Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-12-30
NOTOR|ETY CALLS
MRS. LUCY DUCAS
81 Feel Ike an Evelyn Thaw,"
Says Ex-Wite of Young Till
man, Visiting Here.

NO. / will not be interviewed. ! do
not wish to talk to a reporter. feel
like an Evelyn Thaw or a Nan Patter-
son, and 1 hate notoriety l do not see
why my divorce suit should make my
personal affairs the affairs Of the
world"
Ihat was the statement of Mrs Lucy
| DuSas, former wife of Ben Tilman, j.,
whose fight for the custody of her chill
drcn was won only a few days ago. Mrs.
Dugas is in Atlanta today, the guest
of her friend Mrs. Sara w Treze-
want 430 Piedmont avenue. She viii
remain here for a few days before re-
turning to her home at Columbia. 5. c.
Il had hoped to come to Atlanta and
pay quiet visit to a friend without
seeing my name in newspaper headlines
again" continued Mrs. Dugas. Il have
had enough of all that. You must ex-
cuse me now"
Children With Father.
The two children of Mrs. Dugas did
not come with her to Atlanta Though
the courts awarded them 10 the mother
they We're permitted under the decree
to pay certain visits to their father, and
they are now with him in South Caro-
lima.
The legal battle between Ben Till
man, Jr., backed by all the power and
fortune of his father. the pitchfork sem
ator and the granddaughter of Govern
or Pickens stirred South Carolina as it
seldom has been stirred in recent years.
1t was revival of the old feud between
plebian and aristocrat for young Till
man sprang from a sire whose greatest
pride was in his rise from obscurity to
fame, whose boast has been that he
represented the common people: while
the wife was a daughter OF one of the
most distinguished families of the Pal
metto state.
Her grandfather had been minister to
Russia and friend Of the car. Her
mother, Douschka Pickens Dugas, was
the petted idol of the Confederacy. and
there is even a tradition that her baby
fingers held the match which fired the
first cannon in the attack on Fort Sum
ter.
Victory For an Aristocrat.
But whether it was the woman's
pleading, the chivalry Of a Carolina
jury, or purely the merits Of the case,
the outcome of the trial was the re-
verse of most of the battles of the
Carolinas in recent years, for the aris-
tocrat was victorious. The same state
which saw Cole L. Blease, plebian of
the plebians, returned to the governors
chair, saw Ben Tnlman, veteran leader
of the proletariat. defeated in his fight
for his grandchildren.
The mother though opposed by all
the influence the Tillmans and their
friends could bring to bear. was victo-
rious at the end. 1t. was a trial which
attracted attention from. one end Of the
country to the other.
Mrs Lucy Dugas Lucy Dugas
Tillman-is the daughter OF the late DR..
| Dugas, of Augusta. Her mother, born
chrstened by the czarina, her god
mother Douschka Olga Francisco Eu-
genia, but she was always known as
Douschka, which in the Russian tongue
| is daring
| Mother Southern Belle
She grew up in the executive man
sion Of South Carolina. for Minister
!
elected governor of his state on the
same day that Abraham Lincoln was
/ elected president.
Little Douschka's mother. the wife Of
Governor Pickens, was even more ia
nous than her daughter, godchild of an
empress. Mrs. Pickens was the reign
ing queen of the governors mansion in
the years when Carolina was torn by
| the Civil war. Her picture adorned the
currency issued by the state. General
| Preston bestowed upon her, in d toast.
the title of Queen Of the Confederacy."
and she bore it proudly until her death.
At the death of her husband she re-
! tired to her home at Edgewood where
! little Douschka grew to womanhood as
the toast of the countryside, the reign
| ing faVOrite in Southern society.