The Walla Walla Divorce Mill
Superior Court sees a surge in filings, including cases of domestic violence and substance abuse, as Judge Brents returns from vacation.
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.
Since returning from his summer vacation, Judge Brents of the Walla Walla County Superior Court has been overwhelmed with a mass of business. Yesterday and today were extremely busy days, no less than a dozen matters pertaining to court business being up for disposal. Divorce suits, pending or begun, claim the greater part of the court's attention. Late yesterday afternoon the court granted an absolute divorce to Addie B. Barker from James Cassias Barker on the grounds of cruel and inhuman treatment. Mrs. Barker stated in her testimony that her husband had at divers times choked and beaten her. Mrs. I. M. Ingelsby also began divorce proceedings this morning, alleging that her husband, Phillip Ingelsby, had become addicted to the excessive use of alcoholic liquors to the detriment of herself.
“Mrs. Barker stated in her testimony before Referee George Thompson that her husband had at divers times choked and beaten her.”
Divorce and separation records from the early 20th century offer a rare, if skewed, window into the intimate realities of domestic life in Walla Walla. While the language of the 'divorce mill' was a common trope of the era, these filings document the very real risks women took in fleeing abusive or neglectful marriages during a time when legal and financial independence were far from guaranteed.
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