A Nighttime Divorce to Escape Violence
A woman schedules her divorce hearing late at night to ensure her husband—who had threatened to kill her—would not be present to interfere.
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.
Minnie M. Jones was granted a divorce from her husband, John J. Jones, by Judge Bellinger at a night session on Tuesday. Mrs. Jones had requested that her case be set for trial at night in order that her husband might not learn through the papers that a divorce had been granted. Judge Bellinger signed the order of default and set the case for night at 8 o'clock. When the hour for the trial arrived, Jones did not show up and the decree was granted. Mrs. Jones testified to having been married three years and that she was not yet 18 years old. According to her testimony, her husband made her life on a ranch miles from Seattle and would not let her visit the city, while he would come to town quite regularly to fill up with intoxicants, after which he would come home and beat her. Mrs. Jones was allowed to resume her maiden name of Annie V. Reagan. It is heard that the reason Mrs. Jones gave for not wishing her husband to know of the divorce being granted was that she feared he would kill her, as he had threatened to do a number of times.
“She feared he would kill her, as he had threatened to do a number of times.”
This story highlights the extreme danger faced by women navigating abusive relationships and the legal systems of the 1890s. The clandestine nature of the court hearing underscores how domestic violence survivors have long had to rely on creative, dangerous strategies to secure their own safety.
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