The Marriage That Lasted Less Than A Week
A young woman in Tacoma files for divorce after discovering her husband was a bigamist and a serial liar who tried to use her as a pawn against her Prohibitionist father.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Jack Dana’s young wife, Cassie Helmer, signed an affidavit and prayer for divorce in Tacoma. They eloped from Oakesdale and had been married less than a week. She held out against the arguments of her father and friends, but when Jack came to her drunk, she no longer hesitated. She alleges misrepresentation and forgery; Dana told her he was single when he was not legally separated from his Hudson River wife. Furthermore, he wrote letters to himself pretending they were from his father, claiming his 'pa' would build them a palatial house if he married. Within twenty-four hours of their marriage, he pressured her to get $100 from her father. It appears the local saloonkeepers, aware that Helmer’s father was a Prohibitionist, conspired to have Dana marry the daughter to spite the old man. Helmer’s father has since returned to Oakesdale, and Dana is barred from visiting on pain of being kicked off the premises.
“If Dana will leave Cassie he will not be prosecuted for bigamy.”
This story highlights the volatile social intersection of 1890s marriage law and the burgeoning Temperance movement. The 'bigamy-plus-grift' narrative feels remarkably contemporary in its portrayal of financial exploitation within domestic relationships.
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