 In 1876, however, he declared personal bankruptcy and, once his accounts were settled, moved with his family to Batopilas, Mexico, where he made a fortune in silver mining and instituted many of the same reforms he had championed in the District of Columbia.He died in Batopilas in Mexico on September 12, 1902, from complications of a surgery to remove his appendix.His body was returned to Washington and buried in a large personal (not family) vault in Rock Creek Cemetery.