Los Angeles herald., 1892-11-01
FOUND 1T A FAILURE.
FOUR WOMEN WHO HAVE HAD
ENOUGH OF MARRIAGE.
Divorce Day in the Courts-Wives Who
Charged Their Husbands with All
Sorts of Brutal Treatment.
The DEGREES Granted.

Judge McKinley's court, yesterday,
was veritable divsrce mill, three being
granted by his honor within the space of
half an hour.
Mrs. Jennie Claxton first claimed the
attention of the court, and poured her
tale of woe into his ears with fattering
voice. She and her husband, who was
not present, were married at Pueblo,
Colo, in 1888, and her disenchantment
began soon afterward. It WAS not long
before he began to call hervile names and
strike her, and she wished she was
sweet girl graduate once more, with life
all roseate glow before her. A child
was born, and the family removed to
Los Angeles, where the husbands cru.
city was worse than before. He beat
and abused her, and failed to provide
for the support of herself and child,
so that she was obliged to 60 out to
work as waitress to keep from starva-
ton.
While she was working at the Geneva
restaurant, according to her testimony
and that of Josie Knight, he came there
one day and struck her in the face,
threatening to kill her. He applied
epithets to her characteristic of such a
stripe of man, and his wife lived in NOR
tai terror of what he would do next.
The decree was granted.
Mrs. Cora Johnson, young colored
woman, was the next applicant, and
told how her husband had hit her on
the head with beer bottle at Mojave
last June, and later in Los Angeles
knocked her down and otherwise mall
treated her. The young woman was
shown to have good character, and her
husband dissolute, shiftless fellow. On
the evening of September Oath he quar-
relied with her at the corner of Rose
street and Stevenson avenue, and beat
her in brutal manner, 30 that if it had
not been for the interference of bystand-
ers Mrs. Johnson believes che would
have been killed. She said che had
never given her husband any cause to
act ugly towards her. The court granted
the young woman her divorce, and she
and her friends departed greatly rejoiced.
A pretty, dark eyed woman took the
witness stand when the case of Pierce
VS.. Pierce was called. The husband
was not present, and she related the
Tory of her marital troubles in response
to questions put by her counsel, J.
Marion Brooks. She gave her name as
Mrs. Susan Pierce, and stated that she
was married to George Thomas Pierce,
then fireman on the Southern Pacific
railroad, in July, 1885. They lived to-
gether until April, 1885, when
her husband deserted her. They had one
child, a boy, who was four months old
when Pierce left. They had never, she
said, had any trouble, and she could not
tell why her husband had left her, but
there was no doubt about the fact that
he had done 80, and had never contrib
uted 81 since for the support of his wife
and child. She was sick in bed at the
time her husband left her. He had been
laid off for 80 days by the railroad. and
had been talking of going to San Fran
cisco to see his uncle and trying
to secure an engine. But he did
not bid her goodbye. She thought he
had gone to San Francisco, and after
ward received a letter from him from
that city, but he never came back. In
reply to Judge McKinley's searching in.
quiries as to the cause of the husband g
course, she said that she did not know,
and could not explain it, as also did her
sister, Miss Kittie Gassell, with whom
Mrs. Pierce is living. The divorce was
granted by the court upon the showing
made.
Judge Van Dyke also had default
divorce case, Mrs. Elizabeth Hall being
the applicant for divorce from her
husband, James Hall, an Arizona attor-
ney, on the ground of desertion, cruelty
and failure to provide for her support.
Upon the showing made a decree was
| granted.