Rock Island Argus., 1911-10-06

4Aeul ana lES W SrlZ estate WnlCn cOI-
sisted Of half of New Amsterdam, now
New York, this part of the estate be-
ing in the heart Of New York's busi-
ness section, the Wertz heirs are gath
| ering in Rock Island from every state in
the Union and will be here until Sun
day. They will take the proper steps
to try to recover this fabulous sum
Of money and are willing TO back up
! the fight against two governments with
all the wealth at their disposal. About
40 arrived yesterday, and by tonight
fully 200 more are expected.
GREETING MANY COUSINS.
Mrs. Estelle Ryan Snyder of Chica-
go, who has been tracing back the
family tree, locating the various heirs
and gathering proofs and data to es-
tablish their claims, arrived at the
! New Harper yesterday and is greeting
all her kinsfolk as they arrive. On
! September 6, she wrote a letter to all
! the heirs of whom she had any know
! ledge, urging them to be present al
! the family reunion in this city Oct 6,
! and s, and requesting them to bring
| photographs of the family three or
| four generations back, papers, docu-
ments, records, bibles, etc, so that
! conclusive evidence may be gathered
| to support the claims to wealth. To-
/ day the various cousins are getting
acquainted with each other and hold
| ing jollifcatiOn, but on Saturday after
noon the big meeting will be held at
the New Harper, at which time Mrs.
! Snyder will speak on The Wertz Fam
! iIy-Their History as Far as Known
LEADER a DAVENPORTER.
Mrs. Snyder is a Davenport woman,
having been born and raised in that
town. She attended the public schools
there and graduated afterward from
Van Patten and Woods business col
! lege, where she took a course in stem
ography. After leaving business col
! lege she was secretary 10 Park w. Nc
Manus, of the wholesale brokerage
firm in Davenport. She then accepted
! a position as court reporter III Judge
Horten's court in Chicago; in fact
she was the first official woman court
reporter ever appointed to a position
/ il Cook county. One year after accept
| ing this position she was married to
! William J. Snyder, also d court report
| er in Chicago, who had, previous TO
accepting his position il Chicago, been
John D. Rockefeiler's private secre-
/ tary. She is an author of note, her
most popular book being The Land
| of Promise, a book of travels, which
was highly commended by eX-Presi-
/ dent Roosevelt. She is nov at work
on new play, The Crucibie" for
/ Charles Frohman. Mrs snyder is an
| energetic woman, bright, alert and
up and agoing every minute. She ra-
diates good htmor and has a faculty
| of putting every one in cheerful
mood, with whom she talks.
TELLS OK PLANS.
! In an interview with an Argus rep
rescntatiye yesterday she gave a brief
history Of her search fer her kinsfolks.
Isn't this a rather gigantic uuderta-
king she was asked.
why certainly it is, but what is the
difference" was the reply. Look at
Tie railroad system that Hartman
built up. That was a gigantic under
| taking. I have every reason 10 believe
| that the Wertz heirs are entitled to
the land which now constitutes the
heart Of the business section Of New
York There is also over $ZC0,v0p,OUJ
which the Holland government has,
wilIed to it by General Paul Wertz,
to be held for five generations. l am
of the sixth generation, and we are
going to go after the legacy in Holland
and the New York property"
But, coming right down to facts,
you don't believe for a minute that you
can get that land in New York do
you" was the question asked. I have
consulted with some of the best law
yers in the country" replied Mrs. Sny-
DER, "and they say that there should
be no difficulty in getting the New
York estate, but that there might be
trouble in collecting from the Holland
government.
MANY LAWYERS IN FAMILY.
THE law profession seems to be
favored by the Wertz clan. We have
lawyers and states attorneys galore,
who will give their opinions on the
subject Saturday In all my search
for the WeTtz family, l have never
heard of one of our blood that lived an
unworthy life or was engaged in any
thing but an honorable profession"
How about General Wertz, him
self?" she was questioned. HE rather
stained and tarnished the family name
didn't he? He got a lot Of his coin
as a member Of Captain Kidd's pirate
crew didn't he?"
That is all rot, there is not a word
Of truth in it, said Mrs. Snyder, Cap |
tain Kidd was operating along the
Chinese coast when General Wertz
was thousands of miles away
What will be your first step I.
towards recovering this money held
by the Holland government Mrs. Sny !.
der?"
HAVE TASK AHEAD.
I'VE will first decide whether or not /
we have enough proofs to pursue the .
project and should the decision be fav-