Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-11-21
Matrimonial Hrouhles

NlLL1oNAIRE WHO As FvND OF eRrrTse
NAkR1ED-THREk WIVES AND a SUIT FOR
$1,000.
An Interesting illustration of the saying that
"truth Is stranger than fictsOn,' was afforded
yesterday ia the Brooklyn bTanch OF tue SUI
preHe court, before Justice jose ph L. Barnard.
Ii Is given n the following plain narrative OF
facts; Water W. PIice Came 10 this city from
England ferry years ago, being then only 20
years OF age. be landed peubIiess, but now
owns the nsost pslatial re sIdence al Lake George
and Is worth over IL 900 ,0VO, aud is known as
Col. Walter w. Price. One year before he left
England he ma ried Miss ) usanna Butler He
soon abandoned her, and after being In this
country four years, u contract OF separation was
negotiated between them. This OnIaet was
completed on june 3lst, 1S4S, and ON the 21st of
the tOllOSing October Price married al estim
bic Brooklyn lady, repI esenting himself as a
single Ban. He lived with her tiII the year 1850,
i've Children resulting from the union.
de then abandoned her, and on the 18th OF Oc-
tsbeT, 1868, commenced proceedings before j us
tice George &. Barnard, OF this city, TO have
tie pretended marriage declared void, on the
ground that has hrst wife " as stili living In Eng
land. William +. Howe was his counsel, and
one Slade appeared at the hearing aud tesIi-
ned that within four weeks he had seen the
English wife in London. In Nj srch, 1861, JUS
uce Barnard adjudged the marriage with the
bTUUkyB lazy VOID, and in tue decree clause
was Inserted purporting to give both Price and
he lady lsaye to marty again. Very soon there
AFTER Price began paying his addresses to the
plaintiff in the present SUIT. de assured her that
mis- English wife was dead, and alleged that he
The ground OF inhdellty on her part. In proof
OF this last assertion, and TO dispel the Iady's
hesitation, 1t IL alleged that he read TO her
a fraudulent clause In the decree OF Justice
Barnard, pu' porting to give him the right
te mary. Upon these representations she con-
ntud TO marry him, and in July, 1865, the
maIritge ceremony took place. Ia 1871 Price
abandoned his third wife and three children
leaving her destitute. He then caused proceed.
ing to be instituted 10 have the decree of JUS
tice Barnard, declaring the marriage with the
LrEn la la cnN = a.,
that the testimony Of Slade that the English
wife was living was false, and that consequently
there vas no foundation for the decree. His
object III this WAS to defeat the third marriage,
by having established the validity OF the second
The proceedings were successful, but in the
meantime he satisfied himself beyond question
that the English wife was in fact, still living.
TheTeuFon he saw that he did not need for bIs
purpose TO have the Brooklyn marriage ad-
judged valid. So he had his latest court pro-
cecdings set aside, and the decree declaring
that marriage void reafirmed. lie then COM
menced an action TO have the third marriage
declared void on the CID ground that his first
wife was first living. After bitterly contested
litigation, In which Price offered the wife
$4,000 TO withdraw, Justice London, OF Lake
George granted a decree annuiling the marriage
The decree, however, vtndicated the w3mans
character, and established the Iegiti macy of the
children By adiudlcsting that the marriage was
lot void d6 inltiO, but only vOidable, TINS de-
cree was recently affirmed by the general term
of the supreme court. To complete this nara
tive it should be stated that Price is now about
to commence proceedings for divorce from his
English wife. The third Mrs. Price, however,
has commenced q suit against the much married
millionaire for 500 COO for the cruel deceit TO
which, IL Is alleged, he has subjected her. A
demurrer was taken to the complaint by his
counsel, and came up for argument before JUS
tice Joseph +. Barnard. The demurrer is
based on the alleged ground that the complaint
contains allegations or both contract and fraud,
which, il is claimed, constitute separate causes
of action, and cannot be united in one action
Judge Barnard tOek the papers aud reserved his
deCislOH.-N. Y. Times, 1871.