The San Francisco call., 1896-03-28
TRAIL Of FORGERY
AND PERJURY.
The Grand Jury Gets New
Light on a Cele-
brated Case.
AN IMPORTANT WITNESS
Mrs. Sarah R. Spencer, Formerly
Mrs. Owen, Tells Her
Story.
SHE WAS FALSELY ACCUSED.
Sequel to the Forging of Harriet P
Christy's Name and the Trial
of C.. Won Tiedeman.

The Grand Jury is on the trail of gang
of perjurers and forgers and several in
dictments may follow. In March, 1894, an
attempt was made by forging the name of
Harriet P Christy to record fraudulent
mortgage on her property and raise
thereby $4,000, but the scheme was dis
covered and G. Won Tiedeman arrested and
tried for completely in the transaction. 1t
was alleged that he endeavored to get Mr..
Mulcahy, a cigar-dealer near the City
Hall, to file the fraudulent instrument.
There was testimony on Won Tiedeman's
trial before Judge Belcher of the Superior
Court that lady representing herself to
be Harriet P. Christy signed the docu-
ments in the presence OF Lee d. Craig.
The picture of Mrs. Sarah R. Owen, living
at Twenty-fourth and Shotwell streets,
was produced at the trial, and four or five
witnesses swore that it was the photograph
of a lady who signed the name of Harriet
P. Christy.
This testimony was vigorously con-
tradicted, and proof was offered that Mrs.
Owen was not in San Francisco on March
s, 1894. when the forgery was committed.
Judge Frederick Adams OF Oakland
knew then positively that Mrs. Owen was
in Chicago, for he was in constant receipt
of letters from her, but his knowledge did
not change the current in favor of the
accused Won Tiedeman, who was acquitted.
That a woman associating with gang
of swindlers did personate Harriet P.
Christy there is no doubt. That the
woman was not Mrs. Sarah r. Owen was
fully established by evidence presented to
the Grand Jury yesterday.
The chief witness yesterday was Mrs. Sa-
rah r. Spencer, formerly Mrs. Owen. When
she lett San Francisco in February, 1895,
she was Mrs. Owen, widow of Mr.. Owen, a
former rancher residing near Red Bluff.
In March, 1895, at the Fifth-avenue Hotel,
New York, she married Mr.. Spencer. Her
husband was one of the witnesses vesIer-
day. Mrs. Spencer is a lady who has
property and money. She is an invalid,
and had to be carried to the jury in
an invalid's chair, but she told her story
in manner which fully convinced every
one of the jury that her statements were
true.
She produced board bills and receipts
from the Palmer House, Chicago, showing
conclusively by the hotel stamp that she
was there on the very day that the name
of Harriet P. Christy was forged in San
Francisco. Tracing her line of travel, she
produced a record of extension of her
tickets at Hot Springs, Ark. She was sus-
tanned by the testimony of two ladies who
accompanied her across the bay on her de-
parture from San Francisco prior to the
time the forgery was committed.
\ l. n L.
duced letters from Mrs. Spencer with Pal
mer House envelopes, addressed in her
own handwriting and bearing Chicago
postmark of mailing and Oakland post
mark of receipt. One letter was written
two days before the forgery and one two
days otter. These proofs of Mrs. Spencer's
presence in Chicago on the day in March,
1894, that the false with esses swore that
she was at the office of Craig, the notary,
were submitted to the Grand Jury.
Z. d. Piexotto, Assistant District Attor-
ney, who conducted the prosecution of
Tiedeman in Judge Belcher's Court in
MAY, 1895, was a witness. Other witnesses
were L. A. Souc, real estate man; James
Magic, Mrs. spencer's attorney; Oscar
Tolle, clerk of Judge Belcher's court, and
.D. D..
court. The notes of the stenographer
were produced to show the names of the
witnesses who swore that Mrs. Owen
signed the papers at the notary's office.
Mr.. Abbott, the railroad ticket agent
who sold Mrs. Owen her ticket East, gave
testimony showing the date the ticket was
sold.
The strong chain of evidence presented
was linked together by Detective Tho mas
Dillon. In the hearing of witnesses, Alfred
P. Black, Assistant District Attorney, at
tended the session of the Grand Jury.
Detective Dillon has two women under
suspicion in this case. One of them is
Kittie Fletcher, who was accused of steal
ing property. She subsequently jumped
her bail and went away with her husband.
John Desmond, who was on her bond. got
fourteen years in the penitentiary for
swearing that he owned real estate on
Minna street, which, in fact, belonged to
the Treadwell estate.
1t is not clear at present just how many
people were connected with this gang of
swindlers. The forgery of Harriet P.
Christy's name did not succeed, as SINH
lar game did in the celebrated Emma Dick
case. There is proof now before the Grand
Jury which may send some of the gang to
prison for perjury and compel others to
disclose the name of the ringleader.
The committee on water and gas corpo-
rations of the Grand Jury, consisting of
Cornelius O'Connor, G. S. Laumeister and
A. F. Price, recently received long letter
from Joseph B. Crockett, president of the
San Francisco Gas Company. 1t is set
forth in the communication that the gas
company's customers number 10000, and
that the deposit fund does not exceed $685.
000 The president explained that it was
formerly the custom to exact deposit
from every customer, whether known or
unknown. Now deposit is not required
from any customer who can give guar
antee.
The Health Department committee OF
the jury, P. f. Butler, Louis Feldmann
and E. E. Cheever, will visit the Aims
house next Tuesday.