The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1911-08-10
THURkkk ; Death RECALLS
EFFORTS TO GET RID OF WIFE

News of the death of General
Charles Thurman. OF Berryville, Va,
was received with great interest,
coming as 1t does on the heels of
the leatue case. General Thurman
furnished the State another instance
of strange treatment of a wife, and
goes down in the annals of the State.
Thurman had MS Wlie falsely accused
and locked up, and but for the in
lerVentiOn Of aer attorneys she would
have been worse than dead. being
confined in cell in an insane asylum.
Counsel for Mrs. Thurman were
Judge William +. Rhea. r. L. Byrd
and Lewis Bumgardner.
When asked regarding the Thur
man case this morning Mr.. Byrd gave
The Journal the following, saying that
the records in the case were available
and could be seen:
General Charles Thurman. who
died a few days ago in BerryVille was
the principal in one of the most re-
markable domestic complications
which ever came into a court of law.
Thurman was on the staff OF Gov
ernor Bates, of Tennessee. and had
accumulated a considerable fortuns.
He had q wife named Olivia Thur
man, but no children. About ten
years ago Thurman moved from Ten
neSsee TO Clarke county. Va. and pur-
chased a handsome estate near Berry
Vile. He was large, imposing look
Anh HldI a Tree llNGI ana popular
with the BerryNiilianS. He mixed with
the people good deal. but kept his
wife aiOOf. When asked about her
he gave the impression that her mine
was somewhat affected. Fortunately
for Mrs. Thurman. two very estiIna-
bic LADIES in the neighborhood tool
chances, called on Mrs. Thurman ana
became her fast friends. These sub
seQuent!y testified in her behalf in
court. Subsequently Thurman. got a
nephew who lived in Texas TO come
TO his home in Clarke. In the mean
time General Thurman encouraged
the idea that his wife was out of her
mind. Some months after the nephew
had come from Texas Thurman and
this nephew drove into town and cot
the county judge and couple Of
doctors and told them in very eX-
cited manner that his wife had be-
come violently insane and had tried
TO kill Thurman and herself. He
begged that she be certified as a
lunatic with the formality to her ply
steal appearance. These BerryVille
gentlemen, having great confidence in
General Thurman. did so. The Judge
appointed Thurman a special officer
to take his wife to the ASYLUM at
Staunton. AS, good luck would have
IL. two men who wanted to rent pas
ture from Thurman went to his house
at the very time Thurman was in
Berryville swearing that his wife was
NAOACAAAAg lllSct44c nGSG men found
her quietly reading a book on the
porch.
After Thurman had gotten the pa
pers committing his wife as a luna
tic he proposed that they should drive
in their carriage to Augusta county
and look for farm to buy. To this
the poor woman gladly consented
When they reached Staunton Mrs
Thurman was taken into the asylum
upon the pretense OF looking at the
grounds and buildings. Thurman
took her into the superintendent
office and there she was shown the
papers which declared her to be a
suicidal and homicidal maniac She
was shocked beyond expression, but
controlled herself, and was carried to
a ward, where she was locked up
Her statement as to what TRANSFERRED
in that ward was dramatic in the ex-
IRENE. In day or two the woman
attendant was so much struck with
her apparent sanity that she was
moved TO the conValescent ward. Here
she behaved with absolute proprietv.
and was of much help in various ways
as she was a woman of unusual intel
Iectuallty. The asylum physicians
thOuSht, as they had right to think
from the commitment papers, that
she was dangerous and that her at
tackS were probably periodic
After while Mrs. Thurman managed
TO communicate with some of her
1rlehoS, and Oy their help employed
Judge William +. Rbea, now on the
State Corporation Commission: n. e.
Byrd, now Speaker Of the House of
Delegates, and Mr.. Lewis Bumgard-
ner, of Staunton, now q prominent
lawyer OF West Virginia
Upon legal proceeding Mrs. Thur
man was dismissed from the asylum.
the asylum physicians themselves tes-
tifying that she was not only not in
sane, but that she was unusually in
telIigent. After her dismissal from
the asylum she brought suit for di-
Vorce against General Thurman on
the ground OF cruelty and false i'm
prlsonment. She won her suit and
the court granted her large aIimonv.
1t is believed that Mrs. Thurman is |
now in New York