Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-10
WER II nEIRS
!. !. ARE / CONFIDENT
THE LARGE ARMY OF, DEscENu-
ANTS or DUTCH GENERAL WILL
PROSECUTE CLAIM.
FORM ORGANIZATION
Meeting at Rock Island Latter Part Of
Week Selects Officers and Starts
Active Work Toward Secur-
Ing Fortune.

\ : I b
! Ing Fortune.
! Home again from the three days
meeting or convention of the heirs Of
the now famous W'ertz fortune. three
/ Ottumwans and two Agency descend
ants of the historic old Dutch general
are jubilant over the success OF the
gathering at Rock Island during the
last three days of the past week at
which they state that FOG persons were
:, present The Ottumwans are Mrs.
James Lanning. 12O Walnut avenue, G.
C. iWertz and Mrs G. H. Meyers OF
South Ward street and M. Wertz and
Mrs, E. G. Long of Agency. The
quintet arrived home from Rock Island
Sunday over the Burlington on No. 9
and insist that the heirs will send
commission to Holland to endeavor to
secure the Wertz fortune.
| Confident that they have a just title
to the $1SO.O0O.OO0 estate left by Cen
eral Paul Wertz, of Holland, the two
hundred American descendants of the
general, at their frst reunion in Rock
Island which closed Saturday perfected
an organization and decided to levy
such assessments among their number
as may be necessary to defray the ex-
pense of sending legal commission to
| Holland to push their claim before the
Dutch government.
Onicers were elected as follows:
President, Mrs. Estelle Ryan Snyder,
OF Chicago, ILL.,; first vice president,
Willard w. Wertz, of Lincoln, Neb.;
second vice preside nt, Lee Peterfeld,
Eof st. Louis, Mo-; third vice president,
William Wertz, of Fort Smith, Ark =
secretary and treasurer, William J.
FSnyder. Of Chicago. ILL.,; corresponding |
|secretary, George Wertz, Of Aledo, ILL.,;
assistant corresponding secretary. Miss |
Cora Hasselton, Of Millersburg, Ia.
Tells Purpose Of Reunion.
Discussing the reunion, Mrs. Snyder,
president Of the heirs organization,
said:
#"Wertzes are coming from every
state In the union I have been
swamped with letters, having q whole
trunkful since the big story appeared
in the papers. It is the pur-
pose OF this reunion to stop this writ.
ing OF letters to me and to get the
look this matter up at once. We will
i
to go to Holland with suhicient data
to recover this estate which the gov
eminent Of Holland is willing to give
up. After we get this, an effort will
be made to recover the big estate in
New York.
Many OF the wertzes said they want
ID the reunion to get acquainted re-
,ardless of whether we made any fur
her attempt to get the fortune in Hol-
and. have received word from a
woman that her grandfather was sent
o Holland many years ago to effect
settlement with the government and
vas offered sixteen million gulden on 8
that the heirs would re-
louncea this country and go to Hol-
and to make their future residences. Z
he offer was refused at that time and
be matter dropped Whether all these
itRerent stories are true cannot say.
receive letters every day throwing q
title more light on our family his
Dry. It seems to be matter Of pride
18th great many Of the Wertzes to be
cry anxious to trace their ancestry =
ack as far as possible and perfect the
Vertz genealogy. They want 1t inI
ook form as record for their chill
rem.
Old Family Tradition.
Here Is what is written in the family e
ible and has always been handed
own as family tradition:
"This Andrew aWertz was stolen
hen he was q boy IL years old and 8
AIKEN to India. How long he re-
lained there we don't know, but when
9 cane back he had with him a
eautiful crown of spice mortar and
cartridge pounch. The two latter
rticles always heve been in our
lmily, but the crown he presented to
le reigning sovereign, and In return b
g got large tract of land, part Of L
'hich was timber and part was |tu
leadow The meadow land was sit h
ated just south Of the village. One la
ay he got into quarrel with a s.
eighbor- over a water rights, and b.
e struck the other man over the head e
18th a hoe. and killed him. He was b.
len condemned to death, but by CIV G
lg up the tract Of timber land he G.
ought himself free. After that he
1T his home and never was heard Of 70
gain. think that, was when he W
hanged his name, for I see you 10
eople write it 'Wirtz' and we write it III
yertz.'" 10,