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The
Mosher Millions Great Grandma, Edith Lusetta Waite Delaney, thought she was going to be rich, so went the story my dad told me when I was a youngster. Seems that her brother, great, great Uncle Guy "Willie" Waite had died and there was a fortune to be had - the "Mosher Millions". This family story turned out later to have some basis in truth - well, "truth" as far as it could be stretched, anyway. Back in 1836 a newspaper notice appeared in Washington and Quebec to the effect that there was an unclaimed Mosher estate amount to "32,000,000 million," pounds. According to Mildred Chamberlaind and Laura Clarenbach, authors of Descendants of Hugh Mosher and Rebecca Maxson Through Seven Generations, "A scramble ensued. People offered their services as agents, for a sum, and about every twenty years for the next century, conventions were held, agents appointed, and final reports issued. Only the agents gained from the 'phantom fortune'." Since the "Mosher Millions" had never surfaced prior to Uncle Willie's death, Great Grandma was just sure he had somehow gotten his hands on it, as he was a son of Lucretia Melvina MOSHER, the last in that line of MOSHERS. Her reasoning, according to my father, was that Willie had never married and therefore never had to spend a dime supporting a family. Plus he was the first in the family (one of seven children) to move away from Michigan. Great Grandma was convinced that he had moved to Missouri in order to hoarde the fortune. And finally, he owned a drug store, which Great Grandma equated with untold wealth. So in 1949 when he died, Great Grandma Wait along with my grandmother and a few other relatives, found the money for train tickets to Cardin, Missouri for the reading of Willie's will. Of course there was no fortune. The drug store had been sold years before and only a few personal items were bequeathed in his will. Great Grandma and her group could barely scrape enough money together for the train trip home.
Obituary of Guy "Willie" Waite Guy W. Waite, 78 years old, a former Cardin drugstore operator, was found dead Saturday morning, January 1 in the living quarters of his drug store at Cardin. He operated the Miner's drug store at Cardin 30 years until he sold it two years ago. Nine months ago he purchased the store at Chouteau. Surviving is one sister, Mrs. Edith [Waite] Delaney of Allegan, Michigan, his only survivor. Funeral services were held Wednesday afternoon at the Baptist church in Cardin, with the Rev. Blanford Duckett officiating. Burial was in the G.A.R. cemetery under direction of the Goodson funderal home. The body lay in state at the church from 1 p.m. Wednesday, until the funeral hour. Pallbearers were Jake Scott, Earl Hutchens, George Allen, Lawrence Ray, Charles Hammond and Walter Guthrey.
Please send e-mail to Sam Behling.  See lineage of Mosher Family Read the biography of John Mosher, the earliest known ancestor of this line Read the biography of John's son, Nicholas Mosher Read the biography of John's grandson, Hugh Mosher Read the biography of John's great grandson, Nicholas Mosher Read the biography of John's great, great grandson, Nicholas Mosher Read the biography of John's 3rd great grandson, Jabez Mosher Read the biography of John's 4th great grandson, Jabez Mosher Read the biography of John's 5th great grandson, David Mosher Read the biography of John's 6th great grandson, Martin Mosher Read the funny story of Uncle Ki Mosher Return to Story Page
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