Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1869-12-01
THE LAW OF MARRIAGE.
The Wife who was not Married, and
Who Was Declared Dead, still q


Wife.
| Joseph Durand in which Mrs. Durand al
leges that she went to live with him as hi
wife sixteen years ago, on his promise tt
ago, she bearing him five children, and ht
recognizing her as his wife until about {
year ago, when he treated her cruelty anc
sent her to France, afterwards publishing
notices of her death, Judge Fithian yester
day granted the motion made on behalf ot
Joseph Durand to vacate the order
of his arrest. His Honor holds that
the facts set forth by Mrs. Durand
constitutes several causes of action in
which an order of arrest might be granted
but the difficulty was that upon her show
ing Mr.. Durand was her husband, and
neither husband nor wife could maintain a
personal action at law against the other for
damages for personal injury from either
The only remedy was suit for separation,
or criminal prosecution. Though accord
ing to Mrs. Durand's statement there was
never a formal ceremony of marriage, eth
er religious or civil, yet there was prom
lse OF marriage, consummated by living
and cohabiting together as husband and
wife for sixteen years. This Judge Fithian
holds to be, according to all the authorities,
sufficient to constitute the couple husband
and wife, and both are estopped as against
each other and all the world from denying
the relationship. Though Mr.. Durand had
repudlated The contract of marriage, yet
she could not take him at his word and
rescind it on her part, because marital ties
could not be annulled by mutual consent
N, 7. San.
The Story Of Boy who was Lest for
Seven Years.
The following appears in the st. Louis
Republican
About seven years ago Henry Muller, q
farmer of Madison county, Ill, who lives
only three miles from st. Louis, returned
home from the fields, when he was inform
ed that his sen a boy of scarcely eight
years, could not be found about the premi-
ses. Mr.. Muller made diligent researches
for the discovery of his lost boy, but they
were in vain His house being on the road,
he fancied that movers from the interior
had stolen the boy and taken him across
the river, perhaps to a great distance from
his home.
Day before yesterday, more than seven
years after the child was lost, he found
him, now fifteen years old, in good health
and in excellent spirits, at the Orphans
Home, on Eleventh street, between Mon
roe and Market streets, in st. Louis, and
was permitted by the lady patronesses of
the institution to take him home, after
having proved to their satisfaction that he
was the boys father. A former neighbor
of Muller, a farmer by the name of A. B.
Evans, who now lives six miles south of
Columbia, had discoy cred him. He passed
about three years ago by the Orphans
Home, when he saw among the children
playing on the street boy whom he recog-
nized at once as Muller's son. Evans had
left his old place sometime before the
child was missing, and thought that Muller
himself might have brought him to the asy-
lum. Accordingly time passed on without
his advising his friend. Last, week, how
ever, three years after he had first discov.
cred little Henry, he met the father here in
the city, where both farmers had come to
sell their products.
Evans desired to know everything that
had happened since his removal from
Madison county, and when Muller told
him that his boy was stolen, Evans ex-
pressed his belief that he knew where the
child was. They went together to the asy-
lum. All the children were called into the
parlor, and the father at once recognized
the boy by his great resemblance to his
mother, who had died. The boy, however
did not recognize his father, though he
showed great satisfaction at finding that he
was not an orphan. His father described
the size and location of mole on the boys
body, which, together with comparison of
the dates, and especially the unmistakabIe
parental sentiment of Evans, completely
Convinced the ladies of his claims. The
child, it appears, was brought to the
asylum by an old woman, who found him
in the street, som etime in 1869, and he was
in the books as Henry Wisten.
Though the boy is not very advanced in
literary studies, he received q simple but
good moral education, and was regarded
as one of the most honest, faithful and Ia
borious boys in the asylum.