The Deserted Wife Who Saved Her Homestead
When a man abandoned his land and his spouse in Olympia, the government tried to invalidate her claim—until a steely legal battle proved her right to stay.
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.
A man named John T. Lewis made a homestead entry in 1877, over in the Olympia district, and in April, 1880, deserted his wife and home, leaving her in possession of his place. The deserted wife continued to reside on the land and to cultivate it until November, 1883, when she left it and moved to La Conner to better provide for herself and children. On Feb. 9th, 1884, the entry of Lewis was canceled by voluntary relinquishment, and one Nelson Gumm on that same day filed a pre-emption declaration, alleging settlement on Jan. 13th. It seems that Gumm also took possession of her house, which she had left locked with a part of her household goods therein. She brought an action of ejectment in the court, which was decided to her favor. She then applied for reinstatement of her husband's entry. The Commissioner declined to allow reinstatement, upon the ground that, said entry having been canceled, no right could accrue therefrom to her benefit. The Secretary, in reversing the decision, said: 'Although I concur in your opinion that no right under the cancellation could accrue to the benefit of the deserted wife of Lewis, I cannot approve your further action allowing her to make entry in her own right, subject to any valid adverse claims, inasmuch as I think she should be permitted to make entry of the tract unconditionally... Her residence evidencing her good faith are uncontroverted... and should preclude any one else from initiating an adverse claim.'
“Her residence evidencing her good faith are uncontroverted, and should preclude any one else from initiating an adverse claim.”
This 1885 legal battle over homesteading rights echoes the persistent modern struggle to secure housing tenure in the face of bureaucratic hurdles and displacement. Much like the 'deserted wife' of Olympia, tenants and small-scale homeowners in Seattle today often find themselves navigating complex property laws that seem designed to prioritize external claims over the stability of those who have actually lived on and maintained the land.
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