The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-15
SISTER AGAINST BROTHER
FERDINAND DICKERT HAS SUIT
BROUGHT AGAINST HIM.
Clara Dickert Claims He Owes Her
$500, But Defendant Declares
He Has Paid All Obligations.

Brother and sister were arrayed
against each other in Judge NorreH's
court yesterday in the case of Clara
Dickert VS.. Ferdinand Dickert. The de-
PENDANT is the we'll known mining man
and capitalist. After lingering for four
years on the court calendar this case,
which has been so frequently and so
extensively aired and re-aired, reached
a conclusion yesterday. First begun in
1892, it has been postponed again and
again to obtain evidence and for var
ious reasons, and nearly two years ago
was partially heard only to be cut short
in the middle by reason of the absence
of certain evidence.
Briefly stated, the controversy be-
about as follows: Twenty years ago
she was living with her aged father
and mother in Popplesdorf, Germany
Her brother. Ferdinand, had come to
America and had been sending sums of
money home frequently to support his
parents Finally he agreed to purchase
his fathers home, taking it as payment
for the money he had advanced, and
agreeing to pay his sister $500 as her
dOwry and a debt of $3.50 which his
father owed an aunt, and to secure
which she had a mortgage on the
homestead. The following year, in
1880, the aunt died, hequeathing all her
property 10 Clara Dickert, including the
mortgage, which, Miss Dickert claims
! her brother had never satisfied. Three
years later the father died. and Miss
Dickert came to this country to live
with her brother. She knew no Eng
liSh. and little law, and So she al
leges in her complaint, her brother al
lowed her inherited mortgage to lapse
and then sold the land and took the
proceeds She claimed also that he had
net paid her the dowry of $500, nor the
rentals of the homestead. which, she
claimed, were to have come to her. Her
brother, in defense, claimed that he had
settled all claims due from him to his
sister by giving her sums of money at
various times aggregatlng $4,000, which
was the amount sued for.
At the interrupted hearing of the case
the case of the plaintiff was nearly
completed, and Miss Dfckert was on the
stand for a few moments yesterday
morning to close 1T up. She is a tall
pale woman, with a strong German
that she is suffering from consumption.
Recently she has been at the poor farm
but by the charity of German friends
she has lately been removed from that
institution. She told ON the stand yes
terday morning the story of her claims
saying that her brother still owed her
in the neighborh0od of $1,50O. The de-
ferEa called Miss Dickert as their only
witness. and she admitted that she had
received money from her brother on
various occasions in sums aggregating
a considerable amount. She claimed
however. that this money came in the
form of gifts from her brother. and not
in satisfaction of his debt to her.
Ferdinand Dickert the defendant, did
not go en- the stand.
The case lasted throughout the day
and at it's conclusion judge Norrell
took it under advisement and will re-
turn a verdict early next week
Powers. Straup & Lippman represent
ed Miss Dickert and Bennett Hardness
Howat. Bradley & Richards and Gus
tave Kroeger appeared for her brother