Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-11-13
AN AMERICAN GRAND DUCHESS.
An American Lady Claims to be the
Wife of the Late Duke of Brunswick
and Sues for his Vast Estate.

Wife of the Late Duke of Brunswick
and Sues for his Vast Estate.
From the New York Sunday Mercury.
Mrs. Anna Taylor Wray, an Ameri.
can, about sixty years of age, a resi-
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 contest his will on
the ground that she is the lawful wife
of the deceased duke. This important
lawsuit involves the enormous
sum of upwards of fifty mil
lion dollars. In her memorial to the
municipal council of Geneva Mrs. Ann
Taylor Wray states that her father was
one of the fiscal agents of the celebra-
ted Nicholas Biddie, OF Philadelphia, in
London, and that she met Duke Charles
of Brunswick in 1888, who, three years
before, had been expelled from his
duchy by his indignant subjects. Mrs.
Wray was about twenty years old, and
engaged to be married to a younger
member of the Barring family. The
Duke sought her company, and finally,
in 1884, asked her to become his wife.
In moment of weakness she consent
ed, and the wedding was celebrated
clandestinely in a small church in Hol-
horn, to the rector of which the Duke
gave his name as Charles Brunswick. He
wanted the marriage foreman secret, be-
cause it would be injurious to him in
his efforts to recover the crown; and
she consented, as her bridegroom gave
her written pledge to make her Ouch
ess of Brunswick in case he should re-
ascend the throne. She says she has
that interesting document as well as
the marriage certificate still in her pos
session. An affecting incident is the
fact that young Ferdinand Lacing
Barring, her former bet, othed, commit
ted suicide. The Duke treated her well
for year He bought her very fine
residence in the West End, and, upon
her giving birth to a son, in 1885, gave
her consols in her own name yielding
El 500 a year. Her child, however,
died shortly afterward, and after that
time her ducal husband treated her
at first coldly, and then deserted
her. He provided, however, literally
for her, and would visit her occasional
ly. She says that she first noticed
symptoms of insanity in his conduct in
1889, and expresses her conviction that
he has been deranged from that time
forward until his death. In 1912, she
says, he lived at her house for nearly
three months, and again in l847 for a
still longer time. At that time he re-
peatedly brought Louis Napoleon to
her house. In 184S the Duke quarreled
with her, and threatened her life be-
cause she refused to grant him
a divorce. He then cut her year
ly allowance down to 800, and
did not visit her again until
1854, but during the whole of his
absence he corresponded frequently
with her, addressing her very often as
Madame, my wife, - my dear con-
sort, and the like. OF these letters,
Mrs. Wray says, she has at least 800.
Upon learning, in 1865, that Duke
Charles was living in Paris with anoth-
er woman, who styled herself his wife,
she wrote protesting against such con-
duct, and then she appealed to her old
friend, Louis Napoleon, however, with
ont receiving any answer. She also
the Procurem Imperial to
prosecute the Duke for adultery and
bigamy, but that functionary refused
to do so.
Upon learning all this, the Duke en-
trely cut off her allowance, but restor-
ed it to her upon her threatening to
publish his letters to her. A reconcil-
iation took place in 1861. Mrs. Wray
says that the Duke begged her pardon
for what he had done, in the presence
of superior officer of the French army,
and gave the latter to understand that
she was his legal wife. He paid her
another visit in 1867, when he picked a
quarrel with her and beat her in the
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 appearance. He did so, and
as the servant refused to let him in
he beat him brutally, in conse-
quence 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 him to have him
In 1870 she had her last in
terview with her husband, and he as
sured her personally that he had never
Intentionally done her any harm. Since
that time she has never met him again
and received no more letters from him.
The lawsuit promises to become the
most extensive and protracted which
the courts of Switzerland have ever
had to deal with, as the plaintiff in
tends to subpoena over two hundred
among whom will be some
very eminent personages.