WATERS, Edith Scott
CREEDE, Dorothy (1895-1918), daughter born February 23, 1895 to Edith Scott Waters Walker [later Basford/later Burritt], the adopted daughter of Captain William G. Waters of San Miguel Island. Edith ran away from San Miguel Island, briefly married John Mackay Walker, gave birth to little Dorothy, gave the child up for adoption and then married H. R. Basford. In the meantime, on September 6, 1895, baby Dorothy was adopted by Nicolas C. Creede ( née William Harvey, 1843-1897), millionaire mine owner and founder of Creede, Colorado. The child was well cared for in Los Angeles by two nursemaids and her doting new father. Creede’s and his wife, Nancy Louisa, were formally separated on January 2, 1897, and by his account, Creede regretted his marriage. Of Dorothy’s adoption, his wife simply stated: “That was Creede’s doing.” When Dorothy was three years old, Nicolas C. Creede died by morphine overdose in 1897, leaving his fortune to little Dorothy. Litigation ensued for years over the custody of Dorothy and her inherited fortune. Creede’s estranged widow endeavored to break the will; Edith Scott Waters Walker sought to regain custody of the daughter whom she had given up for adoption. Edith, prevailed and regained possession of her daughter. They lived in San Francisco, but by 1906 had disappeared from all knowledge of their friends. The 1910 United States census lists Edith D[orothy] Creede, age 15, living in Sausalito, Marin County, California. On November 11, 1916 Dorothy Creede married California-born locomotion engineer, William Lloyd Ritchie (1878-1943) [SS#700-10-5943], sixteen-years her senior. They had a daughter, Edith R. [SS#550-30-0904], born on September1, 1917. Dorothy Creede died on October 26, 1918, less than two years after her marriage. Her ashes are interred in the San Francisco Columbarium. Dorothy’s only child, daughter Edith R. Ritchie, never married. She died on October 16, 1974. » Waters, Edith Scott; Schroder, Mary F. Nicholas Creede and the Amethyst Mine (2004)
In the News~
September 7, 1895 [LAT]: “Baby Walker, the daughter of Edith Scott Waters has become Edith Dorothy Creede. The change of name was effected by order of Judge Van Dyke yesterday, he sitting in chambers at the time. The proper petition of N. C. Creede and wife was presented, accompanied by the written consent of the mother of the little one, and the necessary decree of adoption was thereupon rendered. Dorothy Talbot Hitt Walker thereby became Edith Dorothy Creede. Edith Scott Waters, the mother of the adopted baby, was herself adopted when quite young by a Mrs. Stone of San Francisco. Mrs. Stone, it will be remembered, married a Captain Waters, who was the owner of San Miguel Island and was an extensive sheep-raiser. The young woman whose name had changed with that of her adopted mother in time went to San Francisco, where she was trained for the stage. She afterward married John Walker, a son of Mr. Walker, who had been a warm friend of J. W. Mackay. John Walker was a streetcar conductor. In course of time the Walkers came to Los Angeles, where he found employment. Matters between the young couple did not move as smoothly as they might, and in time the two were divorced. The little girl whose name was by a decree of the court changed yesterday, was born about six months ago, her mother being in the County Hospital at the time. The baby for a time was cared for by a woman who had befriended the mother after her divorce. This woman became unable to care for the little one any longer, and, this fact became public, the attention of the Creedes was attracted to it.”
February 1, 1896 [LAT]: “Millionaire Creede is living contentedly in Los Angeles… The tiniest, but not the least important, member of Col. Creede’s household is the baby of Edith Waters Walker, which the Creedes have adopted. It is a beautiful child, and Col. and Mrs. Creede fairly worship it. Having no children of their own, the little one receives all the care and attention that would be bestowed on their own offspring, had they been blessed with any….”
January 8, 1897 [LAT]: “Mrs. Creede quits. Takes $20,000 to leave… In due course of time a divorce will follow… Mrs. Creede accepted $20,000 cash in hand and surrendered all further claims upon her husband… They had found out long ago that they were uncompanionable and their married life had been far from pleasant, so that when his wife suggested leaving him, he offered to pay her $20,000 if she would depart from his bed and board immediately… She said ‘I’m going to Mississippi to live…’ When asked what disposition would be made of the little child that the Creedes adopted about two years ago, Mrs. Creede said: ‘I guess Creede will keep it. I don’t want it and didn’t want to take it at first. That was Creede’s doing. I wouldn’t pack it half way across the continent, and it only two years old… Little Edith Waters Walker, the adopted child of Mr. Creede, began life under a cloud of romance. About four years ago, Edith Waters, the adopted daughter of Captain Waters, the wealthy sheepraiser who lives on San Miguel Island, tired of the lonely lofe to which she was condemned and ran away from home with the help of a fisherman. From Santa Barbara she went to San Francisco, where she appeared on the stage at one of the variety theatres. While engaged at the Tivell she married a worthless actor, named Walker, whom she was obliged to support out of her earnings. Later the pair came to Los Angeles and played at the Burbank. While here Walker deserted his wife, leaving her in a delicate condition and unable to support herself. She was so reduced in circumstances that she was obliged to go to the county hospital where she gave birth to a daughter, who was given her mother’s name, Edith Walker. In order to supper herself and child, Mrs. Walker returned to the stage in San Francisco leaving her baby in the care of a widow on Spring Street, with the promise that she would forward regular remittances for the child’s benefit. When the mother for some cause, failed to provide for her child it was found necessary to make some other arrangement for its care. Mr. Creede heard of the cause and having no children of his own was so taken with the beauty of the abandoned infant that he resolved to legally adopt it. As a result, it was taken into the Creede household where it has received every conceivable care and attention.”
January 9, 1897 [DMN]: “Los Angeles, Cal. January 8. W. C. Creede, the millionaire miner, after whom the town of Creede, Colorado is named, and his wife have separated. A stipulation drawn up and signed several days ago by which Mrs. Creede accepted $20,000 cash in hand and surrendered all further claim upon her husband, at the same time voluntarily withdrawing from his home in this city.”
July 13, 1897 [LAT]: “N. C. Creede dead. The famous miner ends his unhappy life. Nagged beyond endurance. Return of his wife to plague him after separation. Nicholas C. Creede, discoverer of the wonderful Colorado mining camp which is known today from end to end of the world by his name, died last night from an overdose of morphine. It may have been that it was accident, for he was accustomed to use the drug for neuralgia, but there is a possibility that, unhappy in spite of his wealth, in spite of his love for his tiny adopted daughter, in spite of his beautiful home and everything which should have made him contented, he meant to put an end to his ill-health and to escape from the wife from whom he had been separated for so many months past, but who had returned to Los Angeles and commenced again to make life a burden for him. Creede made a fortune from his Colorado mining ventures, and then sold all his mines and came to California to spend the remaining years of his life in peace. For four years past he has lived in the old Northam place on the corner of Sixth and Pearl streets in a handsome mansion surrounded by gardens, which are among the most beautiful in this city. Yesterday the retired miner seemed anxious and depressed. The wife to whom he had paid $20,000 for a promise that she would never trouble him again, had returned to Los Angeles again, and was trying desperately to see him. At dusk yesterday the gardener, Frank L. Maas, walked by the summer house, which stands in a little wood of palm trees back of the house. He noticed his master sitting in a rustic chair, with his head leaning back, apparently asleep. Something struck him as wrong, and he went to the house to summon Creede’s brother-in-law, W. M. Phifer… Creede leaves three brothers: a lawyer, Jerome L. Creede of Manitou, Colorado; a farmer, McConnell Creede of Forney, Texas; and a lawyer, Judge J. W. Creede of Leon, Decatur county, Iowa. His sister, Mrs. W. M. Phifer, is now in Manitou, and the only member of his family now here is his brother-in-law, Mr. Phifer… Domestic unhappiness. On January 4, 1897 Mr. and Mrs. Creede found further companionship unbearable, and they quietly agreed to dissolve further relationship at once… Creede never met his wife since her return, but he knew that she was here and he sought to avoid her by every subterfuge. He avoided in every way meeting the woman whom he had rewarded to abandon him… No children were born to them, but they adopted a beautiful little girl, and to this child he became devotedly attached…”
July 16, 1897 [LAT]: “Creede left a will. Little Dorothy will inherit the bulk of the estate… Mother wants her child. The maternal love reasserts itself… Little Dorothy’s own mother, once Mrs. Edith Walker, but now Mrs. H. R. Basford, called on attorney Jones yesterday morning and had a long talk with him about her child’s future. Since she surrendered the possession of her infant daughter to Creede, she has married a well-known hardware dealer in San Francisco, and has a comfortable home to which she would like to take Dorothy, if events so shaped themselves as to permit her to recover her child. Mrs. Basford told Mr. Jones that she had no desire to assume any control of the property which was to fall to Dorothy’s share, but she felt a desire to regain what was by natural law her own…”
July 17, 1897 [SFCall]: “Edith’s father an Oakland boy. Her mother tried to make a living as a typewriter. Graduated from Field Seminary where she was a noted singer. Now the little child, born in the poorhouse, is heir to the Creede millions. Little Edith Dorothy Creede, whose mother was forced to allow her to be adopted two years ago, and who is now heir to a vast estate, is the daughter of an Oakland boy. The doings of her father and mother created great interest here some time ago, and after their marriage they stayed at the Galindo Hotel. Little Edith’s father was John Mackey Walker, son of the builder of the famous Walker mansion that was torn down a few months ago. Edith’s mother was of a romantic nature, and as Edith Waters she created some notoriety in Santa Barbara County by running away from the island of San Miguel because it was too lonely for her. She was living there with her step-father, who owned the island, and she took advantage of a passing schooner to leave her place of exile and go to the mainland. Edith Waters was a very popular singer while at Field Seminary in this City, and early in life decided to study for the stage. She had a beautiful voice, and it was after a few months of work at the Orpheum that she met the son of the Oakland millionaire. John Walker proposed marriage and his offer was accepted, and they did not waste any time over preliminaries before getting married. Troubles quickly followed. Walker had been brought up luxuriously and could not realize the fact that he was a poor man who had to earn a living, and so while in Oakland Mrs. Walker did some work as a typewriter, while her husband amused himself playing tennis. This did not last long, and before her child was born, three years ago, Mrs. Walker moved to Los Angeles, and little Edith first saw the light of day in the County Infirmary. For nine months the young mother did her best to support it. She went on the stage, but still she found it hard to support them both, and when an offer was made her to adopt her child, which she had left in Los Angeles with a charitable lady, she felt constrained to accept. She agreed to let Nicholas Creede adopt the little girl, and now he has died and his will bequeathed all his estate to the child. Mrs. Walker got a divorce about a year ago and married a successful young businessman of San Francisco, and is now living there. As Creede was separated from his wife it is not unlikely that little Edith’s mother will apply for the custody of her child.”
July 22, 1897 [LAT]: “N. C. Creede’s will. Dorothy’s future mapped out by the document…’All the rest of my estate after paying the above bequests and all just debts, I give and bequeath to my daughter, Dorothy Creede, and I desire that she be properly educated and supported from the income if sufficient. I would like her to live at the house with Maggie in charge as housekeeper… When she reaches the age of 25 years… I desire her entire estate turned over to her…”
July 24, 1897 [SFCall]: “Los Angeles, July 23. Though the fortune left by the late N. C. Creede or Harvey appears to have shrunken from millions to about $250,000, there is no lessening of the endeavors of the opposing litigants to secure a slice of what is left. The will of the famous miner having been filed for probate and the widow having applied for letters of administration a foundation was therein laid for a lively legal battle. Mrs. Creede today applied to the court for an order for an allowance from the estate and permission to take up her residence in the Creede mansion. It is said by the attorney for the deceased that such an order cannot be obtained, as the widow has sold her right for the $20,000 she received from her husband. Another contract was started today by Mrs. Edith M. Basford of San Francisco, who filed a petition to be appointed guardian of Edith Dorothy Creede, an infant, who, as related in the application, has no living relative save her mother, the petitioner, and her father, John M. Walker, from whom the petitioner was divorced. As related in the petition, the child, now two years and five months old, has no property except an interest in the Creede estate, and the natural mother of the little heiress prays for legal possession.”
July 28, 1897 [LAT]: “Mrs. Edith Scott Basford, the natural mother of Edith Dorothy Creede, the two-and-a-half-year-old heiress, filed a petition in the matter of the estate of Nicholas Creede yesterday asking that her attorney, Roger Johnson, Esq., of San Francisco, and John S. Chapman, Esq. of this city, be appointed by the court as legal counsel for her little daughter. The petitions stated that Dorothy had been adopted by the old miner himself, and that the adoption was not ordered jointly between Creede and his wife. The petition referred to Dorothy as the residuary-legalee by the terms of the will filed for probate, and stated her interest in the deceased’s estate at more than $100,000. In regard to Dorothy’s present whereabouts, the petition reads as follows: The alleged will purports to have appointed one William Pfifer the guardian of the person and estate of Edith Dorothy Creede, without bond, but Mrs. Basford never gave any consent to such appointment, and, besides, Pfifer is a witness to the will. There will be doubtless controversies concerning the due execution of the will, and it is therefore necessary that attorneys be appointed to protect Dorothy’s interests. The petition was heard by Judge Allen in Department Six of the Superior Court yesterday, and appointment ordered as prayed for.”
July 28, 1897 [LAT]: “Attorneys were appointed by the court for little Edith Dorothy Creede.”
August 4, 1897 [SFCall]: “Los Angeles, August 8. Three legal papers were filed in the Creede estate case today, and the contest of the pencil will is now on. The first was by the attorney for Dorothy Creede, the adopted daughter of the dead mining magnate. It protests the petition of Mrs. Basford of San Francisco, in which she asks to be appointed guardian of the child. Mrs. Basford is the mother of Dorothy, but in the protest it is alleged that she is actuated by a desire to get possession of her daughter’s money rather than love for the child, as she had legally relinquished all maternal claims. The second is a protest against the petition of Mrs. Creede for an allowance of $250 a month for herself and the adopted daughter. Her right to any part of the estate is denied, as is also all authority over Dorothy. It is set out that William Phifer is the child’s guardian, and also that the right of her mother, Mrs. Basford should be recognized before Mrs. Creede. It contests the will filed for probate, in which nearly all of the property is left to Dorothy Creede. The grounds for the protest are that the will is not signed by Creede, and that it is not properly attested. For some time after the sudden death of Creede, it was not known for certain whether the deceased had left a testament, but one day the attorney for Creede announced that he had in his possession a pencil draft of a will as it had been written by the rich miner as a form to be adopted for the finished document. Though this was not signed and had remained in the keeping of the attorney, it was offered for probate and was immediately a target for protests.”
August 10, 1897 [LAT]: “The Creede Estate. John T. Jones, N. C. Creede’s friend and attorney, and the executor named in his will, has been appointed special administrator of the estate, with bonds fixed at $100,000. This was the only definite result of the opening skirmish in the Creede will contest, which took place yesterday afternoon before Judge Allen sitting in the probate court. Matters of fact were kept entirely out of yesterday’s discussion, only points of law and exparte metters being taken into consideration…”
August 28, 1897 [SFCall]: “Los Angeles, August 27. Attorney John T. Jones, appointed to appraise the estate of the late Nicholas C. Creede, completed his work today. He finds that Creede owned property in this state valued at $153,716.30. Of this amount $105,000 is represented by real property, $48,716.30 being personal. The petition of Dorothy Creede’s mother for letters of guardianship will come up for hearing September 13.”
October 20, 1897 [LAT]: “The Creede guardianship matter came up before Judge Clark yesterday afternoon. The attorneys submitted to the court an agreed statement of facts after which argument in the case was set to be heard November 1 at 10:30 A.M. The facts agreed upon in the stipulation filed yesterday were principally as follows: Edith S. Basford was married to a man named Walker and Edith Dorothy Creede was born unto Edith S. Basford by that marriage. Subsequent to the birth of Edith Dorothy, the mother, then Edith S. Walker, brought suit in the Superior Court at San Francisco to obtain, and did obtain, a decree of divorce from her husband. The degree was signed August 31, 1895. The custody of the child, Edith Dorothy, born February 23 of that year, was awarded to the mother. In the following September N. C. Creede adopted the girl, the mother giving her consent. It is mutually agreed that the adoption was never revoked and that [Nancy] Louisa Creede, the wife of N. C. Creede, was not a joint party to the adoption. N. C. Creede died in this city July 12, 1897, leaving an estate estimated to be worth over $150,000.”
November 13, 1897 [LAT]: “A new and somewhat mysterious turn developed in the Creede case yesterday in Department Two. Mrs. Creede, widow of the late Nicholas C. Creede, asked that her petition to be appointed administratrix of her late husband’s estate be set aside, and that George H. Stewart be selected as administrator. Mrs. Creede’s attorneys offer no explanation further than that the estate being a large one, some person of experience in business affairs should be chosen to take charge of it. Both Mrs. Creede and Mr. Stewart filed petitions, one withdrawing a former petition, the other praying for the appointment as administrator… The question of guardianship of Edith in which Mrs. Creede prays for the appointment, will not be settled until after the matter concerning the will is disposed of…”
November 23, 1897 [SFCall]: “Los Angeles, November 22. The question of the guardianship of Dorothy Creede was argued before Judge Caux today and submitted for decision. The proceedings are based upon the petition of [Nancy] Louisa Creede, wife of the late N. C. Creede, to be appointed guardian of the child, who was adopted by Creede a few months prior to his death, and to whom he bequeathed his estate. The court took the matter under advisement.”
January 12, 1898 [SFCall]: “Los Angeles, January 11. The question as to what disposition is to be made of the fortune of N. C. Creede, the discoverer of the famous Colorado mining district of that name, is to be decided by Superior Judge Clark of this county. The trial of the case commenced today, and it will consume some time, as eminent legal counsel has been engaged to show that the alleged pencil will which is titled for probate is a fraud. [Nancy] Louise Creede, the widow of the dead miner, is endeavoring to break the will. By its terms she is excluded from all participation in the many thousands her husband left behind. She is 52 years of age. Her husband overlooked her in the alleged will, leaving one-half of an estate, valued at about $400,000, to little Dorothy Creede, their adopted daughter, and the other half to numerous relatives. The alleged last will was drawn up by Senator John P. Jones, who is named as executor in the document, on January 4, 1897. It is dated July 7, 1897, and July 12 of the same year Creede died. The singular and anomalous fact that the will was drawn six months prior to the time it was dated is by the attorneys of Widow Creede regarded as strong evidence that it is fraudulent. Under the will the adopted daughter, little Dorothy, is to have her fortune held in trust by her guardian until she is 25 years of age. When she has lived that long she is to have the money in her own right, provided she has lived a virtuous life. The attorneys of Widow Creede will also cite as extraordinary the provision in the will reciting that if little Dorothy goes astray, her share in the estate is then to fall to her guardian. This virtually, they allege, offers a premium to her guardian to see to it that she does go astray. The case will be hotly contested, and some very sensational developments are promised, as the numerous relatives under the pencil will have syndicated, and are going to fight the matter to the end.”
January 13, 1898 [LAT]: “The contest over the will of Nicholas C. Creede was resumed yesterday morning before Judge Clark in Department Two of the Superior Court. According to the ruling of the court on the previous day, the conestants will be compelled first to prove the marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Creede, and then to show the document in which Mrs. Creede signed over all rights and future claims to the estate was invalid at the time that it was executed…”
July 24, 1898 [LAT]: “As time advances the entanglements resulting after the death of Nicholas Creede, the Colorado mining man, tend to become greater all the time. A week ago R. Phifer, Creede’s brother-in-law, who with his wife was mentioned in the will as Dorothy Edith Creede’s guardian, died. The contest over the will was a thing of the past, and only the guardianship proceeding afforded further opportunity for contest. But the removal of Phifer by death seemed to simplify the matter for a short time. John T. Jones, Esq., attorney to the estate and executor under the will, and Sherman Phifer, have filed petitions that they be appoined guardians of the person and estate of Dorothy Creede, and yesterday Miss Maggie Kearney, Creede’s housekeeper, whom he remembered so kindly in his will, and against whom Mrs. Creede showed decided antipathy during the contest over the will, also filed her petition to be appointed the child’s guardian. All of this scrambling around in an attempt to be appointed guardian to a tiny dot of a girl is rather funny, and at the same time just a trifle pathetic. Whoever is appointed will have quite a nice time, for little Dorothy’s allowance , increasing as she grows older, will serve to bring much pleasure into the life of the guardian if not into that of the child…”
July 27, 1898 [LAT]: “The eagerness being displayed by a variety of persons to act in the capacity of guardian to the person and estate of little Edith Dorothy Creede is most interesting. The several petitions filed have been by people occupying the most varied positions in life, and the one filed by W. T. S. Hammond, assistant cashier of the First National Bank, will probably compare favorably with any or all of the others.”
July 30, 1898 [LAT]: “
August 6, 1898 [LAT]: “
August 10, 1898 [SFCall]: “Los Angeles, August 9. In the superior Court here today Judge Shaw appointed a guardian for little Dorothy Creede in the person of the child’s mother, now Mrs. Edith Basford of San Francisco. When the child was adopted by Creede the mother
August 10, 1898 [LAT]: “Baby Dolly’s guardian. The court holds that the mother’s right revived. Mrs. Basford appointed guardian of Edith Dorothy… Little Edith Dorothy Creede is to return to the care and custody of her mother, Mrs. Basford, and the heartburning over the guardianship of the child are, for the present at all events, held in abeyance… When Mrs. Basford took her seat upon the witness stand yesterday, there was nothing in her appearance or manner to indicate that her previous life had been a checkered one, and one that the world would call romantic. Left an orphan at an early age, she was adopted by a lady in San Francisco, who afterward became the wife of Captain Waters, the owner of San Miguel Island, off the Santa Barbara Coast. Her mother by adoption finally died at Santa Barbara, and upon returning to the island the life was too dull and monotonous to the young girl, who had while at school in Oakland shown some talent. She longed to spread her wings and see the world, and with this end in view she took her departure from San Miguel on the first good opportunity that offered. She made her debut on the stage in San Francisco as Inez, in ‘The Tar and Tartar,’ and met with some success. A few months later she met John Mackay Walker, and the two were married at San Rafael in June 1894… Their life was not happy, and just before Edith Dorothy was born the husband deserted his wife, and was reported to be living in San Bernardino. The young wife was in a most unhappy situation when Mrs. M. S. Chisholm, a lady who had seen much better days, and was teaching languages as a means of livelihood, came to the rescue. She herself was poor, but she had known both Mr. and Mrs. Walker since childhood, and she did what she could to aid the deserted young wife, who was soon to become a mother. Edith Dorothy Creede, the three and a half-year old babe, for whose possession so many persons have been desirous, was born at the County Hospital. Through those troubled days Mrs. Chisholm nursed the young wife back to health and strength. So as soon as it could be moved, Mrs. Chisholm took the baby to her humble rooms, and the mother, after her discharge from the hospital saw the baby a few times and then left for San Francisco. She desired that Mrs. Chisholm fine some one, if she could, that would adopt the infant, and ere not long the eccentric old mining man, Nicholas C. Creede, adopted the little one and Mrs. Walker surrendered all right to her baby. Since then the child’s mother has remarried and became Mrs. Basford. She stated to the court yesterday that she had been married nearly three years and has two children as a result of the present union. Her husband is outdoor superintendent of some company, and while not earning a large salary, earns enough to sustain a modest flat on Turk Street… Mrs. Basford was then appointed guardian of Edith Dorothy Creede with a bond fixed at $1000.”
October 30, 1898 [LAT]: “Judge Allen, sitting for Judge Clark, yesterday granted a petition for an allowance of $50 per month from the estate of the late N. C. Creede for the support of Edith Dorothy Creede, the adopted daughter of the deceased mining man. The infant is now in the care of Mrs. Edith BAShford, the natural mother.”
November 15, 1898 [LAT]: “
January 26, 1899 [LAT]: “
May 25, 1899 [SFCall]: “Los Angeles, May 24. Fortune found for little Dorothy. John T. Jones, the attorney handling the property of the late N. C. Creede, has returned from a trip East. He visited Denver to clear certain business details left by Creede in that city in a rather chaotic condition. Major Jones sought out the First National Bank of that city, where he presented Creede’s bankbooks to have the account of the dead miner straightened. No one believed Creede had a penny left in the Denver bank, no record of any deposit in that institution having been found among his effects, but upon checking upon Creede’s deposit he was found to have a balance in the bank of $19,003.80. Major Jones received word from Denver yesterday that the money had been turned over to the Creede estate. If Major Jones can bring it about, little Dorothy Creede will come in for another windfall in the form of stock in the celebrated Amethyst mine at Creede, Colorado, valued at $1,150,000. This property is claimed as Creede’s share, and unless the claim is allowed suit will be brought to recover it. Major Jones said today that unless the owners of the mine—D. H. Moffatt, W. S. Cheeseman, L. Campbell and E. T. Smith, all of Denver—made a satisfactory compromise, the case would be taken into the courts. The necessary legal documents are now being drawn. It is Major Jones’ opinion that the case probably will be settled out of court. Dorothy Creede, who was adopted by the dead miner a short time before he died, is now with her mother, Mrs. Basford, at San Francisco.”
June 13, 1899 [SFCall]: “Denver, June 12. A suit was filed in the United States Circuit Court by John T. Jones of Los Angeles, Cal., administrator of the estate of the late Nicolas C. Creede, founder of the Colorado mining camp which bears his name, against David H. Moffatt, Walter S. Cheeseman, Sylvester T. Smith and L. E. Campbell, all prominent mining men, and the Amethyst Mining Company, of which they are sole stockholders, to recover a third interest in the mine, alleged to be worth over $5,000,000, and an accounting of its operation since 1894. In the bill it is charged that the defendants conspired to induce Creede, who is said to have been mentally unbalanced, to give them his stock free of charge. The beneficiary of the suit is Dorothy Creede, the adopted daughter of the dead miner, about four years of age.”
July 13, 1900 [SFCall]: “Los Angeles, July 12. Mrs. [Nancy] Louisa Creede, widow of Nicholas Creede, the mining millionaire of Colorado, who died here several years ago, today petitioned the courts here for an order on the administrator for a family allowance of $250 per month. This is an attempt to open the old case wherein she was denied a portion of the large estate on account of an agreement to separate, by the terms of which she was given $20,000 cash.”
October 16, 1900 [LAT]: “Governor Gage appeared in Judge Shaw’s department of the Superior Court yesterday in connection with affairs of the late N. C. Creede. Mrs. Nancy [Louisa] Creede, alleged wife of the deceased, has for a long time past had a motion before the court for a family allowance, and her attorney, Frank Finlayson, Esq., is asking that a commission issue for the taking of her deposition in Mississippi to obtain testimony in support of such a motion. Creede was a miner, who suddenly struck it rich in New Mexico. His mines are worth mints of money. The estate has long been involved in litigation. The motion to allow the deposition will be taken up this morning. Governor Gage is one of counsel for his private secretary, W. J. Foley, Esq., who represents the absent heirs. It is contended by the heirs that Mrs. Creede, in having accepted from her husband a cash settlement prior to his death, abandoned her claim to his handsome estate. The principal heir is little Edith Dorothy Creede, an adopted daughter.”
October 17, 1900 [LAT]: “Another turn was taken yesterday in the much-litigated estate of the millionaire suicide, N. C. Creede, when Superior Court Judge Shaw ordered a commission to issue for the taking of the deposition of Mrs. Louise N. Creede, surviving widow, who is now living in Mississippi. This deposition is being taken at the insistence of Mrs. Creede’s attorney, Frank Finlayson, Esq., to support her motion long pending in the courts for a family allowance of $300 a month and the use of the Creede residence in this city. Formal objections to the motion to take the deposition were filed by John T. Jones, special administrator of the estate; Dorothy Creede, adopted daughter of the deceased, and the other heirs. Governor Gage appears in the matter as one of the consul for the special administrator. The objections were on the grounds that there was no action pending on behalf of Mrs. Creede in which her testimony might be taken under the laws of California, and that she has no interest whatever n the estate by reason of a final cash settlement with her husband prior to his death, whereby she is alleged to have abandoned all claim upon his estate. These objections were over-ruled.”
December 4, 1900 [LAT]: “There is talk of compromise and abandonment of Dorothy Creede’s contest of the will of her late foster father, “Nick” Creede, the miner who died in July 1895, leaving an estate of millions to Dorothy, provided she shall live a spotless life until she is 25 years old. The contest was inaugurated to get immediate possession.”
January 5, 1901 [SFCall]: “Los Angeles, January 4. A compromise has been affected in the famous Creede will contest. By its terms little Edith Dorothy Creede, the adopted daughter of the late millionaire, will receive a large part of her inheritance immediately, without waiting until she is 25 years of age, as provided in the will.”
January 9, 1901 [LAT]: “San Francisco, January 8. Roger Johnson, as guardian of Edith Dorothy Creede’s estate, has been granted authority by Superior Judge Trout to enter into an agreement with the other legatees named in N. C. Creede’s will for the settlement of the dispute over the estate. The terms of the proposed compromise have already been published.”
January 15, 1901 [TD]: “
May 20, 1901 [LAT]: “Denver, May 19. In the United States Circuit Court yesterday, little Dorothy Creede, heir to the estate of the discoverer of the amethyst mine, won a victory in the fight against David Moffatt, S. T. Smith, Walter Cheeseman, and Major L .E Campbell, to recover a one-third interest in the mine which her foster-father signed away in 1894. J. Warner Mills, attorney for John T. Jones, executor of the Creede estate, had moved to have struck out the supplemental answer of the defendants, and this motion was granted. This brings the case to trial on its merits. This answer, filed last June, set up that the action was founded upon an illegal agreement between the plaintiff and J. Warner Mills, counsel. Records of the Superior Court of California were shown which approved the agreement between the executor and Mills by which the latter agreed to assume al costs in the suit of judgment were rendered adversely. Mills showed this action was taken only to protect the estate in California.”
October 25, 1901 [SFCall]: “Builders’ Contracts. Edith Dorothy Creede (minor) (owner) by Roger Johnson, (guardian), with Ben O. Johnson (contractor), architect A. W. Smith—all work for a two-story basement and attic frame residence on E line of Pierce Street, 100 N of Haight, N 35, E 125, S 25, W 100, S 10, W 25; $4497.”
May 15, 1902 [SFCall]: “The estate of the late [?] Edith Dorothy Creede has been appraised at $53,017.30. It consists of real estate in Los Angeles, worth $35,000; improved property in this city, worth $8590; personal property valued at $958.50; and $8558.80 cash.”
November 16, 1902 [LAT]: “Roger Johnson, guardian of estate of Edith Dorothy Creede, a minor, has sold to P. A. Stanton, a lot on the southwest corner of Sixth and Figueroa streets, about 680 x 150 feet, with a fourteen-room three-story frame dwelling; consideration named, $36,250. Mr. Stanton has sold to Mrs. A. J. de Sepulveda 328 x 150 feet, southwest corner Sixth and Figueroa streets, with dwelling above described; consideration named $24,000. He has also sold to T. J. Douglas and C. Q. Stanton the remainder of the lot, being 352 x 150 feet, southeast corner Sixth and Loomis streets, unimproved; consideration named $15,000.”
January 26, 1905 [SFCall]: “
January 29, 1905 [LAH]: “Plans are now being drawn for a new three-story brick hotel of one hundred rooms to be erected by Mr. Stanton on the southwest corner of 6th and Figueroa streets on the lot that was formerly a part of the Nicholas Creede estate. The lot is 91 x 116 feet…”
February 26, 1905 [LAH]: “The family hotel being erected by C. Q. Stanton on the south side of West 6th Street… the portion of the ground space upon which this improvement is located was once the home of Nicholas Creede, the pioneer Colorado mining king, who amassed his fortune in Cripple Creek, Colorado, and other mining districts, and after purchasing the southwest corner of Figueroa and West 6th streets, extending from Figueroa to Loomis Street, made Los Angeles his home until his death.”
December 2, 1906 [LAT]: “Millions at stake, heiress disappears. Romance of little Dorothy Creede, who went from County Hospital as adopted daughter of rich miner fighting for fortune… Nicholas Creede has long been dead. The baby girl, Dorothy Edith Creede, has grown to be a sprightly girl of 13 years. And now, just as she is going into her teens, is to take place the contest that has been dragging through the courts for years, and which, if successful, will mean that Dorothy Creede will receive half of the $3,000,000, out of which it is claimed Creede was defrauded… Creede owned one-third of the mining town named after him… His life was lonely, however, for his wife and he separated. One day, however, a new element entered into it, for he found and adopted a wee girl baby who first saw the light in the County Hospital, but who quickly became the pet and plaything of the solitary old man, living amid all that wealth could obtain… But back of the child lies another story… Mrs. Walker signed away her rights to little Dorothy Edith; the child was adopted by the retired mining magnate. Three years later the old man died of morphine poisoning… Then began the litigation inseparable from a large estate. Creede’s widow endeavored to break the will, and failing in this sought to obtain possession of the child. The young mother, too, who had relinquished all claim, went into court claiming that with the death of the foster father her natural rights revived. And her claim was allowed and the young mother—then only 24—recovered possession of little Dorothy and was made guardian of the little one’s person and estate… Since then the mother and child have made their home in San Francisco… Just when it is essential that little Dorothy Edith Creede and her mother be on hand, they have apparently disappeared from all knowledge of their friends here…”
November 13, 1916 [Samohi]: “Miss Creede, daughter of Mrs. Scott-Burritt, weds in Santa Monica. On Saturday, November 11, at high noon, Miss Dorothy Creede, daughter of Mrs. Edith Scott-Burritt, was married to Mr. William Lord Ritchie of Sausalito in the Santa Monica Episcopal Church. This news is of great interest to Samohi readers because both Miss Creede and Mrs. Scott-Burritt have identified themselves with dramatic work at Santa Monica High School. Before the marriage, Miss Creede was the guest of honor at a luncheon given by Miss Arlene Jones, ’14, and Miss Lucille Jones, ’17, at their home, 2417 Fourth Street. Mrs. Scott-Burritt will remain on Ocean Park this winter. Her play, “Black Sheep,” recently produced, has been pronounced a great success. Percy Taber, ’17, took a prominent part in the production.”
November 2, 1918 [SN]: “The death of Mrs. Edith Dorothy Ritchie, wife of Will Ritchie, in San Francisco on last Saturday morning was a severe shock to the community and a still harder blow to her beloved husband. Her health since the birth of her daughter, Edith Romer Ritchie, a few months ago, has not been the best, and she was in St. Francis Hospital suffering with bronchitis, which subsequently developed into the dread Spanish influenza. Evrything possible was done to help her, but her time had come. THe funeral services were held here on Monday afternoon, and the remains were cremated in Mt. Olivet cemetery. The deceased was a native of California, aged 23 years, and was the daughter of Mrs. Edith Scott Burritt and sister of Bruce C. and G. S. Basford and Roland Burritt. She has been a resident of Sausalito for many years and has many warm friends and acquaintances who extend their sympathy to her beloved husband and family in their hour of sorrow.”
November 23, 1918 [SN]: “The will of Dorothy Ritchie [Creede] was admitted to probate In the Superior court of this county yesterday. The will is dated January 5, 1918, and is witnessed by Mrs. E. A. Campbell and Mrs. Frances Hideout of Sausaiito. The Anglo-California Trust Co. of San Francisco are executors of the estate. She bequeaths her jewelry, clothing, furniture and other personal effects to her mother with the wish that she save some of it for her daughter. One dollar is left to her husband, William Lloyd Ritchie, the balance for her mother and daughter's support. She leaves him nothing more on account of his ability to provide for himself. The property consisting of valuable improved warehouse property on Bluxome street. San Francisco, was left in trust for her child and her mother. Two-thirds of the income goes to the child and one-third to the mother. The child to receive the property on reaching the age of twenty-five years. The mother to receive the property should the child die before reaching twenty-five without having any children. Her two half brothers, Garth Basford and Roland Basford [Burritt], get the esate in the event that the child, Edith Romer Ritchie, dies before reaching twenty-five years, her grandmother, Mrs. Burritt and childen, if any of Edith Romer Ritchie's children are dead. The property is said to bring in a monthly income of $250.”
October 19, 1974 [IJ]: “Funeral was held today for Edith R. Ritchie, life long Sausalito resident and former stenographer for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Miss Ritchie, 57, died Wednesday at a local hospital after a long illness. She was born in San Francisco but grew up and lived the rest of her life in Sausalito. Her father was an engineer on the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. Miss Ritchie resided at the family home, 76 Cazneau Avenue. She worked 15 years for Southern Pacific. She leaves no immediate family.” [Daughter of Dorothy Creede].
