The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-05-12
MULLANY'S Will
Another Hearing Yesterday
in the Contest for the
Bayonne Estate.
THE ALLEGED WIFE'S PLEA
Efforts of Heirs to Blacken
the Claimants Char
acter.

Another hearing in the seemingly in
| terminable contest for the estate OF the
late Michael Mullaney, of Bayonne, was
held in the Orphans Court yesterday
| afternoon before Judge Blair. Pauline ID.
Mullaney. who claims to have been Mul-
| lapey's common law wife, is seeking
/ dover interest in the estate and she also
/ wants to be appointed administrative.
| Mullaney's snephews and nieces, fourteen
/ of them are bitterly contesting her clalm
| At the previous hearings 1t was SHOWN
| that the claimant left Mullaney eighteen
| wears ago and that since then She mas
been consorting with negroes in Newark
| and was recognized as the wife OF at
| least two colored men there The case
! would have been closed last February,
but at hearing in the latter part OF that
month Lawyer Salter, who represents the
/ claimant, charged the other side with nav
! ing fraudulent1y obtained release from
his client for $500. The lawyer fiourished
! three 500 bills and declared that they
were the price for which Mrs. Muilaney
| had been fraudulently induced to sign on
her claim.
The hearing yesterday was for the pur-
| pose of showing that Mrs. Mullaney not
only signed the release voluntarily but
! that the transaction was at her sohcita-
| ton.
Alexander Martin, a collector and real
estate dealer at No. 80 East Forty-hrst
street, Bayonne, testified that he was tine
man who was instrumental in securing
the release. He was also the man VINO
brought about the contest. When Null
! laney died in December last Martin hunt
/ ed up Mrs Mullaney and persuaded her
that she was entitled to dover. He also
persuaded Lawyer Salter to take the case.
/ Toward the end, fearing that there was
| no money in it for him on that SIDE, ne
i went over to the other side and procured
4 the release. Mr.. Martin is very sllcK
and very voluble individual. He tesu-
| fed yesterday that at the nearing Oh
February he met Mrs. Mullaney IN the
4 corridor of the Court House with hef
/ adopted daughter. Mrs. MulIaney sa"
Mayors detective Farrell of Newark come
| in with a colored woman named Mrs.
Rink. who was there to contradict some
i testimony which had been given by her
husband, who was witness for Mrs Null
,aney. Mrs Mullaney, according to Mar
tins testimony, became alarmed and SAID
to him: @You got me into this ard now
4
So and you will never see me in this
/ Court House again. I want to get away.
Martin said that he told Lawyer Salter
about this and Mr.. Salter said he o.dn't
care how many colored witnesses they
brought. subsequently Martin called on
Mrs. Mullaney and she told him that her
neighbors were jeering at her for her ef-
forts to get part of the Mullaney estate,
| and making her life miserable. She asked
| him again to get her out of the trouble
and told him that if she got only s1OO she
would be satisfied. Martin told Mrs. Null
laney that he would try and get her $500,
Mrs. Mullaney cried and begged him 10
| effect a settlement at any price. Martin
called on Bergen B. Smith, the husband
of one of Mulaney's niece and told him
that Mrs Mullaney would sign release
for s40o Smith said he would see his wife's
relative and consult them about it. At
terward Smith told Martin that the rela-
tives were willing to pay $4Oo.
when Martin and Mrs Mullaney were
at the Central Railroad depot waiting for
a train to take them to Elizabeth where
the business was to be settled in Lawyer
Marsh,s Office, a colored man, named
j Holmes. one, of Mrs. Mullaney's alleged
talk TO them about the case. Mrs. Null
laney said to him:-"Go away, I don't
want any niggers advice Holmes said
he had been advised by a white lawyer
that he was her husband that that it was
his right and duty to protect her. Mrs.
j Mullaney ordered Holmes to go away
Martin and Mrs Mullaney went to Law
yer Marsh's Office Mrs. Mullaney signed
the releaseand received the money. Martin
said that all he got out of it was $780,
Martin also testified that while looking
through Mr. Salter's papers he found an
agreement by which Mrs. Salter was to
receive one-half of the amount recovered
from the estate
"Did I ever speak to you about set
tlement?'' asked Mr.. Salter.
s.Yes," replied Martin, "you asked me
/ what / thought of it, and you suggested
that Mrs Salter might be indicted for
| perjury
.tDidn't I write letter to Bergen B.
Smith at your SUGGESTION"
NO"
Don't you know you're lying?"
Il know that you're lying
Judge Blair raped his gavel sharply
and the controversy ceased.
Dr. Archibald c. Forman, of Bayonne,
testified that Mr. Smith gave him s40o.
He gave $500 of it to Mrs Mullaney and
. the remainder to Martin, after deducting
his own expenses. Mrs. MuIlaney signed
the release Bergen B.. Smith testified
that Martin told him that Mrs. Mullaney
would settle for $40O Mr.. Salter intimat-
ed to him that he would be willing to
settle for s1oO from each of the fourteen
heirs.
Mr. Salter produced number of wit
nesses who were willing to testify that
Martin has very bad reputation for ver-
acity, but he was unable to get much OF
their testimony in. The Rev. III. w. Nc
CURE, an Episcopal minister in Bayonne.
testified that he knew Martin and that his
reputation for veracity was not good. Sew
eral other witnesses testified to the same
effect while Martin was swearing at them
in an undertone. The hearing was con-
tinued until next Friday.