The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-03-15

wildcats together, and swinging them
around his neck, he walked home with his
trophies. -.... ...
Rreacf, OF Promise Csse-Afrtcan De-
scent the Ground Of Defence-Ten
Thousand Dollars Damages.
There was yesterday brought to close
at the county court of Warren one of the
most remarkable suits for damages for alleged
breach of promise ever tried in this State.
The peculiar points in the case are the re-
spectiyes ages of the parties, the peculiarly
gushing style of the gay old boys amatory
epistolary illusions, the strange character
OF the defence set up, and, finally, the large
amount of damages adjudged. The clrcum-
stances Of the case are briefly ss follows:
The plaintiff in the case is Miss Mary
Ferguson, milliDer Of tWenty-six sum-
mers, doing business in the village of
Springboro', in the northern part of the
county. Mary, it seems, was boarding IN
house in the village, TO which came the
defendant (Dr. John Armstrong Bradshaw
for the purpose of getting his daily bread,
when the two were thrown together. This
throwing was rather too much for the old
chap, who straightway became most ridicu-
lously spooney, permitted his young affec-
tons to be gobbled (he is only forty
and, under the influence of the dreamy eyes
and voluptuous form Of the captivating
brunette, invested (as the result has
proved) to the extent of $4,000 in matri-
monial promises.
The next peculiar feature of the affair is
that the Doctor is charged with making the
same promise Of marriage not less than
three times, and in each instance, by "going
back on it," decorating the fair milliner's
heart to the extent of $4,000. According to
the testimony the several promises were
made in the years 1865, 1866, and 1867, at
the rate according to Mary's estimate of
the value of such) of $4,000 year, and
according to that of the jury at So, 1888 80.
The defendant is an lrishman by birth,
and is now forty-seven years of age-thirty-
three of which have been spent in this
country. Shortly after his arrival in
America he went into the family of q
wealthy citizen Of New York, who, disco
vering his ability, gave him the means of
obtaining good education.
After graduating at one of the best medi-
cal colleges in the State of New York he
went to Columbia, in British America,
where he resided for long time, and by
the practice Of his profession accumulated
considerable property-he being worth at
the present time about $34 1000. He claims
to be direct descendent of Bradshaw tho
English regicide, and is very proud OF his
gentle blood. ... .. .... .,....
In personal appearance he is not very
preposscssing, being below the medium
stature, and having kind of broken-down
look. During the trial great many letters
from the defendant to the plaintiff were
read to prove the existence of an engage
ment between the parties.
These exhibited devotion and extrava-
gance of passion on the part of the mature
disciple of Esculapius decidedly refreshing,
| and also proved beyond doubt the exist
ence of such an engagement, and, by GER
tain expressions therein contained, q desire
| to postpone it's ful6lment against the wish
of his loving milliner, who evidently de-
sired an early contamination. These let
tiers we're written in 1866, while Miss Mary
| was spending few months at Germantown,
| q village but few miles from Springboro'
Mary, il seems, from the first rather sus-
| pected her aged and enthusiastic lover of
an attempt to seduce her, under promise of
marriage, and with a view to circumvent-
ing the old chap, steadily refused his ad-
vances, and carefully preserved all docu-
ments for future use.
| The Doctor having on these several occa-
sions refused to fulfil his promise, Mary
secured the services of attorneys and in
stituted suit for damages, when her devoted
| lover set up in defence that she was of Afri-
can descent, and for that reason he could not
under the laws of Ohio legally wed her.
| This was met by demurrer, on the ground
that the law Of 1861, forbidding the union
| Of white person with one having dis
tinct admixtnre Of African blood, was su-
perseded by the fourteenth amendment to
the Constitution Of the United States, OF, if
not by that, by the civil rights act.
The demurrer was not sustained by the
court, however, and the case was sent to
the jury on its merits.
The question of the purity Of Mary'a
blood was the most interesting that came
up on the trial.
| 1t was shown that Mary had lived until
nine or ten years of age with wo-
man known as Betsey Ferguson as her
child, and Betsey, it was shown, was lit
tie lighter than mulatto. Shadrick Fer
guson and Pete Ferguson two mulattoes)
| testified that Mary was their niece, the
daughter of their sister Betsey, and that
Mary was born on the Ksnawha river, in
Virginia, and that white man named
William Harvey was said to be her father.
Betsey Ferguson was living at the time at
the house Of her father, being an unmarried
woman. The Ferguson family, they say,
came from Virginia to Spripgboro' while
Mary was q nursing child at the breast of
Betsey. They we're with the family, and
never heard any one question the matter Of
her being the child of their sister.
Three physicians were called, who say
that they have attended Mary medically,
and that as they saw her sick in bed, not
appearing as she does in the courtroom,
she exhibited undoubted marks of African
admixtnre; and that the evidences of this
are more plainly to be seen upon the
breasts and about the armpits of Mary.
DR.. Wright, DR.. Bruskup, and DR.. Sellers,
testify substantially to these facts.
Other parties, supposed to be judges Of
| such matters. were called upon, and testi-
fei that they could observe Indications Of
African blood in Mary's appearance.