Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-02-19
CONTEST OVER A CORPSE.
A Texas Woman and an Indiana Wo-
man Both Claim to be the Wife
OF the Same Dead Man.
IT. Hitner hIistaken Identity, an Attempt
70 BiacismaiI, or Man Who Ran
Two Embellishments.
ATLANTA. "a. Fob. Is. 1855.


10 The Editor OF tho Gazette.
hand you Inclosed clipping from the
Consultation Of yesterday, which presume
is all the evidence the reporter can get
40 far In the Piercc-Wenyer case, as both
parties are careful not to let all their evil
tience be known. This Is one OF the most
remarkable cases have ever known or
read OF, and take II that your readers IN
Texas, where Wood Pierce was 80 wen
Known, will think II strange that he
should ever be taken for another man and
one too who was so well known In Fort
Worth as j. r. Weaver WAS. But you
would be surprised aud nstonished were
you here to meet old gray-headea men
who say that they knew Weaver wen ana
had lived near him for years and that u
ii the body Of Weaver and no mistake
about It, have met many VINO say 70 |
me, ut IL impossible for " to be the y
w. Pierce you say you have known SO
wen for the past twenty years. Others
who know Weaver wei will listen 70 me !
while ] tell how have known him since
1860, when he settled lirst In johnson
county and afterward moved 70 the
Iferndon Valley, then Brown county,
IIiil county, Manard county ETC., and
that IL has only been few months
since last met i'm, and then will say,
"You must certainly believe IL is Wood
Z Pierce, but ! am equally certain II is
Weaver
Mr., Silas Loyelady Of Cleburno i9 here
and saw Pierce before he was killed, and
mas also seen the dead body and says he
knows 1t IL that Of Pierce.
Mr.. Bolton, citizen OF Tarrant coun'
ty, living near Arlington, who came here
with Pierce from Fort Worth and remained
Al N a.. tf,h la nd
was badly scalded himself, Is here and
swcars TO the body as that OF Pierce.
Parties who toll me that they
know what the Weaver side can
prove say that their proof is suf-
iicient 70 hang man for murder twice
over. That Is Just what | think the
Plerces can do. 1t is expected that
pierce's widow Will be here by Thursday,
accompanied by two other witnesses from
san Angelo, Tex, and both parties will,
IL is expected, be ready for trial on Satur-
day next. understand that Mrs. Weaver
saws she has no doubt but that Mrs
Pierce is the Mrs. Eadon with whom
Weaver ran away and lived in Fort Worth
In 1884, and so the matter stands at
present.
An amusing thing Ia connection with
this affair IL this. Bolton, who have
dead. In due course OF time alady very
deliberately dressed In black made her APP
pearance In Atlanta, claiming that II was
not Bolton who was killed but FELTON,, her
husband, and put in claim to his effects
and was going 10 sue the railroad com
pany for a large sum for his loss. This
being communicated to Bolton he asked
a minute description OF the lady, and af
ter being sure he could select her among
some half dozen others, he was usherod
into her presence aud at once recognized
and claimed his dear wife and was pro-
ceediDg 20 embrace her as all good
husbands do, when 10 the utter astonish-
ment OF all present she declared him to
be n fraud aud no husband OF hers, he in
sisting all the time that she was his wife
and should 10 home with him Us n good
wife should. am told that she has not
been seen In Atlanta since, Mrs. Weaver
appears TO be lady and IL highly in
dorsed by great many OF the leading
citizens OF Indianapolis.
II. NJ HEATH.
The following is the clipping from the
Constitution referred to above;
What curious case Is this contest
over the corpse OF j. w. Plercel
Let us review the testimony. a
wealthy stock dealer from Texas is IL
Atlanta with his friends. His name is
w. Pierce. He buys the Arabian mare
Gypsy, aud starts home. In the Georgil
Pacifc wreck he Is killed. His son tele
graphs from Texas asking that his re
maina be buried In Atlanta for thu
present
shortly aftcrward Mrs. Wcayor--at
tested lady OF irreproachable characte
bY highest authority appears in Atlantis
aud claims that j w. Pierce was reall.
/. u, Weaver, her husband and the iathe
OF her children.
Mr. Walter Brown Is made her attor
ncv, and the corpse Is eNhumed, IL II
identified by tho peculiar pitch OF tn
toes, by wound In the neck and o
course by the features, Mrs, Weave
being satisfied the corpse is returned L
its grave The next day IL Is exhume,
again, and an Atlanta lady who knew
Weaver identifies It instantly and posi-
lively as thai gentleman,
In the meantime MIR. Bolton, OF Texas
who was with the dead man on his tri
10 Georgia, declares that the Weave
story Ii absurd that he knew Pierce al
his life can bring thousand OF hi
neighb0rs 20 swear that Pierce neve
was or could have been Weaver; AM
then losing the gravity OF the occasion Il
the breezy habits Of the plains, offers Il
bet $4,000 10 $1,000 or double or hall il
the Same proportion that The corpse /
that 81 Pierce Tho son and son, invlay
Of MIR Pierce are mon OF high characte
ana standing, and say II IL impossible I,
establish the fact that Pierce wa
Weaver
Mre. Weaver reappeais, reinforced b
leading Indianapolis physician, Jndg
I.ochrane Is brought into her counsels
Her physician swears that Weaver wa
shot in the back Of the neck, while livin
ia Indianapolis, by . Mr.. Eaton, hecaus
Of trouble with Mrs. Eaton, He probe
Tor the ball aud dressed the wound. Tn
corpse II axhumod again and the wonn
~ found exactly as described,an is swor
10 by the physician, A letter write
With i stylographic pen 20 Mrs Weaver
ned by 3 Weaver aud posted at Al
the day before the the Georgia Pa
'aidcnt, Is produced, A style
and paper corresponding I
y the letter was written az
I'd mans effects,
excellent MIR. MoBur
cemetery, oyercom
'cursioHs into Oh
announced hi
over 20 III