Los Angeles herald., 1892-08-15
SHE HAD A DOUBLE.
A CURIOUS FACT CONCERNING BRIL-
LIANT YDA Adds.
How She Has Suffered From the Errors
of therefore, Unknown Half Sister,
and How Unfounded Stories
Were Created.

Nearly three years ago, Miss Yda Ad-
dis, the resolute writer and romancist,
was for several months engaged in COM
piling the county's history for a Chi
cago firm of publishers, says the Santa
Barbara Citizen. Her name has already
become familiar to readers. and she made
a large circle of acquaintances here, her
wit and accomplishments turning out to
be in nowise underrated. Miss Addis's
subsequent marriage to Hon. George
Storke of Santa Barbara, her inharmon-
ious marital relations, her petition for
separate maintenance. and Mr.. Storke's
cross bill for divorce (both denied by
the courts), have been repeatedly set
forth by San Francisco papers.
Now follows the interesting and almost
tragical romance Of this young woman's
life, and which she had closely guarded
heretofore from all but few near
friends. 1t was while she was in Mex
leo, six or moxe years ago, writing for
Harper's and other periodicals., and ac-
quiring proficiency in the Spanish Ian
guage, that she became the victim OF
one of the etrangest cases of mistaken
Identity on record. A woman appeared
on the scene, who resembled her in
form, feature, and even in name,
although this was unknown to her at
| the time. Strange stories we're set
afloat with regard to Miss Addis's con-
| duct and associates, and she
was said to have beens seen in
certain places at certain times under
! suspicious circumstances, while che was
actually in other localities. For quite a
while, she says, she was puzzledto ac-
count for the reports that came to her
ears, but finally after her fathers death
she learned all about it. 1t appeared
that in early life Mr.. Adds had con-
tracted an alliance with another woman
than his wife, the result of which was
the birth of o daughter, who, when she
attained maturity, bore the most strilx-
ing resemblance to her half-sister. This
| girl had an unfortunate career, and was
known at times by different names,
though frequently using that Of her
father and being known as Maude Wal
lace Adds. AS it subsequently, trans
| pired she visited Mexico City at the
| very time Miss Adds was there, and by
her similarity of name and appearance
was frequently mistaken for the latter.
As she was leading q loose life it may
! readily be seen thatthe most serious re-
suits followed from the mistake. The
fact of the existance of double of Miss
Adds is abundantly shown, by a
mass of documentary evidence, includ-
ing letters from the girl herself, and re-
ports from persons employed by her
father aud by Yda Adds to ascertain
/ her whereabouts.
Among the documents in possession
! of Mrs. Storke is a letter written by
Maud Adds, to man in Chihuahua,
in which she narrates the manner in
we'll as the whereabouts of her father.
rect life in Chicago, and one day fell in
with man who called her by name and
expressed the greatest surprise at seeing
her under such circumstances, as he said
he supposed her to be in Mexico. She
! did not dispel the illusion and does not
at Chat time appear to have had any
| idea that she was mistaken for another
woman who was actually half-sister to
her. Undoubtedly her quondom
acquaintance went away believ.
ing her to be the Miss Adds
whom he had been acquainted with.
Before going, however, he gave Maud
the address of her father, and she wrote
him, receiving letters in reply. Subse-
quently Maud went to New York, and
there was taken i'll and was obliged to
| go to the charity hospital at Blackwell's
island. Thence she wrote her father
for assistance, but whether she received
any or not is not known. This was Just
prior to Mr.. Adds death.
After Mrs. Storke learned of the exist
ence of half-sister, through letters
found among her fathers effects, she
employed detectives to learn the wo-
mans whereabouts, with view of OBJ
tanning an acknowledgment from her
OF the manner in which the mistaken
identity occurred. This the documents
now in Mrs. Storke's possession abun-
dainty demonstrate.
Friends of Mrs. Storke know that but
for her delicate health, which has
brought her near to death many times,
this story would not now be given to the
public in her full extenuation.