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{{Infobox person
{{AFC submission|t||ts=20150202220127|u=BBAuthor|ns=118}} <!--- Important, do not remove this line before article has been created. --->
| name = Sarah Althea Hill
| image = Sara Althea Hill.jpg
| caption = Sarah Althea Hill
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1850|03|26}}
| birth_place = [[Cape Girardeau, Missouri]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1937|02|14|1850|03|26}}
| death_place = [[Stockton, California]]
| years_active =
| other_names = Sarah Terry
| known_for = Claimed to be married to millionaire [[William Sharon]]
| occupation =
| nationality =
| spouse = {{Marriage|[[David S. Terry]]|1886|1889|end=d.}}
}}


'''Sarah Althea Hill''' (March 26, 1850 – February 14, 1937) was a beautiful young socialite in San Francisco who became a national celebrity when she sued millionaire Senator [[William Sharon]] for divorce in 1883, claiming to have secretly married him three years earlier by private contract. The case set legal precedent and spawned numerous spin-off cases that dragged on for nearly a decade.
'''Sarah Althea Hill''' (March 26, 1850 – February 14, 1937) was a California socialite who became a national celebrity when she sued millionaire Senator [[William Sharon]] for divorce, citing adultery, in 1883. She claimed he had secretly married her three years earlier in a private contract. She was known to carry a small-caliber Colt revolver in her purse and did not hesitate to threaten all who crossed her. The divorce case and related lawsuits set legal precedent and spawned numerous spinoff lawsuits that dragged on for nearly a decade. Two months after Sharon died, she married her attorney [[David S. Terry]].


== Early Years ==
== Early years ==


Hill was born in [[Cape Girardeau, Missouri]], the daughter of Samuel H. Hill, a prominent attorney, and Julia Sloan, daughter of a wealthy lumber dealer. Her older brother was Hiram Morgan Hill, for whom the California town of [[Morgan Hill, California|Morgan Hill]] is named. Both of their parents died while they were minors, leaving them to be cared for by relatives. When they came of age, they received $20,000 each as their inheritance from their parents.<ref>Robin C. Johnson, Enchantress, Sorceress, Madwoman: The True Story of Sarah Althea Hill, Adventuress of Old San Francisco (California Venture Books, 2014). ISBN 978-0692326831.</ref>
Hill was born in [[Pleasant Hill, Missouri]], the daughter of attorney Samuel H. Hill and Julia Sloan. Her older brother was Hiram Morgan Hill, for whom the California town of [[Morgan Hill, California|Morgan Hill]] is named. Both of their parents died while they were minors, leaving them to be cared for by relatives. When they came of age, they received $20,000 (or about ${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|20000|1871|r=-3}}}} today) each as their inheritance from their parents.<ref name="auto">Robin C. Johnson, ''Enchantress, Sorceress, Madwoman: The True Story of Sarah Althea Hill, Adventuress of Old San Francisco'' (California Venture Books, 2014). {{ISBN|978-0692326831}}.</ref>


In 1871, at the age of twenty-one, Hill came to San Francisco with her brother and an uncle. They all lived together with another uncle and aunt, William and Ada Bryan, and their maternal grandmother, a widow.
In 1871, at the age of 21, Hill came to San Francisco with her brother, where they lived with their relatives, William and Ada Bryan. In 1880, she had a love affair with attorney Reuben H. Lloyd. When he ended the affair, she attempted suicide on May 10, 1880, in his office by drinking poison. She was saved when her stomach was pumped.<ref name=examiner011886/>


== San Francisco Socialite ==
== San Francisco socialite ==
With her excellent education and family background, Hill entered into San Francisco’s high society and became well known in social circles as a beautiful heiress. But Hill was unlucky in both love and finances. She dated several eligible men, and claimed to have numerous offers of marriage, but she was never officially engaged to anyone. She had a tempestuous, long-lived affair with the handsome and well-known bachelor lawyer, Reuben Lloyd. Despite cajoling, threatening, and the use of magical charms and spells, she was unable to convince him to marry her.<ref>Robin C. Johnson, ''Enchantress, Sorceress, Madwoman: The True Story of Sarah Althea Hill, Adventuress of Old San Francisco'' (California Venture Books, 2014). ISBN 978-0692326831.</ref> By early 1880, Hill had lost almost all of her money through lavish spending and stock market speculation.


Either by great luck or clever manipulation of circumstances, Hill caught the eye of millionaire Senator [[William Sharon]], the president of the Bank of California and the owner of the magnificent [[Palace Hotel, San Francisco|Palace Hotel]], one of the richest men in the country. At the time, he was sixty years old and a widower. They became romantically involved and he paid her $500 a month, an allowance that enabled her to live royally at the Grand Hotel next door to the Palace. The details of their arrangement later became the crux of a long and bitter legal fight. Sharon claimed he had hired Hill merely as his mistress. Hill claimed that he had asked her to marry him, had signed a contract of marriage, and had sworn her to secrecy for two years. His reasons, she testified, were that he was up for reelection and couldn’t afford the scandal that would result when his mistress back East heard about the marriage.<ref>“Sharon’s Dirty Duds,” San Francisco Chronicle, 19 March 1884, p. 4.</ref>
In the fall of 1880, at age 30, Hill met millionaire Senator [[William Sharon]], the president of the [[Bank of California]], the owner of the [[Palace Hotel, San Francisco|Palace Hotel]], and other properties. At the time, he was 60, a widower, and one of the richest men in the country. He gave her $500 (about ${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|500|1883|r=-3}}}} today) per month and a room in the San Francisco Grand Hotel, adjoining the Palace Hotel where he lived, for the pleasure of her companionship. After just over a year, he tried to end the relationship, but she would not agree. He finally evicted her from the room by having the carpets ripped up and the door hinges removed, along with a $7,500 (around ${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|7500|1883|r=-3}}}}) payment.<ref name=examiner011886/> When he began a relationship with another woman, she claimed to be his wife and sued him for divorce, claiming adultery.<ref name=real/>


One of her attorneys was [[David S. Terry]]. Sharon claimed he had hired Hill merely as his mistress. Hill produced a marriage contract dated August 20, 1880, and said Sharon had sworn her to secrecy for two years. His reasons, she testified, were that he was up for re-election and could not afford the scandal that would result when his mistress back east heard about the marriage.<ref>"Sharon’s Dirty Duds," ''San Francisco Chronicle'', 19 March 1884, p. 4.</ref> Sharon countersued, claiming that the marriage contract she produced was fraudulent.<ref name=real>[http://www.therealmscience.net/in-re-neagle.html In Re Neagle]{{Dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=examiner011886>{{cite web |title=THE DEATH BLOW The Sarah Althea Marriage Contract Declared a Forgery |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/458008304/ |date=January 1, 1886 |website=www.newspapers.com |publisher=San Francisco Examiner |access-date=3 March 2020}}</ref>
After several months, the relationship soured, but Hill was reluctant to let go of her set-up. It wasn’t until Sharon had her forcibly evicted from the Grand Hotel that he was able to end it with her. Even then, she spent the next two years trying to reunite with him through any means possible, including trickery, blackmail, voodoo and magic charms. But none of it worked.


== Sharon vs. Sharon ==
== Sharon vs. Sharon ==
⚫
Hill initially won the first case in December 1884. Judge Jeremiah F. Sullivan declared her the legal wife of William Sharon and awarded her alimony and the right to half of his accumulated wealth since the date of their marriage.<ref>"The Sharon Case," ''San Francisco Chronicle'', 25 December 1884, p. 3.</ref> Because of continuing counter-suits and appeals, Hill never received any of Sharon's money.<ref name=real/>


William Sharon died on November 13, 1885. Hill produced a handwritten will, supposedly made not long before his death, that she said she found in his desk. Those who knew Sharon doubted its authenticity. It gave Sharon's entire estate to Hill and nothing to his son Frederick and son-in-law Frank Newlands. On January 7, 1886, Hill married one of her lawyers, former California Supreme Court Justice [[David S. Terry]]. Terry was well known for killing Senator [[David C. Broderick]] in a duel in 1859. Hill and Terry were married at St. Mary's Church in [[Stockton, California]], Terry's home town.<ref>"Mrs. Terry," ''Daily Alta California'', 8 January 1886, p. 1.</ref>
In the fall of 1883, Hill had Sharon arrested for adultery, claiming they had been married for three years. That charge was dismissed. She then sued him for divorce, alimony and division of community property. This time she produced the marriage contract showing that he had married her on August 20, 1880.
The Sharon family continued to fight Hill.<ref name=real/>


[[File:David S. Terry.jpg|thumb|Attorney and former Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court David S. Terry.]]
He denied it and said the document was a forgery. Years of cases and appeals followed, costing both sides tens of thousands of dollars. Hill’s expenses were primarily bankrolled by her friend, [[Mary Ellen Pleasant]], an elderly black entrepreneur.<ref>Robin C. Johnson, ''Enchantress, Sorceress, Madwoman: The True Story of Sarah Althea Hill, Adventuress of Old San Francisco'' (California Venture Books, 2014). ISBN 978-0692326831.</ref> The lawsuit propelled Hill into the national spotlight and earned her the nickname, The Rose of Sharon.


As was the custom at the time, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice [[Stephen Johnson Field]] was assigned to assist the California Circuit Court. He was coincidentally assigned to the Sharon vs. Sharon case. After William Sharon died, his son and son-in-law carried on the case. Many were suspicious of the authenticity of the will Hill claimed to have found. Hill's expenses were primarily bankrolled by her friend, [[Mary Ellen Pleasant]], an elderly black entrepreneur.<ref name="auto"/> The lawsuit propelled Hill into the national spotlight and earned her the nickname, The Rose of Sharon.<ref name=historynet>DeArment, Robert K. ''[https://www.historynet.com/lawman-neagle-ably-defended-judge.htm Lawman Neagle Ably Defended a Judge] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304061843/https://www.historynet.com/lawman-neagle-ably-defended-judge.htm |date=2020-03-04 }}''</ref><ref>U.S. Census Year: 1880; Census Place: Tucson, Pima, Arizona; Roll: 36; Page: 334D; Enumeration District: 039</ref><ref name="dearment">{{cite book |last1=DeArment |first1=Robert K. |title=Deadly Dozen: Forgotten Gunfighters of the old West. Volume 3 |date=9 November 2012 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=9780806184708 |pages=104 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzzxCP_CzRUC |access-date=6 March 2020}}</ref>
⚫
Hill won the first case in December, 1884. Judge Jeremiah F. Sullivan declared her the legal wife of William Sharon and awarded her alimony and the right to half of his accumulated wealth since the date of their marriage.<ref>“The Sharon Case,” San Francisco Chronicle, 25 December 1884, p. 3.</ref> Because of continuing counter-suits and appeals, Hill never received a penny of Sharon's money.


In January 1886, a U.S. Circuit Court Judge and a U.S. District Court Judge sitting as a Circuit Judge rendered a decision against the defendants. They ruled that the marriage contract was a forgery and required the plaintiffs to turn over the document so that it could be nullified by the court. The Terrys refused to comply with the Court's order and were jailed. They returned to the court in March 1888, seeking further relief.<ref name=historynet/>
William Sharon died in November, 1885. His heirs, son Frederick and son-in-law Frank Newlands, continued the fight for him.


On September 3, 1888, Field delivered the final Circuit Court opinion. He ruled that the will was a forgery. Sarah Althea Hill suddenly stood up, screamed obscenities at the judge, and fumbled in her handbag for her revolver. When Marshal John Franks and others attempted to escort her from the courtroom, attorney Terry rose to defend his wife and drew his Bowie knife.<ref name=real/><ref name=examiner011886/> He hit Franks, knocking out a tooth, and the marshals drew their handguns. Spectators subdued Terry and led him out of the courtroom, where he pulled his Bowie knife and threatened all around him. David Neagle was among the Marshals present and put his pistol in Terry's face. Both Terrys were subdued and placed under arrest. Justice Field had them returned to the courtroom and sentenced both to jail for [[contempt of court]]. David Terry got six months in jail, and Sarah Terry got one month.<ref name="Petition 1888, p 1">"Terry’s Petition," ''Daily Alta California'', 18 September 1888, p 1.</ref><ref name="U.S. Marshals Service">{{cite web |last1=Service (USMS) |first1=U. S. Marshals |title=U.S. Marshals Service |url=https://www.usmarshals.gov/history/neagle/neagle6.htm |website=www.usmarshals.gov |access-date=3 March 2020 |language=en-us |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170513220227/https://www.usmarshals.gov/history/neagle/neagle6.htm |archive-date=13 May 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Marriage ==
On January 7, 1886, Hill married one of her lawyers, former California Supreme Court Justice, [[David Smith Terry]]. They were married at St. Mary’s Church in Stockton, California, Terry’s home base.<ref>“Mrs. Terry,” ''Daily Alta California'', 8 January 1886, p. 1.</ref> Together they continued the legal fight to prove that William Sharon had married Hill in 1880 and was entitled to compensation. Courtroom scenes of temper, even violence, occurred with some regularity. Hill was sentenced to jail twice for contempt of court. The latter incident occurred on September 3, 1888, when Hill initiated a series of events in the courtroom by standing up and accusing Justice Stephen Johnson Field of being bought off by the Sharon side. When Field ordered a marshal to remove her from the court, Terry objected, and a melee ensued between Mr. and Mrs. Terry and several U. S. marshals who were on hand. Terry brandished his bowie knife and the marshals their handguns, but no one was hurt in the fracas. Both Terrys were subdued and placed under arrest. David Terry was sentenced to six months in jail. Sarah Terry got one month.<ref>“Terry’s Petition,” ''Daily Alta California'', 18 September 1888, p 1.</ref>


While being transported to jail and while serving their sentences, Terry and his wife repeatedly threatened Justice Field. The Terrys suffered several more setbacks. Both David and Althea were indicted by a federal grand jury on criminal charges arising out of their behavior in the courtroom before Justice Field. In May 1889, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review the order that invalidated Althea Terry's marriage contract with Senator Sharon. Then, in July, with only one of the four judges who had earlier ruled in their favor, the California Supreme Court reversed itself. It ruled that because Althea Terry and Sharon had kept their alleged marriage a secret, they were never legally married. While in jail or shortly afterward, pregnant Althea suffered a miscarriage.<ref name=real/><ref name=examiner011886/><ref name="Petition 1888, p 1"/>
This and other incidents related to the Sharon case created extremely bitter feelings between the Terrys and several judges, but most particularly Justice Field. The following year, amid threats by both Terrys, Field arrived in California for the summer with a bodyguard, Deputy Marshal David Neagle. August 14, 1889, the Terrys boarded a train headed for San Francisco. Field and Neagle were already on board. When the train stopped in Lathrop, both parties got off to have breakfast in the station restaurant. When Terry became aware that Field was there, he walked up to him and slapped him on the face. Neagle, who was sitting at the table with Field, drew his gun and shot twice. One of the bullets pierced Terry’s heart. He fell dead.<ref>Alexander E. Wagstaff, Life of David S. Terry (San Francisco: Continental Publishing Company, 1892</ref>
== Insanity and Institutionalization ==


[[File:Lathrop railroad station 1889.png|thumb|left|Lathrop, California rail road station in 1889]]
⚫
After her husband’s death, Sarah Terry became increasingly odd. Eventually, she had no money to hire lawyers, so the Sharon case gradually came to an end as the final cases were either dismissed or quickly decided against her. By February, 1892, newspapers were reporting that Mrs. Terry was insane. She wandered aimlessly in the streets of San Francisco, ignoring her hair and clothes. She talked to “spirits,” especially that of her husband, constantly and couldn’t sleep. She had periods of violence and believed she was being tormented by electricity and hypnotism.<ref>“Hopelessly Unbalanced,” ''San Francisco Call'', 14 February 1892, p. 8.</ref>


=== Attack expected ===
⚫
Abandoned by her relatives since the beginning of the Sharon case, Terry’s fate was left to the only friends she had left, R. Porter Ashe and [[Mary Ellen Pleasant]]. It was Pleasant who initiated action to have Terry committed to an insane asylum.<ref>Robin C. Johnson, Enchantress, Sorceress, Madwoman: The True Story of Sarah Althea Hill, Adventuress of Old San Francisco (California Venture Books, 2014). ISBN 978-0692326831.</ref> After a brief examination by the Insanity Commission, Sarah Terry was committed to the California Asylum at Stockton on March 11, 1892.<ref>“Declared Insane,” ''San Francisco Chronicle'', 11 March 1892, p. 12.</ref>


The newspapers followed the case and repeatedly speculated about the likelihood of an attack on Field. When Field returned to California as a circuit riding judge for the 9th Circuit Court again the next year, U.S. Attorney General [[William H. H. Miller|William Miller]] instructed Marshal Franks on May 6, 1889, to appoint Neagle as a Marshal with the responsibility to protect Field.<ref name=real/><ref name=sfexam0815/>
⚫
Diagnosed with “dementia praecox,” an early term for schizophrenia, she was extremely violent and had to be restrained for years in the asylum. Despite being termed "our best known patient" by Dr. Asa Clark,<ref>“Great Minds That Failed,” Fresno Morning Republican, July 25, 1894, p. 3</ref> the hospital superintendent, Terry received almost no visitors over the years, other than a few authors researching her case. She was not treated, except with sedatives, and eventually adapted to her life in the institution, deluded into thinking that she was a rich and grand lady, that the hospital was her mansion, and the staff her servants.<ref>“ʻRose of Sharon’” Who Died in West Thought Native of Girardeau,”
⚫
Southeast Missourian, Feb. 20, 1937, p. 3.</ref> She remained incarcerated for forty-five years, from the age of 42 to 86. When Terry died, of pneumonia, Cornelia Terry, the granddaughter of David Terry, stepped forward to offer her a proper burial, saving Sarah Terry from being buried on the hospital grounds.<ref>“Pauper’s Grave Escaped by Sarah Althea Terry,” Oakland Tribune, 16 February 1937, p. 2.</ref> Sarah Althea Hill Terry is buried in the Terry family plot in the Stockton Rural Cemetery.


{{blockquote|It is due to the dignity and independence of the court, and the character of its judge, that no effort on the part of the government shall be spared to make them feel entirely safe and free from anxiety in the discharge of their high duties.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Service (USMS) |first1=U. S. Marshals |title=History - The U.S. Marshals and Court Security |url=https://www.usmarshals.gov/history/neagle/neagle2.htm |website=www.usmarshals.gov |access-date=9 March 2020 |language=en-us |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170513220141/https://www.usmarshals.gov/history/neagle/neagle2.htm |archive-date=13 May 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}


=== Terry killed ===


When David and Althea Terry were released from jail, they returned to Fresno. On August 14, 1889, they boarded a train in Fresno on which unknown to them Field and Neagle were returning from Los Angeles. At 7:10 am, all of the passengers disembarked the train to eat breakfast in the railroad station dining room at [[Lathrop, California]].<ref name=kills/><ref name=real/> After entering the dining room, Althea Terry saw Field. She quickly exited and returned to her railroad car, apparently to fetch her satchel in which she was known to carry a pistol. When her husband saw Field, he walked behind him and slapped Field twice with such force that his glasses were knocked off.<ref name=real/><ref name=sfexam0815/><ref name=neagle4>{{Cite web |url=https://www.usmarshals.gov/history/neagle/neagle4.htm |title=History - The U.S. Marshals and Court Security Protection of Federal Judge |access-date=2020-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170513220221/https://www.usmarshals.gov/history/neagle/neagle4.htm |archive-date=2017-05-13 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=kills/>
⚫
==References==
⚫
{{reflist}}
<!--- After listing your sources please cite them using inline citations and place them after the information they cite. Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. --->


Neagle, who was 5'7" tall and weighed 145 pounds, testified that the 6'3", 250-pound Terry recognized Neagle from the earlier confrontation in the courtroom. Neagle later said he saw a look of determination and victory on Terry's face.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historynet.com/lawman-neagle-ably-defended-judge.htm|title=Lawman Neagle Ably Defended a Judge|first=R. K.|last=DeArment|date=October 3, 2018|website=HistoryNet|access-date=March 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304061843/https://www.historynet.com/lawman-neagle-ably-defended-judge.htm|archive-date=March 4, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Neagle rose from his chair and said, "Stop that! I am an officer."<ref name=real/> Terry drew back his hand again and Neagle drew his .45-caliber revolver and shot Terry at point-blank range in the heart. Neagle announced to the 80 to 100 people in the dining room, "I am a United States Marshal and I defy anyone to touch me!" Field told them that Terry had assaulted him "and my officer shot him."<ref name=sfexam0815>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/457415745/ |title=THEY HAVE MET The Long-Expected Tragedy in the Sharon Case |date=Aug 15, 1889 |periodical=The San Francisco Examiner |location=San Francisco, California |page=1}}</ref><ref name="death">{{cite news |title=TERRY'S DEATH Shot for Attacking Judge |volume=L|issue=81 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=August 15, 1889}}</ref>
⚫
== Other Sources ==
<ref>Alexander E. Wagstaff, ''Life of David S. Terry'' (San Francisco: Continental Publishing Company, 1892)</ref>


Althea Hill Terry had been held at the door by one of the dining room proprietors, who had searched the satchel and found a gun within it. She screamed and pushed her way through the crowd, throwing herself over her husband's body. Neagle thought he saw her covertly remove David Terry's knife from his vest. She challenged the crowd to search his body, insistent he was unarmed. The knife was later found in her satchel with the pistol.<ref name=kills>[https://img.newspapers.com/img/img?id=457422226 ''David Neagle kills David Terry'']{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} August 21, 1889 The San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California) Newspapers.com</ref>
⚫
Holdredge, Helen (1953). ''Mammy Pleasant''. New York City: G. P. Putnam and Sons. ISBN ASIN: B0006ATHHQ
⚫
W. H. L. Barnes, ''Argument for the Defendant, Sarah Althea Sharon vs. William Sharon'' (San Francisco: Barry, Baird & Co., 1884)
⚫
Oscar T. Shuck, ed., ''History of the bench and bar of California'' (Los Angeles: The Commercial Printing House, 1901)
⚫
John D. Lawson, ed., ''American State Trials'', Volume XV (St. Louis: Thomas Law Book Co., 1926)


== Declared insane ==
*

*
⚫
After her husband's death, Sarah Terry became obsessed with [[Spiritualism (movement)|spiritualism]], hiring medium after medium to put her in touch with David Terry. Eventually, since she had no money to hire lawyers, the Sharon case gradually came to an end as the final cases were either dismissed or quickly decided against her. By February, 1892, newspapers were reporting that Mrs. Terry was insane. She wandered aimlessly in the streets of San Francisco, ignoring her appearance. She constantly talked to "spirits," especially that of her husband, and could not sleep. She had periods of violence and believed that she was being tormented by electricity and hypnotism.<ref>"Hopelessly Unbalanced," ''San Francisco Call'', 14 February 1892, p. 8.</ref>
*

*
⚫
Abandoned by her relatives since the beginning of the Sharon case, Terry's fate was left to the only friends she had left, R. Porter Ashe and [[Mary Ellen Pleasant]]. Pleasant initiated action to have Terry committed to an insane asylum.<ref>Robin C. Johnson, Enchantress, Sorceress, Madwoman: The True Story of Sarah Althea Hill, Adventuress of Old San Francisco (California Venture Books, 2014). {{ISBN|978-0692326831}}.</ref> After a brief examination by the Insanity Commission, Sarah Terry was committed at age 41 to the California Asylum at Stockton (later known as the [[Stockton State Hospital]]) on March 11, 1892.<ref>"Declared Insane," ''San Francisco Chronicle'', 11 March 1892, p. 12.</ref>

⚫
Diagnosed with "dementia praecox," an early term for [[schizophrenia]], she was extremely violent and had to be restrained for years in the asylum. Despite being termed "our best known patient" by Dr. Asa Clark,<ref>"Great Minds That Failed," ''Fresno Morning Republican'', July 25, 1894, p. 3</ref> the hospital superintendent, Terry received almost no visitors over the years other than a few authors researching her case. She was not treated except with sedatives and eventually adapted to her life in the institution but was deluded into thinking that she was a rich and grand lady, the hospital was her mansion, and the staff her servants.<ref>"ʻRose of Sharon’" Who Died in West Thought Native of Girardeau," ''Southeast Missourian'', Feb. 20, 1937, p. 3.</ref>

⚫
She remained incarcerated for forty-five years, from ages 42 to 86. When she died of pneumonia, Cornelia Terry, the granddaughter of David Terry, stepped forward to offer her a proper burial, saving Sarah Terry from being buried on the hospital grounds.<ref>"Pauper’s Grave Escaped by Sarah Althea Terry," ''Oakland Tribune'', 16 February 1937, p. 2.</ref> Sarah Althea Hill Terry is buried in the Terry family plot in the Stockton Rural Cemetery.

⚫
== References ==
⚫
{{reflist|30em}}

⚫
== Other sources ==
{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area}}

⚫
* Holdredge, Helen (1953). ''Mammy Pleasant''. New York City: G. P. Putnam and Sons. ISBN ASIN: B0006ATHHQ.
⚫
* W. H. L. Barnes, ''Argument for the Defendant, Sarah Althea Sharon vs. William Sharon'' (San Francisco: Barry, Baird & Co., 1884).
⚫
* Oscar T. Shuck, ed., ''History of the bench and bar of California'' (Los Angeles: The Commercial Printing House, 1901).
⚫
* John D. Lawson, ed., ''American State Trials'', Volume XV (St. Louis: Thomas Law Book Co., 1926).

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill Althea, Sarah}}
[[Category:1850 births]]
[[Category:1937 deaths]]
[[Category:People from San Francisco]]
[[Category:People from Cape Girardeau, Missouri]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in California]]

Latest revision as of 19:48, 24 October 2024

Sarah Althea Hill
Sarah Althea Hill
Born(1850-03-26)March 26, 1850
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
DiedFebruary 14, 1937(1937-02-14) (aged 86)
Stockton, California
Other namesSarah Terry
Known forClaimed to be married to millionaire William Sharon
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1886; died 1889)​

Sarah Althea Hill (March 26, 1850 – February 14, 1937) was a California socialite who became a national celebrity when she sued millionaire Senator William Sharon for divorce, citing adultery, in 1883. She claimed he had secretly married her three years earlier in a private contract. She was known to carry a small-caliber Colt revolver in her purse and did not hesitate to threaten all who crossed her. The divorce case and related lawsuits set legal precedent and spawned numerous spinoff lawsuits that dragged on for nearly a decade. Two months after Sharon died, she married her attorney David S. Terry.

Early years

[edit]

Hill was born in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, the daughter of attorney Samuel H. Hill and Julia Sloan. Her older brother was Hiram Morgan Hill, for whom the California town of Morgan Hill is named. Both of their parents died while they were minors, leaving them to be cared for by relatives. When they came of age, they received $20,000 (or about $509,000 today) each as their inheritance from their parents.[1]

In 1871, at the age of 21, Hill came to San Francisco with her brother, where they lived with their relatives, William and Ada Bryan. In 1880, she had a love affair with attorney Reuben H. Lloyd. When he ended the affair, she attempted suicide on May 10, 1880, in his office by drinking poison. She was saved when her stomach was pumped.[2]

San Francisco socialite

[edit]

In the fall of 1880, at age 30, Hill met millionaire Senator William Sharon, the president of the Bank of California, the owner of the Palace Hotel, and other properties. At the time, he was 60, a widower, and one of the richest men in the country. He gave her $500 (about $16,000 today) per month and a room in the San Francisco Grand Hotel, adjoining the Palace Hotel where he lived, for the pleasure of her companionship. After just over a year, he tried to end the relationship, but she would not agree. He finally evicted her from the room by having the carpets ripped up and the door hinges removed, along with a $7,500 (around $245,000) payment.[2] When he began a relationship with another woman, she claimed to be his wife and sued him for divorce, claiming adultery.[3]

One of her attorneys was David S. Terry. Sharon claimed he had hired Hill merely as his mistress. Hill produced a marriage contract dated August 20, 1880, and said Sharon had sworn her to secrecy for two years. His reasons, she testified, were that he was up for re-election and could not afford the scandal that would result when his mistress back east heard about the marriage.[4] Sharon countersued, claiming that the marriage contract she produced was fraudulent.[3][2]

Sharon vs. Sharon

[edit]

Hill initially won the first case in December 1884. Judge Jeremiah F. Sullivan declared her the legal wife of William Sharon and awarded her alimony and the right to half of his accumulated wealth since the date of their marriage.[5] Because of continuing counter-suits and appeals, Hill never received any of Sharon's money.[3]

William Sharon died on November 13, 1885. Hill produced a handwritten will, supposedly made not long before his death, that she said she found in his desk. Those who knew Sharon doubted its authenticity. It gave Sharon's entire estate to Hill and nothing to his son Frederick and son-in-law Frank Newlands. On January 7, 1886, Hill married one of her lawyers, former California Supreme Court Justice David S. Terry. Terry was well known for killing Senator David C. Broderick in a duel in 1859. Hill and Terry were married at St. Mary's Church in Stockton, California, Terry's home town.[6] The Sharon family continued to fight Hill.[3]

Attorney and former Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court David S. Terry.

As was the custom at the time, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Johnson Field was assigned to assist the California Circuit Court. He was coincidentally assigned to the Sharon vs. Sharon case. After William Sharon died, his son and son-in-law carried on the case. Many were suspicious of the authenticity of the will Hill claimed to have found. Hill's expenses were primarily bankrolled by her friend, Mary Ellen Pleasant, an elderly black entrepreneur.[1] The lawsuit propelled Hill into the national spotlight and earned her the nickname, The Rose of Sharon.[7][8][9]

In January 1886, a U.S. Circuit Court Judge and a U.S. District Court Judge sitting as a Circuit Judge rendered a decision against the defendants. They ruled that the marriage contract was a forgery and required the plaintiffs to turn over the document so that it could be nullified by the court. The Terrys refused to comply with the Court's order and were jailed. They returned to the court in March 1888, seeking further relief.[7]

On September 3, 1888, Field delivered the final Circuit Court opinion. He ruled that the will was a forgery. Sarah Althea Hill suddenly stood up, screamed obscenities at the judge, and fumbled in her handbag for her revolver. When Marshal John Franks and others attempted to escort her from the courtroom, attorney Terry rose to defend his wife and drew his Bowie knife.[3][2] He hit Franks, knocking out a tooth, and the marshals drew their handguns. Spectators subdued Terry and led him out of the courtroom, where he pulled his Bowie knife and threatened all around him. David Neagle was among the Marshals present and put his pistol in Terry's face. Both Terrys were subdued and placed under arrest. Justice Field had them returned to the courtroom and sentenced both to jail for contempt of court. David Terry got six months in jail, and Sarah Terry got one month.[10][11]

While being transported to jail and while serving their sentences, Terry and his wife repeatedly threatened Justice Field. The Terrys suffered several more setbacks. Both David and Althea were indicted by a federal grand jury on criminal charges arising out of their behavior in the courtroom before Justice Field. In May 1889, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review the order that invalidated Althea Terry's marriage contract with Senator Sharon. Then, in July, with only one of the four judges who had earlier ruled in their favor, the California Supreme Court reversed itself. It ruled that because Althea Terry and Sharon had kept their alleged marriage a secret, they were never legally married. While in jail or shortly afterward, pregnant Althea suffered a miscarriage.[3][2][10]

Lathrop, California rail road station in 1889

Attack expected

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The newspapers followed the case and repeatedly speculated about the likelihood of an attack on Field. When Field returned to California as a circuit riding judge for the 9th Circuit Court again the next year, U.S. Attorney General William Miller instructed Marshal Franks on May 6, 1889, to appoint Neagle as a Marshal with the responsibility to protect Field.[3][12]

It is due to the dignity and independence of the court, and the character of its judge, that no effort on the part of the government shall be spared to make them feel entirely safe and free from anxiety in the discharge of their high duties.[13]

Terry killed

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When David and Althea Terry were released from jail, they returned to Fresno. On August 14, 1889, they boarded a train in Fresno on which unknown to them Field and Neagle were returning from Los Angeles. At 7:10 am, all of the passengers disembarked the train to eat breakfast in the railroad station dining room at Lathrop, California.[14][3] After entering the dining room, Althea Terry saw Field. She quickly exited and returned to her railroad car, apparently to fetch her satchel in which she was known to carry a pistol. When her husband saw Field, he walked behind him and slapped Field twice with such force that his glasses were knocked off.[3][12][15][14]

Neagle, who was 5'7" tall and weighed 145 pounds, testified that the 6'3", 250-pound Terry recognized Neagle from the earlier confrontation in the courtroom. Neagle later said he saw a look of determination and victory on Terry's face.[16] Neagle rose from his chair and said, "Stop that! I am an officer."[3] Terry drew back his hand again and Neagle drew his .45-caliber revolver and shot Terry at point-blank range in the heart. Neagle announced to the 80 to 100 people in the dining room, "I am a United States Marshal and I defy anyone to touch me!" Field told them that Terry had assaulted him "and my officer shot him."[12][17] [18]

Althea Hill Terry had been held at the door by one of the dining room proprietors, who had searched the satchel and found a gun within it. She screamed and pushed her way through the crowd, throwing herself over her husband's body. Neagle thought he saw her covertly remove David Terry's knife from his vest. She challenged the crowd to search his body, insistent he was unarmed. The knife was later found in her satchel with the pistol.[14]

Declared insane

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After her husband's death, Sarah Terry became obsessed with spiritualism, hiring medium after medium to put her in touch with David Terry. Eventually, since she had no money to hire lawyers, the Sharon case gradually came to an end as the final cases were either dismissed or quickly decided against her. By February, 1892, newspapers were reporting that Mrs. Terry was insane. She wandered aimlessly in the streets of San Francisco, ignoring her appearance. She constantly talked to "spirits," especially that of her husband, and could not sleep. She had periods of violence and believed that she was being tormented by electricity and hypnotism.[19]

Abandoned by her relatives since the beginning of the Sharon case, Terry's fate was left to the only friends she had left, R. Porter Ashe and Mary Ellen Pleasant. Pleasant initiated action to have Terry committed to an insane asylum.[20] After a brief examination by the Insanity Commission, Sarah Terry was committed at age 41 to the California Asylum at Stockton (later known as the Stockton State Hospital) on March 11, 1892.[21]

Diagnosed with "dementia praecox," an early term for schizophrenia, she was extremely violent and had to be restrained for years in the asylum. Despite being termed "our best known patient" by Dr. Asa Clark,[22] the hospital superintendent, Terry received almost no visitors over the years other than a few authors researching her case. She was not treated except with sedatives and eventually adapted to her life in the institution but was deluded into thinking that she was a rich and grand lady, the hospital was her mansion, and the staff her servants.[23]

She remained incarcerated for forty-five years, from ages 42 to 86. When she died of pneumonia, Cornelia Terry, the granddaughter of David Terry, stepped forward to offer her a proper burial, saving Sarah Terry from being buried on the hospital grounds.[24] Sarah Althea Hill Terry is buried in the Terry family plot in the Stockton Rural Cemetery.

References

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  1. ^ a b Robin C. Johnson, Enchantress, Sorceress, Madwoman: The True Story of Sarah Althea Hill, Adventuress of Old San Francisco (California Venture Books, 2014). ISBN 978-0692326831.
  2. ^ a b c d e "THE DEATH BLOW The Sarah Althea Marriage Contract Declared a Forgery". www.newspapers.com. San Francisco Examiner. January 1, 1886. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j In Re Neagle[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Sharon’s Dirty Duds," San Francisco Chronicle, 19 March 1884, p. 4.
  5. ^ "The Sharon Case," San Francisco Chronicle, 25 December 1884, p. 3.
  6. ^ "Mrs. Terry," Daily Alta California, 8 January 1886, p. 1.
  7. ^ a b DeArment, Robert K. Lawman Neagle Ably Defended a Judge Archived 2020-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ U.S. Census Year: 1880; Census Place: Tucson, Pima, Arizona; Roll: 36; Page: 334D; Enumeration District: 039
  9. ^ DeArment, Robert K. (9 November 2012). Deadly Dozen: Forgotten Gunfighters of the old West. Volume 3. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 104. ISBN 9780806184708. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Terry’s Petition," Daily Alta California, 18 September 1888, p 1.
  11. ^ Service (USMS), U. S. Marshals. "U.S. Marshals Service". www.usmarshals.gov. Archived from the original on 13 May 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  12. ^ a b c "THEY HAVE MET The Long-Expected Tragedy in the Sharon Case". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. Aug 15, 1889. p. 1.
  13. ^ Service (USMS), U. S. Marshals. "History - The U.S. Marshals and Court Security". www.usmarshals.gov. Archived from the original on 13 May 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  14. ^ a b c David Neagle kills David Terry[permanent dead link‍] August 21, 1889 The San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California) Newspapers.com
  15. ^ "History - The U.S. Marshals and Court Security Protection of Federal Judge". Archived from the original on 2017-05-13. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  16. ^ DeArment, R. K. (October 3, 2018). "Lawman Neagle Ably Defended a Judge". HistoryNet. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  17. ^ "TERRY'S DEATH Shot for Attacking Judge". San Francisco Chronicle. Vol. L, no. 81. August 15, 1889.
  18. ^ Alexander E. Wagstaff, Life of David S. Terry (San Francisco: Continental Publishing Company, 1892)
  19. ^ "Hopelessly Unbalanced," San Francisco Call, 14 February 1892, p. 8.
  20. ^ Robin C. Johnson, Enchantress, Sorceress, Madwoman: The True Story of Sarah Althea Hill, Adventuress of Old San Francisco (California Venture Books, 2014). ISBN 978-0692326831.
  21. ^ "Declared Insane," San Francisco Chronicle, 11 March 1892, p. 12.
  22. ^ "Great Minds That Failed," Fresno Morning Republican, July 25, 1894, p. 3
  23. ^ "ʻRose of Sharon’" Who Died in West Thought Native of Girardeau," Southeast Missourian, Feb. 20, 1937, p. 3.
  24. ^ "Pauper’s Grave Escaped by Sarah Althea Terry," Oakland Tribune, 16 February 1937, p. 2.

Other sources

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  • Holdredge, Helen (1953). Mammy Pleasant. New York City: G. P. Putnam and Sons. ISBN ASIN: B0006ATHHQ.
  • W. H. L. Barnes, Argument for the Defendant, Sarah Althea Sharon vs. William Sharon (San Francisco: Barry, Baird & Co., 1884).
  • Oscar T. Shuck, ed., History of the bench and bar of California (Los Angeles: The Commercial Printing House, 1901).
  • John D. Lawson, ed., American State Trials, Volume XV (St. Louis: Thomas Law Book Co., 1926).
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