The Superior Court Grants Five Divorces in a Single Day
Judge Langley dissolves five marriages in Seattle, citing abandonment, non-support, and physical abuse as the primary grounds for relief.
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.
At the regular weekly divorce hearing in the superior court, five cases were heard and disposed of by Judge Langley, the plaintiffs being women. In every case, a divorce was granted. The first case was that of Jannette Dickey against Irvine Dickey. Mrs. Dickey testified that her husband acted in a dishonorable manner, neglected his trade because of his intemperance, failed to provide for her, and a year ago beat and struck her brutally. Lisa Garseth obtained a divorce from Area Garseth, alleging abandonment shortly after their 1887 marriage in Iowa. Louise Strieb sought a divorce from Charles W. Strieb, showing that since June 1891 he had refused to support her, forcing her to earn her own living while he remained infatuated with a Spanish woman. L. Nelson complained that her husband, Jacob Nelson, had deserted her in January 1890 and failed to make suitable provision. Finally, Ada Lucas stated she was married in Oakland, California, in 1887, but her husband, a private detective, neglected for over a year to support the family.
“She demanded a divorce and the right to assume her maiden name, both of which were granted.”
Divorce proceedings in 1893 required proving specific fault like abandonment or abuse to escape a marriage. Today, Washington is a 'no-fault' divorce state, reflecting a shift from seeing marriage as a rigid civic contract to a personal partnership that can be dissolved without a courtroom battle over moral failings.
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