The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-01-28
CLARA'S MEMORY.
Amusing Suit to Annul a
Marriage Before Chan
cellor McGill.
WHAT WAS THE BRIDES AGE
Lessons in the Art of Love Decide
a Dual Flight From
Pennsylvania.

determine the validity of a New YORK
marriage in one of the most amusing
suits heard in IChancery Chambers for
very long time The question in a nut
shell was whether or not Clara Meyer OF
Phoenixville Pa, was eighteen years OF
age, as the New York code prescribes,
when she welded John Damanowitz, OF
Bayonne, on October II, 1897. To COM
plicate the suit, neither the father nor
the mother nor the bride herself could
accurately agree on the date OF Cara
age AS a further difficulty Clara didn't
want to be freed from her husband and
fought on his side with considerable vi
vacity. Yet they were divorced in New
York few days ago.
The bill read by Counsellor W. H.
Speer, Jr., counsel for the Meyers, said
that Damanowitz is now under bail in
Hudson City to answer a charge of abb
duction. Mr.. Speer, continuing, said that
the wedding before a New York Alder
man of the girl with Damanowitz was
void because the New York law COM
mands that a girl cannot be welded un-
der the age of eighteen.
Counsellor Allan Benny read the answer,
| which was a general denial. Counsel said
| that the name of the girl was not Meyers,
but Rapford, and the wedding took place
| in 1897, and she was of full age. Clara
and John, counsel said, had been lovers
| for years and she left her home in Penn
| sylvania to- beg Damanowitz, who had
come to Bayonne, to marry her because
her home life was unhappy.
! During the reading of the bill and
answer it transpired that habeas corpus
proceedings had been taken before the
| Chancellor some time ago for the custody
| of Clara; but the Chancellor dismissed
| the application and held that the only
| question was the validity of the New
| York marriage.
| The first witness called by the petit
4 toner was Jacob Meyers himself who
| was examined by Lawyer Isaac Golden
| horn. Meyers said that his daughter
| was born in January, 1880, and she left
| her home last year at half past three
! o'clock one August morning He asked
caught sight of his daughter and Da-
manowitz crouchlng in the compart-
ment of Philadelphia train. He wired
| to- Jersey City and the pair was caught
at that place. Clara was taken home
and she escaped again.
! Mrs. Meyers practically contradcted
| her husbands statements as to the dates
of the birth of Clara to show that she
| was not fifteen years of age at present
| and only fourteen when she was mar
ried. The mother cried when she said
| that Clara was a good girl; but only a
! child to be married.
"But she is as large as you?" asked the
! Chancellor
.sYes. but she is too young"
/ Paulina Leopold, native of Sampol, in
| Austria, the former home of the Mey-
ers, made a number of guessing state
| ments as to Clara's age some years ago,
| but the Chancellor would not hear the
| testimony.
Clara, the cause of all the trouble, was
| the first witness on her husbands side.
| She is youthful looking and well devel-
oped for a matron of Is. She said she
didn't know her ownA age because her
| ries about her age. She denied that her
4 name was Meyer her right name was
Ruppeport. Her age, she said, as people
| told her, was over eighteen at the time
Roth sides confined themselves to try
ing to establish Clara's right age. She
/ She says she is over eighteen. AS for
| her parents, they had no certificates of
| birth.
| cellor, trying to cut the gordian knot.
/ II don't know My parents have said
| I was 16, II and IS at various times, and
/ I don't know what age age la am ho+ sa,d and
proceeding to indulge in the FEMININE lux
ury of good cry. ~
L
| ton house in that city, in october last,
! he said Clara was 16 years of age. Other
/ witnesses were called to subStantlate TINS
| fact and one of them was the husband OF
i SOPHIE Meyer the sister who also ran on
/ 70 be married at the same time with
I Damanowitz and subsequently got into
| hof water His wife Sophie was also
| called, and she told the story of their
flight from their enraged parents ana
| their marriage. She said that John
| tDamanowitz told Clara to say she was lS
| wears of age, and her husband Dush and
| Damanowitz advised the marriages be-
| cause Never would do something terrible
| if he caught them. Sophie. said that af-
home because she was better off, there.
| Her parents treated her and Clara kindly
"Did your sister love John?" asked the
| Chancellor.
.,Why did you run away with herr" said
(Sophie's answers translated by Coun-
/ seior Max T. Rosenberg, who. at the
I Chancellor's request, acted as interpreter,
! Clara was recalled to repel the attack by
her sister, and said. to everybody $
| amusement, that it was awfully good to
/ love.
other for year. but when Sophie came
/ from Europe and told me how. awfully
| good it was to love our love was renewed.
| We took walks and did all that sweet
marry. marry So there" crhis. latter was di-
rected to Sophie. on whom it was lost, be-
| cause that young lady didn't speak En-
4 glish) John never threatened me,
1 Clara continued, "and we live very hap
After the very able summing UP of
! Messrs. Speer and Benny of counsel,
/ Chaneallnr A1nlsil said that this casa usas