The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-04-29
WEALTHY, He HIDES
HIMSELF IN RAGS
USING ASSUMED NAME, JARDINE
FoRsook FAMILY, LIVING IN
LODGING HOUSE.
LOST TO HIS FAMILY
ONLY By ACCIDENT HIS POOR OLD
FRIEND DISCOVERED HIS
NAME AND SAVED HIM
FROM POTsTER's FIELD.

NEW YORK, April 2S.-Dudley
Jardine dice on March l4th last, in
his seventy-ffth year on a charity cot
in one of the city hospitals. He had
lived for years under an assumed
name In n Bowery lodging house.
His Will Will be admitted to probate
sometime this week, letters testament
tary will be Issued, Ii very little will
remain to be done before a group of
distant cousins. and -four charitable or
religious institutions receive proper
tiOnal shares OF considerably more
than $%l00, 700. They have found
500, 900 SC far; there is a belief that
more will be found.
jardine was a man Of wealth, of
education, n a musician. He was
the son Of the founder Of a great
organ manufacturing firm. Thirty
years ago, or more, he chose to for
sakA his friends. his relatives. his
family. and go to live in Bowery
lodging houses under an assumed
name. Occupying a room for which
he paid s1,25. living In the cheapest
of restaurants, dressed in the c
est of clothes. he passed his nights
and spare time in this environment,
only occasionally seeking a little mis-
sion library where his sole friend was
the librarian.
Friend Discovers Secret.
When he died his body was taken
to the morgue. From there II would
have gone to the potter's field, II 1t
had o been for an inquiry of his
old friend, the librarian Of the mis-
sion, who. searching through papers
in his room, found the true name and
thus discovered a distant relative. The
body now lies in the family plot in
Trinity cemetery.
There Is no explanation for the
mans eccentric life, except that he
had the obsession of ~persuading peo-
pie that he was very poor.
Dudley Jardine was the son of
George Jardine, founder of the organ
building firm of George Jardine q
Sons, makers of some Of the largest
pipe organs in the country. There
were three sons, Edward and Joseph
F. Jardine being the other two. All
were associated with their father.
Develops E%cccniricity.
The other brother had long since
been dead, and Dudley Jardine had
retired from the firm thirty years ago
or more, when he developed the &c
Centricity which finally blotted him out
of the memory of his family, He went
under the name OF William Smith" in
the lodging house, and there he sepnt
the remainder of his life. He didn't
give up his business altogether. but
gradually sought new affiliations He
was well known in certain old estab-
lished Wall Street houses as a most
conservative investor. but his family
lost track Of him. Occasionally he
would reappear at the funeral of a rel
alive or an old friend. poorly dressed
and mplaining of his poverty.
William smith, the old ledger,
dropped in the street early in March
q nil r.a faIyan IN Gorynrnr,,r hos
pital. The librarian friend called at
the hospital several times, but even
after the old mar knew that he was
to die he told him nothing. The
librarian called on March 18th. to be
informed that Smith had died the day
before, and his body was then up at
the morgue.
Saved From Potter's Field.
The librarian then paid a visit to
his last lodging house, where a few
papers were found OF little importance,
except that the name of Frederick
Jardine was mentioned. Frederick
Jardine was located. He turned out
to be a nephew. He remembered his
uncle. He arrived at the morgue the
day the body was to go to potter's
field. Other members of the family
were notified, and the body of the
old mar went up to Trinity instead.
There was no idea the of any
money, but as the family published a
death notice in the papers, the fact
of h death became known to Cor
nelius B. Gold, of Barbour & Co. OF
25 Broad street. Mr.. Gold knew
Dudley ~Jardine. and recalled that he
had left a will with him. Mr.. Gold
searched his papers and found the
viii and the name of a safe deposit
company where Jardine had kept his
possessions.
Requests In VIII.
The will bequeathed +he property
left thus:
One-half to the children OF his
brothers, and the other half in proper
tonate shares to the Prison Assoeia-
ton OF New York, the Woman's Branch
Of the New York city Missions and
Tract society, the Board of Foreign
MISSIONS OF the Presbyterian church,
ana the New York Protestant Episcopal
CITY mission: The safety deposit vault
when opened was found crammed with
gilt-edged securities worth more than
500, 900. 1850
Search is still being made for other
property. They found among the
papers also a letter or two. faded and
yeilowed b.y time, addressed to some
woman Maggie T~ruelove." This
woman had been i'll and was at a
hospital. He had sent her wine, jelly
and fresh eggs, Sc had died and the
letter came back to him. That was ali,