A Custody Battle for the Wellman Heirs
A legal dispute breaks out in Dayton court as an aunt and uncle seek to hold onto their niece and nephew against the mother's wishes.
Quite an interesting case is at present before Judge Miller of the superior court in the matter of the custody of the Wellman minors, Patrick Henry Wellman and Nellie C. Wellman. The case is a contest as to who will be given charge of the children. Mrs. Helen M. Wellman, through her attorney, Judge M. M. Godman, seeks to annul the papers of adoption secured while her petition for guardianship was pending, by Richard T. Moorhouse and wife, uncle and aunt of the children. The case came up for hearing on Tuesday, but it was postponed until November 30. The estate of the mother of the children, who died recently, consists of a homestead worth about $1,600 and $500 received from the Woodmen's Circle. Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Wellman, the grandparents, were in attendance at the court proceedings. They are pioneers of Walla Walla county, are very comfortably fixed, and most probably the children would inherit a good share of their property if the court places the children in charge of the grandparents.
“The case is a contest as to who will be given charge of the children.”
Custody disputes, particularly when combined with the potential for inheritance, remain some of the most complex and emotionally fraught cases in the legal system. This 1903 dispute highlights how the intersection of family grief, property, and legal guardianship has long been settled in courtrooms.
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