The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-05-03
MRS. GAINESS MILLIONS.
The History Of a Lawsuit Involving Part
OF the City Of New Orleans.

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OF the City Of New Orleans.
-S-
A dispatch from New Orleans announ-
ces that Judge Billings, of the United
States District Court at that place, has
rendered decision in the case of Mrs
Myra Clark Gaines, who claims several
million dollars worth ofproperty in that
city, in favor of the claimant This is a
phase of one of the longest and most in
teresting lawsuits in the annals of Amer
lean jurisprudence. The history of the
case is briefly as follows: Mrs. Gaines
is the widow of General Edmund Pendle-
ton Gaines, and was born in New Orleans
in 1905. Her father, Daniel Clark, was
born in the County Sligo, Ireland, in l766
and, emigrating to New Orleans, inherit.
ed considerable property from his uncle
in l799 Before the acquisition of Louisi-
ana he wasAmericanC Consul there, and rep
resented the territory in Congress in 1905.
In August, 1918, Daniel Clark died, and
his property was disposed of under will
dated May 20, 1911, which gave the bulk
of his estate to his mother, Mary Clark,
who was then living in Germantown, Pa.
He was also supposed to be bachelor,
but was known to have had liaison with
very beautiful young Creole, Zulime des
Oranges. Two daughters we're born of
this connection, one at Philadelphia in
April, 1902, and the other, Myra. at New
Orleans in 1906. The latter was taken to
the house Of Colonel Davis, a friend of
Clark's, nursed by Mrs. Harper, and
grew up in Philadelphia, where she was
known as Myra Davis.
In 1880 Mr.. Davis, being then mem.
Der of the Pennsylvania Legislature, sent
home for certain papers, and in searching
for these, Myra discovered some letters
which partially revealed the secret of her
birth, and laid the foundation of the
lawsuit which has since become ia
nous.
In 1882 she married W. W. Whitney,
of New York, who, in following up the
discovery made by his wife, secured from
Colonel Davis an old letter which gave
an account of will made by Clark in
1878, just before his death, giving all his
large estate to Myra, and acknowledging
her as his legitimate daughter. Mr. and
Mrs. Whitney went Immediately to Cuba
and there, after long search, discovered
the writer of the letter, and with the aid
of evidence given by him, began a suit in
New Orleans for the property of Daniel
Clark, which had in the meantime be-
come immensely valuable, and included
great part of the present business quar-
ter of the city. On the trial of this suit
the Mrs. Harper above mentioned testih-
ed that four weeks before his death Clark
showed her the will he had made in fa-
vor of yra,and acknowledged the Child's
legitimacy. Baron de Boisfontaine testi-
fed that Clark had made the same state
ments to him. On this and other cor
roborative evidence the lost will was re-
ceived by the Supreme Court ofLouisiana
on February 18, 1856, as the last will and
testament of Daniel Clark, though the
document itself could not be found. The
objection was then interposed that by the
laws of Louisiana a testator could not
make devises to his adulterine bastard.
On this point however, two sisters of
Myras mother tistifed that Zulime des
Oranges was privately married to Clark
in their presence in Philadelphia in 1903
by Catholic priest, it having been learn
ed that Zulime's reputed husband, Des
Oranges, had another wife living, and
was therefore not legally married. In
another suit growing out of this difficulty
the United States Supreme Court decided
that the marriage and legitimacy ofMyra
were established.
In the meanwhile Mr.. Whitney died,
and his widow married General Gaines,
whom she has also outlived. Assisted by
the General, Mrs. Gaines continued her
litigation, and in 1885, in the Supreme
Court of the United States, filed bill in
equity to recover valuable real estate,
then in the possession ofthe city of New
Orleans, and decision in her favor was
rendered in 1867, The valuable proper
ty claimed was estimated in 1861 at $780,
100000, of which Mrs. Gaines had up to
1874 obtained possession of some $6.OOO.'
600. Numerous actions Of ejectment
against individual parties have followed,
and it is no doubt one of these that Judge
Billings has just decided in Mrs, Gaines's
favor.
The heroine Of this romantic story is
little, black-eyed lady of over seventy,
who still retains traces of former uncom-
mon beauty. She is we'll educated, quick
and courageous. Her long and Varied
experience in the law courts has given
her legal education of no mean Charac-
ter, On several occasions, and notably
in the Supreme Court of the United States
in 1861, she has pleaded her own case
personally and with remarkable success.
Theugh at the time of General Gaines's
death, a wealthy woman, she has often
been in financial straits, for she has spent
several large fortunes in prosecuting her
claims. The writer has often seen her,as
recently as 1871, walking the streets of
New Orleans in the plainest clothes, and
with her inevitable little black bag, on
her arm, looking far more like cook in
search of place than like the heiress to
$35.O000O0. The property now known
as the Houmas Plantations and belong
ing to Mr.. John Burnside of New Orleans
was at one time part of the Gaines estate,
and was sold, with the slaves on it to
General Wade Hampton of South Caro-
lima, in 1912, for $5O0O00. When Mrs.
Gaines succeeds in getting possession of
all the property awarded her, she will be
the wealthiest person in New 0orleans,
and perhaps the richest woman in the
world.
Gov. YOUNG has sent to the Senate the
names of the following gentlemen as the
nov, boord Of trnetans of the 0hio Uri-