Weekly Trinity journal., 1870-05-28
Statement of Mrs. Richardson.

The New York Tribune prints the statement of
Mrs Albert d. Richardson, written, not, she
says for her own vindcation, but for the sake
of the noble men and women who have stood by
her through all the revilngs, often without ex-
planation from her, and always in full faith that
she was cruelty wronged, and for his sake who
lost his life in her behalf. Mrs. Richardson says
she married Daniel Mcfarland in 1857, he repre-
senting himseli'at the time to be member of
the bar at Madison, Wisconsin, with flourish
ing practice, brilliant political prospects and
personal property to the amount of $50, 900 or
$4,000. He also professed to be of temperate
habits, purest morals and previous to marriage
appeared neither incorporate nor brutal. Dur
ing the bridal tour he borrowed money to get
back TO the West and soon after their arrival in
Madison he informed her that he was going to
move to New York that all his property con
sisted in Wisconsin state lands, on which n
small amount was paid. He had no money but
sufficient to pay their fares to New York He
never had any law practice of consequence, hav-
ing devoted himself solely to land speculation in
the West. They came to New York in Febru-
airy 1858. She was taken i'll on the way with
violent cold, and detained in Rochester ten days
On leaving Rochester he had to leave his watch
and chain in pawn for the board bill. In New
York he kept her three or four weeks, and then
taking all the jewelry she had to the pawn
brokers to pay the board bill, sent her home to
her fathers, in New Hampshire, for fourteen
days. She never heard from him, and, nearly
beside herself with anxiety, went to New Haven
and telegraphed to friend for news of him.
lie appeared in two or three days, and for the
first time she suspected he might be incorporate.
week or two after she returned to her fathers
and remained through the summer of 1858. He
came once or twice to visit her, and seemed at
tached to her, but during the short time she had
lived with him she discovered he was not tenn
peratc that he was terribly proiane in her
presence that his temper ftfu and passion
ate, and that for some slight or fancied Causes
he would become sullen or morose, not speaking
to her for day or two.
Returning to New York in the fall of 1858
Mcfarland hired cottage in Brooklyn, and fur
nished two or three rooms. Some of the time
(perhaps half he was good to her and professed
most passionate devotion, but here he first be-
gan to come home drunk. He would also come
home sober, bring bottles called Scheidam
schnapps, containing quart so of the vile
liquor, put them by his bedside and drink some
times the whole before morning. When she
begged him not to do this he said " his brain
was on fire and this made him sleep" AS this
was only two or three months before her first
child was born, his breath and whole body
steaming with vile liquor during the night when
she lay awake beside him, made him very
odious to her, so that before she had been mar
ried year her affections were very much
chilled if not really destroyed.
During the fall of 1858, he had made two or
three trades Of his Wisconsin lands for real es-
tate, and made what he called excellent bargains.
During all this time she was oppressed with
want of money, and with great difficulty got a
scanty wardrobe for her baby, which was born
in December.
Early in the spring of 1859 she went home
again Her baby died and her father paid the
funeral expenses. In July she returned to Nc
Farland with heart 8orely bruised. She was
less able to bear the brutality and violence of
his temper. His treatment was so bad that she
went back to her fathers in October and
mained till August. Had she had courage to
have told her father and mother of her troubled
life she would propably never have returned to
this man. But her ideas of a wife's duty were
most conservative She believed she should
suffer unto death rather than resist the laws of
marriage. Part of this time, for the first and
only time she paid small sum for her board.
Two of her children were born there and the
expenses came principally upon her father, al
though at the birth OF the youngest child she
paid the physcian's bill with the result of
public reading.
In 1860, after she returned to Mcfarland, a
suit for the recovery of the borrowed capital,
with which his Western lands were purchased,
was decided against him and she was ordered to
pack her trunks and be ready to leave the city,
as he might at any time be arrested so in De-
cember, she was sent back to her fathers with
her baby Mcfarland soon followed, and stayed
until February, when they, with 81 200 in their
possession, obtained from the sale of piece of
property put out of his hands when judgement
was obtained against him, went to Philadelphia
and he went to Washington to seek office. In
few weeks he returned disappointed, and they
went once more to Wisconsin. There they re-
sided year and two months, the happiest time
of her life with him, but he never earned any
money and they lived with extreme economy on
what was left of the 81 200. At the expiration