The Lonely Wealth of a Puget Mill Watchman
Thomas Greenlow lived a quiet, frugal life as a watchman at Port Gamble for over a decade, only for his death to reveal a secret fortune of $10,000.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Thomas Greenlow, watchman of the Puget Mill Company at Port Gamble, died suddenly yesterday morning after a brief illness. Mr. Greenlow was about 40 years old and a native of Nova Scotia. He came to the Sound fourteen years ago, and first found employment with the Puget Mill Company. For a brief period during his early years in Washington he worked on the Yakima river, but soon returned to the mill he had left. During the many years he was watching the company's property he was always found to be a quiet, honest and faithful employee. He was frugal in his habits and invested his money in real estate, notes and mortgages. M. F. Drew, of this city, who was his intimate friend and business adviser, estimates that he leaves a fortune of $10,000. His relatives consist of a brother, several sisters and his mother, none of whom reside in this country. His remains will be buried at Port Gamble.
“During the many years he was watching the company's property he was always found to be a quiet, honest and faithful employe.”
Greenlow’s story captures the reality of the immigrant working class in the Pacific Northwest, where men often lived isolated lives while sending their earnings home or investing them locally. Today, the disparity between his quiet existence as a mill watchman and his substantial estate highlights the stark differences in wealth accumulation during the 1890s compared to the high cost of living for today’s service workers.
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