The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-12-23
A Virginia Girl Looking After For.
tune.

A Virginia Girl Looking After a For.
tune.
When the steamship City of Chester
arrived at New York from Liverpool
few days ago, it had on board, among
the cabin passengers, a gOOd-lOOking
woman Of about 80 or 40 years, and an
old lady who looked fully so, and who
bore on her face undoubted. signs of
trouble or of dissipation most unusual
in women of her apparent position in
life. Attaching to these two women Is
a somewhat remarkable story, which Is
told in the. New York World: a ss
Many years ago there lived in large
town in Virginia man of considerable
means and of good social and business
repute-Stacy by name and an iron
master by trade. He had married early
in life handsome girl of Irish descent,
by whom he had four children. 1t was
currently reported that the man did not
live happily with his wife, and after the
birth of their fourth child, Mr.. Stacy,
unable longer to bear with the habitual
and incorrigible intemperance of his
wife, instituted suit for divorce and,
meanwhile, separated from her, taking
| the children into his own care. Pend
| ing the salt for divorce, Mrs. Stacy went
to England to stay with relatives resid-
ing there, and shortly after Mr.. Stacy,
reading in one of the English papers Of
| her-death, stopped the proceedings for
divorce, and, few months after, mar
ried a young lady living in Richmond.
,h, IL
second wife, with whom he led happy
and contented life, and he was much
| grieved when, after a lapse of ten years,
| she died in childbirth, leaving him for
the second time Il widower. The grief,
however, was, apparently, not inconSol-
able, for after short space OF mourn
! inc he moved to New York an married
Il third time. BY this last marriage he
had four children, three boys and a girl.
After a short residence here Mr.. Stacy
returned to Virginia.
In 1873 Fanny Stacy, the eldest child
by the first marriage, and by all reports
a very estimable young person, went to
England on "a visit for the benefit OF her
health. While staying at Torquay she
met an old lady who had known her IA
ther and mother in America in the early
davs of their married life, and from this
person she learned, to her utter surprise
and dismay, that her mother, Mrs. Stacy
No. l, was not dead, but was living IN
London in very strait circumstances, tc
which she had been reduced by her habit
of excessive drinking. Miss Stacy tooo
no particular steps to verify this report
but on her return to America told hel
father what she had heard. The ole
gentleman was incredulOus and paTticu
larly angry that any one should have
dared to mention the name OF his dis
graced wife to her daughter. He re
fused to take any measures to find on
the truth, and from that time displayed
great coldness toward Fanny, who a
this time was the only surviving child o
the first marriage.
In the early part of 1874 Mr.. Stacy
who had been in bad health long time
; died. When his will was opened it wa
discovered that by codicil added tn
year before he had revoked all bequest
TO Fanny Stacy, and left the whole of hi
! fortune, amounting to over 100000
to the children by the second and thir
marriages and to his surviving widow.
Bv advice of a lawyer, friend of tn
: family, Fanny determined to cOntes
8 the will. To do this successfully it wa
! necessary to find the first wife of Nh
Stacy, prove the first marriage, the cor
sequent illegality of the other two mar
riages and the illegitimacy of all thei
! issue. Miss Fanny, therefore, starte
in April last, in company with an oil
! friend, to England in search of he
:, mother. For months she searched an
!, advertised and sought in vain; no sig
! of her mother was to be found nor an
: news of her to be learned. a fe'
q months ago, though, she engaged tn
a services of some experienced Englls
h detectives, and by their aid succeeded
- She found her mother in a hut in tn
. very lowest part of London, inhabite
: by the poorest classes of Irish laborer:
. living a disgraceful life of continual il
toxication. The mother recognized he
y daughter by her striking resemblanC
q, to her father, and after much persu;
= sion and earnest entreaty, consented
= 90 to America and reform her life, hel
: her daughter To get what was due he
q and to get her own share. The o.
: lady was taken from her squalid abod
:, washed and decently clad, taken
q Liverpool and put aboard the City
% Chester, bound for New York. On I'll
= voyage she was seriously ill, owing
r her sudden and total deprivation of a
y intoxicating drinks, which Fanny Stat
# had absolutely and firmly refused to a
n low her. However, she rallied and g
n through all right, landed safely in Ne
- York, and started with her plucb
'e daughter for Virginia, where the suit
: now pending to set aside the will Of Il
ST late Mr.. Stacy, ironmaster, of Virgini