The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-06-10
A STRANGE LAWm'
In Which the Defendant
with na4th Z
a Race

In which the Defendant IA Race
with Death. VII
When Thomas NJ. (ueFl tnbush
proved that he had not m b 4 al sec
ond time his life work wa tli4ds and
his vitality was eXhaustedih
But for this unusual lit Ib4 that
came to harass him after he .oI passed
| rs years of age, Mr.. Quackenluif fwould
have been but little known iotI HE com
munity. He was a quiet ao e Ilulator
of money from rents and inioHfest. n
man usually gains attention Re from
money he spends than from Hlrney he
boards, and as spending wasnittle to
| Quackenbush's taste, he was Kmost a
recnse in his roomy house at ,tAI1 Web
ster street. sd
He had the genius for fna, iii He
used to tell with Fusto of his a1qIWarn-
ings in California;. lie arril, e I(yiSan
Francisco in 1S49, and left ,eefassel
about nine o'clock in the evenh llpvith-
out one cent to pay for food Z, bed.
BIT he had a package containiil G $50
copies of the New York Herald of the
date of his departure. He cried the
papers on the street, and before he
sought place to sleep he had sold every
paper for one dollar a copy. This $3.50
was the beginning of his capital
He was a good carpenter, and had
abundant enterprise and suggestive
| ness. Mechanical skill was readily sal
able in San Francisco in 1849, and
| Quackenbush soon was taking A'con-
tracts for building houses, for Plumbing
water from cellars, for eXeavafi6ns and
for filling. All his contracts were
! profitable, and in two or three years he
was in such financial condition that he
returned to Schenectady, n. Y, for his
wife and baby daughter. While he was
there his wife was killed by a fall from
| a horse. The widower brought his child
to San Francisco and resumed his bust
| ness. occasionally making investments
| in lots. but never makinga purchase that
brought loss to him. As money grew
he loaned it on the best security. Twen-
~ years ago he bought the property at
the northeast corner of McAllister
and Polk streets. Among other enter
prises by which he gained money in
| early days was providing benches for
the circuses that came hither, and for
many years he continued to be pur-
Neyor of seats for tent shows.
His possessions reached some $780,
900. Practically all of his property was
conveyed to his daughter several
months ago. This transfer was not the
result of the litigation with Mrs. Alb
bolt, so his attorney, f. j. Pringle, says.
For a long time it was Mr.. Quacken
bush's purpose to transfer his posses
sions to his daughter while he yet lived,
and the deeds that We're filed in Novem-
Der last were drawn even so long ago as
January, 1896. This daughter, Mrs.
Swortfiguer, and her two children are
the only surviving relatives ON this
coast.
1t was in September or October last
that Mr. Quackenbush, &c years of age,
and breaking down in health, learned
that Mrs. Nancy \. Abbott, a woman
who had conducted a boarding house at
which he had lived, was declaring her
self his wife. He determined to prevent
any of his property reaching her, and
Immediately he brought suit to adjudge
that she was not his wife. She re- 4
torted with a suit for maintenance. 'Tfltt
attorneys for Quackenbush FASTENED
the suit to trial, that Judgment might :
be obtained before he should die. Here
was the strangest race ever run with
death.
In each of the two suits Judgment was
given in his favor. That last paper
was filed one Saturday. The next morn
ing about one o'clock death came.
Quackenbush had won by day.-San
Francisco Chronicle.