The San Francisco call., 1908-10-04
SAYS MRS. DUNPHY
IS POLYGAM|ST
Cattleman Ayers She Failed to
Divorce Other Husbands
Before Wedding Him
Declares That She Secured Her
Decree From Him on
False Testimony

Polygamy is the latest charge made
by James Clay. Dunphy, the wealthy
and dissipated cattle rancher. against
his ex-wife, Edith NJ Dunphy. He had
already accused her of being biga-
mist, but yesterday filed an affidavit.
asserting that when she married him
she had three prior husbands alive and
undivorced.
from Dunphy by Judge Graham on the
ground of cruelty and inidelity, and
the cattleman was ordered to pay her
lump sum of $4,000 in lieu of ALI
nony. he made no attempt to oppose
her suit for divorce, although now
claiming he was blindly infatuated
With her, but since the 100000 order
vas made against him he has filed a
petition to reopen the case and have it
reheard
In former affidavit he stated that
the three husbands of Mrs. Dunphy
prior to her marriage with him were,
in order, one Sunderhouse of Shasta, a
man named Coffey of San Francisco
and Judge Julius Silverstone of Port
land. She told Dunphy she had been.
divorced from each of the trio Dun
ply denied, in his first affidavit, that
she was ever divorced from Silver
stone, and now, in the supplementary
afhdavit filed yesterday, he charges
mat she was not divorced from any
one of the three
The public records of San Francisco
having been burned, Dunphy caused a
search to be made of the morning news
papers covering the times when Mrs.
Dunphy told him she had obtained di-
vorces from Sunderhouse and Coffey.
NO item was published in the papers
mentioning such DEGREES, Dunphy AYERS,
and, although he himself looked
through the papers, he was unable to
ind that she had obtained divorces
Sunderhouse died about two years ago,
but COREY is living in San Francisco,
according to Dunphy.
Il now state, upon information and
belief, that no valid decree of divorce
was ever obtained from either Sunder-
house, Coney or Silverstone, and that
plaintiff is now the widow of Sunder-
house; and that, if this be not the
fact, she is now the wife of Julius Sill
verstone. She informed me that the
divorce proceedings between her and
Silverstone were agreed upon and col
lusive and fraudulent"
The kind of defense Dunphy would
make to his wife's allegations of
cruelty. if allowed to reopen the case,
is also indicated in the affidavit. He
asserts that he was induced by her to
make no defense to the suit. Il was SO
infatuated with her and so under her
influence that / was blinded to her real
object, and I generally did as she asked
me-" Dunphy says. The evidence upon
which she obtained the divorce from
him was untrue. he insists.
He charges that the witness, w. w
Brackett, who testified about Dunphy's
visits to houses of i'll fame, was en-
ployed to care for him when he. was
sick from drinking, but took him 80 a
notorious house and afterward ZEN
dered a bill for $500. Dunphy, when he
returned to his home. told his wife
where he had been, he AYERS, and she
answered that she knew all about it.
Shortly afterward he went to Nevada,
and received a telegram from his wife:
Send my love. Be a good boy" After
that they visited several places in CAL
ifornia in company, but on returning
to San Francisco about one year ago to
his great surprise, he was, he says,
served with summons in divorce.
Dunphy charges that his wife was
cruel to him. She shot at him with a
pistol she always carried, he states,
and he still bears the powder marks on
his body. At San Jose she drove him
from room with a loaded pistol.
In support of his statement that he
was on friendly terms with his wife
While the suit for divorce was pending,
Dunphy filed an affidavit by Charles F.
Hanlon that in the first half of this
year Dunphy introduced Mrs. Dunphy
to him at the Orpheum theater; an
affidavit by j. John Eppinger that he
had seen Mr. and Mrs. Dunphy several
times dining together in public restau-
rants, during the same period and, an
affidavit by Margaret White that she
had heard Dunphy talking with his
wife over the telephone apparently in
a friendly manner.