[ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] im jamie colby. And today, im in kennebunkport, maine. Its renowned as the bush familys summer haven and also for its succulent lobster. But this story has a cast of characters that are up and down the atlantic seaboard. The heirs, they live here, a reclusive aunt from massachusetts and their gilded age ancestor once dubbed the father of greater new york. Im john green. And im lisa green buchanan. I think its fair to say that our aunt julie was a hoarder. And when she died in 2009, she left us a mountain of stuff to sort through. Oh, what a great house thank you welcome to kennebunkport i got a story. John and his sister lisa belong to a new england family whose history goes back to mayflower days but whose legacy had been largely forgotten. In 2005, that reclusive aunt i mentioned, julie green, is diagnosed with cancer, and john moves her from the boston area into a condo up here in maine, where the siblings can help care for her. Its a big job to be a caregiver. I never thought of it that way. She had nobody else. What was she like . She was single and independent. Never married . No. No children . She did not want children. Nor does aunt julie want anyone to get rid of all her stuff. Even when we moved everything out of that house, we had a dumpster put in there, and she would guard the dumpster. She would make sure we wouldnt throw anything out. So the basement of julies condo gets overwhelmed with stacks of boxes of books and who knows what else. John, what are the chances that, if you and your sister didnt care for aunt julie, that those boxes wouldve just been trashed . Very good chance of that. In her last years, the tightlipped aunt julie does drop references to their ancestor she says accumulated much of it all. The only thing she would say is uncle andrew this, uncle andrew that. Wed tease her that she was living in the past. You know, youre talking about all these people that arent here anymore, and little did we know why. Aunt julie dies in 2009 at the age of 73. Everything was left to my sister and myself. When we started opening boxes, we still didnt know exactly what we had at that time. First, they have to separate the wheat from the chaff. And theres plenty of chaff decades of old knickknacks, newspapers, mail, and clothing. How many boxes are we talking about . Hundreds. Among the boxes, lisa discovers this book which gives them a clue of whats to come. Its a family journal going back to the 19th century. This is so cool this is a caricature of andrew green, known as the father of greater new york. Im from new york. Ive never heard of him. Did you know much about him before . No, we didnt. Thats when i started to go down the rabbit hole. They learned that this guy, their greatgreatgreatuncle andrew green, was born in 1820 in an area known as green hill in worcester, massachusetts. He had 10 brothers and sisters. His father was a lawyer. They were welloff but not rich. 300 miles south of kennebunkport here in manhattan, historian Mike Miscione has pieced together the story of lisa and johns ancestor and how he left his mark here in the big apple. And while theres no skyscraper, highway, or airport named after him, it turns out there really ought to be. He was largely responsible for creating the institutions that transformed new york into a worldclass city. Mike explains that, as a teenager, andrew green left massachusetts and moved to new york city. He worked as a clerk at a drygoods operation, and, eventually, he decided to settle upon a career of law and came into contact with a upandcoming lawyer by the name of samuel tilden. Tilden is making a fortune representing railroads. Hes also becoming a big shot in new york politics. Greens dealings with tilden brought him into Democratic Political circles. And soon, he was involved in new york city civic affairs. Green becomes tildens law partner and begins making a hefty salary. Instead of marriage and children, hes devoted to work. But when tough times befall his family up in massachusetts, andrew returns temporarily to worcester to take charge. He was able to not just get the estate out of debt but make it prosper, as well. He became the patriarch of his family for the remainder of his life. Great shot. Is that the house . Andrew figures the family home could use some extra rooms, 42 to be exact. One of those rooms is a museum showing off artifacts from the green familys history. There was a museum in the home for the family, not for the public. And how do you know that . This book is the story of the family and green hill. Can i look . Sure. So this is the story of the home 1754 to 1905. Thats a lot of family history. Mmhmm. Andrews ready to make history himself back in new york by shaping it into a worldclass metropolis. Among other jobs, he heads the commission that creates central park. Central park, the metropolitan museum of art, the American Museum of natural history. Green would be largely responsible for creating the bronx zoo, the New York Public Library. Theres very little green doesnt touch during new yorks gilded age. In 1871, when city coffers are almost bankrupt, he becomes the citys comptroller. Andrew green needed to be escorted by a ring of mounted policemen as he was approaching the Comptrollers Office on his first day of work. And this was a blood sport in this era. Green exposes the shenanigans of new yorks corrupt democratic machine, known as tammany hall, and helps send the citys notorious boss, william tweed, off to prison. Oh, and one other little achievement. It was greens efforts to get new york to expand beyond the borders of Manhattan Island and to annex the municipalities around new york harbor, which included the city of brooklyn, and make that all one giant metropolis. So how could his own family 100 years later not know all about him . Could it have anything to do with the way green died . Thats next. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question. In the president ial election of 1876, andrew greens law partner, samuel tilden, won the popular vote but lost to rutherford b. Hayes. The answer after the break. Queen is just my everything. Right now, i wouldnt know where my life would be without her. Queen they say chivalry is dead, its not. Terrance is a gentleman, he opens doors. His smile did it. His smile, his eyes, his knowledge. My landlord, he decided that he wanted me to move based on the fact that i was transgender. It takes me to a place of no hope. It takes me to a place of loneliness. It just, it saddens me. When you discriminate against somebody in housing, where do these people go . Lets just respect people in everyday life for just being human. Its a. Among other problems, Florida Democrats printed ballots showing abraham lincolns face in an effort to trick freed slaves who couldnt read into voting democratic. A special commission was set up to decide the contest, leading to the election of hayes over tilden. John green and his sister lisa green buchanan initially think their hoarder aunt julie has simply left them a big headache when she dies in july 2009. But among the hundreds of boxes that filled her basement, they uncover a 19thcentury journal that begins to open their eyes to the legacy of their greatgreatgreatuncle Andrew Haswell green, a man Theodore Roosevelt nicknamed the father of greater new york. Nobody told us the story. I went through 50someodd years of my life and had no clue how important he was. John comes to suspect that may be because of the scandal surrounding greens death in 1903. A man approached him and accused him of seeing his mistress and shot him in the back. [ woman screams ] the stranger his name was Cornelius Williams shot andrew green five times, killing the man instantly. He made no attempt to escape, made no attempt to deny what he had done. The confessed killer claims green and a brothel owner named bessie davis were part of a conspiracy against him. Newspapers across the country relish the salacious story. This was a very troubling, mysterious set of circumstances, and andrew green was under this cloud of suspicion of having lived a double life. The Police Determine green was a victim of mistaken identity. Or was it payback from the political machine that he had taken down . Whatever the case, the damage to his oncespotless reputation is done. Plans to erect Memorial Gates in his honor at the entrance to central park evaporate. In worcester, greens mansion is sold to the city and later demolished. Gradually, even his own kin forget all he accomplished and left behind, the effects of an important man boxed up in cardboard. They cleaned the mansion out. And my grandfathers father took possession of all these items, and then it went to my grandfather. They were passed on to julie. And why julie . She took care of my grandparents when they got elderly. When my grandparents moved into assisted living, julie was the one that took em. And because john and lisa take care of aunt julie in her dotage, she leaves them this strange inheritance. What was your reaction as you opened those first boxes . It was mindblowing, really exciting. Theres china, tiffany silverware, coins, stamps, antique books, clothing, toys, and jewelry. And how many items are we talking about . Thousands. So after tossing aunt julies actual junk, including decades of old newspapers and mail, they reach out to Richard Oliver, a family friend and local auctioneer. We knew there was enough value to get historians and people like richard involved. I mean, my brother and i couldnt have settled this estate by ourselves. Indeed, richard will need an entire team to go through all those boxes and catalog everything. I said, listen. John, you pay the expenses. Ill keep the buyers premium. Do all your clients pay up front . Well, a good part of the time, we take 20 or whatever it might be, and we pay the expenses. John agrees but quickly learns hes taken a huge risk. Research gets expensive. Take this antique hebrew prayer book from andrew greens massive library. To find out where it came from, richard must run an ad in an antiques magazine. Somebody picked up on it, and i started getting calls from israel and calls from all over the country. Another example this silver cup with a wolfshead crest. It drove me crazy. I wasnt able to find out what the crest was. After much effort, historian bill ralph, a member of the research team, figures out it was from a group called wolfs head. Sounds like a secret society. And it in fact, it is, and it was. It was the third secret society at yale. Fascinating stuff. But can the siblings expect a return on that kind of research . Did you ever say to richard, i got your latest bill, and were not gonna do any more research until we sell some of this stuff . I didnt put it like that, but i questioned him. Are you sure were discovering enough things of importance to pay this bill . And, richard being richard, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Dont worry about it. I told john i had calculated we ought to be able to do 600,000 without a problem. Thats because his team has found plenty. Check out these letters apparently given to andrew green as a gift, penned by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and james monroe. They were. Originals . Yes. What were the letters about . My favorite letter, james monroe and James Madison were talking about this gentleman who happened to be andrew jackson. They were afraid that he might be the ruination of their careful plans to carry on their ideology with the american public. The next big find . This rare copy of George Washingtons last will and testament, printed in 1800, right after washingtons death. At the time, we knew there were only 13 existing copies. Make that 14. It was in a plastic bag filled with other things, and it very well couldve been thrown out without anybody ever knowing about it. By july 2010, john and lisas strange inheritance is cataloged and ready for sale. Theyve invested a year and a lot of money in it. How much had john spent getting ready for this big auction . It was around 225,000. Whoa i hope we get enough out of this to pay for what weve discovered. Will they . Sold at 1,000. Thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. When andrew green was new york citys comptroller, the Brooklyn Bridge was partially financed by renting what . Apartments atop its towers, boat slips by its piers, or wine cellars at its base . The answer in a moment. The allnew silverado hd adds to the legendary capability of the strongest, most advanced silverados ever. With best in class Camera Technology and larger, more functional beds than any competitor. The only truck that can compare to a silverado is another silverado. Truck month is the right time to get behind the wheel of the chevy silverado. Now, get 0 financing for 72 months plus 500 dollars cash allowance on all silverado 1500 crew cab pickups. Find new roads at your local chevy dealer. light musical cords my Perfect Little pets and all their glorious dander, then of course youll visit nhtsa. Gov therightseat to make sure im in the right car seat. Can you help keep these iguys protected online . . Easy, connect to the xfi gateway. What about internet speeds that keep up with my gaming . Lets hook you up with the Fastest Internet from xfinity. What about wireless data options for the family . Of course, you can customize and save. Can you save me from this conversation . That we cant do, but come in and see what we can do. Were here to make life simple. Easy. Awesome. Ask. Shop. Discover. At your local xfinity store today. Its c, renting wine cellars at the base of the bridge. The graniteenclosed spaces maintained a 60degree temperature even in hot summer months. Its september 2010, and john green and his sister lisa are preparing to auction off thousands of items they inherited from their aunt julie. Many belonged to their greatgreatgreatuncle andrew green, the longforgotten father of new york city. They decide everything must go well, almost everything. These are dueling pistols. When you had to settle a score back in the 1700s, these are the dueling pistols that you used and the powder flask that goes with it. Now, why would you keep these . Im a gun nut. So i thought it was kinda cool to have dueling pistols. The stakes for the auction are high. To appraise and catalog the collection, the greens have spent 225,000. Every box was another you never knew what you were gonna get into. The big question now will the auction bring in the money they need to break even . Here we are. Weve extended a lot of time and a lot of money and a lot of resources just to get to this far. Was it important for you to recover enough from the auction to cover your expenses . Very important. Lot number 22. Lets start with. And how much . And get bidding where . John frets as auctioneer Richard Oliver unloads antique toys, dolls, and music boxes for just a few hundred dollars apiece. It was a slow start, like, oh, boy. Is this gonna come into it . Next on the auction block, that silver cup that bill ralph finally determined was from a yale secret society. Even that only fetches 1,000 bucks. Theyre a long way from the 225,000k john and lisa paid up front to get their strange inheritance ready for auction and a far cry from the minimum of 600,000 the auctioneer predicted. And then, with one surprising bid, everything starts turning green none of us thought it was gonna go for what it went for. Thats next. Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. Its surprising how the bigger a city gets. The smaller it starts to feel. Which makes it even more surprising, how big it feels in here. With sliding rear seats. And more available second row legroom than say. A chevy suburban. This is the completely reimagined 2020 ford escape. Now back to strange inheritance. Its september 2010, and john green and his sister lisa green buchanan are wondering if theyre going to be able to cover the 225,000 theyve spent preparing their strange inheritance for auction. Uh, we had to pay for this somehow. At first, the sale moves slowly and ekes out only a few thousand dollars, nowhere near what they need. What was the moment at which it picked up . One of the most exciting was the small hebrew book that they found. None of us thought it was gonna go for what it went for. The rare 17th century hebrew prayer book, a gem from andrew greens vast book collection . 33,000. That copy of George Washingtons last will and testament . 16,000. A single letter from Thomas Jefferson to president monroe . 13k. All of the president ial letters together just under 70 grand. 9 booklets from 19thcentury india fetch 11k. A cherry tea table . 9,000. This windsor high chair goes for 11,500. The sales just keep ringing up. The final tally at auctions end 700,000. So were you pleased or disappointed . Oh, very pleased. The things in that auction needed to go to people who cared for them so the general public could see it. In fact, the New York Public Library buys a bundle of letters written by green himself for only 500 bucks, a bargain for the guy who helped create the library in the first place. If it wasnt for him, who knows what central park would be . He brought the five boroughs of new york together to make one city. This is a lot of history. We told you how john kept those dueling pistols. Johns sister lisa keeps something, too that dusty old journal that reconnected her to the green family legacy. I learned a lot while we were going through this process. Its pretty astounding, and theres no way to deny where i came from anymore, the more i learned. In 2012, new york city finally got around to funding a small andrew green park here along the east river for 5 million. But then the city realized that the pilings along the river would need repairs, costing another 15 million. So for now, andrew green has a dog run and a beautiful view to honor him. And his story, which was in storage for more than 100 years, is finally out of the box. Im jamie colby for strange inheritance. Thanks so much for watching, and remember you cant take it with you. An 8yearold gets a very strange inheritance. When my dad died, everyone was heartbroken. But what does a boy do with a winery . The funniest thing is when i would tell my friends parents, and they would totally freak out. Talk about getting your feet w