The 'Not Responsible' Notice of 1876
In an era of restrictive domestic law, one Seattle man publicly disavows his wife's debts to protect his own assets.
NOTICE: My wife, Sabina Lilly, having left my bed and board without any just cause, I hereby give notice that I will not be responsible for any debts of her contracting, and I forbid any one furnishing her any money or goods on my account. — Thomas Lilly, Seattle, June 14, 1876.
“I hereby give notice that I will not be responsible for any debts of her contracting.”
While this was a common legal maneuver in 1876, it highlights the severe power imbalance of the era, where men used newspaper columns to exert control over their spouses' autonomy. Today's debates on financial abuse in intimate relationships still carry echoes of these 'legal' methods of containment.
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