Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? - Irish Edition

Richard Riordan-Schalk of Virginia, a former chairman of the American Press Council, died three years ago. He left behind $1.9 million but never named an heir. Now his attorney has hired a genealogist to find his closest living relatives. Each living relative will receive part of the inheritance. Half of Riordan-Schalk's ancestry is German, and living relatives an that side of the family have all been found. The other half is Irish, and they are proving to be a bit elusive.

While the total amount involved is reported to be about $1.9 million, it appears that no one will receive the entire fortune. The money probably will be paid in shares, in accordance with Virginia's intestate laws (dying without a will). One hundred sixty-one people who might have been related to Richard Riordan-Schalk have already contacted the attorney handling the case.

OK, get out your pedigree charts and look for one or more of these:

David Riordan, who was born in 1808 and died in 1865. Mary Riordan (nee McCarthy), date of birth and death not known. Descendants, if any, are not known. Both resided in Limerick, Ireland.

Bartholomew Daly and Mary Daly (nee Walsh), who married on March 28, 1852, in Freemount, County Cork. They emigrated to Chicago and had three children, Elizabeth Daly Riordan, (September 9, 1858 to July 7, 1932), Michael Daly (October 10, 1856 - death unknown) and Eileen Daly (July 2, 1864 - death unknown).

If you are descended from one or more of these people, and if you have documentation of that descent, please contact Paul Lanzillota of the Manning and Murray, P.C., Suite 300, 6045 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Virginia, 22205-1546 or call 703-532-5400 before Monday, September 17, and be prepared to show proof of descent. A verbal or written claim by itself will not be sufficient; be prepared to show birth certificates, immigration records, census records, and other documents as genealogists should always gather.

Now you see another reason why experienced genealogists will always tell you to cite your genealogy sources and to have documented proof of every fact you claim. If you have done your research properly, you won't have to scramble to assemble all those documents within the next few days.

Chances are that Richard Riordan-Schalk never met his distant Irish cousins, and probably none of them ever heard of him. Yet a bit of paperwork will allow those relatives to inherit unexpected money. You never know when you could become a millionaire if you document your ancestry properly!

Comments

[Michael Carroll]

Great article. I dated a Mary Daly in Chicago during High School. Has anyone cantacted Mayor Daly in Chicago? Or, the ex-Mayor Riordan in Los Angeles? They could be related.

[Ann Lamb]

In August 1963, George McCort died at age 86. He had been a fireman in New York and lived in a basement apartment in apparent poverty so his accumulated wealth from stock investment came as quite a shock to his heirs. Despite repeated advice, George left no will. Since he had no surviving parents or siblings, a widespread legal search for living cousins was necessary. The search for cousins in the United States and Ireland went on for years and cost "a bundle" in search and legal fees. Each of the 12 living heirs (of original 50 cousins) received some $25,000 which was a small fortune to many of them at the time. The inflation calculator at http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ says that it would be worth $161,000 in 2006.

A copy of the administration of the will which listed the results of the lawyer's search with the names of every cousin, living and dead, was invaluable to me in my research on the family, as my grandfather was one of those cousins. Unfortunately he was already deceased at the time.

[B Schalk]

What a coincidence running into this article. I am actually Richard Schalk's second cousin, but here in the United States. I have never been contacted by anyone doing "research" since all of it is focused on his Irish roots. The fact is, he did have a will.. although unsigned at the time of his death. In the will he specifically named his relatives that he would like his money split between, as well as charities. The State of Virginia opted to disregard the will and instead focus on his Irish heritage, and in doing so disregard the majority of his relatives here in the states. In all truth, no one is going to be a millionaire other than the lawyers that have been handling this for years.