St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-08-02
LYTHE'S MILLIONS.
The Celebrated California
Case Finally Reaches a
Settlement.
The Legitimate Child Of the
Dead Millionaire Gets
Everything.
Judge Coffey Awards Her the
Whole Estate, Valued at
$4,OO0,O00.
History Of the Trial Of This
Most Remarkable and In
trieate Case.


Blythe will case, which has dragged
along in the courts for over year,
which was decided yesterday in favor
of Florence Blythe, the seventeen-year-
old illegitimate daughter of the dead
millionaire, was remarkable one, and
gives-the girl the whole estate, valued
at s4,OOO,0OO Thej decision of Judge
Coffey is very long. He holds that the
evidence of the adoption of the child by
Blythe is sufficient under the California
law to establish her claim. Blythe'S
mistress, who claimed to be his wife, is
ruled out, as are nearly hundred other
claimants. The judge decides that
Blythes name was Williams. but
the Williams heirs get no coin. An
appeal will surely be taken, as several
able lawyers declare that this decis-
ion cannot stand any more than
Judge Sullivan's decision in the Sharon
divorce case. 1t will cost at least S15,-
600 to appeal the case, because of the
mass Of testimony and exceptions that
will have to be written. The young
woman who is thus suddenly converted
into one of the great heireSSeS of the
country is only seventeen. She looks
like a blonde English girl, having none
of the American precOcity. She wears
her hair in braid down her back, is
dressed simply and is shy and modest.
She lives with Grandfather Perry in
East Oakland, and was found there to-
day by a reporter. None of the family
had heard of the decision which made
Florence millionaire. But Perry said
they all expected the girl would win,
and were so sure that they did not go to
court or have any arrangements made
for telegraphiug the result.
"What will you do with your money!"
was asked the girl.
81 am too young to know all about
that" was the reply. II will pay my
debts first. though, and be guided by
grandpa, and you. too" she added.
turning to Mrs. Perry. The latter said:
at will take long time. of course, to
settle up the estate. There will be
many debts to pay. The lawyers will
also have to be attended to-" Mrs.
Perry said that Florence would pay
strict attention to her studies for four
years and become accomplished in
music, etc. 1t is the opinion of those
who have inside information about the
case that several of the claimants, in
Guiding the alleged widow, will combine
and file an appeal. Ex-senator Fair is
known to have advanced money to help
the widow, as he has great desire to
become possessed of the entire Market
street block of real estate, which forms
the most valuable part of the property.
He is counted Oil to advance the money
for appeal.
The contest over the Blythe estate
was begun in Judge Coffey'S court,
I'll
resS without intermisson. except on
| court took the case under adviSement.
1t proved to be the most remarkable
case in the annals of American juris-
prudence. The law involved is by no
means intricate, but the case will often
be cited, no doubt, for the peculiar cir
cumstanceS surrounding the life of a
prominent citizen whose pedigree was
a problem that could never be solved.
Thomas Henry Blythe died April "a,
1883, in his apartments, 81 Geary
street, where he had been liv-
ing with Miss Alice Edith Dicka-
son, a young artist and grass
widow. The death was somewhat sud-
den and was the result of fatty degener-
alton Of the heart. Ever since Blythe'S
death claimants for his money have
been bobbing up from all parts of the
globe The large majority of them claim
ing of the contest they have been en-
deavoring to satisfy the court as to the
validity of their claims. The most
prominent claimants are Florence
Blythe and Alice Edith Blythe. The
former has endeavored to prove that she
is the ''illegitimate daughter" of
Thomas Blythe: that he acknowledged
her as such, and that it was al ways his
intention to legally adopt her.
Blythe's matory proclivities brought
Alice Dickson into the contest. She
claimed a Widows portion on the
ground that she was married to Blythe
by verbal agreement. 1t was con-
tended by her opponents that she occu-
| pied no other relation toward Blythe
than that of mistress. The other claim
ants to the estate are ''too numerous to
MENTION" and less than half prosecuted
their claims. They were united during
the contest against Florence and Alice,
| and when the collateral claims were
taken up individually each was opposed
by all the others, and the evidence of
| the one claimant, which proved rela-
| tionship, disproved all the Others.
| The only point upon which they
nearly all agreed was that Blythe
! came to this city in 1S49 on the ship
| Antelope from Liverpool, and that his
mothers maiden name was Savage.
| When the contest began it was sup
posed that the Williams claimants would
| have no trouble in proving that
| Blythe's real name was not
Blythe, which they claimed he changed
when he left England to es-
cape imprisonment for debt. They re-
lied on letters purporting to have been
written by Blythe in this city to his rela-
tiyes in Wales, but these were shown to
be forgeries. A strong claim was that
of the Gypsy Kentucky Blythes. They
are Americans OF Scotch descent. They
produced testimony showing that they
were the descendants Of Adam Blythe,
| the father of Thomas, who was born in
| Camlachie, Scotland.
Still other claimants were Mrs. Saw
ages heirs, who affirmed that Blythe
had been born in London and that his
mothers name was Savage. it is a
| singular fact how much testimony, es-
tablished by different contestants, was
| cOrroborated at various times by Blythe
himself, who acknowledged that he was
born in different countries, spoke
different languages and had
! learned different trades. It has
| Ue6u SHOWu UCyOliu uOuUt Judb
the deceased millionaire was phenom-
email liar. Judge Coffey's notes show
| that POT witnesses were examined dur
ing the trial and 139 dispositions read.
From July Is, 1889, when the
trial began, to April 10, 1890,
i when the taking of testimony
ceased, 653 hours of the courts
time were consumed. Nine lawyers
argued for and against the case of
Florence. consuming forty-eight hours.
Four lawyers argued for and against
the Gypsy Blythes, consuming twenty
nine hours; two argued the case of
David Savage, consuming three hours
and forty-fve minutes; four argued for
and against the Blythe company, con-
suming seven hours and forty-five min
utes; FIVE argued the case of the Will
Jams heirs, and eight argued for and
against Alice Edith Blythe. the alleged
widow. The trial consumed in all 22S
days. which rendered the case the
longest known in the annals of juris-
prudence.
The Blythe estate included block on