The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1868-04-29
The Celebrated Gaines Case.

! The Celebrated Games OaSe.
The final decision Of the suit Of
Mrs. Gaines against the city of
New Orleans, by the Supreme
Court, terminates one of the most
extraordinary cases of litigation in
the whole history Of civil jurispru-
dence. 1t is remarkable says the
| Philadelphia Bvenlng Bulletin,) in
an able review of the case,) for
the curiosity ofthe case itself; for
-tbel large amount ofproperty which
it involvs; and for, the wonderful
display Of enduring pertinacity
with which the plaintiff has de-
! voted her life to the prosecution
of what has long been held to be a
hopeless cause. Seven times has
Mrs. Gaines pleaded her case before
the Supreme Court, sometimes
with partial success, sometimes
with none, until, at last, after
forty years of ineessant itiga-
tion, she has won the day, and
establishes her claim to large por-
ton of the city of New Orleans,
valued, very medestly, at s5,ooo,-
600. This fight has been fought
lby Mrs. Gaines single-handed,
She has literally gone through fire
and food, as she has Travelled
over. the country, always intent
upon the one great business of her
life. With a buoyancy oftempera-
ment that knew. no abatement,
with an abiding faith in the justice
of her cause and: Of it's ultimate
success; with few friends and very
limited means; with life slipping
away under the long delays and
slow processes ofthe law, this tru-
ly remarkable woman has per-
severed until she has conquered
fortune. 8: i, ..-~ :
A brief outline of this singular
ease win be interesting to our
readers: Tn 1894, Zuline nee Car.
riere, a. beautiful Creole of New
Orleans, married one Jerome des
Oranges, in New Orleans. In 1902
or 1903, Daniel Clark, prominent
citizen of New Orleans, became
attached to Madame des Oranges,
and, about the same time,.it is al
legged that it was discovered that
des Oranges had a wife, living in
France, and that, the second mar
riage thus proving void, Daniel
Clark privately married the lady
| in Philadelphia. Of this marriage
the. present plaintiff claims,to have
been born in Philadelphia, in 1902
or 1903 Her mother: and herself
were committed to the care Of her
fathers friend and partner, Mr..
| Daniel W. Coke, of this city. She
| afterward became an inmate Of the
family Of Colonel SamuelB.D Davis,
| and was known among her school
fellows, some ofwhom still remem-
| Der her, as Myra Davis. When,
she grew up, it became known to
her that her true name was Clark,
| and she has established the exis-
tence of a will of Daniel Clark's,
! acknowledging her as his legiti-
mate daughter Yet hersown mo-
ther. who, during Clark's life, mar
Fried NJ. Gardette, a we'll known
citizen Of Philadelphia, was never
summoned as a witness by Mrs.
Gaines. and her father, Daniel
Clark, during his wife's life, ad:
L
dressed Miss Cation, of Baltimore,
who, however, did not accept his
advances.
Myra Clark married Mr., VIM.
Wallace Whitney, of New York.
| by whom she had two children, a
son and daughter, still living.
After Mr.. Whitney's death, she
married Gen. Edmund Pendleton
Gaines, who died in l849. One
child, the issue of her second mar
riage, died in infancy.
Daniel Clark owned large tracts
of ground within the limits ofNew
Orleans, which, have become i'm
Lmensely valuable. More than a