The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-03-11
MRS. TERRY ADJUDGED INSANE
Aer only Friend, an Old Negro Woman,
Makes the COMPLAINT.

Makes the Complaint.
SAN FRANCISCO, March 10-Mrs. Sarah
Aithea Sharon Terry was today examined
by the commissioners of insanity and
| formally committed to the state asylum
Tor the insane at Stockton, Cal Judge
Levy held court in Judge LAWYERS court
room, but even these larger quarters were
crowded with spectators. Mrs. Terry.
however, did not seem surprised or nery-
Gus at the sight of so large a number of
strange faces, but when the case opened
she began weeping.
NANNY" Pleasant, Mrs. Terry's col
ored nurse, was the first witness. She re-
lated various incidents recently occur
ing to indicate that Mrs. Terry was
insane. ''She is constantly talking
about spirits and Judge Terry" said
Nanny Pleasant, land 1 am afraid she
may harm herself OF others"
Mrs. Terry here arose and asked permits
sion to question the witness. which the
court finally granted. She then put long
series OF lnterrogations to witness. which
covered her doings from the time she left
the Culbreth residence until she finally
left Nanny Peasants house. To some
questions witness said: Don't let us
talk about that" But 1 want to-" re-
sponded Mrs. Terry. II want to show
who has the best memory. Why did you
have me arrested?" 81 did not saw your
mind was wrong" responded Nanny
Pleasant 81 said you were affected by
spiritualism"
Mrs. Terry denied she believed in
spirituallsm, but said she believed in
electricity. She then wandered in her
questioning, and finally, in telling how
she treated Mrs. Parks, whom she did not
like, Mrs. Terry broke into hilarious
laughter. Mrs. Terry was next placed on
the witness stand, and talked incoher-
emily. After several other witnesses had
been examined the court adjourned until
Up. m.
In the meantime an order was signed
committing Mrs. Terry to Stockton.
Mrs. Terry was cared for tonight at the
home of inebriates, and will be taken to
| the Stockton asylum in the morning.
[Sarah Althea Hill was born in Cape Girar-
deau, Mo-, forty-two years ago. She was the
prettiest girl in all that section of country, and
came of a wealthy family, but her temper re-
PEELED those who would have been her friends.
AT an early age she was left orphan, with
$4,000. In person she was plump, fair and OF
medium height, had creamy complexion,
beautiful teeth and pair of eyes that danced
after reaching legal age made her fortune
dwindle rapidly. Her highest ambition seemed
to be to eclipse her female rivals. This she ac-
complished most decidedly, for half the young
men OF the county were infatuated with her.
She had not only two, but usually half dozen
strings to her bow, and was engaged at one and
the same time to three men. Although flrt,
her reputation was untarnished, and not hint
of scandal breathed about her. Her
terrific temper manifested itself in
her love affairs, and she compelled
her lovers to bow to her iron rule. She
fell really in love with one young man,
but quarreled with him; then, anxious to leave
Missouri, she seized opportunity to go to
San Francisco with rich young uncle, who
established her in a suite OF rooms in the Palace
hotel, owned by Senator Sharon, who lived
there. In 1880 she met the senator, who was
unprepossessing individual, lean, understood,
fat chested, thin OF face and figure, with small
features, snub nose, and keen, ferretlike eyes.
He dressed in a style which emphasized this
leanness and made him look like a country
clergyman-all in plain ill-titting black, with
his scant locks of hair drawn across his bald
forehead and piastered down smoothly on the
back OF his head. He was estimated to be
worth sl5,o0o,0oo, which he made in the great
Comstock lode and other silver mining prop
erty. His senatorshlp was purchased with a
part OF the fortune. Sarah became his mistress,
as he testified, on salary OF $500 month.
At the end of six months he thought this
too extravagant and ceased the arrangement.
In November. 1855, Sarah Althea Hill sued the
withered millionaire for divorce. alimony and
half his fortune After extraordinary litigation
the woman Triumphant, for it seems that
Sharon had dictated Il marriage contract and
signed it, The trials were full of perjury. In
their course it was found that Sarah was pro-
found believer in spiritualism and in the occult
power OF clairvoyants, and that she had paid
"Mammy" Pleasant SIS for specially prepared
love potion TO place under the senator's pillow.
She went into Chinatown and hunted up hi,
Sharon's body servant, to make arrangements
for CARRYING this and other charms into the SEN
ator's sleeping apartments; she wore a pair OF
sharon's dirty socks and bit of one OF his old
undershirts next to her skin in the hope of max
ing him love her Her final exploit to
place some OF the senstors undergarments in a
new made graye-a potent charm which she OBJ
tanned from one of her ClniTvoyant advisers,
Sharon died in 1885, and after Judge David S
Terry who had been her attorney because he
hated Sharon, married her. Then Judge stephen
J. Field, who hated Terry, permitted the ease
against Sharon to be appealed to the federal
court. aud decided against her. During the
reading of the decision Mrs. Terry and her nus
band who was armed with huge bowie-kniie,
made an extraordinary demonstration in court
and were locked up. Almost a year afterward,
in August 1852 Terry shot dead at Lathrop,
Cal, by deputy marshal, while beating Judge
Field. The shock unbalanced Mrs. Terry's
mind. and she has been insane ever since. She
came to san Francisco three weeks ago from
Fresno. almost peuniless. Old Nanny Pleasant
-, nd stA .EaG m hat