The Price of a Child Bride
A sexagenarian is granted a divorce from his 12-year-old wife, but the court ensures he pays dearly for the union.
Joseph Schonbachler, the sexagenarian who married 12-year-old Hattie McKay and was shortly afterward abandoned by her, gets the divorce he prayed for, but it cost him a pretty penny. He gets his real estate and personal property back from the girl, but he must pay her in lieu of it $500 in cash, $500 in a year, besides paying her attorneys $50 and the costs of the suit and his own attorneys. The next time he takes pity on a poor little child of the feminine persuasion, he won't let it lead him into marrying her.
“The next time he takes pity on a poor little child of the feminine persuasion, he won't let it lead him into marrying her.”
This story exposes the stark and disturbing realities of legal marriage ages in the late 19th century. While historical, the framing by the newspaper serves as a grim artifact of how such 'scandals' were reported, highlighting the power dynamics between older men and children in the frontier era.
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