West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1915-04-29
PLACED ON EASY STREET
FOR BALANCE or LIFE
Young Girl InheritS Vast Fortunc
in West Virginia Coal and Tim
Der Lands-Story Reads Like
Romance by Some Master of Fic-
ton

The story OF the change I'm tho for
tunes of Mrs. Lillian NJ. *. Hawcs OF
Jacksonville. from the position of an
obscure telegraph operator TO the own
ership of half interest in fortune
OF about $22,000.0OO In copper. coal
and timber lands. reads like a ro-
nance from the pen of master of
| fiction.
! Mrs. liawcs is a brunette. with wayy
brown hair and pcnsive dark eyes.
She is 30 years of age. and is hap
PLY married. She Ia musical TO the
very core; is talented performer on
the piano and several of the st,inged
instruments, and has composed sever
nj classical, ragtime and song compo-
sitions. She was born I'm Bridgewater.
Somerset. England. and came to the
United States with her parents while
a small child.
This vast property interest which is
shared equally by Mrs Hawes and
her brother. Thomas Hawkins, for the
past eighteen years chief engineer of
the Wcstchester Electric Company.
Mount Vernon, N. Y, consists OF COP
per lands and mines in the Excheauer
mining district. San Bernardino coun-
ty, Cal. and is valued at about Sc.
100000; also 100000 acres OF coal and
timber lands I'm Franklin district.
marshall county, w. Va, and ferro
manganese aud iron properties I'm Ten
nessee and West Virginia, which are
valued at the additional sum of SIG
600 900.
This story has its beginning I'm
Great Britain, where many years ago.
Miss l.. Atwell, the great aunt of Mrs.
Hawes, was much-beloved compan-
ION and friend OF Lady Towle, a veal
thy and prominently social figure of
England's arlstocracy. When Lady
Towle died she bequeathod to Miss
Atwell a large sum of money.
The great aunt was not without her
romance; she had girlhood sweet
heart, sea captain who while on n
voyage. was lost with his ship and
crew and nothing ever heard of
them again The death of the captain
nearly prostrated the young English
girl ana she came to America Here
she invested her savings of life time
and her newly acquired fortune in
what was then considered waste land
located in West Virginia, Tennessee
ana California, paying an average OF
30 per acre for hundreds OF thousands
or acres which needed but the Midas
touch OF modern scientific achieve
men to- transform into untold wealth
beyond the fondest dreams Of avarice
The great aunt died March 4, 1914.
at the ripe cd age OF 81 years. hav-
ing spent her life in solitude. refusing
TO be comforted for the loss of her
girlhood sweetheart. but having as her
constant companions Mrs. Hawes and
her brother, Thomas Hawkins. These
two children were given TO understand
that they would some day come into
| undisputed possession OF all the land
owned by the maiden lady, and so IL
came to pass. However, i'm her life
| time the great aunt presented to Mrs.
Hawes outright tract i'm West Vir-
ginia comprising $4,000 acres OF what
is now New River Coal and Coke Com
pany land. The maiden aunt and the
children have always been land poor.
and so the girl, Lillian, determined 10
so shape her life that she would make
this land yield competence some
day.
Sixteen years ago the young girl
obtained position with the Postal
Telegraph Company, in New York
city. She was then but girl i'm her
teens. She began TO study. She
learned telegraphy; studied geology.
minoralogy, forestry, agriculture. sur
veying and drawing mining and tim
ber laws. She made nine trips TO Eu-
rope in the past fifteen years; she
went to South America. ever and al
ways on the alert TO add TO her store
/ house Of knowledge that would some
day prove potential factor An the
handling Of these vast interests. Her
father and mother were living. and
were well able to support her. These
parents are alive and we'll today. the
father being a retired business man.
residing al $50 Washington nveuue
Bronx, New York city. Nine years
ago, I'm New York, she married Banks
q. Hawes, whom she had known since
she was four years old. a successful
architect and marine engineer. but she
still stuck 70 her job with the Postal.
and continued studying. studying.
; studyingl Her whole life has been
the personifcation Of ambition. ener-
gy and determination to succeed.
Now she is about 10 reap the goI-
den harvest Of her years OF unremit.
ting toll and study The landed estate
held so long has again proven tho
truth Of the biblical quotation 'Tbe
stone that the builder rejected shall
become the headstone Of the corner q"
Mrs Hawes has purchased an op-
tion on an SO1k acre plot Of land near
jacksonville, where she will erect a
$4,000 residence On this plot ten
acres will be set aside for the site OF
a winter home for the parents OF Mrs.
liawes, and on this lot sho will have
erected for them $1,000 bungalow.