The Marriage License Court Battle
A young couple defeats parental interference in the local courts.
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.
On Tuesday William H. Clark, aged 21, applied at the Auditor's office for a license to wed Miss Annie E. Brunn. The man had secured the consent of the mother of the young lady, but Peter Brunn, the father, for some unknown reason, withheld his consent. Auditor Harris accordingly refused to issue the license. Young Clark went before Chief Justice Greene and applied for a writ of mandamus, compelling the Auditor to issue the license. A showing was made that Brunn and his wife had separated, and that the daughter lived with the mother. The Judge granted the writ, the license issued, and the ceremony was performed. The young people have lived here for years, and have many friends who will be pleased to learn that they got away with the old man, after all.
“The young people have lived here for years, and have many friends who will be pleased to learn that they got away with the old man, after all.”
This 1885 legal maneuver over who holds power in a family unit reminds us that Seattle’s judicial system has long been the site where social norms and parental control are contested. Even then, the community celebrated a young couple’s victory over 'the old man'—a sentiment that still drives much of our civic interest in personal autonomy today.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.