San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-12-10
FANNY SWEETS WILL.
The Court Recognizes The Sister And
Brother AS Legatees.

ed down the decision in the case of
Fanny Sweets will. She was well
| known throughout the south as a
| courtesan and adventures. When
she died she left property valued at
over fifty thousand dollars. There
| were numerous claimants for the
same, and the state also claimed that
she had died leaving no forced heirs.
! Judge King ruled otherwise. His de-
cision was in favor of Charels Clinton
| Brown of California and a Mrs. Nc
Vey, of Ohio, who claim to be the
brother and sister respectively of the
| deceased
The history of the case is substan-
TALLY as follows:
Charles Clinton Brown, of Sacra-
mentO City, California, and Mrs. Ma
nv McVey, of Huntington, w. Va, al
lege that they are the brother and sis
ter of the deceased whose name was
Rachel Fanny Brown, known during
her life time as Fanny Sweet, Fanny
Maria Hinkey, and Fanny NJ. tHinck-
ley. wife of VIM. Reed Mills; and they
prayed to be put in possession of her
estate as the sole and only heirs.
The state of Louisiana alleged that
Fanny Minerva Seymour's widow of
VIM. Reed Mills maiden name was
Fannie Minerva Seymour; that she
was born in London, England that she
died without leaving any heirs, and
that she so declared in her solemn no.
tarial acts; that the state is her irreg
ular heir, inherits in default of other
heirs, and therefore prays to be so rec
ogniZed.
The public administrator plead the
general issue to the petition filed by
Charles Clinton Brown and Mrs. Ma
ry McVey, and pointed the state in de-
tense of the suit.
The litigation involved the identity
of the deceased. 1t can only be sOlv
ed by examination and study of
mass of conflicting testimony, and
weighing the evidence in the scales,
Of justice.
The facts proven by legal evidence
are that Browns father married in
Virginia in 1914. He then went to
live in Ohio. Five children were born
one of the number being Charles Clin-
ton. They all grew up and attended
school, when Charles disappeared.
From 1871 to 1851 he worked on boats
on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers,
engaged in cutting timber in the
swamps of Louisiana. In 1851 he re-
turned home and resided there perma-
nently. In 1857, having married, he
moved to Missouri, where he, lived I'M
til 1870, when he removed to Califor-
mia, where he has since resided.
Rachel Fanny Brown was born in
Lawrence county, Ohio, on January 9,
1896. In 1S4i she went to live with
her sister in Cincinnati. She lived
there until 1914, when she disappear
ed, and was never seen nor heard Of
from in the state of Ohio until 1857.
In June 1916 young woman who
gave her name as Fanny Minerva
Seymour, shipped from Liverpool, En-
gland, for New York. From New
York she came to New Orleans. In
January 1S47, she appeared at the old
Globe ballroom as Fanny M. Smith,
taking the surname of man she ac-
companied from New York. Smith
died shortly after and she paid his
funeral expenses. She lived in New
Orleans until 1S49, when she left for
California. Her conduct there was
VIGOROUSLY bad. She lived in San
Francisco until 1850 when she went
to Sacramento until December 20,
1852. On that night she shot and
wounded a man named Albert Put
nam, was arrested, carried to the pris-
on ship in the river, from which she
escaped and left California. She
then came to this city.
hnr chn oh
name to Fanny Sweet. On Oct. 1st
1853, she married a man named
Hinckley from New York, in Pana-
ma. She came to this city without
her husband. She staid here a few
months and then went to New York.
Returning here in 1856, she got a di-
vorce from her husband.
From New York she went to Pana-
ma and was there in 1857. In that
year she came here and then went to
Ohio at her old home and resided with
her sister, Mrs. McVey, until a quar-
rel ensued and she returned to New
Orleans.
During the greater part of the year
1858, and during 1859 and 1860 to Ju-
", 1861, she remained in this city,
being known as Fanny Sweet.
In July, 1861, a man named VIM.
G.Stevens obtained a contract from
the Confederate government to go
abroad and buy gunpowder. Fanny
Sweet accompanied him disguised as
a man. They went as far as Houston
Texas, when he discovered her sex.
At Brownsville, Texas. Stevens was
taken suddenly i'll and died. She was
accused of numbering Stevens, but
got $3,255.55 from Stevens succession.
On the 9th of August, 1879, she mar
ried VIM. Reed Mills. They lived
here as husband and wife, until Mills
died in 1891. His will, dated Oct. 8,
1887, was probated, and it left one
half of his property to his wife. Be
fore dying, however, he transferred