Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-02-22
COL. REnrHuNE,s BODY.
The Legal Complications Arising from
the Death of the Manager of Blind

The Legal Complications Arising from
the Death of the Manager of Blind
Tom.
Col. John G. Bethune. the manager OF
Blind Tom. says the Philadelphia Press
of the 18th inst, was killed by train in
the Wilmington station early Sunday
morning. He was on his way TO Wash
ington, and, as the train stopped ten min
utes. had gone into the restaurant, and he
ran to catch it, but slipped and fell under
the wheels. He was horribly mangled,
and expired almost instantly.
This sudden death brings into pr0mi-
nence the litigation between himself and
his wife. or the woman VINO claims TO be
his wife. 1t is also likely to bring before
the public the relations between the Be
thune family and the musical prodigy,
Blind Tom. who has for so many years
drawn large audiences. and, presumably,
Melted several fortunes for his masters.
Ii is claimed by the counsel for the widow
of the man who has been killed, that, not
Withstanding the emancipation prOcla-
nation. the blind negro is still practically
d slave. He was born in slavery, and
was bought. while vet a boy, by Gen. Be
thune. who then lived on his plantation
near Columbus. Ga. There his musical
talents early asserted themselves, ana
his master saw in him capacities when
could be made more prOntable than hOelng
cotton. Accordingly, the slave boy was
trained as pianist and exhibited on the
stage When the war was over, however,
and Blind Tom was free man, some
method had TO be invented by which this
black mine of wealth could be retained.
Accordingly Gen. Bethune, who had
moved to Warrent0n. Va, applied to the
court Of Fauquier county Tor an inquiry
into Blind Toms mental condluon. Inc
prodigy was adiudged lunatlc, ana Ten.
Bethune's son. Col. Bethune, was appoint
ed a committee" to care for him. Gen.
Bethune gave a bond for $4,000 for the
security of Blind Toms estate, the negro
wonders mother and brothers, the nat
ural sharers in the profits Of his eXnlDl-
tons. being still alive.
The conclusion to this singular proceed
ing has been brought out incidentally by
legal proceeding sln New ork. Col. Be
thune. the dead man. was for nearly nifty
years Of his life unmarried. HIS head
quarters were in New York, and, IN the
intervals between his concert hours, he
and Blind Tom lodged at the house OF
Mrs. Elsie StutZbach. at No. II. Marks
Place. She had been married to man
who already had one wife, but had not
lived with him after his wrOng-doing had
been discovered. This marriage was al
ready void, but when Col. Bethune wished
to marry her, it IS claimed that zen.
Bethunc himself had paper drawn,
formally annulling it. Mrs. StutZbach
and Col. Bethune were married by JUS
tice Of the Peace on November 10, 1882.
He soon after started on Southern tour,
extending as far as Mexico. His counsel
claims that he left her enough money for
her support until June. Her counsel de-
MES this. and claims that at the request
Of Gen. Bethune, she moved to One-hun-
dred-and-thirty-ffth street, in her hus-
bands absence. When he returned, he
lived with her tor a week, and then moved
down town. She would not consent to 20
with him. and brought suit for abandon
ment and support.
The defense claimed that she had not
been legally divorced from her first hus-
band. and that her marriage with Be
thume being. therefore, null, he was not
liable for her support. The answer to
this was that she had never been the legal
wife Of StutZbach, and was therefore the
legal wife Of Bethune. She Won her case
in the Court of Common Pleas, and, on APP
peal. in the general term, and it is now
pending in the Court of Appeals. Mean
time. the lower court granted her alimOny
Of $40 week. Last December an order
was granted requiring Col. Beihune to
paw S25 a week alimOny, unless he could
prove that his income was not such as to
warrant it. 1t was while returning from
an adjourned hearing Of this part OF the
case before a referee in New York, that
Col. Bethune was killed. In that hearing
he testified that he had no property. The
counsel for his wife made the most deter
mined efforts TO ascertain from him what
his profits were from Blind Toms exhibit
tiOns: what he had done with them. and
how much of the money had been credited
to Blind Toms estate or paid to his iaml-
". They met with little success, how
ever, but Col. Bethune did testify that he
had made no arrangement with Blind
Toms family.
This sudden death brought to Whining
ton nearly all the forces of the two sides
in this legal contest. Mrs. Bethune ar
rived there yesterday, and made applica-
ton TO Coroner Smith for the possession
of the body and the personal effects upon
it. Her counsel, A. j. Larche, came with
her, and the party put up at a hotel near
the depot, where they were joined last
night bv Mrs. Bethune's brOther-ln-law,
Benedict Ess, of New York. At nearly
the same time Col. Bethune's counsel, j.
Homer Hildreth, of New York; l.. r. Har-
rison, the manager of Steinway Hall; and
Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, the dead mans
sister and her husband arrived and put
up at another hotel across the street.
They opposed the application Of Mrs. Be
thune for the body, and at their request
the bewildered Coroner adjourned the in
quest until to-day, in order to give Gen.
Bethune, father of the clay, over which
legal battle viii probably be fought, to
arrive.
z Blind Tom himself is in North Caro-
lima. He was said to be devotedly at
taehed to Col. Bethune and to be wholly
under his control. He was deeply affect
ed when he heard of his masters"
death