The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-07-23
A RosevilIe scandal.

Special Master In Chancery Thomas
Anderson has begun taking testimony in
the divorce proceedings brought by Mrs.
Alice L. Smelling against her husband,
Walter c.. Smelling, of Roseville, on the
ground of infidelity. Counsellor Joseph
a. Beecher appeared for Mrs. Smelling
and examined the witnesses. Six wit
nesses testified as to the relations of Mr..
Smelling to the young woman employed
in his factory.
MI. Smelling, who is a manufacturer of
paper basins and boxes, was married to
his wife in 1879, at Washington, d. G., and
came to Newark to live. Mrs. Smelling is
extremely handsome and of genial dis
position. The couple resided more re-
Gently on North Seventh street, Roseville,
in a fine house furnished elegantly.
Three children were born, whose ages are
eight, six and two years respectively.
In the month of June, 1888, Mrs, Smelling
and her children went away for a time,
and on her return there were rumors,
which mixed up the name of Smelling
with a young girl who worked in his
factory, named Sarah Doom. They said
that she had been living with him during
Mrs. Snelling's absence. Last spring
things reached such a condition that Mrs.
Smelling petitioned for a divorce, and o
social scandal followed.
In the hearing the first witness was
MARY OI1DD1u, d S6TNduU III UlG DucllluS
family. She said that she had lived with
the latter for seven years and three
months as O domestic. She went away
with Mrs. Smelling and the children in
July, 1888, n on her return was told by
a servant girlneXt door what had gone on
in their absence. She was told that SMELL
ing had taken a girl to his house and she
was supposed to be the Doom girl. She
charged Smelling with the matter and up
braided him %soundly. He denied it at
first and then admitted to her that it was
so. When Mrs. Smelling and her children
came home Smelling met them at the sta
ton. At dinner that afternoon he quar-
relied with his wife and in a rage threw a
beefsteak at her. He broke dishes and
cursed and swore frightfully. He abused
both his wife and children.
Counselor John H. Meeker testified that
he had charge of the flats, Nos. 418 and
APO High street, and Sarah Doom rented
one of them last March. She represented
herself as q married woman. She and
her alleged husband occupied this fiat
during April n May.
Mrs. Evelyn Dudley, of No. 100 North
Seventh street, testified that she lived next
loo to the Snellings, and that on a Satur-
day in July, 1883, she saw a girl go to the
door of the Smelling residence n try to
get in. Marcella Murphy, a servantin the
Dudley family, said that she was with
Mrs. Dudley on the day in question and
saw the girl trying to get in the house.
Septimus Hicks, the next witness, testi-
fed that the knew Sarah Doom in Canada.
She had lived in his house as a domestic
for about four months. After the girl
came to Newark she wrote several letters
to his wife advising witness to come to
this city and get a job under Smelling, for
whom she worked. He did come to New
ark with his family and saw her from last
February to May. She was the only girl
employed at the factory. Witness said
that Sarah had two fats at No. 116 Null
berry street, and that she lived their dur
ing February and March, until she went
to the High street fiat. Witness lived at
Sarah Doon's Mulberry street flats with
his wife, and then moved away. Smelling
frequently came to see her. John Butler,
the ~janitor of the fiat where the girl re-
sided, also identified Smelling as a fire.
quent visitor,
The examination was then adjourned.