The Portland daily press., 1894-08-03
WHOSE WIFE is sHEs
The Starks Man and the Augusta Man
Await the Decision.

Wife who Gets Divorce and then Re-
marries, Finds Her Family Affairs
zen of the Town of starks the Princi-
pal Actor.
A case of matrimonial complications
was brought to public attention be-
fore the Law Court yesterday. The case
is brought from the Kennebec county
superior court by Hon. Orville D. Baker,
as.attorney for prominent resident of
the town of Starks, Mr.. Gustavus W.
Spinney.
This man, who is of middle age, has
been leading citizen of that town for
many years, acting as chairman of
the school committe and in otner Offices
through succession of years. When
the present complications began, he had
been married about % years, and had
family of whom one or two of the chill
dren were old enough to be married also.
Three years ago his wife decided that
she had lived with him as long as she
cared to, and began proceedings for a
divorce in the Kennebec superior court.
She chose the summer term for this i'm
portant step, at time when her hus-
band was away in Massachusetts attend
ing to an agency business which he has
had in that state for several, years. The
legal document wherein she prayed for
the dissolution of the bonds Of matrimo-
ny, described him as of the town of
Starks, and then in the conclusion de-
clared that she did not know his resi-
dence and could not ascertain by due
diligence.
When the respondent to divorce suit
cannot be found to be served with the
usual legal notification, it is customary
for the court to order notice to be
published in some newspaper. the idea
being that the respondent will thus hear
of the suit. This notice was published
in July, 1891, in Hallowell paper.
The husband, busily attending to his
affairs in Massachusetts, did not see or
hear of the notice, and when the case
came up for hearing he was not present
to object. There being no one to object,
the divorce was granted, and the wife
went away from the court room free and
happy.
The husband, his summers work be-
ing over, returned to Starks to find him
self divorc ed. He Investigated a little
further and found that he had been di-
.voroed on account of Ralleged
gross and confirmed habits of intoxica-
tion. This did not please him at all,
and he lost little time in seeing law
yer. By the lawyers advice, an action
was brought to vacate the divorce, the
reasons alleged being that it had been
procured through fraud, and that the
court had no jurisdiction. The husband
made the point that notice of the suit
should have been served upon him, and
not inserted in a newspaper which he
would be unlikely to see. While he was
not at his home in Starks, he was yet
absent in regular and generally known
occupation, with a headquarters at Ply
mouth. as in former years. In March,
1892, notice of this suit was served on the
wife. In the meanwhile she had become
enamored of all Augusta man, and seems
to have been upon the point of marrying
him. But she did not allow the possi-
bility of legal restoration to her former
spouse to interfere with the new love.
The nuptials with the Augusta man
were celebrated as if there kwere no su-
perior courts or law courts.
The marriage took place before the
husbands suit to vacate the divorce
was tried. When that trial did take
place, the judge sustained the divorce.
Mr.. Baker thereupon brought his eli
ent's case to the law court and argued it
yesterday. F. .E.Southard, ESQ.,, appeared
for the other side.
The re-marriage of the woman leaves
the domestic. affairs of all concerned in
az uncertain state, and the Augusta
man and the Starks man must be wait
ing with much interest to see who has
the legal title to the wife.