The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-11-20
Mrs. Elizabeth A. Wilson
Begins Suit Against Her
Husband for Divorce
MANY ACTS OF CRUELTY ALLEGED
The Defendant Denies the Charges
and Lays All the Trouble to
His Wife's Ill Temper.

listen to argument in a sensa ttonai di-
yorce suit, which Elizabeth A. Wilson has
| brought against her husband, William +.
Wilson, former manager of the Citizens
Mutual Life Insurance Company, in Hud-
son County, and at present agent of the
| New York Life Insurance Company.
Mr.. Wilson is well known in political
circles. He is one of the judges of cleo
tions in Hudson county.
The suit is a complete surprise to his
| friends. Papers were served on him this
week by Lawyer j. w. Bisseil, counsel
| for the complainant In her bill of COM
| plant Mrs. Wilson alleges cruelty and
neglect
| The couple were married on July 5,
1882, by the Rev. T. l. Ferguson, Super
| intendent of the Five Points Mission, in
| New York. Mrs. Wilson'S maiden name
was Elizabeth A. Staples. There have
been no children born of the marriage.
Mrs. Wilson lived with her husband in
| New York City, Brooklyn and Jersey
| City until August 10 last when she al
| leges he struck her in the face and turn
ed her out of their home on South street.,
Jersey City.
He struck me twice in the face and
| then opened the door of our home, says
| Mrs. Wilson, "and ordered me to get out
OF the house and never come back again.
| Afraid that he would do me further vio-
lence hastily left the house, leaving all
our furniture and all of my clothing, ex-
cept such as L wore at the time, behind.
4 also left my marriage certificate, my
wedding ring and all of my jewelry,
which l had not been obliged to pawn to
buy food because of my husbands drink
| ing habits. In the chiffonier was the
pawn ticket for my watch and chain and
| the clothing of a six-year-old child, which
| had taken to board with me, and whose
father paid for its support and helped
keep the house, in return for the care
| l gave it.
| .'At the first opportunity I had I re-
turned to he house for the purpose of
/ gaining possession of mine and the childS
clothing and also, if possible, the furni-
| ture, which had been bought on the in
stallment plan, and which 1 had helped
t pay for with money l had earned at
| dressmaking. 1 found that the furniture
| and all its contents had been stored witt,
| the dealer of whom the furniture was
! bought and that he was holding it as
his because the inslallments had not ali
been paid, and there was storage money
due. I offered to make payments ON the
| furniture, but the dealer would not de-
liver it to me without my husbands con-
| sent, as it was bought in his name I
| sought Mr.. Wilson's consent but he mall
| ignantiy refused to permit me TO get
possession of even my clothing. which 1
/ badly needed. ;"
Mrs. Wilson sets forth, in her petition,
| that her husband S income is 500 week,
and married
! has never made less than $50 a week.
| In spite of this he has never properly
| supported her and she has been COM
| PEELED to do dressmaking, sew on shirts,
| and do whatever else she could to make
a living for herself, while her husband
| has squandered mis- earnings on drink
| Because of Wilson's -squandering his
| money they were three times evicted
while living in Brooklyn and were turned
| oGt of their home on Webster avenue,
| While they were living on Dean street,
/ Brooklyn, Mrs. Wilson alleges thar her
husband treated her SO brutally that on
I several occasions she was obliged to hide
| from him in the cellar and sleep all night
! on the damp ground.
While they were living on Webster ave-
! nue Wilson came home one night and
| siezing his wife by the throat Violently
| cho5ed her. On another occasion, while
| on one OF his drunken sprees, he cut and
destroyed the most valuable pieces of.
| their furniture with his knife. The fur
| niture had been paid for with money
Mrs. Wilson had earned at dressmakng.
| In conclusion, Mrs. Wilson declares
| that she is now an object of charity
! and that her husband has refused to aid
! her In any way.
/ Gill to give MRS Wilson possession of the
| furniture and her clothing and jewelry,
and compel her husband to pay her coun-
| sci fees end alimony sufficient to keep
| her in comfort pending the settlement
Of her suit for divorce
Mr.. Wilson, when seen at his office, No.
erty 10 tas -f1,fr
''All the allegations contained in the
| bill of complaint | deny In toto and in
| detail. l didn't desire any publicity but
as she has seen fit to rush into court and
| into print, l must defend myself. She
has been supported by me during the
sixteen years Of our married life in
| style to which she was unaccuStomed be-
fore that. After her mothers. death l
brought up and educated and supported
| the younger members of her family until
they were able to provide for themselves.
/ took her all over the country with me,
| to the various places where the COM
| panies that employed me saw fit to send
me as supervisor, and we always put up
at the best hotel.
ss.The whole trouble has been caused by
my wifes insisting upon having relatives
| live with her who are obnoxious to me.
| she is a woman of very obstinate dis
| position, and in February, 1885, when we
were living on Palisade avenue, because
| of my refusal to allow her younger sis
ter to live with her, she packed up all
| our furniture and moved it to other
| apartmentS, When ] came home found
my trunk and clothes In the middle of
| the floor. Everything else was gone. We
| have had three children, all of whom
| Gied shortly after birth. On August Is
| last she came down to my office in tow
ering rage and ordered, me to come home
| with her When | went home she told
me some cock and bull story some one
| had told her about my being seen on
| the railroad track with another woman.
| / locked the door and told her she could
not leave the house until she told me
| the name of the informant. Instead of
| my striking her, she used me up so bad
! ly In her efforts TO get out that | went
around for a week with my face covered
attend to my business at all for two
/ days. For nine weeks after she left, l.
/ kept house alone, awaiting her return.
| and called on her sister repeatedly and
/ finally l told her sister that unless she
| came back home at once I would break
! up housekeeping and place the goods in
| storage.
II then sent to her sister. Mrs. Emma
! Taylor, of Nc. l31 Zabriskie street, two
| containing all my wife's clothing, ieWelry
| and personal effects of every description,
| with tile exception of her wedding ring,
/ which she herself had taken from her
| finger and thrown on the floor and swore
| that she would never wear it again.
II This six-y -year-old child of whom she
/ speaks is the child of relative of her
/ brothers wife, Tie father never paid for
its support. It was kept out Of my earn-
| last year Size has left my home and re-
mained away for periods OF from four to
/ six weeks, because / would not permit
her TO keep this child. She never earned