The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-08-10


was made of woman. Prior to the passage
of this law, but in anticipation of it, an
old woman calling herself Mrs. Caruth-
ers, with an unmarried son named Finice
Caruthers, arrived in Oregon and settled
upon tract of land of $40 cares, exactly
where tho city of Portland now stands.
AS the law required actual residence and
cultivation, the mother and son drew q
limo through the middle Of their tract.
throwing $50 acres on one side and 32O on
the other. They built house which stood
right on tho line, and the mother lived in
one end OF the house and cultivated her
claim, while the son lived in the other end
and did tho same BY his 500 acres. At the
end of four years both applied to the land
Office at Oregon City, and certificates for
the two tracts were issued In the name of
the government. They lived upon the land
for many years. and no one disputed their
possession Of It, In 1853 tho woman. who
had claimed to DO d widow died and left
her property to her son. AT any rate. he
claimed 1t as sole heir. Two years later he
died, leaving, as 1t was supposed, no heirs.
but some debts. Mr. Silvers, a merchant.
was appointed administrators of the estate,
and as was his lawyer it thus CHANGED
that was drawn into tho case
About this time the state of Oregon
pbh LII q ShiiHi w tllc property unUOr The
law of cschcat, it being supposed that there
were no heirs. Two residents of Portland,
Andrew Knott and Robert Latld, having
been advised by their attorneys that Mrs
Caruthers' had no right under the law to
take land, jumped the property, as wo
say In the west-that is they proceeded to
settle upon 1t, each taking one-half or 100
acres under the homestead law and apply
Ing to the land Office for certificate Of pat
ent appeared at the land office and en-
tered protest, and this was the beginning
of u famous case. 1 argued that the title
OF the old lady was perfect; that the act Of
congress should be construed generously,
ms are the naturalization laws; that the
words his and him should be so con-
strucd rs to include She and her. The
local land Office decided against me. Ger
tilicates were issued to Ladd and Knott I
appealed to the commissioner of the gem
eral land Office here in Washington and
was again oyerruled. 1 carried the case to
the secretary of tho interior and met the
same fate with him.
Not to worry you with legal details,
suit was ut once brought in the state
courts. The solo question involved was
whether or not q woman could take do
nation of land under the act Of congress.
We wero beaten here, and in the supreme
court of the state, but when we finally
reached tho supreme court of tho United
States and asked for an Interpretation of
tho law 1t was decided in our favor. The
women of this day and generation will be
glad TO know that this great tribunal by
that decision, placed woman on an equal
ity with man before the law
You would naturally suppose this to be
tho end of the case, but 1t wasn't In fact,
we had only passed the skirmish line of
this great legal battle.
While this litigation was pending cit
lien of Oregon named Dolph Hannah Wis
tied the southern states and came back
with a great number of deeds from divers
persons named 'Caruthcrs, and placed
them on record conveying this property to
him-that is, the whole $40 acres His
theory was that the old woman Caruthers
mad never been married; that her son,
tinice, was an illegtimatc child, and
therefore could not inherit, and that tho
property descended under the law to her
collateral heirs, of which there were a
great number, rs he claimed, and from
uhcse were the deeds he placed on file.
ABOUT the same time another and the
most important question of all arose Two
oiu pioneers residing In Oregon, named
James Moore and Green Davidson, insisted
that the Old lady's name WAS not 'Caruth-
ers, but Thomas. Their theory was that
her maiden name was Elizabeth Caruth-
erS, and back about 1920 she married q
man or the name of Joseph Thomas In
TENNESSEE that this son, Flnice was the
fruit of that marriage; that Thomas de-
serted her shortly afterwards; that he was
well known character ON the leyees Mt
st. Louis and was q great wrestler-an
athlotc-and was there known by these
men as Wrestling Joe;' that he subse
quently became great nountaincer, hunt
Ing and trapping in the Rocky mountains,
again returning to the lcvecs Mt ST. Louis.
They Slid they believed lie was living, and
that they could find him. They Went back
to Missouri, returned to Oregon with an
old man, then, according to their theory.
more than 80 years of age, and asserted
that he was the husband of the old woman
and as such was the sole heir to all the
property.
by this time the other litigation re-