The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-29
CLAIMS BIG DAMAGES
FOR HIS WIFE'S DEATH
MARTIAL DAVoUsT BRINGS SUIT
FOR $4,000.
Mrs. Davoust Was Cruelty Killed in
Alameda by Coming in Con-
tact With a Live Wire.
Oakland Office San Francisco Call,
Qn8 Rrna dMav Oct %

oakland OIuCe san FRANCISCO Gail,
908 Broadway, Oct. g.
Martial Davoust to-day brought suit in
the Superior Court of Alameda County
against the city Of Alameda and the Sun
set Telephone and Telegraph Company
for $4,000 damages claimed to have been
sustained by reason of the death of his
young wife. caused through the alleged
carelessness Of the agents and servants
Of the defendant corporations.
The terrible particulars of Mrs. Da-
vousts untimely death are still fresh in
memory Of residents of the Encinal city,
The complaint, which was filed late this
afternoon by Reddy, Campbell & Metson,
attorneys for the heartbroken plaintiff
alleges that on September rs last defend
ants carelessly, negligenty and without
regard for human life allowed a certain
wire, connected with other wires and
poles, to fall down upon the ground of a
certain public path used as a passage
way by the residents from Pearl street to
Versailles avenue station; that the wire
was allowed to remain on said path for
over one month previously, and being
heavily charged with electricity, was a
the path. In fact. small boys of the
neighborhood had been seen frequently
throwing tin cans at the wire to see the
sparks fly.
On the particular day mentioned Mrs.
Davoust, bnlhe and happy, walked from
to join her husband at the station, with
out the slightest knowledge of the dan
gerous con, ion Of the wire, and in some
: manner touched or brushed against it and
was so shocked that she was unable to
dientangle herself therefrom, or be res
cued by others. She was burned to death
in the presence of a large number of per-
sons, even the unhappy husband stand
ing by witnessing her agony
The death Of Mrs. Davoust was a Sc
we're shock to the entire community. To
the husband the loss was so severe that
for a time it was feared he would lose his
reason. The deceased was a highly edu-
Tomato and loving wife. The couple had
been living happily in marital bliss for
five years, and the blessings of mother
hood were about to be bestowed upon her
BY reason Of being deprived of the ser
vices, solace, comfort and society of the
wife, and having suffered great bodily in
jury by reason of the shock caused by
her terrible death, plaintiff alleges that
he has been damaged in the sum of $4,000.
Deserted Wife and Children.
OAKLAND, oct. 2S.-Jessie NJ. Sears,
through her attorney, H. S. Aldrich, to-
Gay nled suit for a divorce against Anton
). sears on the ground of desertion. The
PdIttGs were married in 1891, and have
-FOUR nttie children. Thefamily formerly re-
Sldeq IN Alameda. The defendant is a bar
Der by occupation, and was arrested for
failure to provide for his family about a
year ago, when the wife claimed he
squandered his earnings at the card table
The German Altenheim.
OAKLAND, Oct. 28-The Altenbeim
the institution conducted at FrIifyaIe nv
the German Old PEOPLES Home SocietV
has named the following committees for
the annual election: Nominating COM
mittee-Robert Capelle, Ernest Scbl,Iter
Professor Albin Putzker, j. G. OIdelehr
II Henke; ELECTION committee-Fritz
pervisorial committee. G. Oide1ebr
Caesar Berthaw, F. Ruter
\ Sad Tidings of Lost Relatives.
OAKLAND, Oct. 28-Chief OF Po1ica
Fletcher received a letter to-day from
Mrs. Anna e. Collamore of Worcester
Mass, in which she seeks information re.
garding her father. Jared H. jerks. on
Investigation the Chief learned that
jerks, who was a carpenter, was killed
here last December by falling from a
scaffolding on his own residence at Tween
ty-first avenue and East Twenty-fourth
street, East Oakland.