St. Paul daily globe., 1889-01-10
TURNED FROM HIS FAMILY.
Serious Charges Against Husband by
His Wife.
HUMANITY AT A DISCOUNT.
Refused Shelter and Support, and Com.
PEELED to Witness Brutal Treat. i
ment of Her Offspring. -,

Still suffering from the effects of the
abuse of which she asked the court to
relieve her, Mrs. Elizabeth Fisher filed
a suit for divorce yesterday against her
husband, John Peter Fisher. She
stated her cause to be as follows: Her
age is thirty-two. and that her husband
is forty. They were married in Iowa ifl
1872, and have lived in st. Paul sinBe
1883. and are the parents of four chill
dren, all of whom are living. The old
est, daughter. Annie, is fifteen years
old, and the youngest, son, is four
years old. The plaintiff charges de-
fendant with habitual drunkenness for
the past two years. During the year
1875, while they were living at Hast
ings, Minn., defendant hit her on the
side of the face with clenched fist with
such violence as to cause the blood to
squirt from her pose and mouth. AS
a result and in consequence of
that blow she was for a long
time i'll and suffered great pain and
misery. He has repeatedly threatened
her with bodily harm and violence. and
in March, 1888. threatened to kill de-
fendant. In January, 1886, While plaInt-
if was pregnant, defendant threw her
out of the house, locked the door and
paid no attention to her appeals for ad-
mission, but left her to the mercy OF the
elements. AS a result of that nights
exposure she
SUFFERED GREAT PAIN
from the cold. and her health was per-
manently impaired. In February of the
same year he abused and maltreated
her so that she had miscarriage and
became very i'll. She has ever since
been suffering therefrOm, and is now
under medical treatment. During four
teen years of their married life he called
her vile and vulgar names and a
''strumpet," and during the last two
years has failed to contribute to the
support of the plaintiff or the
children. She has been depend
ent upon the earnings of her
daughter, :Annie Fisher. Owing to
defendants ill-treatment and abuse
plaintiff has been unable to work OF
earn anything toward the support of
her family. She claims that i'll Novem-
Der, 1888, defendant struck his son,
Louis. Oh the jaw with such violence as
to make it very painful for the boy to
eat, and disabling him from attending
to his work. In 1885 he knocked the
same boy up against the wall OF the
house so that he was confined to his bed
for three months thereafter. He also
in October, 1856, threw the eldest daugh-
ter, Annie, out of the house, and kept
her out and made her spend many
nights in the cold with no shelter what
ever; that as consequence she has ever
since suffered from poor health. In
May, 1884, he took his son, Joseph,
who was then put six years old,
and with tremendous force threw him to
the floor, nearly killing him. The Lao
was i'll bed for long time after, and his
life despaired of. She states that she
owns, in her own name, lot covered
by a mortgage of $500. and that the
furniture in the house she now occupies
is worth about $50. She asks the court
to command defendant to pay her such
alimony as it may deem just, and award
her the exclusive control and custody of
the children and grant her an absolute
divorce,