Tales of Marriage and Abandonment
A series of divorce filings in the superior court reveal the harsh personal disputes of Seattle residents in 1893.
Judge Humes presided over a series of divorces yesterday. W. C. Willis was granted a divorce from his wife, Sarah Jane, who he alleged refused to join him in Washington from Missouri despite his repeated requests and the preparation of a home in Skamania County. In another case, Charles S. Nagle was granted a divorce from Alice Nagle on the grounds of her addiction to alcohol and her open preference for living in a house of ill-repute on Front Street. Meanwhile, Jennie E. George filed a cross-complaint against her husband, Charles, alleging he locked her in their home for nine months and subjected her to constant abuse, including forcing her to sleep in a coal shed. She requested alimony and half of their community property.
“She admits the charge, but affirms that the plaintiff has been guilty of frequent acts of cruelty towards her, beating her and forcing her out of the house at night.”
These legal filings provide a rare, if one-sided, look into the private domestic struggles of 19th-century Seattle. They reflect a period where marriage law was shifting, and the public court records were often the only place where the 'maritial woes' of the working class were archived.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.