The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1873-11-14
AN AMERICAN CLAIMANT.
The Philadelphia Lady who Claims
to Eave Reeu the Wife of the Late
Duke OF Brunswick.

The Philadelphia Lady who Claims
to Eav5 5eeu the Wife of the Late
Duke OF Brunswick
Mrs. Anna Taylor Wray, an Amer
rican about sixty years Of age, a res
dent of London, has given notice to
the municipal authorities of Geneva,
the city to which the late Duke
Charles of Brunswick has left his
vast fortune, that she intends to con-
tests his will on the ground that she
is the lawful wife Of the deceased
Duke in hel memorial to the mu-
nicfpal council of Geneva Mrs. Anna
Taylor Wray states that her father
was one of the fiscal agents of the eel
ebrated Nicholas Riddle, of Phila-
belphia in London, and that she met
Duke Charles of Brunswick in 1888,
who three years before, had been ex-
PEELED from his. dutchy. Mrs. Wray
was about twenty years old, and en-
gagged TO be married to a younger
member of the Barring family. The
Duke sought her company, and in
1924 asked her TO become his wife.
She consented, and the wedding was
celebrated clandestinely- in small
church in Holborn, to the rector Of
which the Duke gave his name as
Charles Brunswick. He wanted the
marriage to remain secret, because it
would be injurious to him in his ef-
forts to recover the crown, and she
consented as Der bride groom gave
her a written pledge to make her
Duchess of Brunswick in case he
should re-ascend the throne. She
says she has that interesting docu-
ment, Us well as the marriage certifi-
cate, still in her possession, An af-
fecting incident is the fach that
young Ferdinand Lancing Barring,
her former betrothed, committed sui
eide. The Duke treated her well for
a year. He bought her very fine
residence in the West End, and, up
on her giving birth to a son, in 1885,
gave her consols in her own name
yielding GI,500 a year. Her child,
however, died softly afterWard, and
after that tire her ducal husband
treated her at first coldly, and then
deserted her. She says that she first
noticed SYMPTOMS of insanity in his
conduct in 1889, and expresses her
conviction that he has been deraDg
ed from that time until his death. In
1912, she says, he lived at her house
for nearly three months, and again
in 1847 for still longer time. Al
that time he repeatedly brought Louis
Napoleon to her house. In 1S4S the
Duke quarreled with her, and threat
ened her life because she refused to
grant HIM divorce, He then cut
her yearly allowance down to $4OO,
and did not visit her again until 1854
but during the whole of his alb
sence he cerresponded frequently
with her, addressing her, very often
as MADAME, my wife," "My dear
consort," and the like. OF these
letters. Mrs. Wray says she has at
least 1900. Upon learning, in 1855,
that Duke Charles was living in Paris
with another woman, who styled her
self. his wife, she wrote protesting
against such conduct, and then she
appealed to ber old friend, Louis Ma
poleon, without receiving an answer.
She also requested the Procureur I'm
perial to prosecute the Duke for adul-
terry and bigamy, but that function
ary refused to do so.
Upon learning all this, the Duke
entirely cut off her allowance, but re-
stored it to her upon her threatening
to publish his letters to her. A re-
concilation took place in 1861. He
paid her another visit in 1867, when
he picked a quarrel with her and beat
her in q most brutal manner. A
threat to kill her caused her to tell
her servants not to admit him again
in case he should make his appear
ance. He did 40, and the servant re-
fused to let him in; he beat him, in
consequence of which the Duke was
arrested, but the matter was hushed
up. He again cut off her allowance
for about one year, when he restored
it, upon her lawyer threatening to
have him arrested. In 1870 she had
her last interview with her husband,
and he assured her personally that
he had never Intentionally done
her any harm. Since that time she
has never met him again and receiv-
ed no more letters from him.-Ne,o
York Mercury.