DEFIED PROGRESS.
RECLUSE FAMILY'S FORTUNE,
NEW YORK, August 1
The last of six sisters, Miss Ella Wendel, aged 80, now becomes the sole heir to an unbroken realty accumulation of two centuries, worth £25,000,000. Their only brother, John Gottleib Wendel, opposed marriage for the sisters on tho ground that it would disperse the estate and introduce other names. To prevent such an occurrence he built a mansion in 1856 which still stands shuttered from Fifth Avenue, lighted by gas only, and without a telephone, radio or phonograph.
Until their eyesight faded the sisters invariably dressed in black, alid made their owii clothes without the aid of a sewing machine. Rebecca Swope, who has just died, was the only one to marry. When she wedded her brother forbade tho other sisters ever to attend church. Mrs. Swope and her sisters avoided public mention for many years." The fortune was founded by their grandfather, who invested the profits of his fur business in real estate. He never sold good real estate once he had acquired it, and his heirs adhered to this plan.
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Bibliographic details
Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 186, 8 August 1930, Page 7
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181DEFIED PROGRESS. Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 186, 8 August 1930, Page 7
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