48 pp. With double-page illustration of the knife belonging to David S. Terry and the pistol belonging to Sarah Terry
Summary or brief regarding the contempt of court case against David S. Terry and his new wife, Sarah Hill Terry, an episode in one of the famous social and criminal scandals in 19th century San Francisco, that was to result in the eventual death of David Terry. Sarah Hill had been married to millionaire politician William Sharon, according to her, though Sharon claimed he merely paid her to live with him. She sued to have the marriage validated, only to lose. In the ensuing appeal, for which she was represented by Terry (whom she had married, being legally declared a single woman), she and Terry physically accosted the court marshal, and were found in contempt of court by the presiding judge, Stephen Field. Though there are a number of copies in institutional libraries, this is quite rare in the trade - we have not offered a copy previously, and there are no auction sale records since at least 1975, per American Book Prices Current; nor are there any copies currently listed for sale online.
David Smith Terry (1823–1889) was a Texas Ranger, Colonel of the 37th Texas Cavalry Regiment, politician, who was the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California, and an author of the Constitution of 1879. He also won a duel with U.S. Senator David C. Broderick and killed him in 1859.
In 1884, as a private attorney, Terry pitted himself against powerful politician, William Sharon, a multimillionaire silver baron, widower, and former senator from Nevada. Terry represented Sarah Althea Hill in a nationally publicized trial where she claimed she was secretly Sharon's wife. Sharon insisted that he had merely paid Hill five hundred dollars a month to live with him. She sued to validate the marriage, in order to obtain a divorce and gain half of his $30 million estate. Sharon fought the suit to his dying day, with his heirs picking up the struggle in 1885 in order to protect the family fortune. Terry won one round in state court but lost another in federal court. The district court determined that the marriage license was a forgery. Sarah appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court, Justice Stephen Field presiding.
In the meantime, being a recent widower, he married Hill. She was twenty-five years his junior and had her own reputation for high-handed violence. In 1888, on a train, Hill insulted a federal judge involved in her divorce suit. When he didn't respond, she grabbed him by his gray hair and shook him violently.
Sharon’s heirs appealed the case and it was Justice S. Field ruled in favor of Sharon’s heirs and against Sarah Hill. On September 3,1888 Sarah Hill stood up in court and accused Field of having been bribed by Sharon’s heirs.
When Justice Field affirmed the decision of the district court, Sarah went berserk in the courtroom. As Marshal Franks tried to escort her from the courtroom, Terry rose to defend his new wife. He hit the Marshal, knocking out a tooth. A group of spectators subdued Terry and led him out to the corridor, where he pulled his Bowie knife and threatened all around him. One of the spectators, David Neagle, helped take the knife away from him. Justice Field sentenced both David and Sarah Terry to jail for contempt of court.
While in jail, Sarah and David Terry made numerous threats against Justice Field. Attorney General William Miller authorized Marshal Franks to appoint a Deputy to protect Justice Field when he returned to California in the summer of 1889. The Marshal deputized David Neagle, and Neagle accompanied Field as he rode the circuit.
On August 13, the Terry's, having served their sentence for contempt, boarded the train on which Justice Field and Deputy Neagle were riding. The next morning, the train pulled into Lathrop station (pictured above) in the San Joaquin Valley, where the passengers disembarked to take breakfast. Justice Field, over Deputy Neagle's protest, went to the dining room. Moments later, the Terry's also entered.
When Sarah Terry saw Justice Field sitting down to breakfast, she immediately ran back to the train to retrieve her purse, in which she carried her gun. David Terry came up behind the Justice and slapped him twice in the face. Deputy Neagle jumped up, yelling, "Stop that! I am an officer." Terry reached inside his coat while Deputy Neagle drew his pistol and fired twice. David Terry fell dead, killed instantly by a bullet to his heart.
Immediately after Marshal Franks heard of the gunfight, he sent the telegram pictured above to Attorney General William Miller. Meanwhile, Sarah swore out an arrest warrant against both Deputy Neagle and Justice Field for the murder of her husband. Both were arrested by Sheriff Thomas Cunningham of the County of San Joaquin. Deputy Neagle was taken to jail, but Justice Field was released on his own recognizance. The charges against Field were later dropped. Neagle was released too.