The Final Days of Mrs. Morton
A terminally ill woman dies at the home where her estranged husband lived with his mistress, having refused their care to the end.
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.
Mrs. Jennie D. Morton died yesterday afternoon amid very unusual surroundings at the residence of her husband and his mistress, corner of Fifth and Bell streets. The family came to Seattle five or six years ago and two years ago Mr. Morton deserted his wife, who was a victim of lingering consumption, to live with another woman. Through the influence of an attorney, Mr. Morton was compelled to make over some property to his wife and to support her and their adopted child, while he lived in a separate establishment with the mistress. About four months ago Mr. Morton took his dying wife home, and she remained there until her death. For some weeks she has absolutely refused to take food or medicine from the hands of her husband or his mistress, and has been cared for by friends. She made the adopted daughter, Belle, her sole heir, and the child is now being cared for by those who befriended Mrs. Morton in her sickness.
“For some weeks she has absolutely refused to take food or medicine from the hands of her husband or his mistress.”
The social friction of 1890s divorce, desertion, and household arrangements highlights the limited protections for women in terminal illness during the era. It paints a vivid, albeit tragic, picture of the private domestic conflicts that were frequently aired in the local press.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.