The Theatrical Manager and the Victoria Elopement
Democratic party leader and theater manager John W. Considine marries his partner in Victoria shortly after his divorce, sparking a local scandal.
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John W. Considine, the theatrical manager and Democratic statesman, is reported to have taken another wife before the statutory six months have expired since the granting of a divorce in favor of his former wife, Julia Considine. The happy bride on this occasion is Mae Donnellan, who is known here as Lily Donaldson. The ceremony was performed in Victoria yesterday. Considine left town in the morning with the woman he had been living with at a house on University street, between Second and Third streets. He seems to be a very pattern of a Don Juan, as shown by his attentions at the same time to a certain woman in his employ in the People's theater. On Friday, John Considine was in court to answer for contempt in disregarding an order of Judge Lichtenberg to pay alimony to his wife. This he swore that he was unable to do, claiming he had injured his right hand so severely as to render it useless.
“Considine was only a short time ago divorced from his previous wife, and this is said to have had something to do with the celebration of the marriage in Victoria.”
John Considine was a notorious figure in Seattle's early nightlife scene, later founding the 'Considine's People's Theater.' His legal and personal troubles—including dodging alimony while living in a scandalous arrangement—reflect the tabloid-style scrutiny of public figures that defined the era's civic discourse.
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