The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-07-20
THE GOULD WIDOW
FAMILY SKELETONS EXPOSED IN
THE TESTIMONY IN HER LAW
SUIT.
REV. LEIGHTON AS A WITNESS.
HE RECEIVED $1.25 FOR MARRY
ING A YOUNG COUPLE FROM
CANADA.
REV. LEIGHTON AS A WITNESS.
GoULDs SAY 1T is BLAoKMAIL.
An Alleged Daughter of the Dead
Railway King-InterestingE x-
hibits in the Case.


the story Of Jay Goulds life the suit
new pending of an old wrinkled and
illiterate woman, Sarah Ann Angel
by name, for a dover right in $72,O00,-
600 comes like a thunder clap in a
clear sky. But to others the story has
been known for years, and the sue
cess by which the skeleton has been
kept locked in the family closet seems
marvellous. The plaintiff has come
into court and alleged she married
Gould on or about April Is, 1858; that
she lived with him as his lawful wife,
and that when he died he left her
lawful widow. 1t was in 1852 that
Gould went to Rouse's Point with
plans for the survey of the entire state
of New York. The future millionaire
was then but sixteen years old, and
the old woman of today who claims to
be his widow was but fifteen. Her
yellow locks, rural innocence and in
genious simplicity. took Gould's eye,
and, according to the plaintiff he soon
married her. The young couple did
not live together for any length of
time, and shortly after the marriage
the wife separated from her onw fam
lily and went to work as a domestic in
dHOlleI uOU56IOtQ. OnS sun kept n0r
maiden name of Sarah Brown, so the
story goes, and had little intercourse
with her own family. 1t was there
fore a surprise to her father when
she came home one day with a little
daughter.
Nor did his anger melt when the par
ticulars of the wedding were carefully
related to him. Ere ASKED for the proof,
and the daughter produced a marriage
certificate, which, according to the
story she now tells, Rev. Dr. Nathan
Leighton, now of Tunkhannock, Pa,
had lawfully filled out and given to
her. In a fit of rage he tore it up and
threw 1t in the fire. It's loss, however,
seems not to be very material, for
Rev. DR.. Leighton seems to think that
he performed the ceremony. His testi-
mony in the case is that he has book
containing memoranda which gives
record of the marriage of a couple
who might have been Gould and Miss
Angel and the record showed he re-
ceived SIPS for tying the knot DIR.
Leighton remembered a servant girl
who was in his employ during the year
1853 who had remained one year, and
he had married her to George Eds
ford. Her name was Mary Ann Shields.
Witness did not remember that Miss
Shields had been present at the we'd
ntn~~ of "a couple from Canada"
thoIgb sr,ee might have been.
Al that tin5e he kept two kinds of
marriage certificate ps~cnks one of
which it was his fixed rule % Ill out
and give to each bride. The reas.,,h
blanks was that some times the fee re-
ceived would not warrant the giving
of an expensive blank Witness had
some of the blanks left, and one of
them was produced and a copy made
and made part of the testimony.
Mary M. Leighton, the pastors
daughter, testified that she was born
in 1847 and became blind when about
six years of age. She recollected dis
tinctly living with her parents at
Champlain and also being present at
the performance of marriage ceremon-
les there at which her father officiated.
She remembered we'll the domestic,
Mary Ann Shields, and her marriage to
George Edisford, as testified to by her
father. The lawyer, on behalf of the
plaintiff, directed the attention Of the
witness to the visit made to the par
sonage in 1853 of a crippled beggar The
witness described the beggar and spoke
of his tenor voice. She recalled that
it was in the winter, as her father had
caused the snow to be cleared away
out to an old well, that she might play
there.
The beggar incident gains import
ance because Mary Ann Shields, the
far,t r1 It's
ford. Of Ormiston, Canada, fixes the
dates and the parties by the visit of
this crippled beggar.
The Goulds assert that Mrs. Anger Is
but another of the alleged blackmail-
ing claimants to dover rights who
cropped up after the death of the finan-
cier. Three of the psuedo widows were
easily proved impostors This fourth
one will not be put down so easily.
But the interesting exhibit in the
case will be the alleged daughter of
Jay Gould, a Mrs. J. H. Pierce, who is
now living at Rock Springs, Wy Mrs
Pierce never knew anything about her
mother or father, it is alleged, until
a strange woman called on her one day
and told her that her father was Jay
Gould. So one day, when she read
that Mr.. Gould was going to pass
through a nearby town on a trip
through the northwest, she went to
the town, waited for him, and as he
got out of the train said to him:
Mr.. Gould, am your daughter, and
my mother was Sarah Ann Brown"
Gould perhaps remembered Aaron
Burr's famous reply when charged
with paternity of an illegitimate child
IF any woman" said Burr, ''honors
me with a claim of this character am
too much Of a gentleman to deny it."
IF you are my daughter and can
prove it." replied Mr.. Gould, 81 will
see what I can do for you
This conversation, 1t is alleged, was
overheard by a United States marshal,
who has made an affidavit Another
: affidavit, made by a Mr. Fillmore Of
San Francisco, is said to set forth that
Mr.. Gould once told Fillmore that he
had in his youth married girl in the
northern part Of the state, but believed
she was dead.
GREATEST CHURCH ON EARTH