The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-30
A Suit to Enforce Payment OF
100000 and Interest for
Twenty Years.
ALLEGATIONS OF FORGERY.
The Alleged Signer of the Document
to the Day Of His Death Denied
Its Authenticity.

NJ uruOCk, tWeIty years ago, give nOVe lot
$1,000 to the wife of his cousin, GAVIN
Murdoch, or is this note, which, with ac-
crued interest, would absorb nearly the
entire big estate of the late wealthy
rancher, forgery?
That is a question now at issue in the
court of Glenn County which is being
watched with intense interest by the peo-
pie of Glenn, Colusa, Yuba and Butte
counties.
"Murdock VS.. Murdoch is the title of
the case as it appears on the docket of the
Glenn County Court, and it is as replete
with sensation and mystery as any that has
ever been heard in the courts of the State.
The plaintiff is Mrs. Mary Ellen Murdoch,
wife of GAVIN Murdoch, a prominent and
wealthy farmer of Glenn County and
daughter of an honored, now deceased,
citizen, Mr. Ashurst. and sister of Samuel
Ashurst, a wealthy and prosperous resi-
dent of the same county. The defend
ants are the executors of the es-
tate of William Murdoch, wealthy
rancher, who resided near Orland in Glenn
County, but who was temporarily staying
with his sister, Mrs. Mary Compton, of
Chico Butte County, when he died, on
duudlg Q, 1COt. Iuc SAcCulOIS are w L .
Harrington, Colusa banker; B. H. Bur-
ton, prominent and wealthy citizen, and
Adam Compton, nephew of the late Will
liam Murdoch. The attorney for defend
ants, who held in trust the will, is F. c..
Lusk of Chico.
William Murdoch owned large ranches
in Glenn County and much other property.
He was bachelor, with numerous kindred.
He had been successful and was man
who made his business transactions ON a
cash basis. He had brother who lived
and died in Marysville, whose name was
John Murdoch. This man lived with a
Spanish woman, and the children that
were born to them he acknowledged as his
before he died. There was a cousin of
these brothers, Samuel Murdoch, who was
the father of GAVIN Murdoch, who married
Mary Ellen Ashurst, who is the plaintiff.
William Murdoch grew old and feeble,
and when his health gave way he deter
mined to go to San Francisco to a sani-
tarium. He started and accidentally met
Mrs. GAVIN Murdoch on the train. She
paid him great attention and accompanied
him to the sanitariup, where she visited
him quite often, and left postal cards with
her San Francisco address on them, asking
the nurse to keep her informed as to Mr..
Murdock's condition. Mr.. Murdoch had
disliked her very much because, as he al
legged, she had treated her fatherin-law
Samuel Murdoch, badly, causing him at
one time to leave the house of GAVIN on ac-
count of the i'll treatment accorded him by
Gawn's wife, and had gone to William
Murdock's house for several months. But
L. W.
to believe that all that had been said of her
was not true, so he called to see her several
times at her lodgings in San Francisco
after he had recovered from his illness.
In the autumn of 1893, after William
Murdoch had returned to his home, his at
torney, F. G. Lusk OF Chico, received a
letter from one John Carnage of San Fran
cisco asking about John Murdoch who
was possessed of large interests in Butte
County, and saying there was a question
involving large sum of money, and If
Lusk was interested in the matter he de-
sired to communicate with him regarding
it. Two weeks later he received another
letter from Carnage stating that he was
mistsken in the name, and that it was Will
liam instead of John Murdoch he had
referred to-
Then Detective Carnage, for such he
proved to be, wrote to Lusk that note for
500, 900 was in the hands of certain persons
who had secured it through Mrs Minnie
Murdoch. These persons, the detective
said, seemed to think the note was either a
forgery or had been secured in some
peculiar manner from William Murdoch.
Interested parties had told him that the
note was not yet due, and that it was as
signed, for a valuable consideration. to 8
person in Ohio.
The case was becoming interesting, and
so Lusk posted to the city and called on
Carnage about October 25 1893. The de-
tective said that the woman who held tn,
note was a niece of William Murdoch, that
she was part Spanish and that she said she
was a natural child. He did not know
where she lived, or if she were married or
a widow. He had not seen the note him.
self. He said he had obtained the clew in
looking up what he believed to be fraud
ulent scheme, not to be brought to light
until after the death of William Murdoch.
Lusk then asked the detective to ascer-
tain the identity of the woman, if possible.
he being at that time not acquainted with
Mrs. GAVIN Murdoch, but he knew there
was a relative of Murdoch, living near
Orland, named GAVIN Murdoch, with
whom he was slightly acquainted, know
ing of the relationship from conversation
with his client at the time Lusk drew up
William Murdock's WILL
Returning to Chico Lusk sent for Will
liam Murdoch and told him what he had
learned. The latter became angry, said he
had never given any such note to any one
under any circumstances; that he had
never heard of the note, and had only
once or twice in his life given note. and
then for small amounts, paying them off
soon afterward, as he nearly always had
ready money. He talked a great deal
about the matter, stating that if there was
such note in existence it was a forgery.
Then he requested Lusk to spare no reason
able means to discover the plotters of the
alleged fraud that he might have them
punished
When informed that the holder was
niece of his Murdoch said he knew of none
of his kin whom he would believe guilty of
what he denounced as "a great fraud. 4"
Then he bethought himself of the children