The Cruelty of a Mock Marriage
A young woman is left destitute in Seattle after a man used a fake marriage ceremony to steal her savings and abandon her.
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.
Bertha Knudson, an illiterate, simple-minded woman, with a little baby in her arms, arrived in the city yesterday to consult the prosecuting attorney about Lorentz N. Stahmer, also known as Nelson. She claims he seduced her, organized a mock marriage using a legitimate-looking license, and after getting possession of her $100 savings, deserted her. Nelson convinced her that a religious ceremony was unnecessary because of the courthouse license. Now working at a bakery in Portland, Nelson denies the marriage, arguing that common-law marriage is not recognized in Washington. The prosecuting attorney is currently weighing charges of seduction, fraud, or fornication.
“Nelson informed his wife that in the eyes of all who knew them the marriage was no marriage.”
This story highlights the extreme vulnerability of women in the 1890s legal system, where the lack of formal recognition for common-law unions left abandoned mothers with almost no path to legal or financial recourse—a stark contrast to current protections.
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