The Bitter Custody Battle Over the Wellman Estate
A Dayton superior court judge splits the guardianship of two orphaned children, sparking a dispute likely headed for the state supreme court.
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.
The matter of the guardianship of the Wellman minors came up to be heard in the superior court last Monday. Miss Nellie Lenora Wellman, aged 13, and Patrick Henry Wellman, aged 11, children of Mr. and Mrs. Wellman, recently deceased, were the cause of the suit, which was brought by Mrs. Helen M. Wellman, the grandmother, to annul the papers of adoption recently given by the court to Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Moorhouse, uncle and aunt of the children. After hearing the attorneys on both sides, Judge Miller annulled the adoption so far as the little girl was concerned, and placed her under the guardianship of the grandmother, the boy remaining with Mr. and Mrs. Moorhouse. The estate of both children was placed in charge of Mr. Moorhouse, he to furnish a bond in $1500 for the faithful performance of his trust. Mr. and Mrs. Wellman are not satisfied with the division and it is more than probable that the case will be appealed to the supreme court.
“After hearing the attorneys on both sides, and the testimony offered, Judge Miller annulled the adoption so far as the little girl was concerned.”
Custody disputes involving inheritance and the interests of the state often mirror modern complexities in family law. The tension between kinship care—grandparents stepping in—and legal guardianship remains a vital, recurring theme in Washington’s judicial history.
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