The record-union., 1891-10-21
THE WALDRONS SEPARATED.
Rather Sensational Testimony in a
Divorce Suit.
Mrs. VIZ ldron's Confession of Unfaith-
fu1ness-The Husband Charged
With Extreme Cruelty.

Ella NJ. Waldron sued for legal sepa-
ration from her husband, Louis Waldron,
| and for the custody of their siX-year-old
daughter, on the ground of the husbands
cruelty.
WaldroE filed an answer in which he
denied each and all of the allegations OF
cruelty. He also put in a cross-com-
plant charging Mrs. Waldron with cru
city, including an allegation that she had
been unfaithful to him.
| The friends and relatives of the litigants
were on hand in the courtroom in large
numbers. Mrs. Waldron was repre-
sented by Attorney Hiram W. Johnson,
and the husband by Bruner & Bruner.
The case was stubbornly contested on
both sides from the start.
THE WIFE's STORY.
Mrs. Waldron was the first witness put
upon the stand. She testified substan-
| TALLY that her husband had frequently,
! during their married life, struck her,
called her vile names, pulled her hair
and threatened to kill her. One night
during the month of July, she said, be
returned home at an unseemly hour. ac-
cused her of infdelity, dragged her out
OF bed by the hair and drove her from the
| house halt-clothed and without shoes.
In addition 10 all this, Mrs. Waldron
said that the condition of affairs was
| greatly aggravated by the constant inter-
! terence and meddling of Waldron's pa
rents, who seemed TO have a strong in
! fluencc over him. She said that the COM
munity property consisted of a ranch i'll
this county, Il house and lot on Twenty
| sixth and streets, Il lot in San Francisco
and about $500 III money which they had
saved.
1t was during the cross-examination
| Of Mrs. Waldron that the sensational
part Of the proceedings developed. At
torney Bruner asked her if her husband s
charges that she had been unfaithful
| were true. After some hesitation she
said they were. She acknowledged that
she had been intimate several years ago
with G. III. Ward, who was an Assembly
man hailing from San Francisco. Her
husband had forgiven her, however, and
they lived together for years afterward.
In going over the details of her hus-
| bands various acts ofcruelty toward her,
Mrs. Naldron said thai two days before
her child was born she desired to go to
her mothers house. Her husband, how
! ever, refused to secure q conveyance, and
compelled her to walk long distance,
completely prostrating her. He would
not attend her during her illness.
| Mrs. Mccormick, Mrs. Waldron's
mother, corroborated much of her
daughters testimony.
THE HUSBAND TEsTIFIEs.
! Waldron was an unusually good wit
ness. Ills testimony was given in a
! straightforward manner, and was devoid
OF bitterness. AT times when an oppor-
tunity presented itself for slipping in a
! bit of testimony which would tend to
show that his wife had always been vio-
lent and abusive, ne would, on the con-
| trary, say that her onslaughts were not
OF frequent happening. He seemed most
| grieved over the beliefthat, since his wife S
| intimacy with Ward, the confession and
| forgiveness, she had forgotten her prom
ises and had continued to be unfailhful.
She had spent much of her time at the
| house of Il friend named Mrs. kendrick
! At that house was "a boarder named Jack
Furl, with whom the husband believed
Mrs. WaldrOn had conducted herself inn
properly. She had gone to picnics with
him and had returned somewhat the
| worse Tor liquor. On one occasion when
| she returned from Mrs. Hendricks she
was ornamented with teeth marks on her
neck and left arm. She admitted that
Furl had bitten her on the neck, but de-
clared that the marks on her arm were
made by Mrs. Kendrick, who had pinched
her while skylarking.
| The husband then proceeded to relate
how his wife bad remained away from
home over night on several occasions:
had neglected their child; had neglected
her household duties, and when he was
sick refused to attend to his wants, being
! absent from the house most of the time.
a case of beer was ordered into the
house and she drank nearly all Of it in a
short time.
a MODEL MAN.
! On cross-examination by Mr.. Johnson,
the husband testified that he neither
| drank, smoked, chewed tobacco, gambled,
stayed out nights, nor said bad words.
he did not exactly consider himself an
angel. yet he did not know Of any vices
he had. Sometimes, when quite pro-
voked he would say darn"
After he had forgiven his wife he had
never mentioned the matter to her again,
and tried to forget it. He denied that he
had constantly brought the subject up.
when out of humor. In relating the sew
eral occasions on which she had abused
him, Waldron said that once she at
| tempted TO stab him, and at another time
| she threw mush-bowl at him, iniuripg
/ his head. ON neither occasion, he said,
| did he lose his temper, and contented
! himself with reprimanding her. He de-
MED that he had iil-treated or neglected
| her when she was about to give birth to
their child. Whenever he made any OBJ
| jections TO her conduct, he said, she
would fly into a passion and threaten
| him.
When Waldron had concluded his tes-
| timony, considerable evidence was offered
| to show that Mrs. Waldron had neglected
her duties at home. Mrs. Waldron,
mother of the defendant, testified to that
/ effect. She also said that the child was
sadly neglected. Waldron's father gave
| similar testimony, and so did Mrs. Fer
! guson, w Naldron's sister. The latter added
| that on one occasion, after the Waldron's
had separated, Mrs. Waldron told her
! that unless Waldron took her back she
/ world go to the bad. The deposition of
Blanche McCausland was also to the effect
! that Mrs. Waldron neglected her home
and family.
SOME MORE DENIALs.
When this evidence was all in. the
plaintitf called numerous witnesses to
prove that she was attentive to her child
and good housekeeper, and to disproye
! other assertions made by Waldron.
Mrs. Waldron also took the Witness
| stand again herself, and denied that she
had ever tried TO stab her husband, or
threw mush-bowl at him. She never
| told Mrs. Ferguson that she would 90 to
the bad, and never neglected her nus
band when he was sick. She denied also
that she had become intoxicated at pic
mics and did not conduct herself i'm
properly with Furl. Mrs Kendrick had
pinched her and left black and blue marks
on her. but Furl had never bitten her.
The case of beer which she had INDUCED
! in was ordered by the doctor to build her
up. She did not like liquor, and only
took it as medicine.
| Mrs. Kendrick took the stand and
| denied Waldron's assertion that Mrs.
| Waldron had spent most of her time at
her Mrs. Kendrick's) house. Mrs.
| Waldron had always acted as a lady in
| the presence of FurI. The witness said
she had pinched Mrs. Waldron's arm.
but denied that she had bitten her on the
neck.