Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-06-05
THE ROCKEFELLEp
FAMILY MYSTERy
Father of the Oil King ni...
peared in 1857-No One
Knows What Became
of Him
By JOHN EIFRETH WATKINS
Copyright. 1919.

Copyright, 1915.
A PBDDLER gestlculatlnE In N. !.
IA and-dumb language surpris.A
Rlchford housewives who opened that.
TO his vigorous knocks. And ~.
he was so young, so tall, SO virile, 20 49,.
some his afTlictlon readily struck ~. \.
hearts of these danes enough pity n ~
them buy whatever trinkets he n,vh, !,
gle before their eyes.
1t was the year 1888. Rich,ora
modest New York village that lay m =.
cayugs Lake. This peddler appear,ns 4, +
denly at It's doors was destined n ~ E
himself in a black secret that for ~
century cast gloom over what IA ps,s.. +
the most famous family in America.
That fascinating, itlnerant paok.....
who thus appealed to the pity Of RIch,.., /.
housewives had lately appeared with n E
family at farm on the outskirts Of -.
He had just turned %, was keen Of ey. :,
joyful of heart without fear or consc,...
the dashing kind of adventures ~, Is
women love and men suspect His ns. &
was William Avery Rockefeller. Hs :. +
not jot deaf, neither was he mute i
though for months he made his new neIsA
bors converse with him by pencil. upon
slate which he carried. He Distances,
for long periods at a time. presumablv !, +
peddle his wares throughout the neIrbh..
ing country.
Then, after WHILE his role chape. E
He suddenly outgrew his affllctIon a.,
became Doctor" Rockefeller, Inv.rs,s
and dispenser of wondrous r,.
for cancer. Thereafter he generally r.
turned home with plethorlc purse. Indsa
he was soon buying fine clothes, expensl,,
shotguns, fast horses. He became a fe,,
less whip, a dashng equestrian, fine ~
a beau among women. In short, he was n,
chief sporting character of the commun,y
Yet he was strict abstainer from albobo
He would have been quite the fine Renl,.
man in appearance but for the eccentricIy
of leaving off his necktie, the better to a. (
play n big diamond stud in the bosom a '
his shirt.
Went Out Never to Return
Mystery always shrouded his long Al
sences and his plenteous supply OF ready
money. 1t was while on one of his pru.
longed trips that he met Eliza Dawson. f,
prosperous farmers daughter, whom h,
brought home to Richford as his wife. On,
of the several children born to them wa
John d, Rockefeller, present-day king oi
American multimilllonaires. About -four
years after the birth of this child Of des
tiny the family commenced a long and
tedious period of movings-to Morayia
Ohio Oswego, N. Y; Strongsyllle. ohla
and Parma, Ohio. During this period ths
cancer doctor was home but little yet
while there he always improved his prop
~"ty by lndulging fad that seemed weIrdly
inconsistent with his lack OF domestcly.
This was a penchant for planting treeG
Grove after grove still stand as monuments
to his memory. Finally, in 1857 he moved
his wife and children to a snug brick hous
in Cleveland. Soon afterward he took Nnh
hat from its peg, stepped forth into the
night and became but a hazy memory
His son, John D.. was then 1S. During ths
next 32 years the deserter's patient wifi
died, in utter ignorance of the fate that hii
overtaken him. Luckily, her sons had
passion for money making. The wolf ~
not lurk long at her door,
The mystery of William Avery Rcds
feller's disappearance continued, ocI
enough, to be overlooked by press and p1s
lie alike until a long time after his 81
John d. had flashed into the financial nma
ment as a luminary of the first magnltuas
Then some chance writer sounded the alafm
and scribes and detectives, professional ana
amateur sailed forth to beat every buaa
for the lost father of Americas most con
spicuous citizen. In the years that hafs
since followed our country and Canaai
have both been secured and fortune naz
been spent in hunting down false clues
The late editor, Joseph Pulitzer, put plE
price on the lost mans head and is said %
one time rival newspaper sleuths assignee
to the case waged an exciting war OF WIZ
necessitating the employment OF telegrapns
codes such as those used by great mllilan
forces in the field.
Newspapers Hunt for Him
In the exciting hunt for the missing maz
Rockefeller detectives have crossed ~
paths of the newspaper scouts The AZ
parent secrecy cloaking operations Of ln'
former agents has aroused suspicion 'hl'
the vanished mans sons have dreaded ~
discovery by outside interests that mSR
reveal the secret back of his disappeaFanus
The most persistent theories as to "is
liam Avery Roekefeller's career after ie~s
ing his wife locate him. varlously as
wealthy lumber magnate OF Canada, As
ranchman OF Northwest United States
'.Dr Laverlng." OF Madison. Wis. and :
'Dr Levingston," of Freeport, Ill IN
first two theories were but vague from 'n
outset The Madison address at which