Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-01-11
Iowa Marriage Mystery Solved by
Suit Brought Here.
COUPLE USED FICTITIOUS NAMES
Custodian of Court Records and
Judge Puzzled.
THREE CITIES IN MIX-UP

The suit instituted few days ago by
Mrs Mary Wheeldon against Lorenzo d.
Wheeldon for separate maintenance has
brought to light a peculiar condition of af-
fairs pertaining to their marriage. which
took place at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Sep
TENDER {. 1897.
Wheeldon lives at 604 18th street north
west, and is employed as a printer in the
treasury building. He was formerly a let
ter carrier in Omaha. Mrs. Wheedon runs
a boarding house at 80 e street northwest.
They have not lived together for some time.
The efforts of the wife to get a portion of
her husbands earnings, based in petition
filed in the District court by her attorney,
A Leftwich Sinclair on Thursday has
developed the fact that the couple were
married under assumed names.
Each tells different story as to why this
was done In the meantime the custodian
OF the marriage records at Council Bluffs
IS mystified as to the real names of the
parties to whom license was issued and
who were married by one of the court
officers.
Gave Fictitious Names.
According to a dispatch from Council
Bluffs to The Evening Star the records
show that the license was issued to A. L.
Whye, thrty-two years old of Auburn,
-NCp.' anu NdndTSuel, tWeDIy-elSHI
years old, of Omaha. The judge of the
district court received letter on Monday
from WheeldOn saying that a woman in
Washington was causing him annoyance
by exhibiting among his friends marriage
certificate. in which appeared his name, as
having been married to Mrs. Nicholson OF
Des Moinss. September {, 1897
The writer asked if his name appeared on
the records, and how it came there without
his knowledge. He also wrote that his sig
on no TO he
genuine. but the names of the parties SEEM
ed to have been erased and other names
substituted.
4 Letter From the Wife.
Tuesday morning" the dispatch contin-
ues. Clerk Reed received another letter
from Washington, signed by Mrs L. D.
Wheeldon and containing one dollar for a
copy of the marriage certificate issued to
her on September .. 1897 and saying that
her husband had stolen hers and destroyed
it She said that her name at the time
OF the marriage vas Mary Nicholson and
that of her husband L. d. Wheeldon
''She wrote that they had been living to-
getner until about five months ago. The
handwriting in the letter appeared to- be
similar to the signature on the marriage
record.
Deputy Baird remembers that a few
days after the license was issued and the
couple had been married by Justice Wen
the woman returned to the office and asked
TO have the names in the certificate
changed She said at the time that the
mans right name was l.. D. Wheeldon, and
= that her true name was Mary Nicholson
and not Mary Eanarsdel. Clerk Reed
says as far as he remembers he refused to
alter the certificate, but to satisfy the wo-
man placed the names she said were the
true ones underneath the others. She was
however permitted to change her sigma
ture to the affidavit from that of Mary
Nanarsdel to that of Mary Nicholson and
the record shows the eraSure and the
change of the names
Can't Account for Erasures.
"A particular feature of the matter.
which no one in the clerks office is able to
account for at this time is that the name
l.. 1. "heeldon had been first written in as
one of the parties applying for license and
then erased. and the name A D Whyte writ
ten over it II is also apparent that some
other name than that of Mary Vanarsdel
mad been first written and then erased
Inc erasIre however, is complete, and the
name nrst written cannot now be distin-
SulShed- The record also shows that the
residence OF both parties was first written
IN as Dies Moines and erased, and Auburn
Neb-, written as that of the man and Oma-
IA as that of the woman. When these