The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-07
TWO WIDOWS OF ONE MAN,
Mrs. Monkey No. Is Suing Mrs
Monkey No. 2 for a Valu-
able Estate.
She Claims That Her Husband Left
Her in 1S49 to Come to
California.

A curious suit, involving two "widows"
of one man, is being tried in Judge Heb
bard's court. 1t is entitled "Elizab beth L..
Monkey VS.. Elizabeth w. H. Doe, some
times called Elizabeth w. II. Monkey and
sometimes called Elizabeth w. Monkey"
The question as to who is the true widow
involves the possession of a large amount
of property valued at over 100000.
The plaintiff in this suit says that she
married John Smith Monkey on May Is,
1S49, in Baltimore, Md, and the marriage
had never been dissolved. Monkey died
September 10, 1892, in San Francisco, leav-
ing property In this City of the above
value, including land on the corner of Nc
Allister street and Van Ness avenue in
cum bered by mortgage to secure the pay
ment of note for $4,000 to the Hibernia
Bank. Moxley afterward sold portion OF
this tract for more than $4,000, which was
applied by Moxley to the discharge of the
note.
On May %, 1891, Monkey is said to have
sold another piece of said real estate for
$500 and purchased piece of land within
the University Mound survey.
Up to September 10, 1892, ell the lands
referred to stood in the name of John
Smith Monkey unincumbered, and were
assessed in his name. On September 10
1892, the second widow, under the name OF
Elizabeth W. II. Monkey, filed for record
an absolute deed conveying to her the Nc
Alllster-street property. The deed was
dated August Is, 1885, and the considera-
ton was thus stated:
In consideration of the love and affection
which said party of the first party has and
bears unto the said party of the second part, as
also for the better maintenance support, pro.
n No gQi mari U of I he
second part.
On the same day of the filing of this
deed, viz, on September 10, 1892, the San
Francisco widow filed another deed con-
veying to her the University Mound prop
erty, dated August l, 1891, the considera-
ton being the same.
The Baltimore widow declares that she
only learned of the existence of the deeds
October l, 1898, and at once instituted an
investigation. She says that the claim OF
the San Francisco widow is false and that
it was made to "cheat and defraud the
plaintiff out of her rights and interest in
said property and to deprive her of the
means of support and maintenance right
fully belonging to her as the wife of John
Smith Monkey"
She claims all the property as commun-
ity property, and that the San Francisco
widows claim to it is wholly fraudulent
and fictitious and without merit" She is
asking the courts to restrain her rival from
dlsposing of or incum boring the property.
During the proceedings yesterday long
affidavits by the Baltimore widow, who is
detained in the East by an incurable cancer,
were read by Attorney Hughes In them
she gave the details of her marriage to
Monkey and his departure for California to
be absent three years. She had afterward
seen her husband, but could not prevail
upon him to return to her. She had re-
manned single during her long years of
waiting.
On one occasion she had been offered
$1,000 to grant her husband a divorce, but
had refused and had Instituted investiga-
tons in this City to find that another
woman was posing as her husband wife.
She had objected to divorce on religious
grounds.
The defense relies upon the validity of
the deeds which passed between Monkey
and his San Francisco wife.