Bonds Worth $3,000 Found

Peter M. Wright’s Hiding Place for His Securities

Peter M. Wright of Freehold, who died recently, left a little fortune amounting to $3,000 in bonds, which was owned jointly by himself and his sister, who lived in New York. The bonds were kept by Mr. Wright at his home at Freehold, and after his death a thorough search was made for the securities by his relatives, but the bonds could not be found. In making the search every conceivable place was ransacked and a wardrobe in which it was thought they might be hidden was taken apart.

When the bonds were not found the premises were put in charge of Mrs. Grenville B. Little, a neighbor, and the relatives returned to New York. Mrs. Little began clearing up the place, and the fragments of the wardrobe were being taken to the woodpile, to be used for fuel, when the end of a piece of paper was seen sticking out of a crack in a piece of one of the shelves. An investigation showed that this was a corner of one of the bonds, and that Mr. Wright had hollowed out a place in one of the shelves as a place of concealment. This hollow was so skillfully covered as to be unnoticeable, and except for the fortunate dislodgement (sic) of one of the bonds they would never have been found, but would have found their way to the stove.

Source: Red Bank Register, Wednesday, March 8, 1899