The Custody Battle of a 'Frisky' Mother
After a husband wins custody of his two daughters via writ, the mother seeks a rehearing, sparking a public debate over moral character and marital unhappiness.
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.
May L. Shaffer, from whom Adalbert W. Shaffer won custody of his two little daughters via a writ, filed a petition yesterday asking Judge Langley to open the case, which was decided in her absence. Shaffer’s witnesses all swore that Mrs. Shaffer was a bad one, alleging she was loose in her morals with several male lodgers at the Silver State lodging house where the couple had lived. Mrs. Shaffer argues she never intended to disobey the court when she took the children to Victoria, and that she was as entitled to them as her husband. Those who know the parties say they are both respectable, but that Shaffer is too staid for his wife, and will not allow her to go into society suitable to her age.
“Those who know the parties say that they are both very respectable young people, but that Shaffer is too staid to suit his wife, and will not allow her to go into society suitable to her age.”
This 1894 custody battle, focused on the 'morals' and social behavior of a mother, reflects how heavily the courts of the era weighed domestic surveillance and conservative social norms. Today, family law has shifted toward the 'best interests of the child' standard, yet the tension between parental autonomy and judicial moralizing remains a familiar cultural struggle.
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