Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1903-09-18
THREE JURY CASES TRIED
THE 40 OTHERS SET FOR TRIAL
SETTLED OR DISCONTINUED.

, Proceedings Of the Week at Newfans-
, Verdict for Plaintiff in Doyle Case
Berry, Crouch Case Ends in Disa
greement.
Daniel F. Doyle VS.. Lawrence Bartol
and others. This case, the essentia
features of which were given last week
was very closely contested by the stronl
array of counsel on each side and tn
arguments were not completed unit
near noon Saturday It was shown OF
the part of the plaintiff that each of tn,
six defendants had pleaded guilty t.
the charge of assault and breach of thu
peace in the Windsor county court IL
connection with the same affair. Sew.
eral witnesses were brought from Lud.
low to impeach the character of the
plaintiff as to truth and veracity. Or
conclusion of the arguments of counse
the jury were excused until II O'Clock
Monday morning, at which time the
charge was given. At 80 p. m. the
jury returned a verdict against all the
defendants for damages in the sum OF
$3.50.
Charles Berry VS.. Ellen Newton
Crouch. A jury was empaneled in
this case Monday afternoon. 1t was
an action on the case to recover dam
ages in the sum of $4,000. Plaintiff S
evidence showed that the parties be-
came acquainted at Brattleboro during
the winter of 1SS2S3, the defendant be-
| ing then known to plaintiff as Miss
Nellie Newton. The usual course of
courtship followed, and about Oct. l,
/ 1884. the plaintiff made a proposition
of marriage which the defendant ac-
cepted but then told the plaintiff that
she had husband living, one Silas Adna
Crouch. from whom she had not been
divorced. This fact was accepted by
plaintiff in good grace, and it was ar
ranged between them that defendant
should procure, as soon as possible, a
divorce from Crouch, and should no.
tify him when the same was obtained,
and he would then return from Nashua,
n. H., at which place he had secured
position, and carry out the agreement
of marriage. The parties kept up
correspondence, the plaintiff making
frequent inquiry as to the progress of
the divorce proceedings, and at last he
received a letter from the de-
fendant to the effect that she
had obtained her divorce. He
then FASTENED to Brattleboro, and upon
asking defendant to see her bill of di-
vorce she brought forward a paper,
looked at it a moment, and then said,
This is not the paper" intimating by
her action that she had made mis-
take. He then said to her, Never
mind, will take your word for it."
The marriage ceremony was per-
formed by Judge Newton Dec. 13, 1884,
and the parties went Immediately to
Nashua at which place and at Gilsum,
n. H., they lived a few months and
then returned to Brattleboro, where
they lived together as husband and
wife till Feb. II, 1908, shortly prior to
the bringing of the action. During the
more than is years of his supposed mar
ried life, the plaintiff claimed that he
had been industrious and furnished
every necessity and comfort for his
home that his earnings would admit,
and had treated defendant with kind
ness. She had had considerable sick
ness, necessitating a good deal of work
at home on his part, and the frequent
of a physician. She
a lock box at the post
office, to which plaintiff did not have
access, and received all of her mail
through that channel. He was not in
formed of the deceit that had been |
practiced upon him in the matter of |
the divorce till after the defendant |
left his home in February last.
The evidence on the part of the de- |
was, in general effect, that de-
fendant told the plaintiff before their
engagement that she had a lawful |
husband living, and that she had a
child buried in the West Brattleboro
that plaintiff once carried
1er to visit the child's grave; that all
he conditions relative to her relations
o Crouch were fully known to plaintiff
md had been freely talked over be-
ween herself and him; that she never
old him that she had received di-
yorce from Crouch; that at the time of
he marriage ceremony between her
'elf and plaintiff her mother, Mrs.
Newton, at whose home they were
taying, entreated the plaintiff and her
elf not to take such an unlawful step;
hat some five years after the marriage
CEREMONY between herself and plaintiff
# petition for divorce preferred
gainst her by Crouch, in which petit j
ion adultery was charged and Berry s
vas named as correspondent; that she I
cad this paper to plaintiff and talked I
With him freely about it as making {
egal their then state of living togeth- /
r: that, in short, there had been no
whatever from the plain
iff at any time of the relations of de-
endant to Crouch as the legal wife of f
he latter until divorced from him. =
he defendant is now the wife of j. w. r
'routy, a Brattleboro photographer. 9
The case was given to the jury at +
clock Tuesday afternoon. The jury +
-ere out all night, and on reporting +
Wednesday morning that there was no +
of an agreement, they were f
H. G. Barber and Judge {
yaterman for plaintiff; F. D. E. Stowe =
nd c. c. Fits for defendant. +
1t was expected that several other +
vii cases would be tried by jury, but ii
was announced Wednesday morning h
lat all had been settled or discontin- Ii
ed. OF the 80 cases set for jury
ial only three were tried.
Frederick Fielding of Brattleboro, W
yainst whom the grand jury found an
dictment for entering the apartments
Sadie A. Turner at the Brattleboro =,
ouse Aug. 29th and taking therefrom :.
gold watch and chain and two gold y
ins, was arraigned Wednesday MORN
g, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced =.
states prison for a term of not more -,
an three and one-half years, nor less ~
an three years. Fielding made the
aim through A. E. Cudworth, his at