The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-11-03
FOOLED AT FIRST.
But Likely to Come Out of the Gam.
a Winner.
"A woman Secretly Married by a Ro.
gus Clergyman, Then Widowed
and Claiming Her Right
Of Bower,

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 9-On Monday pro
ooeuIhSs We're entered in the common pleas
1ouIt On oehaf OF Mrs. Jane Hall, of New
iorh, out now residing at a hotel in this
Guy, that will raise an extraordinary ones.
'lon OF marriage law. Mrs. Halls maiden
iidine was Powell. Ten years ago she was
poor seamstress in this city In 1876, while
amending the international Exhibition. she
was introduced to Aaron R. Hall, who owned
some property in this city and a larra
tract OF land in Colorado of little immediofe
puI great prospective, value Hall became
devoted to Miss Powell, who is still uncom.
monty beautiful He proposed matri,nonv
a11er brief courtship; he was accented ana
they were married. The marriage was Mt
HANS request, conducted secretly at the
mouse OF a gentleman whom he represented In
DE Clergyman and a frind of his Hall and
ms vile lived for time at the Continental
motel, and afterward at a board
house on Eighth street below
walnut. Their life after the first
lew months was not a happy one He
had apparently grown tired of her and
treated her cruelty. She was introduced to
some OF the other bOarlers in the house ON
highth street ms Mrs Hall, hut her husband
scarcely ever went out with her, and never
presented her to any of his relatives or i'm
mediate friends. In January, 1873. he left
Tor colorado for the purpose, as he said. of
attending to pressing business matters there
Ills wife heard nothing about him from that
tlme TIL last August, when she learned that in
the preceding May he had been thrown from
horse near Colorado Springs and killed.
She had the
York and opened a dressmaking establish
ment at Twenty third street and Sixth ave
| nue.. She at once came back to this city for
the purpose OF protecting her dover interest
IN her late husbands property She then
learned that her husband had. so fer as is
known, died ntastate and that claims to hi,
| property in this state as well as to that in
| Colorado, which had become of considerable
value, had been put in by relatives lIei
claim as a wife confused them An invest
| CATION was set on foot, and the discovery
was made that the marriage had been a pre-
tended one, and that Halls friend was a
counterfeit clergyman. The "friand" had
| himself been imposed on and led to believe
the whole matter was a lest The fact, how.
| ever, that the marriage was a mockerv We,
| proved beyond question. Attorney att Law
John '. Rippinger, into whose hands the
matter was put, contends, however, that
though Hall was guilty of treachery, he de
feated his own purposes and the marriage i
under the laws Of Pennsylvania, valid one
Marriage here, he holds, is Il civil contract
and Hail, by saying thai he took Miss Powell
to wife, made such a contract He intro
duced her afterwari rs his wife is aami $
able under the laws Of thi, state, as corrub1
ratlve evidence of the existence of the cuy,fi
ant. The suit entered on Monday is ono t
recover Mrs. Halls DOVER interest in the LAT
Aaron Il. Halls property, and will rest o
the lawyers Interpretation Of the Pcnusy
vania law. 1t is said that there is no cas
similar to it in any Of the law reports of III
mt.