A Family Dispute Over Cows and Divorce
A divorce petition reveals the messy intersection of community property, domestic abuse, and the struggle for financial independence in 1893 Seattle.
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.
There is trouble in the Mulcahy family. Sarah Mulcahy is the plaintiff in an action for a divorce commenced in the superior court yesterday, and Michael is the defendant. The mother wants their little 6-year-old girl awarded to her, together with $2,000 alimony and four cows and their calves, valued at $200. The cows, the plaintiff alleges, were purchased with her own money and are not community property. The tie which binds the Mulcahys was tied in San Francisco in May 1881. The wife claims that her husband has treated her brutally and has refused to support her for some time past.
“The cows, the plaintiff alleges, were purchased with her own money, and are not community property.”
Divorce and property disputes in 1893 reveal the precarious legal position of women, who often had to fight to prove that assets—even livestock—were their own. This reflects the ongoing, age-old struggle for financial autonomy within domestic partnerships.
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