The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-25
MR. WHITE SURPRISED.

Though the EE-Gorern o7's Attorney, He
| KnesC Nothing of the HftE.
| The statements, wired from San Diego
yesterday that viii made by Ex-Governor
John G. Downey had been found among
| the papers in the vaults of the Consoli-
dated National Bank of that place is sure
to create more than little interest In San
| Francis CO..
| The Ex-Governor left valuable estate.
! which has been managed by J. Downey
Harvey, nephew of the deceased, and dis
| tribnted largely to himself, Mrs. Edward
Martin andE Mrs. Peter Domaine. The
ladies named reside in San Francisco and
are sisters of the deceased Ex-Governor.
]. Downey Harvey is Mrs. Martins son bv
her first husband. Mrs. Donahue is the
| widow of the late Peter Donahue and was
his second wife.
| The first wife of Ex-Governor Downey
| was killed in the great railroad disaster at
Tehachapi in 1882. He narrowly escaped
| death himself in the disaster and many of
his friends have said that his mind was so
affected by the shock and the terrible
scenes of the burning to death of his wife
before his own eyes that he never was
quite himself after the terrible event.
He managed his own business affairs,
however. with quite degree of success,
and managed TO get in the newspapers by
engaging himself to marry Yda Adds, a
young lady of some note in Southern Cali
fornia literary circles.
Stephen M. White, who arrived in the
city last evening, knows nothing of the
purported will, although he transacted
much of the legal business of Ex-Governor
Downey.
He says that if the Ex-Governor married
after the will was made the marriage an
nuls it.
At the residence of ]. Downey Harvey
last evening it was ascertained that Mr..
Harvey had gone to Los Angeles. At the
residence of Mrs. Peter Donahue and Mrs
Martin, corner of Bryant and Second
streets, word was given out that the
former lady was sick and could not be in
terviewed, and the latter was not at home.
The estate involved is valued at million
and ahalf
S. p Beach, manager for Mrs. E. Martin,
was seen at his residence last night and
interviewed. The first definite information
that will had been found came Thursday
night in telegram from Los Angeles from
]. Downey Harvey to his aunt, Mrs. Dona-
hue in which he said:
1.-THE heirs under the will are you,
mother, Aunt Minnie and myself"
The "Aunt Minnie" mentioned in the
telegram is half-sister of Ex-Governor
Downey. She is about so years of age and
lives in the Visitacion Convent, Baltimore,
Nd.
Ex-Governor Downey's wife, who was
killed in the Tehachapi disaster, was
Miss Gerradio, Spanish lady, and three
of her brothers now live in Los Angeles.
They have instituted litigation there,
claiming that Downey signed paper
giving to his wife and her heirs certain
property. They contend for $375, 900.
Since the death of the Ex-Governor the
administrator OF the estate has paid many
debts of deceased from the rents of the
property.
Governor Downey died year ago last
March. After the death of his first wife he
married his second cousin, poor honest
girl named Rosa Kelley.
This marriage caused an estrangement
between the Governor and his sisters. Mrs.
Donahue and Mrs. Martin. They held
him here year after his return from a
trip aroun d the world, but by the aid of
Sarstield O'Reilly he gave them the slip
and was spirited away to Los Angeles,
where he married the girl.
She married for a home," said Mr..
Beach, land died childless, her death
antedating the demise of the Governor
This marriage also broke up the friendship
between J. Downey Harvey and his uncle.