Person talk:Roelof van Baren (1)

[13 October 2013]

The Daily Evening Democrat (published in Shelbyville, Indiana) New Haven; Conn., Jan. 24 Roelloff Von Baren is the name of a German emigrant, who with his wife and infant child came to New Haven four months ago from Philadelphia penniless, and who lived in great destitution until last Saturday in a cheap tenement which had been provided by charity. He gave his name to the Young Men's Christian Association as Joseph Spier. They believed this, but laughed at him when he said that he was heir to many millions. For charity's sake they gave him a room and procured a scanty crust, hardly enough to ward off starvation. Last Saturday a step-brother arrived here from Germany and sought him out. This person, Heinrich Von Baren, came with the Mayor of Hamburg and two Notaries. They had with them the will of Heinrich Spier, of Hamburg, which gave Roelloff Von Baren an estate worth from $25,000,000 to $40,000,000. Roelloff was intended for a Catholic priest by his parents. His mother died, and his father married again and had two children by the second union, who were jealous of Roelloff's great prospects. Roelloff became a priest, but in three years recanted, became embroiled in a family quarrel as the consequence, and finally, in self-defense, stabbed one of his half brothers fatally. He had to flee to Germany or be tried for murder. He went to London, there met a charming English brunette named Annette Warsop, whom he married. Henrich Spier was his grand-uncle. After the flight he had to furnish Roelloff with funds, but now he became enraged and Roelloff came to this country with little money and separate from all his family. His wife discovered that his name was not Spier, under which he was married, and after her child was born they were remaried here by a Justice. The meeting of Roelloff and the step-brother was dramatic. The hunted man had suddenly become one of the wealthiest men in the world, with an income of $45,000 per week and the owner of seventy ships and several ship-yards. The stepbrother, with whom there had been an old feud, appeared to say that the grand uncle was dead, aged one hundred and two and to propose to manage the estate and give Roelloff $25,000 per week if he could have the balance. The offer was refused. To-morrow Roelloff goes to New York to take preliminary steps, assisted by the Mayor of Hamburg, toward getting possession of his property. He is a slightly built man, thirty-five years old, with good health to enjoy the bonanza. He has light blue eyes and light hair, and is well educated. He can not return to Germany yet on account of the charge of murder.

25 Jan 1881 Chicago Daily Tribune A Lucky Dutchman A Poor Dutchman in New Haven, Conn., Falls Heir to a Fortune Estimated at from $25,000,000 to $45,000,000. New Haven, Conn., Jan. 23 - Roeloff Von Baren, or, as he styled himself on coming to this country from Holland last July, "John Spier," has been in New Haven ever since he arrived in the United States, with the exception of a few weeks, during which he was delayed in Philadelphia, where he landed, by the birth of a son, his only child. In New Haven he has not been able to support himself entirely, and, even though assisted by several charitable people, has at times suffered for the necessities of life. Late last week there came to this city, direct from Rotterdam, Heinrich Von Boren, who was accompanied by William A. Beach, the New York lawyer. Heinrich Von Baren is a half-brother of Roeloff Von Baren, of this city, and he brought with him the first news that Roeloff had of the great fortune to which he (the latter) had become heir. This fortune is the estate of Roeloff's grand-uncle, Henrich Spier, of Hamburg, who died about Dec. 31, and is estimated to be worth from $25,000,000 to $45,000,000. The meeting between the brother was not an extremely friendly one, but Mr. Beach succeeded in bringing about a reconciliation, so that they could talk business. The news at first staggered the brother here. It seemed to be too good to be true, but there could be no doubt of it, especially after Heinrich, in the presence of witnesses draw from his pocket first $3,000, then $6,000, and finally $25,000 in cash, which he offered to Roeloff if he would agree to sign a paper which he brought with him, which would make Heinrich the manager of the great estate. Heinrich agreed to pay to Roeloff so long as he lived the sum of $25,000 weekly, providing he might retain the remainder of the income for his own personal use. The offer was rejected. The newly-made millionaire changed his name in consequence of a family quarrel. He married his wife under his assumed name, and a few days ago was remarried under his own name. Mr. Von Baren will go to New York to-morrow to meet the Mayor of Hamburg and the notaries who came to this country to consult with him as to what steps he will take toward taking possession of his estate, which he cannot enter into until the 1st of May, when the will is to be opened and the formalities of the law in such matters complied with. Letter received by the last mail ask him to go at once to Hamburg and take formal possession of his uncle's mansion.

25 Jan 1881 Chicago Daily Tribune ROELFF VON BAREN He Killed His Half-Brother in Self-Defense and Fled to America He Lived from Hand to Mouth, with the Mouth a Bad Second Lawyer Beach, of Beecher Fame, Came Down and Wanted to See Him "Bad" He Would Give $25,000 Cash to Be Von Baren's Business Manager in Future Von Baren Now Heir to Nearly All Holland, Two Ship-Yards, and About Seventy Vessels The Whole Estate Valued at Between Twenty-Five and Forty Millions of Dollars New Haven, Jan. 24 - Roelff Von Baron, a Hollander, who has resided in New Haven with a wife and child for six months, has fallen heir to an immense fortune by the death of a great-granduncle, Heinrich Speir, of Rotterdam, who bequeaths his his property. Last week Heinrich Von Baron, half-brother to Roelff, came to this city direct from Rotterdam, accompanied by WILLIAM A. BEACH, THE NEW YORK LAWYER and, Roelff says, told him of his good fortune, and offered him $25,000 in cash if he would make him manager of his estate. Heinrich to pay Roelff $2,500 weekly. This offer was refused, and Roelff has since received letters from the Mayor of Rotterdam and Notaries who drew up the will, informing him that the estate left him is estimated at between $25,000,000 and $40,000,000. It is said the property is the accumulation of several generations, and includes besides an immense amount of real and personal property, two shipyards and A FLEET OF SEVENTY VESSELS Von Baron goes to New York to-morrow to meet the Notaries, who are said to have arrived there to consult with him. Von Baron is about 35 years old, and says he was formerly a Catholic priest, entering upon that calling at the wish of his father and other relatives, but, after serving three years, he renounced religion against their wished. He further says that, in an altercation with a half-brother over the matter, he was stabbed, and, drawing his own knife KILLED HIS HALF-BROTHER IN SELF-DEFENSE Acting under the advice of the authorities he went to London, where he married an Englishwoman and lived under the name of John Speir, a name he has retained in this country. When he arrived in New Haven he was penniless, and his appeals for aid to his relatives being disregarded and unable to get work, he has lived mainly on charity.

26 Jan 1881 Chicago Daily Tribune Roelloff Von Baren The New Haven Yarn Probably Untrue. New York Jan 25. - The New Haven yarn about the immense estate that had been left to a Hollander named Roelloff Von Baren, and estimated at $25,000,000 to $45,000,000, was good enough while it lasted, but one days' publicity has put a different aspect upon it from that which it originally had. Mr. William A. Beach, the attorney of the city, was said to be the lawyer in the case. He knows nothing about it. The German Consul says the Mayor of Rotterdam isn't in the city, and the Dutch Consul laughs at the whole sensation. First he said there were no such large estates in Holland as stated in the published account. Next, the Mayor of Rotterdam would have nothing to do with the matter, even if there was one, and the idea that he would visit New York in his official capacity was PERFECTLY RIDICULOUS. According to the laws of Holland, no notary could leave the country to transact business, and if there were any heirs to Dutch property in the United States the American Consul at Rotterdam would have been the proper person to take charge of it. If the Mayor of Rotterdam had come to New York he would have visited or sent to the Consul of the Netherlands, giving information of his arrival. He thought it was humbug, and not in Hamburg, where the large property was located.

--- 28 Jan 1881 The Chicago Tribune Roeloff Von Baren He Is a Highly-Organized Liar and Humbug

Pittsburg, Pa., Jan. 27. Roeloff Von Baren, who, according to a New Haven dispatch to the Associated Press, has fallen heir to an immense fortune in Holland, it has just transpired resided in the Young Men's Home in this city in 1876, whence he suddenly disappeared, leaving behind him a number of unpaid bills amounting to about $500. During his sojourn at the Home he was very communicative, and said, among other things, that he had been educated for the Catholic priesthood and ordained a priest. The Catholic religion became distasteful to him, and he resolved to renounce it. This intention became known to his relatives, and for a long time he was imprisoned by Catholic authorities. Finally, he escaped to this country, and settled in Cleveland, O. His relatives traced him up, and established communication with the Bishop of Cleveland, with a view of having him incarcerated in an American monastery, so as to keep him out of the clutches of the Protestants. Roeloff discovered these machinations against his liberty, and again he resorted to flight, and settled down to work in this city. All who knew him when here say he is an arrant humbug and swindler. There is not a word of truth in the story that he has fallen heir to a fortune in Holland, or anywhere else. Should he ever return to Pittsburg he would be placed in a position to do the State some service --- Natuurlijk Onwaar 1 Feb 1881 de grondwet http://kranten.kb.nl/view/article/id/ddd%3A110620042%3Ampeg21%3Ap002%3Aa0041

17-02-1881 Algemeen Handelsblad Een Hollander opeens rijk http://kranten.kb.nl/view/article/id/ddd%3A010103938%3Ampeg21%3Ap009%3Aa0091

18 Feb 1881 Chicago Daily Tribune Roelof van Boen Grand Rapids, Mich. Feb 17 - The Vrijheide Banner [sic: newspaper titled De Vrijheids Banier], the Holland paper published here, has made the discovery that in October, 1872, one Roelof Van Boen was sent to the State Prison for a year from this city for false pretenses. He bears the same name as the Hollander in New Haven, reported in the press a few days since to be the heir of many millions in Holland, and is believed to be the same person. When here his false pretenses grew out of goods obtained on the great expectations of a future that was coming to him.

http://news2.nnyln.net/geneva-ny/geneva-gazette/geneva-gazette-1878-1881/geneva-gazette-1878-1881%20-%200653.pdf It appears from the statements of those who have been victimized by the pseudo heir, Roeloff von Baren of Philadelphia, that he not only never inherited a fortune, large or small, but that he concocted the story as a means of carrying on a continuous series of systematic frauds. 1--henk 07:25, 13 October 2013 (UTC)

[15 October 2013]

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1911-05-14/ed-1/seq-4/

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-28687-27364-74?cc=1920234&wc=M9SS-9LZ:n1483847960

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F20616FB3F5517738DDDAC0994DD405B818DF1D3--henk 16:58, 15 October 2013 (UTC)