Waterford News 30 April 1869
California at Kilminnion -or the Miser’s Treasure
‘It appears that four brothers and one sister, known
by the name of ‘Villies’, the derivation of which I am at a loss to understand,
lived in the same locality for a period of 60 or 70 years. They generally cultivated con-acre land by
planting potatoes, grazed a few sheep…Neither of these parties ever married,
fearing the wives might be extravagant, and the offspring, if any, spend their
hard earnings. In time, three of the
brothers with their sisters paid the debt of nature, and the means acquired
dropped to the surviving party, who is the subject of this report.
Brother Michael followed the same avocation, but it
never transpired from his lips that he was worth one penny in the world. From his emaciated appearance and skeleton
frame, many commiserated his deplorable and wretched condition; a respectable
farmer, named Casey, gave him the use of a house rent free…He lived by himself,
reared a pig, which dined with him at the same table. On Saturdays he was sure to visit Dungarvan
market to purchase the worst description of fish, skate and scalpeen…with a
week's provision of yellow meal of the cheapest kind. As to the washing of his face and hands, they
only got an annual scouring, and as to the cleanliness of his linen, it never
saw the washerwoman’s hands from the day it was purchased…His outside garments
were so patched that it was actually impossible to discover the original
texture. As to the caubeen, it covered
many heads previous to its coming into his possession’.
One day Michael fell asleep in the ditch and fell ill
and died some days later. Mr Casey his
landlord looked after his internment. He
directed two of his unnamed servant boys to demolish the old house. One of the boys found ‘some silver in an old
saucepan’ and a five-pound note in the thatch.
The other boy did much better – he found a cart-wheel box which
contained a ‘large number of old guineas’. He went into
Dungarvan purchased a new suit and boots and then bought a ticket to America.
