Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-04-04
A CIVIL WAR ROMANCE
Investigation of a Pension Case
Reveals a Peculiar State
of Affairs
WIDOW WILL LOSE PENSION
WIDOW WILL LOSE PENSION
Mrs. Katie Rickabaush Finds She Is
Not Legal Widow of the Man She
Called Husband-Rickabaueh Was
Married Three Times, But Got no
Divorce From First Wife.
Special to Times-Republlcan.

Special to Times Republican.
Cedar Rapids April "A romance
growing out of the civil war has just
been uncovered here thru the investi-
cations of the pension department. The
romance proves something of tragedy
for one of the principals in the affair.
Mrs. Katie Rickabaugh, of Cedar Rap
ids, who will be dropped from the list
OF pensioners as result. She has
been drawing a widows pension since
the death of John G. Rickabaugh in
1898, when in fact she las never been
his legal widow.
John Rickabaugh was a member
during tbs war of Company /, Eight
zenith Iowa, and from the records which
have recently been disclosed it appears
that he was married in July. 1860. to o
lady name Kate Moor. Rickabaugh
was in mental circumstances at the
time and he and the gil who became
his wife were working foi' farmer.
She left him the day following their
marriage and couple of years later
applied to the courts for 4 divorce. me
case dragged along thru the years %
and '65 and was finally thrown out for
the reason that she had no evidence
upon which to get a divorce. 1t is be-
lieved that she disappeared from the
horizon of John Rickahaugh entirely,
SO far as knowledge Of her was con-
cerned, for when he returned from the
war he knew nothing of her where
abouts. and it is presumed that ne
labored under the delusion that she had
secured a divorce from him. AT any
rate he married again and after some
years this wife died. Kate Moore, IN
the meantime, had gone to Nebraska
end went to living with man by wnoM
she had several children, and she now
has two grown daughters of this fam
ily living in Des Moines. The Nebras-
ka man died and she returned to Iowa.
going to MonteZuma, in Poweshlek
county, where she later married, tho
she had no right to, never having been
divorced from her first husband. Rick
abaugh, 1t may be said. also had COM
;mitted bigamy. tho unknowingly, when
he married his second wife, and duplf-
Gated his action when in 1877 he was
married to Mrs. Kate Rickabaugh. OF
this city.
Wholly innocent, however of
the fact that Rickabaugh's first
wife had never secured d.
vorce from him, Mrs. Rickabaugh APP
piled for a widows pension on the
death of John Rickabaugh in 1898. She
was successful in procuring 1t, but
short time ago she undertook to COM
plete the soldiers claim under the gem
cral law with the view of drawing the
additional pension to which she would
be entitled were she the widow of John
Rickabaugh. In her rapacity to do 80.
it devolved upon the tension depart
ment to investigate the records in the
case and 1t was discovered that no di-
vorce had ever been granted either
John Rickabaugh or his first wife and
further, too. that the first wife sur
yived him few weeks. The case Is an
one. but may be classed
with the marital tragedies. a number
Of which occurred during the days of
the civil war and the full facts of
which have only been disclosed with
the passing years. The case is one
which Special Pension Examiner
Charles p Mays has been working on
for some time. John Rickabaugh died
in Cedar Rapids. where he had made
his home for many years.