs in the parlor, only
a few weeks ago. but she refused to
part with it because it was a family
heirloom.
One of the first persons to visit. the
old farmhouse today was Schuyler
Rainier. a farmer, of Florence town
ship, whose lack of faith in savings
banks resulted in the famous daylight
robbery last fall of an old safe in which
he kept his wealth. Rainier, who lives
about three miles from the Hays farm,
was a cousin and one of the few living
relatives of Miss Hays. The general
lack of faith in banks seems to be a
family trait.
II suppose Miss Hays was worth
500, 900 or So" Rainier said. II never
asked her, but she had enough so that
she didn't ave to worry. She owns
five or six houses in Burlington and
about five farms. I guess they'll find
she also is the owner of the Dutch
Neck shad fishery and farm"