The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-01-10
TO ANNUL DUKE MARRIAGE.
SUIT BEGUN AND the BRIDES
RF ORD LOOKED UP.

thum, NlrS- DcspIllneS, IeNOW WIZ
ncss-Duke says lie Can't Remember
Marrying Iier-Long Spree at Hotel.
A suit for the annulment Of the marriage
OF Brodie l.. Duke. who is now in a sanl-
tarium at Flushing l.. l., TO the woman
who called herself Alice H. Webb has been
instituted in the supreme Court by Nicoh.
Anable & Lindsay, attorneys for Dukes
relatives. A. was learned yesterday the
papers IN this suit were served upon Mrs.
Duke at the Park Avenue Hotel on Satur-
day, the day after her husband bad been
committed to Bellevue.
The allegation is made in the suit that
Duke was mentally irresponsible both
at the time OF his marriage aud for soma
time prior to it, Detective. employed by
the lawyers and 10y M Dukes son and
brothers have been for some weeks past
gathering evidence which will be used in
this suit and which has already been put
at the disposal OF the District Attorney
for any action which he may see tit TO take.
This evidence goes to show that for some
weeks prior 10 the marriage Of Duke and
the Webb woman at Or parkhur-t's church
on Dec 10 they bad been living at the Hotel
winton. a Rane~ law hotel at Park avenue
and 10th street With them was Agnes
Desplaines Mrs Dukes companion who,
it is alleged was al one time hou-ekeeper
for the resort known as the House of All
Nations has run other places ia this town
which have been under the eye OF the police,
and was witness before the Lexow COM
mittee She and the Webb woman, 1t
appears. have been friends for years.
According To the detectives the two
women and sundry acquaintance. male
and female, had one grand spree at Dukes
expense while at the Harlem hotel Every
thing was charged to Duke. and nurse
who was summoned collected at the bar
the bill for his services 1t was Wills these
goings on were at their height that Duke
and the Webb woman went to DR. Park
hurst's church on Dec 10 and got the
Rev Mr.. Coe 10 marry them, DR. Hirst"
and one &C. " Thompson going with
them az witnesses Who these two men
were has not been learned yet After the
marriage Duke and his wife went back
to the Winton, where they stayed until
| Dcl %. when they went 80 the Park Ave-
| nue. I.ytel
They first appeared at the Winton with
Duke. the detectives say. on Dec. 3. While
they we're there efforts we're made 10
raise money on three promissoiy notes
made by Duke for s. 900 apiece. An attempt
was made to get money on these through
Collector Charles II. Treat, but that failed.
| The notes are now in the possession Of
! r.. II Kaufman broker OF ~ Broadway,
\ who had agreed TO try to negotiate them.
D,.ka since he got to the sanitarlum, -
said 10 have told his brother and son that
he remembers nothing about getting mar
| ried, and not much about anything that
has happened Ia the Vast few weeks. No
body has been able to find out just what
the experience had cost him. Mr.. Duke
liz expected to be able 10 tell a somewhat
| clearer story later. and il may be that
the District Attorney will make use Of the
| information which has been lodged with
! him. No formal complaint has been made
as vet Mr. Jerome said yesterday
Duke il not az rich a man "a has been said.
He is not "A brother, but halI brother.
of BENJAMIN y. Duke and james h. Duke
Of the American Tobacco Company he
got equal shares with them, however In
the American Tobacco Company, but dis
posed OF his holdings, and to large extent
has dissipated his fortune His father
when alive made him an allowance, and u
Is said that this IS stiil continued he
has q small equity in t250,0 900 worth OF real
estate and some stock in few tobacco
companies down South, He has been away
from home a great deal.
The first the family knew OF his acquaint-
npce with the Webb woman, according To
Information given out yesterday, was in
October, when he turned up at his home
at Durham, n. c., with the woman. IL
was not until week or two ago that Is.
Lawrence Duke, his son, came here to
find out what had become OF his father.
Then the detectives We're put on the case.
According TO a story told yesterday, one
Of the Duke brothers, presumably Benjamin
". Duke, who lives at the Hoffman House,
was called up on the telephone at that hotel
by woman, who SAID;
This ia your now sister-in-law. l called
UP to tell you that | have married your
brother Brodie. / want to tell you we are
very happy. Mr.. Duke wants to talk to
MIR. Duke heard some conversation and
then q voice which he recognized as his
brothers came over the phone 1t said:
"This little Texas girl has got me, and got
BENJAMIN y. Duke asked his brother II
he was satisfied, or something TO that effect,
and there was a conversation nt mo other
end OF the telephone in which he heard
womens voices Then ms OF hIolher said!
The Dukes did not AT that time know whore
Brodie Duke was NhBt rcclly started che
detectives 10 work wag TIC IN 'wledge
which came 10 his family that DuSe had
zone back 70 Durham and tined TO ~lLt
10 his affairs there, among other things
asking that about 10000 worth Of secun-
ties he held there be forwarded 70 him
in this city.
When the lawyers and detectives learned
Of the marriage they set about finding ont
who the bride was According 20 niorna-
ton which has since been collected rhe
brought suit In 1893 against George W
Hopkinson. a wealthy perfumer, for divorce
and alimony, IA a common law wife aileg-
ing that col Charles >. Spencer OF theNnth
Regiment had performed a Quaker cere-
monyT HopMnson was def fed by Howe
4 Hummel and through them set up as
defence that the woman was not his VIE
and that she had signed an agreement
prior 10 the action f1rfeIting her nght-
az such.
On the trial she admitted that she had
signed a release for 81 900. Her father az
that date was William r. Webb Of Buffalo,
not william H. Webb Of New YORK, ana It
appeared that She was brought up IN
Buffalo orphan asylum. Affidavit were
presented 10 show that in May. 800 she
was living with Murat Masterson OF Arizona
in a fat in West Thirty--iHth street. and
on the 18TH OF that month shot at him be-
cause he was jealous Of a visitor Of hers
named Hardman.
A. that time Masterson told the police
he was a mining man worth S5,OJO,OOO.
She said she was his cousin and was in