Notorious woman : the celebrated case of Myra Clark Gaines / Elizabeth Urban Alexander.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Alexander, Elizabeth Urban, 1947-

Series:

Southern biography series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Clark, Daniel, Jr., 1766-1813--Wills.

Clark, Daniel.

Gaines, Myra Clark, 1805-1885--Trials, litigation, etc.

Gaines, Myra Clark.

Gaines, Myra Clark, 1805-1885.

Clark, Daniel, Jr., 1766-1813.

Wills.

Genre:

Trials, litigation, etc.

Trial and arbitral proceedings.

Physical Description:

xiv, 301 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, [2001]

Summary:

The Legal Crusade of Myra Clark Gaines (1804?-1885) has all the trappings of classic melodrama -- a lost heir, a missing will, an illicit relationship, a questionable marriage, a bigamous husband, and a murder. For a half century the daughter of New Orleans millionaire Daniel Clark struggled to justify her claim to his enormous fortune in a case that captivated the nineteenth-century public, providing fodder for gossips, sensational headlines for newspapers, and employment for generations of lawyers. Elizabeth Urban Alexander taps voluminous court records and letters never before utilized by historians to unravel the twists and turns of Gaines's litigation and reveal the truth behind the mysterious saga of this notorious woman.

When thirty-year-old Daniel Clark inherited his uncle's vast property holdings in Louisiana, he found himself one of the richest men in North America. As he established himself in New Orleans in the early nineteenth century, he became romantically involved with Zulime Carriere, a young Frenchwoman of extraordinary beauty, vivacity, and charm. Their daughter, Myra, was raised by friends of Clark and kept ignorant of her real parentage until 1832, when she discovered her true lineage in letters among her foster father's papers. She thereupon returned to Louisiana with tales of a lost will and a secret marriage between Clark and Carriere and claimed to be Clark's missing heir. Was Myra the legitimate daughter of the prominent merchant or the "fruit of an adulterous union"? The courts would decide.

The Great Gaines Case wound its tortuous path through the United States legal system from 1834 until 1891, pursued even after Gaines's death by lawyers trying to recoup fees. It was considered by the U.S. Supreme Court seventeen times. By courageously bringing her case to the courtroom and doggedly keeping it there, Alexander asserts, Gaines helped instigate a new type of family law that provided special protection of women, children, and marriages. Her lawyers skillfully wove together the strands of this emerging domestic relations law and the popularity of nineteenth-century sentimental fiction to fabricate a true-life romance, manipulating both the courtroom and public opinion with common stereotypes.

Though Gaines never recovered more than a tiny fraction of the rumored millions, this riveting chronicle of her struggle for legitimacy and legacy is a gold mine for anyone interested in legal history, women's studies, or a good yarn superbly spun.

Contents:

Introduction: The Celebrated Case of Myra Clark Gaines 1

I. A Journey of Discovery 11

II. The City by the River 30

III. "A Pair of Unscrupulous Adventurers" 46

IV. A Man of "Energy, Intelligence, and Pliability" 63

V. A Life of Intrigue 93

VI. A Romance in Real Life 128

VII. A Most Unusual Woman 156

VIII. A "Prolonged and Interesting Lawsuit" 173

IX. The Supreme Court Changes Its Mind 190

X. Victory at Last 214

Conclusion: "The Most Remarkable Case" 233.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [245]-284) and index.

ISBN:

0807126985

OCLC:

47023388