The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-12-27
The Great Jumel VIII Suit-A Sketch
Of Madame JumeI.

The legal tilt for the possession Of the
great Jumcl estate was resumed recently in
the United States Circuit Court, before Judge
Shpnan, in New York. George Washing
ton Bowen, of Providence, R. L.. brings an
eiectment suit against Nelson Chase, the
present holder of the estate, which is valued
at nearly g, 100000. In one form or another
the title to this estate has long been in litiga-
ton, and in the struggle for its possession
nearly all the leaders at the bar have at one
time or another been engaged. The plain
tit claims to have discovered new evidence
favorable to his claim. Mr.. Chatfield opened
for the plaintiff, and referred in detail to the
property of which Madame Jumel died pos
scSsed. He also read mass OF documentary
evidence touching the claim of his client,
Mr.. Bowen, insisting that there was satiSfac-
tory proof that he is son of Madame Jumel,
aud therefore the only lawful heir TO her
estatc.
The maiden name Of Eliza Bowen Jumel
was Eliza or Betsy Bowen. She was the
daughter of John and Phoebe Bowen, who,
the defendants claim, were married, although
no record Of their marriage exists. Eliza,
or Betsy, was born in 1775 Qhc day cannot
be tixedl in Providence, Rhode Island.
From her birth till 1872 a blank occurs in
her history. In that year, according to the
records of the Town Council, she was living
with her mother, whose house, on the ground
that it was disreputable, was torn down by a
mob. Her mother soon opened another
house Of the same character, for which Of
fence she was sent to Jail, and Eliza, or
Betsy, was sent to the workhouse TO
be cared for. She was then about ten
years of age. In 1870. her mother having
been released from Jail, and having been
married to Captain Clark, widower with
six children, she returned home, but her
mother and step-ftther behaved i'll such dis
graceful manner that they were sent away
from Providence with the threat that they
would be whipped at ga cart-tall" If they re-
turned. Eliza, or Betsy, remained IN the
family Of Major Reuben Ballou until October
8, 1894, when she gave birth to the plaintiff,
George Washington Bowen, and it is sup
poscd that the Major was his father. Soon
after the birth Of her son she went away,
leaving him at Major Ballou'S, and was not
seen in Providence until she returned (tlme
not known with the body Of sea captain
(name not known, which she caused to be
buried there.
During this visit to Providence she fire.
ouently inquired for the young son whom
She had left with the Major, but could learn
nothing of him. From Providence she
went to New York, where, in 1905, she
married Stephen 3. JuInel. She lived with
him until about the close of the war OF
1872, when she went to France, where she
remained about four years. Upon her re-
turn she attempted 10 deliver lecture in
Providence upon the French court. but she
was prevented from doing so by mob,
which assailed her on account Of her pa
rentage. Jsrmel died in 1882; -, His estate
was vested in her, and in 1883 she mar,
! ried Aaron Burr, from whom she obtained
| divorce on the ground of adultery, Charles
OConor defending Burr. She died on july
Is, 1865. ~
Lately the dispositions of Mary ArmsDy
and Lemuel Angel, both over ninety years
of age, were read in corroborntlon OF ties
timony to the identity of Betsy Bowen will
Madame JumeI, and Daniel Hull, aged
eigity-t identified the plaintiff, whom he
had known from infancy, as the son OF Betsy
| Bowen