A Woman’s Escape from an Abusive Marriage
A Seattle woman recounts the abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband in Gilman and her struggle to leave him.
Mrs. Jacob Heist, who left her husband at Gilman in the early part of July after having him arrested for assault and battery, and who swore out a second warrant before Justice Caldwell a few days ago in connection with the same case, told Special Constable Brown yesterday that she did not know she was doing anything wrong. She wanted to see Heist in jail and thought that although he did not pay his fine in Gilman, it did not prevent her from having him arrested again. She gave Heist an awful scorching about living with another woman before she married him, and said she left him because he used to make a “pack horse” of her in the store and that she only took $8 or so, enough to pay her fare to Seattle. Mrs. Heist is now working in a hotel on Washington Street.
“She said she left him because he used to make a 'pack horse' of her in the store.”
This account provides a rare, grounded look at the reality of domestic violence and economic survival in 1893 Seattle. While the legal systems for protection orders have evolved, the economic vulnerability cited here—needing just enough money to escape—remains a persistent issue for survivors in the city today.
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