The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-10-17

The only sensation for a week past
in judicial circles was the case heard in
chambers yesterday, by Judge Bore
man.
The dran1Gtis perso71Ge were an illegi-
innate child of years, the adopted
father and mother of the same, half.a-
dozen witnesses and Mr.. Dickson as
the attorney. On the other side was
the mother of the child, her present
husband, half-a-dozen witnesses of the
gentler sex, and Messrs. Zane and
Zane as counsel.
Annie Hansen (nee Annie Peterson)
sought to recover, by habeas corpus, the
possession of Francis Ambrose Kenney
the infant above alluded to, from Rosa
Kenney, the woman who adopted the
child when it was at the very tender
age of an hour or so. This was four
years ago, on the 23d of the present
| month.
The complaint charged Rosa Kenney
with illegally obtaining the child; the
answer set up was to the effect that the
child had been promised by the plain
| tiff to the defendant couple of weeks or
more before it came into the world !;
that the defendant through these years
of association and care had become
greatly attached to the infant; that she
had always treated it as a good mother
should; that Its true mother had ne
elected to care for it, and while able to
call and see it at any time she desired,
she had made but few visits, had given
it no presents, and had behaved gener-
ally towards it in cold and unnatural
manner.
THE CASE OPENED
by Mr.. Dickson calling Mrs. Hawkins,
who keeps small store and tenement
lodging house on South Temple Street,
between First West and Second West
streets. Her testimony was as follows:
l know the plaintiff, Annie Peterson
(Hansen); she came to my store to see
me about four years ago, a few weeks
before the child was born; she said she
was in trouble, and after some further
conversation l advised her to go to the
Deseret Hospital, where she would be
carefully attended to-; | told her
then that 1 thought l knew of a
lady who would take care of the child
for her-who would probably adopt it:
| afterwards sent for Mrs. Kenney, and
she came to see me. told her of the
circumstances surrounding the case,
and she answered that she would be
glad to take the infant; Annie Peterson
t)ld me on the occasion of the visit re-
70 hot oh iva fhn
child Internationally if l could find
her that it would be cruel for her to
give up the child for only short time,
and then put in claim for it after the
person adopting it had become attached
90 it. She said she would not claim it.
Cross examined-I do not know what
Mrs. Kenney's name was before she
married; did not know her before she
came to my house, when she rented
rooms from me; l do not know how
many times she has been married.
THE DEFENDANTS STORY.
MRS. KENNEY-My age is SO. and
am married, My husbands name is
James Ambrose Kenney; we were mar
ried about five years ago. I have no
children, save the one in dispute, whom
| adopted; my husband is employed at
Mark McKimmips' he is temperate
man; know Annie Hansen; first saw
her at the Deseret Hospital two or three
weeks before the child was born.
went to see her at the request of Mrs.
Hawkins. l asked her if she would
give me the child, and she said she
would. l told her that l would not
have it, unless l had some assur-
ance that she would not take it after
had become attached to it. She said
she would never claim it. and also said
that her stepmether was willing to have
her home during her confinement, but
that she had been SO mean to her that
she would not have child of hers
raised under the same roof. | was
present at the hospital on the
day the child was born
October %, 1SS4-and took 1t away on
that day. l have become very much
attached to it. No one has contrib
and myself; its mother came to see it
at ii mes, but never brought anything,
save a few oranges at one time. When
nine months of age the child became
very i'll, but Notwithstanding the fact
that she was in the city, its mother
never came near it but once, She then
said she heard the child was dead, and
thought she would come and see il it
was SO. She exhibited no affection.
Annie Peterson has married since that
time, but her husband is not the father
of her child-at least that is what she
told me. l am willing and anxious to
keep control of the child; and am also
able to provide for it, and educate
it whenever it becomes of such
an age as to require it. Plaintiff did
not come to see the child for two or
tn zee months after it was born. l
called at the hospital several times be-
fore the child was born-she complained
of being lonesome and asked me to
visit her.
oss-examined-The matron at the
hospital handed me the child. l asked
annie if she wanted to look st the
child, and she said she didn't know"
or something to that effect; [ took the
child to her bedside, when she re-
marked: at looks just like its father,
and I hope will never see him again"
A friend of hers named Carrie Swenson
was present at that time, Relieve. |
did not tell her that if she were to
marry and did not have any children
in two or three years that ]
would give her the child. I did say