July 20, 1913: Richest Woman in Berks County Dies Horribly of Burns

By Margaret Leidy Harner from her book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA.

July 20, 1913: The richest woman in Berks County has met with a horrible death. Mrs. Albertine Grant, from Douglassville, was filling a lighted alcohol stove, when an explosion of the fluid set her clothing afire and burned her body so badly that she died in great agony several hours later.

She was the only child of colonel M.H. Messchert, who left her an estate worth $2,000,000, which included several extremely valuable properties in Philadelphia and her palatial estate in Douglassville. She had wisely invested the income from the estate and greatly increased its value.

Having no close family, the estate was awarded to Dr. Herman Snellen of Rotterdam, a distant relative.

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