Six Daughters, a Washing Tub, and a Drunkard’s Uncollectible Debt
A Ballard mother won a divorce and $1,000 in alimony after years of violence and drinking — but the judgment was worth little unless her husband actually paid.
Mrs. Thursea J. Foster Ward, a good woman who lives with a family of six children at Ballard, was divorced from Hiram Foster Ward in the superior court yesterday and awarded $1,000 alimony. The testimony showed that Ward married his wife at Arcadia, Wis., on October 19, 1875, representing to her that his name was Henry Ward. He is a skilled mechanic, but is said to be a drunkard, and when under the influence of liquor to be quarrelsome and when angry dangerous. On January 5, she says, he threatened to cut her throat, and she was so placed in fear that she had him put under bonds. Ward’s dissipation is said to have been periodic at first, but during the past year he has been habitually drunk.
The six children are all girls. The two older children appeared in court with their mother yesterday and presented a neat appearance. The mother has supported herself and children by taking in washing. The judgment for alimony will stand against the man, but it is now uncollectible.
After having been placed under bonds, the man went to jail and left his family threatened with starvation. Despite this, his wife has supported herself and children.
“The mother has supported herself and children by taking in washing. The judgment for alimony will stand against the man, but it is now uncollectible.”
Domestic violence and unenforceable support orders remain part of the family-court landscape, and this story shows how much depended on a woman’s own labor. The $1,000 judgment made headlines, but the washing tub is what actually kept the family alive.
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