A County Assessor, a Restaurant Keeper’s Wife, and a $10,000 Scandal
Mount Vernon’s county assessor is accused of stealing the affections of a restaurant keeper’s wife—who has reportedly fled to Seattle.
Mount Vernon, Jan. 1.—Special.—J. W. Butcher, the restaurant man, has brought suit in the superior court of this county against Henry C. Howard, county assessor, for $10,000 damages. Butcher alleges that Howard has alienated his wife’s affections. Mrs. Butcher is a very prepossessing woman in appearance, and has lived here about two years. Howard boarded at Butcher’s restaurant. Mrs. Butcher left her husband some time since and is now believed to be in Seattle. The suit will come on for trial in February, and some highly sensational developments are promised.
“Butcher alleges that Howard has alienated his wife’s affections. Mrs. Butcher left her husband some time since and is now believed to be in Seattle.”
Alienation-of-affection lawsuits—once a way to sue a spouse’s lover for breaking up a marriage—have been abolished in most states, including Washington. The case still echoes the small-town scandals that can turn private relationships into public spectacle.
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