The gazette., 1900-01-13
HIS COLORED WIFE.
Stenographer Wolfe's Sensational
Answer to a Suit for Support.
An EmpIOye of the Civil Service Com
mission Charges His Wife with
immortality, with Cruelty Beat
ing Him, Etc.-RevelatiOn
to Her Antece-
dents, Etc.

being sued for maintenance and sup
port by his wife, Nellie j. Wolfe, yes
terday made answer to the charges
contained in her petition. His reply
is a lengthy one, made through his
attorney, w. Preston Williams, and
contains some remarkable accounts
of their marital life which are not
brought out in the wife's bill The
couple have two children, and this
fact and others concerning their mar
riage as to the time and place are ad-
mitted by the defendant. He then
goes on to relate a considerable num-
Der of abuses which he claims his wife
has heaped upon him for a long time,
and makes charges concerning her
conduct and the character and stand
ing of her family. Among other
things, Mr.. Wolfe makes the some
what astounding announcement that
he discovered some time after his
marriage that his wife was of Negro
blood, and that her grandfather was
fulI-blooded Negro. To substanti
ate his statement regarding Mrs.
Wolfe's colored ancestry, the defend
ant files a copy of a letter from his
mother-in-law to his wife which prac-
tically admits the truth of it.
Mr.. Wolfe declares that about two
years after their marriage his wife
began asvstematic and habItual course
of illtreatment toward him, slight
ing and humiliating him in every
manner possible, and using toward
him the most coarse and profane Ian
guage. In addition, he says that she
| had publicly threatened his life and
assaulted him without cause, save that
aroused by an ungovernable temper.
KNOCKED DOWN AND WALKED
ON.
Upon one occasion last winter, while
they were living at $50 street north
| east. he relates, Mrs. Wolfe struck him
in the presence of a guest, knocked
him down upon the floor, and then
kicked and stamped upon him with
| her feet and rained blow after blow
| upon him i'm the most vicious and re-
! lentless manner, at the same time
cursing and abusing him, and 4declar-
ing that if she could not drive him to
| suicide she would herself kill him.
| Wolfe says that he is a Woodworking
man of delicate physique, and that
/ upon many occasions, when he has
been i'll. Sc has kicked him out of
bed and compelled him to sit up all
night in the kitchen.
The defendant further declares that
| his wife endeavors by threats and at
| tacks of violence upon him to compel
him to sign an agreement to give her
$40 a month"; and permit her without
mOlestation to commit acts in VIOLA
| tion of her martial vows. He declares
that she desired this agreement for
one reason, in order that she might
become housekeeper for a millionaire
bachelor who would give her plenty
of money and diamonds. All of these
| attacks upon him, Mr.. Wolfe says, he
| endured without retaliation in.
| single instance out of regard for his
children and in the hope that his wife
might relent and permit them to live
| in peace The charge which Mr.. Wolfe
makes concerning the Negro antece-
| dents is as follows:
HE BLANIES HER ANCESTORS.
That defendant cannot account for
the extraordinary actions and manner
| of complainant, as it is entirely lncon-
! sistent with the conduct and manner
! that obtains among decent and reSpec-
| table people, and cannot be account
ed for in any other way unless 1T be
on account of bad blood which she
inherits from Ter ancestors, ana de-
fendant AYERS and charges the truth
to be that the grandmother OF com
DLainant deserted her husband, David
! Haird and took up with a Negro
man with whom she lived and CO.
habited for some years having by him
q LARGE family of children; that Mrs.
Cora Baird Horton, the mother OF the
complainant, and who is lhalf-breed,
as fully appears by letters filed here
with was one of the children which
sDranr from this intercourse. That
defendant had no knowledge of the
said facts that his mother-in-law was
a half-breed and the offspring OF
! Neoro but believed that he was
marrying into a good and honest fam
ilv and that his mother-in-law as
we'll as his wife were highly respect
able and good people. but since the
! marriage defendant has not only dis
covered that his mOther-in-law IS OF
Negro blood, out he has also discoV-
cred that she deserted her second nus
hand. Charles f. Cole, on the 4th day
of August, 1883.
In consequence of this and the repu-
tation OF the family, Mr.. Wolfe states
that he forbade his wife to permit
their children to have any intercourse
! or communication with her relatives,
and informed her that his mOther-in-
law must never enter their house. The
defendant charges his wife with i'm
morality. and names DR.. Lothrop as
correspondent. He also charges other
CORRESPONDENTS, whose names are un-
! known to him.
| WENT AWAY WITHOUT PERMlS-
SION.
Other remarkable charges concern
inp Mrs. Wolfe's conduct are also
made. He says that she would never
ask his permission to go out at night
but went wherever she saw fit, and al
most, every night would remain until
late hours, and, upon returning
would inform him that she had been
TO the theater with a gentleman ol
to a wine supper, and boasted of heI
immortality.
j. In addition the husband asserts thai
his wife attempted system OF black
mail against certain lady, saying
that unless this lady gave her money