Most notably, at the start, women weren’t allowed to file suits in their own names or even to testify as witnesses. So at the start, the plaintiff was Mary’s husband, the lawyer William Whitney. One early judge decided against him so hard that the guy was sentenced to prison for libel (a criminal offense at the time). Whitney died in 1837 when Yellow Fever hit New Orleans, and Mary went on suing on her own.
When the case was finally decided once and for all, the year was 1891. In case it’s not obvious how much time had passed, imagine this all happened in the 20th century and picture the difference between 1913 and 1991. The court awarded Mary close to a million dollars. Nearly all of it went to legal fees. She’d probably have been furious with her lawyers … but she never heard the news, having died six years earlier.
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For more strange tales of inheritance, see also:
5 Of The Most Insane Dying Wishes In History
The 6 Greatest Things Accomplished by Dead Bodies
6 Priceless Treasures Everybody Dismissed As Worthless Junk
Top image: Historic New Orleans Collection
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