Mexico weekly ledger., 1883-01-25
4 LADY WHO Is SAID TO HAVE
TWO HUSBANDS.
4 Mistaken Identity---DiEorce Suit on
Her Hands---Brief History OF the
Defendants Checkered Life.
Dead Husband Alive and Coming to
MexieO.-.Mrs. Waddingham Talks
to a Ledger Reporter.-The
Case set for Saturday.

case set for next Saturday. Mrs.
Waddingham resides on Promenade
MI. Waddingham has rooms
down town, and he is the plaintiff in
the suit. Mr.. Waddingham is very
rich, Or so reputed. Mrs. Wadding-
ham wants her share, and as much
more as she can get, of his money.
Mr.. Waddingham says he has various
and good grounds for divorce, and,
among others, that his wife has a
husband now living.
The following letter, lately written
to a gentleman in Detroit, Michigan,
by Mrs. Waddingham, of this city,
shows what a shrewd woman, to say
the least, she is:
To Mr.. Perkins
MEXICO, Mo-, December "a, 1SS2.-l
Dear Sir: suppose you do not know me,
but | remember you well, seeing you pass
Haskins house. Mymother married Has
kins in the autumn season of "A. and
went to live in a house near your hotel,
and of which she resided in. Icame from
Vermont to Michigan and went to live
with them, of which l did all of the year
of As in the house near your hotel, of
which was near Norton grocery store.
AT that time l was IA years of age in ~,
and had put on long dresses at that time,
| wish you could remember me. l was at
a wedding at your house with my mother
and Haskins. The parties that were mar
ried l can't remember their names, but
they had Il girl that was blind of one eye.
| was often in your house. There was a
girl that boarded with my mother and
painted at the pail factory. She is now
dead, and it is so long a period OF time
that it seems no n remembers me, and
they take me for Martha Jane Hasklns,
for the witnesses testify that they knew
me out a. the Black Eagle hotel and my
mother, and as l did not come to Michi-
gan until IA, l hope you will be able to
recognize and that you could testify of
seeing me in the year As. and any infor-
nation that You can get will be thankfully
received, and of which you will be well
paid for. James Canan lived the next
door to Haskins, and if he could be found
they might remember me. Respectfully,
MRS. WADDINGHAM.
The Detroit (Mich.) Ners then
refers to the letter as follows:
CAN'T HER
Mr.. Perkins says he remembers now
that he has been asked several times dur
ing the past three years to aid in estab-
fishing some ones identity-eyidently that
of Mrs. Waddingham, who wants to prove
that she was Gavin's wife in order to get
her share of his estate, and is for some
reason unable to do so. As Mrs. W.
says, the witnesses all declare that she
was Martha Jane Haskins, and don't re-
member that Haskins second wife had a
daughter. Mrs. Waddingham has preba-
bly, lost her marriage certificate OF any
definite means of establishing her identity,
| and the witnesses seem to be mostly all
dead. Mr.. Perkins says he remembers
being waited upon by a lawyer who had a
long list of old residents for witnesses,
and that on glancing over the list he per-
ceiyed that almost everyone had died OF
moved away from here long ago.
PERKINS TO THE RESCUE
Mr.. Perkins saws that Mrs. Waddingham
will have no trouble In proving she is not
| Martha Jane Haskins by producing the
| original Martha Jane in court. This she
has been unable to do, because she could
not find Martha Jane. Mr.. Perkins him.
self did not remember Martha James
whereabouts, or the name of her present
husband, until Mrs. Perkins recalled the
matter last evening. Not knowing what
State the town of Mexico, that Mrs. Wad-
bingham inhabits, is in, and being equally
ignorant of the scene of the legal contest,
Mr.. Perkins is unable to communicate
| with those who are trying to establish
Mrs. Waddingham's identity. The above
article, however, may serve to bring the
long separated step-sisters together and
prove that there are two of 'em, instead
of only one.
The same paper in its next issue
contains the following correction:
STRANGER THAN FiCTIoN-MoRE ARoUT
THE SINGULAR CASE OF MRS, wAD-
BINGHAM.
Several days ago the Neocs published
the queer letter of a Mrs. Waddingham.
who seemed to have lost her identity, and
the comments and "reminiscences of the
veteran grocer, William Perkins, in con-
nection Herewith. 1t turns cut that
Mrs. w. is the wife of William Wadding-
ham, of Mexico, Mo-, and that the lawsuit
| alluded to in the letter, instead of being
on the part of Mrs. W. to get a share of
Gavin's estate, is a suit for divorce
brought against her by Waddingham in
the town where she lives. Mr.. Wadding-
ham has been in Detroit about two weeks
getting testimony, and has had Is deposit
lions taken before Frank Andrus as nota-
~ public. According to his story, he
| married Mrs. W~addingham, then Mrs.
Chas. r. Gavin, at Detroit In 1858. Be-
fore marrying Gavin her name was Purli-
ma Hulett. Mr.. Waddingham claims that
when he married Mrs. Gavin she repre-
scented that Gavin was dead; that soon
after their marriage he discovered that
Mrs. W. was "no good" and had led a
bad life; that NE sen her to her old home
in Vermont, and supported her there OF
an allowance for about twenty years; that
she finally came t Missouri and began
'sbothering'' him; that he then investigat-
ed, became convinced that Gavin was
alive, and sued for a divorce on that
ground; and that since coming to Detroit
Gavin has been discovered in Florida by
means of liberal advertising In southern
newspapers. Mr.. Waddingham brought
a lawyer named r. NJ. Nichols with him
from Missouri, and has been stopping al
! Rice's hotel. He says he went out to
jackson, and found the original Martha
Jane Haskins living there with her hus-
band, John D. Kelley, a shoe dealer, at 50
Second street. AIRS. Kelley was indignant
that Mrs. Waddingham should try to on
ceal her past identity, as alleged, by de
claring that she martha Jane1 was Cav
ms wife.
Mr.. Waddingham and his lawyer leave
for Missouri this afternoon, having sue
ceeded, as they claim, In getting the tes-
timony they required, and having Gavin's
promise t appear aud testify wher