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MYRA CLARK GAINES

Myra Clark Gaines (1804-1885) was the wealthiest person -- not just the wealthiest woman -- in the United States during her lifetime. One estimate places the value of her estate in 1868 at more than $35 million (Elizabeth Urban Alexander. Notorious Woman, the Celebrated Case of Myra Clark Gaines. 2001). She spent most of her days, however, defending her claim to the fortune that she inherited from her father, Daniel Clark. The result was the longest-running civil lawsuit in American history. As the Law Library of Louisiana has noted in an online article, “Gaines’ resolve in pursuing her claims to justice were an inspiration across the nation, especially considering her barriers as a woman at that time. Indeed, the eulogy at her funeral lauded her, stating that ‘her name will go down in history, associated with the ideas of courage and determination’.” (“Myra Clark Gaines: The Longest-Running Civil Lawsuit in America”)

Photograph of Myra Clark Gaines, ca. 1855-1865.

(Brady-Handy Collection, Library of Congress)

Mrs. Gaines’ signature on one of the original documents included in Joseph Fuentes, et al. vs Myra Clark Gaines, one of the many hundreds of suits filed throughout the sixty-year period of litigation over her inheritance.

(Joseph Fuentes et al vs. Myra Clark Gaines. Orleans Parish Second District Court #3299)

Mrs. Gaines apparently did not believe in the old saying, “You can’t fight City Hall,” as indicated by this record of her suit against the City of New Orleans. Among other things, she claimed ownership of the land on which the city’s drainage apparatus was sited, and demanded payments in lieu of rent. This excerpt from the original record appears in book seven of the eight-volume The City of New Orleans, Appellant, vs. Myra Clark Gaines, a published transcription of the city’s appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court.