St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-16
A Relic of the Nasty Brugge-
man Divorce Case
Turned Up.
One Of the Children Finally
Remanded to the Faith
er's Care.
The Divorce Mill, a Little
Rusty, Gets Down to
Work Again.
Two Particularly Salaeious
Cases Ground Out Yes
terday.

The rather unsavory case of Lizzie
Bruggeman against Leo G.. Bruggeman
came up yesterday before Judge Otis,
the plaintiff desiring modification of
the courts order to the extent that the
custody of the child BERTHE be given to
Jacob Thomas. The. latter is the father
of Mrs. Bruggeman, and the boy in
question has been living with him for
the past three years. The petition was
backed by a lengthy affidavit from Mr..
Thomas, who resides at Ada, Norman
county, where he conducts hotel. The
affidavit recites that the child BERTHE
has lived with him for four years, and
during this time he has become much
attached to him-so much so as to re-
gard him rs his own child. The boy
was made to attend church. but he was
not sent to school, for the reason
that the father, Leo Bruggeman,
had threatened to steal him and had
even gone so far as to offer one Wemer
$50 to do the act of kidnapping. He de-
MED that the boy was made to do man
ual labor, or that he ever threatened to
shoot. the defendant in case he inter
fered with the boy. He claims further
that he has ample means to care for the
boy properly, and prays the court that
he be granted his custody. Affidavits
similar in purport from May, Helena
and Emma Thomas were also read.
On the part of the defendant, Leo
Bruggeman's prayer against the relief
asked for stated that the Thomas fam
lily were coarse and vulgar and unfit
people to properly care for the boy. 1t
further recited that BERTHE was sent on
an alleged visit to the ThOmaSes in
March, 1886, and has been kept there
ever since. In December, So he went to
Ada and demanded the custody of the
child. He was Informed that the lad
was not at home, but was at the house
of Peter Thomas, and further, If he
welrt there he ran the risk of being shot.
The child. the complaint goes on to
state, was brought to St. Paul in Oc-
tober, 1889, and was placed in Mrs.
Bruggeman's keeping. When the de-
was spirited off to Illinois, in order that
the order of the court in relation to the
disposition of the children might be de-
feated. He was afterwards returned to
st. Paul, and is now with his mother.
Bruggeman'S complaint was backed
up by the affidavits of George BOppse,
Ida johnson and Sylvester Peterson.
Boppse'S affidavit was in effect that he
worked for Thomas at Ada; that the old
gentleman compelled the boy to do ardu-
Gus labor; that Mr.. and Mrs. Thomas
frequently quaTreled in the presence
of Berthe, using vulgar and obscene
language; that the child was transferred
from place to place, sometimes in the
middle of the night. in order to circum-
vent the father. Sylvester Peterson,
superintendent of schools of Norman
county, testified in his affidavit that he
had examined the school rolls of the
county for the years 's7 and 'sS and had
failed to find the name of BERTHE Brug-
geinan. :s;..e..i 80.
The court, after listening to the read
ing of the affidavits' and the argu-
ments of the attorneys. refused to mod
ify the order previously made in the
case, namely. that the father should
have the custody of the child. His hon
or was heard to state that he never
wanted this case to come into court
again, and he breathed long sigh of
relief as the parties to the suit left the
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