Clairvoyant Wins Divorce Suit
A woman who supported her family as a fortune teller successfully petitions the court for an absolute divorce.
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.
In the superior court this morning, Judge Brents granted an absolute divorce to Nancy Walsh from her husband, William Walsh. Non-support and failure to provide were the allegations for the action set forth in the complaint. Mrs. Walsh is awarded the custody of two minor daughters. The Walshes were married at Green Bay, Wis., April 7, 1872, six children being the result of the union. Four of these have reached their majority. For two years Mrs. Walsh has been supporting herself and children by setting up as a clairvoyant and fortune teller.
“For two years Mrs. Walsh has been supporting herself and children by setting up as a clairvoyant and fortune teller.”
This case highlights the precariousness of domestic life in the early 1900s, where 'non-support' was a primary legal avenue for women to exit marriages while asserting economic independence through unconventional labor.
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