Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-04-06
A FAITHFUL WIFE.
Early Sorrows of the Woman Who Later Be-
came Pere Hyacinthe's Bride.
THE REAL FACTS OF HER LIFE AS
TOLD BY HER BROTHER.

In the first place, the Figaro gives
her maiden name as Emily Jane Bit
terfeld, whereas it should be Butter
field, and she was born in the State
of New York, not Ohio, as stated.
Our father was killed by the falling
of a house in the village of Melmore,
Ohio. He was carriage maker, not
a carpenter There We're eight
children, instead of fve-four boys
and four girls. Soon after the death
of our father tho family got sepa-
rated, leaving the younger children
at home, my youngest brother, my
sister Emily and myself remaining
with my mother My brother died
soon after, leaving mother, Emily
and me alone in possession of the
old homestead. Sister Emily and
myself supported ourselves and
mother, she by teaching a district
school and l by working on farm.
She was at that time nearly fourteen
years old and 1 two years her senior.
My sisters first husband, Edward
r. Norman, was a dry goods mer
chant in Bucyrus, O., and the eldest
son of Willis w. Merriman the first
president of the Pittsburg. Fort
Wayne & Chicago railway company.
Her husband failed in business and
became dissipated. Soon after his
failure they removed to New York
city. where his dissipation increased
to such an extent that she could en-
dure it no longer, so she determined
to place the ocean between herself
and her husband, which she did,
leaving her two children, a boy and a
girl, with her husbands father in
Ohio. This step on her part was
sanctioned and advised by her own
people, as well as those of her hus-
band, all of whom loved her dearly.
Upon sailing for Europe she said to
her husband: If you reform and be-
come a man again I will return and
live with you, but if you don't I never
SHALL They mutually loved each
other dearly, and she had tried inces-
sanity for fourteen years to save him,
but all in vain. As soon as she sailed
for Europe he began to realize his
condition and stopped dissipating.
In less than one year we wrote to her
to return. as we all thought ED" as
we familiarly called him, had truly
reformed for good. She came home
upon the first steamer. Soon after
she arrived her daughter died, and
not long after her husband took to
drinking again, becoming worse than
ever before. She then determined to
give him one more chance to redeem
himself. So she crossed tho Atlantic
again. taking her son with her and tell
ing Ed that if he would reform again
she would return again. But few
months after he died in an inebriate
asylum in Chicago. Hence the Fl
garO's statement that ''the ambitious
young woman had but one dream,
and that was sojourn in Europe"
is not true, as her main object was to
get her young son away from the in
tluence of a dissipated father, with
desire also that her absence would be
the means of retaining him.
The Figaro says: ian unlocked
for occasion soon offered ITSELF for
her to go to Europe. That Judge
Hammall, Of Indiana" proposed for
her Ito take his son to France to
complete his education" The fact is
that Judge Hanna, of Fort Wayne.
Indiana, a relative of the Merriman
family, and the successor to Mr.. Mer-
riman. senior, to the presidency of
the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chi
cago railroad company, sent both his
son and daughter with my sister to
Europe the second time. She never
treated her husband "as her inferior" !"
as stated. He was we'll educated and
good business man. while few
finer looking men ever lived, notwith-
standing his dissipation. We all
tried for years to reclaim him, but to
no purpose.
The Figaro says: ''she returned to
the United States, with the intention
of obtaining a DIVORCE" and that
"she pleaded that her husband was
unable to support her and her child !"
This is not fact as she never asked
for divorce and never would though
all her friends insisted on her doing
so. But she would not, and she still
hoped that the father of her children
would yet reform. That her cup OF
sorrow in her early life was drained
to the dregs all who know her will
testify, but she. was possessed of
great courage and indomitable will,
and was thorough student. apply
ing herself closely to her studies that
she might tit herself to battle with
life and nroyida for harsalf and