The Family Feud in the Poor House
A daughter claims her father sold her into marriage for $250, but he insists her poverty is of her own making.
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.
William G. Whitney, father of Mrs. Alice Hess, who is currently in the poor house near Spokane, has written a letter to the Spokesman-Review answering the charges filed by his daughter with the county commissioners. Whitney states: 'The article claiming Mrs. Hess was sold by her father for $250 when she was 15 is false. She was 27 and married to Mr. Hess, a wealthy widower. She was never turned away from home; she ran away to marry, and her father knew nothing of it until it was over. She has a mania for mining stock and traded a 320-acre farm for mining property, and recently sold her own property in Walla Walla for $325. She has been as well treated as any of her brothers or sisters, but the way of the transgressor is hard; she has chosen her own pathway and now complains that it is thorny.'
“The way of the transgressor is hard; she has chosen her own pathway and now complains that it is thorny.”
Public disputes over familial responsibility, elder care, and poverty remain a central issue in social services. This conflict echoes modern tensions where systemic economic failure is often framed through the lens of individual character and 'bad choices.'
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.