Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1888-01-18
T. !. MACKEY IN A NEW ROLE.

" VIA AN "A IL itOhLs
Although no publication of the fact had
been made, it was generally known in
South Carolina, that ex-Judge r. j. Mack
ey, once the autocrat of the Sixth South
Carolina judicial circuit, but since his de-
position as Judge a citizen of Washington,
had deserted his wife in that city and
eloped with the wife of another man to
the West. This woman proves to be the
wife of A.. S. Witherbee, a merchant Of
Washington. The following is an &C.
count of the eX-Judge's escapade as given
in the Bismarck, Dakota, correspondence
of the New York Herald, under date of
the 9th instant:
Judge Mackey, Mrs. Witherbee and SER
want arrived in Bismarck Sunday, October
1G, and registered as follows:
"T. J. Mackey, Chester, S. c.
"Mrs. NJ. A. Witherbee and servant, ofNew
York"
They did not introduce themselves in
Bismarck as husband and wife, but as
uncle and niece, the Judge stating that he
! came to Dakota for his niece's health.
Regular boarders at the Sheridan house
were displaced so that his request that
they should have a suite of rooms, with a
door opening between, could be complied
with. The judge gave as his reason for
UlllS 1CQuCSL UIlll llS ulCSO WdO pOol -
health and that she might be taken seri-
ously ill at any moment. This statement,
with the apparent sincerity and good faith
of both parties, threw off all suspicion that
the proprietor might have had, and the
happy pair enjoyed undisturbed serenity
while at the hotel.
But they soon tired of the confinement
of the hotel and rented n of the largest
and handsomest residences in the city.
The judge is a loquacious man, but his
strangely uneven anecdotes of the war
were entertaining, and within q week
from the time of his arrival he had become
acquainted with every man of prominence
in this city. His personal experience as
an officer in the Confederate army made
him doubly entertaining, and as he never
lost an opportunity to tlatter the Union
soldiers and belittle the Confederate lead
ers, he Won numerous friends among the
intense northerners.
Mrs. Witherbee was no less entertaining
to the ladies. Her display of diamonds
and silverWare was a matter of much Cos
sip among the fashionable women Of the
city. No brilliant social event was con-
sidered complete without her presence.
The first suspicion was aroused by the
fact that the Judge paid no bills. All
checks and drafts were signed by Mrs.
Witherbee. The Judge accounted for this
by a very eloquent Grafton on the finan-
cial question, stating that his bank &C.
count was in Memphis and that Memphis
drefts were not available in Bismarck.
Mrs. Witherbee's voice won her fame,
and the lovers of music went into ecstacies
when she sang. She was not only admit
ted into the homes of the best families,
but was invited to sing in the churches
The people were congratulating themselves
Upon the addition of so talented a lady to
their society. Women who have been
prominent in all social reforms in the city
were her nearest friends, and the social
lights We'd with each other for her favor.
Many brilliant parties and luncheons
were given at the "Mackey mansion, 'Hand
the reception on Christmas night made all
other attempts at welcome pale into insig-
nifcance. On that night Mrs. Witherbee
was dressed like a queen and was surround
ed by the ambitious social leaders OF the
city.
A few admirers dropped from the ranks
several weeksago when Jane Murdoch, the
housekeeper, who accompanied them from
the east, left and sued for wages. The
Judge refused to pay her on the ground
that she had broken dishes and wasted
provisions in excess of her wages.
Jane is a plain spoken Scotch girl and,
while looking for work, told some racy
stories concerning the uncle and niece.
She said that after the Judge engaged her
he desired that she should tell the people
that she came from the South and had
been with them for two years. This she
refused to do, as she first met them in
st. Paul while they were en-route to Bis
marck.
The Judge and Mrs. Witherbee had SO
completely won many of the society PEG.
pie that they refused to believe the girl
and denounced her as a slanderer.
The girls stories were soon smothered
and all was running smoothly until it was
learned through the banks that Mrs
Witherbee's account in Chicago had beer
attached. This caused some comment
which was soon followed by q sensation
caused by an article exposing the conduct
of the pair before their arrival in Bis
marck.
On the day before its publication the
Judge engaged rooms at the hotel, giving
as his reason that keeping house withou,
good help was too much trouble. TO say
that the article struck society like a cy'
clone is drawing it very mild. Many Of
the quickly made friends of Mrs. Wither.
bee denounced the report as the malicious
work of her husband, from whom she is
seeking a divorce.
This is the theory advanced by Mrs,
Witherbeeand the Judge, and they are pre-
pairing an answer for publication. They
still claim to be uncle and niece.
III r1-nrnr