|
Myra Clark Gaines (c. June 30, 1804January 9, 1885) was an American socialite and plaintiff in the longest-running lawsuit in the history of the United States court system. From 1834 to 1891, Gaines was at the center of a legal battle to recognize her legal status as the sole heir of her deceased father's estate and recover valuable land in New Orleans. During its 57-year history in the courtroom, the Gaines cases appeared before the Supreme Court seventeen times and Louisiana state and federal court at least seventy times. The Gaines cases are notable not only because of their length and complexity but also due to the controversial image and perseverance of Myra Clark Gaines herself, particularly at a time when women were confined to a domestic, dutiful ideal of femininity. ==Family and early life== Gaines was born to a mercantile businessman Daniel Clark and French socialite Zulime Carrière. During his lifetime, Clark was considered one of the richest men and most influential of New Orleans.〔Harmon, 4〕 Originally from Ireland, Clark was named after his uncle, another very successful businessman, who immigrated to New Orleans in the 1770s. After years of paying for his nephew's education, Clark Sr. eventually invited him to take part in his business ventures in New Orleans. Against his parent's will, Clark accepted his uncle's offer and moved to the United States in 1787 at the age of twenty.〔Alexander, 64〕 Once there, Clark built up a decent fortune running his uncle's mercantile house and investing those profits in New Orleans real estate.〔Harmon, 11-12〕 Aside from his various commercial projects, Clark also had ambitious political aspirations. Although Clark ultimately secured an official appointment as the vice consul to New Orleans from President Thomas Jefferson in 1801, he was unsuccessful in obtaining an appointment for the governorship of Louisiana.〔Alexander, 76〕 While Clark was a well-known figure of society, much less is known about Gaines' mother. Born in Louisiana in 1781, Carrière was an attractive woman from a modest upbringing. At thirteen, she entered her first marriage with Frenchmen Jerome DesGrange, who, at forty years old, described himself as a "wealthy nobleman.〔Alexander, 79〕 Carrière then met Clark through her husband, who had an ongoing business partnership with him. In 1802, once a relationship had already developed between Carrière and Clark, Gaines claimed that the two were secretly married because Carrière was still married to DesGrange. It was further alleged that Carrière's marriage to DesGrange was illegal because he was a bigamist who had several wives before moving to New Orleans. Indeed, records showed that an ecclesiastical court condemned and arrested DesGrange for bigamy.〔Harmon, 37〕 As a result, in 1806, Carrière left Philadelphia where she and Clark resided for New Orleans to find enough proof to annul her first marriage. Still, the circumstances that ended her first marriage are somewhat contested since a transcript of Carrière's testimony to an ecclesiastical court reveals that she did not believe DesGrange was a bigamist.〔Alexander, 91〕 Whatever may have been the truth, Carrière's relationship with Clark also began to crumble around this time. In Carrière's absence, Clark courted another socialite, Louisa Canton, granddaughter of Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. According to Gaines, Clark destroyed every document proving his marriage to Carrière in order to marry Caton. The other reported reasons for their separation included rumors of Carrière's infidelity while Clark was in Washington working as Louisiana's territorial legislator as well as Clark's fears that his clandestine marriage threatened his political aspirations.〔Alexander, 93-94〕 By the time Carrière and Clark separated, Gaines was an infant and put in the care of Clark's close friend, Colonel Samuel Davis and his wife Marian. Gaines had some interaction with her parents once she moved in with the Davis family. Clark often visited her as child and provided some financial support. However, at the time of his death in 1813, he never publicly acknowledged his paternity.〔Harmon, 144〕 Gaines did not receive much more support from her mother. After the break-up of her second marriage, Carrière married prominent dentist Dr. James Gardette and had other children. Her visits became more infrequent as Gaines got older, though both were in cordial contact later in life and until her death in 1853. Still, Carrière stayed away enough to never appear as a witness during any of Gaines' trials.〔Alexander, 122〕 Once the War of 1812 began, the Davis family and Gaines left New Orleans and migrated to Philadelphia.〔Alexander, 16〕 Making a new life up North, Gaines was also never told about her real father's identity or her close ties to New Orleans. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Myra Clark Gaines」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|