Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-09-10

which she succeeded in securing $500.
About this time, while on visit to New
York, she tried her old diamond and
truuk-robbing tricks, but met with resis-
lance. She failed To establish the facts
which she alleged, and returned to San
Francisco to resume her relations with
Gen. Irvine. The general received occa-
siOnal visits from his wife and daughter,
who retained their residence in Elmira,
n. Y. 1t was while they Were on visit
TO hlm that be suddenly died on the night
OF Nov. II, 1892. An autopsy was made
and the cause of death announced TO have
been pulmonary apoplexy. The body was
embalmed and removed to Elmira for
burial.
Eusebia was not slow to put in a claim
against the generals estate, which was
comfortably large. She furnished up the
old adopted sister, story and used it in
suit for piece of real estate worth $10,-
600, alleging that it had been purchased
with her money. She failed to substant-
ate her claim, and was defeated In the
courts. She nursed her disappointment
and laid her plans, which eliminated in
an open movement on April last, the
scene of her operations being laid in
Elmira.
She appeared in that place, accom-
panied by ThomasJ. Neslson, who claims
to De detective representing the "Pacitic
Coast Detective Agency" She was armed
with atidavts made by herself and others
in San Francisco, charging that Gen.
Irvine had been poisoned by his wife. She
sought the Coroner, DR.. Edmund A.
Reilly, when she enlisted in the cause.
She demanded the exhuming of Gen.
lrvine's body and a pOst-mOrtem eXamina-
ton of the stomach. Without the consent
or knowledge of the family or the GENE.
terry authorities, the superintendent Of the
cemetery, Nathan 5. Barker, on the re-
! ceipt of $40 and an order from Coroner
Reilly, had the body disinterred. IL was
dissected by Doctors Reilly, w. G.. Wey
and T. Fl. Squire. Neason was present,
and mad the statement that he and Mrs.
Fitzgerald had reason to believe that Gen.
lryine's stomach contained poison; that
his skull was fractured, and that a will
would be found concealed in the coffin
! pillow. The examination disclosed that
there was no fracture Oftbe skull; that no
will had been concealed in the pillow, and
that the stomach had been punctured by
the embalmer's instruments. Nealson's
disappointment was Overwhelming.
These facts were made known through
/ the statements of Doctors Wey and
| Squire, who also made known thatarsenic
enters largely into all embalming fluids.
! The stomach is pow in the possession Of
| Coroner Reilly The body was re-
| inferred.
| These and other facts coming to the
| knowledge of Gen. Irvine's family, estab-
| lished in their minds the belief that Mrs,
| Fitzgerald had employed some one to
! desecrate the grave, inject poison into the
| stomach and conceal q bogus Will In the
coffin pillow from which she would largely
benefit, but that the agent employed had
simply pOcketed the rewared for the work
upon reporting that he had successfully
! Cd IA t1,n fapro
! preliminary 10 Mrs. FitZgerald's demand
for official exhuming and pOst-moI TEN
| by the Coroher. Upon the complaint of
member of the family, Mrs. Fitzgerald
and Detective Nealson were arrested, but
not sufficient evidence was adduced upon
which to hold them. They were immedi-
ately re-arrested, together with Coroner
Reilly and Superintendent Barker. The
trial will begin in Elmira on the 18th Of
this month.
At the preliminary hearing j. W.
Merkle, a sOn-in-law of Gen. Irvine, testi-
fed that Mrs. Fitzgerald had sought to
| obtain money from Mrs. Irvine under
threats of exposure; that, falling in this,
she had the body disinterred. His
shown him an affidavit alleged to have
been made by DR.. Wooster, OF San
Francisco, the physician and friend Of
Gen. Irvine, which said that UNI
less the Irvine family were willing to do
something for Mrs. Fitzgerald there
would be more about it, ''fOr he claimed
that Gen. Irvine had been poisoned" On
the It'll of April Nealson told the witness
that for $1,000 he would place proper
papers in his Merkle's) hands
which would run Mrs. Fitzgerald
out Of town in an hour, if he would
give NeasOn a chance to clear out first,
Mr.. j ohn Jenkins, of 1914 AmbOy street,
this city, who had held the position OF
Deputy United States Marshal govern
ment detective for II years, is thoroughly
familiar with Annie Melville's career in
Philadelphia before and after the war,
and his services have been employed by
Mrs. Irvine. A short time since he re-
turned from Elmira where he had an in
terview with Mrs. Fitzgerald, whom he
positively identified as the same woman
known In Philadelphia as Annie and
NOrah W oolley, Diamond ANNIE" and
Mrs. Robert III. Lee, Jr.