Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-23

CHICAGO, October 22.-The tragic death
of Colonel Frank j. Bowman, at the hands
OF his old enemy, Chambers, in st. Louis,
Yesterday, was the subject of general discus
sion in the Court House to-day. Colonel
Bowman, through the sensational divorce
case in which he was the principal, became
almost as familiar to members of the Chi
cago bar as to those of st. Louis, and ex-
posed his professional and private record to
such an extent that his violent death was
matter of little surprise.
The death of one of the principals in the
case Of Bowman versus Bowman, leaves the
Bowman case in peculiar way. 1t was the
first and only case in this country where a
common law wife was held to be entitled to
divorce. Common law wives have fire.
quently been declared to be widows, but
never before has one been decreed to be en-
titled to divorce.
FORTUNATE FOR HER.
As it turns out, Mrs. Bowman is better off
as Bowman's widow than as his divorced
wife. Theodore G. Case, of Case & Hogan,
who have represented Mrs. Bowman
throughout her litigation, said this morn
ing: "The death of Mr.. Bowman is little
short of an interposition of Providence, be-
cause it gives Mrs. Bowman and her two
children all of Bowman's property, wher-
ever found. His first wife, Mary V. Bow
man, rehounced all dover, and claims of
every other sort to his estate, on receipt of
S25, 900, and the decree divorcing Ida NJ.
Clement, not having been actually entered
when he died, his marriage to Estelle
Platt, in New York, is void, and she gets
nothing"
''The status of the divorce matter here has
not been correctly stated" said Mr.. Case.
After trial lasting several weeks the jury
found that there was common law mar
riage between Bowman and Ida Clement.
Bowman, through his attorney, entered a
motion for new trial. This summer the
Court decided that Mrs. Bowman's two
beautiful children might have had some
effect on the jury, and for that and one or
two other reasons he decided to give Bow
man a new trial, but only if he paid large
arrears of alimony by October 1.
AN IMPORTANT ACCIDENT.
Bowman had long been in contempt of
the Chicago court for not having paid the
alimony and the Court said he would enter
the decree of divorce October if it was not
paid. 1t was not paid on that date and we
could then have entered the decree and Mrs.
Bowman would have been free woman. I
am overjoyed now that I did not enter it;
Bowman started negotiations for settle
ment. He was to pay large sum to Mrs.
Bowman and the two children, let her take
divorce and then he was to re-msrry Es-
telle flatt. Death ended the negotiations,
fortunately for Mrs. Bowman, because as
his widow she and the children get all his
property. which is much larger sum than
the settlement called for"
"Do you know what Bowman was worth?"
II know he had great deal OF property
in one thing and another. We would have
had more difficulty in getting at it for ali
mony though, than for the widow, for Bow
man was terrible fighter. Our course now
is to take Mrs. Bowman to st. Louis, and ap-
ply on her behalf for letters of administra-
tion. know that Bowman left no will"
NO USE CoNTEsTING.
"Won't his third wife, Estelle Plat,
make a fght?''
'She may, but it won't avail her. The
finding of the jury in Chicago is res adjudi-
cata. She may try and prove that Ida
Clement is divorced, but no decree having
been entered and the jury having found
only that Mrs. Bowman was Bowman S
common law wife, she will have uphill
work. Certainly. the circumstances are
analogous, and the prospects are that the
fight will be transferred to st. Louis"
Bowman's personal appearance is well
remembered here. He was a man below
medium height, quick and nervous, with
pretty blue eyes, and an ingratiating man
ner sure to captivate the female heart.