Four hours were spent today writing notes about the manuscript collection I've been assigned. Discovered a fairly juicy related newspaper article that is connected to this collection, which has added a whole other dimension. The main content of this collection are abstracts of records pertaining to the estate owned at Lot 8, N and O Streets, 20th and 21st street between 1848 to ca 1911/1912. The second item in this collection is a black, leather bound ledger book with a signature of "Mrs. Emelia Sprague" written on the front cover - this book tells a rather personal and tragic story of the Lavine Family and estate. Mrs. Anna and Emil Lavine lived the property on the North half of Lot 8 until they divorced in 1886. Anna owned the mortgage/lien on the property via Germania Building and Loan Association, the prominent broker/banker of the time in Sacramento. She then married a man named Louis Ziegler in 1888 and then died suddenly on August 26, 1889. The Sacramento Daily Union article, which I found in the California Digital Newspaper Collection, details the story of her untimely death by arsenic poisoning:
http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SDU18890828.2.32&srpos=1&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-Anna+Ziegler-----
The timing and circumstances of the death, coupled with the value of the real estate, are suspicious - there's implication here that Anna's ex-husband Emil Lavine may have been guilty of foul play - but we'll never know. Great material for the Sacramento Room's storytelling programs though!
After Anna's death, the Lavine/Ziegler estate would become a tug-of-war in the courts between Emil Lavine (the former husband) and Louis Ziegler (the widowed husband). The abstract records indicate Mr. Lavine assumed guardianship over his children and responsibility for their mother's debt obligations. Durham Sprague was a surety for the bond issued to Mr. Lavine for paying money owed to Germania Building and Loan. The person or company providing the promise to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower (if borrower defaults) is also known as a "surety" or as a "guarantor". Mrs. Emelia Sprague was Mr. Sprague's wife.
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