The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-30
THE FLIGHT OF A BRIDE.
The Deserted Husband Married
Again and So Did the Rum
away Wife.
BELIEVING EACH OTHER DEAD
Strange Sequel to a Marriage at Red
Bluff Nearly Twenty Years
Ago.

SAN DIEGO, CAL, March ga most
peculiar divorce case, with a romance in
every feature, recalling the trials of Enoch
Arden, came up in Department 2 of the
Superior Court to-day.
The case is that of w. H. Willard VS..
Anna Willard, and desertion formed the
ground of complaint. The defendant de-
faulted, and Judge Puterbaugh granted the
decree as prayed for, first having heard the
testimony of the plaintiff and other wit
nesses.
Mr.. and Mrs. Willard were married at
Red Bluff, Cal, on October Is, 1877, and
on December 20 of the same year the wife
disappeared. The husband made a thor
ough search for his wife, and visited every
place where he thought she might have
taken up her abode, but was unable to
learn anything about her. He believed her
| alive, however, and after several months
had passed gave up the search and settled
down to business. From that day until a
few months ago, or seventeen years after
her disappearance, he never heard a word
of her.
a few years after she had left he took
unto himself another wife, who is the
mother of his two little boys. He married
his second wife in the belief that his first
| wife would never disturb his bliss, and she
never did.
In letters read at the trial, addressed to
Wizards attorney, the wife of eighteen
years ago writes from New Whatcom,
WASH, over the signature of Mrs. George
Bates, and asks if her former husband had
ever secured divorce from her. She says
a fbraa of how
while residing in Oregon, she received a
letter from her father in California in which
he said that he had read in paper of
Wizards death. The woman let two
more years go by, and then made further
inquiries concerning her husband, but was
unable to learn anything more definite
than her father had told her. Still she did
| not get married again until two and half
years ago, when she married a man named
George Bates at New Whatcom Before
her second marriage she wrote to her first
husbands brother again in reference to
| the supposed death of Willard, and in
| that way the deserted husband was made
! aware of her existence and place of resi-
dence. So an action for divorce was in
| stituted, and she received summons by
| mail.
| Mrs. Bates wrote to Wizards attorney
in answer to the summons, and the letter
| was most pathetic. She wanted to know
| first if the divorce had been granted, be-
| cause the fact that Willard was not dead
but living, weighed on her mind and she
could not rest. She recounted the fact of
| having been appraised of his death by her
| father, and said she firmly believed he was
dead when she married again. She would
write to him, she said, but she did not
want to cause him pain. She added that
her present husband was Christian, as
was she, and that in view of the entangle-
ment they had separated until divorce
| could be secured by Willard. Not know
! ing the grounds upon which an action had
| been instituted, she asked if Willard could
not get divorce upon the grounds of de-
! sertion.
Willard testified yesterday in manner
that gave no indication of affection for the
wife of his youth, who SO suddenly de-
serted him many years ago; neither did
he show any malice toward her, but an
swered the questions almost indifferently.
He has another wife now, whom he no
doubt loves far more than he ever did the
young girl who joined hands with him at
! first, and two little children in his home
back in the country complete his happi-
| ness.
| After Judge Puterbaugh announced that
| the decree was granted Willard went from
| the courtroom with his attorney with a
| satisfied look upon his face.