The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-01-25
DIVORCE GIVEN 10
GIRL. !. OF / .E ! j ! !

GIRL OH E'YENF|
she Had Been Married Two YsarstI
AGO Us . Y an Who Was Over
sixty S
Brighton, Ia, Jan. eftrude3
Trustys 5Leeper, a 1l;year:old sgifl gofl
this village, has lust been granted q
decree Of divorce from John Leeper;
GO years Of age to whom she was mar
ried two years ago. L
81 Thes child whols became Ia wife
when. shesswas only nine years odd
and has become "a idiyorcees at II still
Is in skirts that fall scarce ITO Eher
knees, and wears her luxuriantS brown
hair in "pigtailss! down her back, and;
as, she is fond Of dolls and takes a
as keenSde llght in splayingswith them
as:any other:child of her tenae years
despite the fact that she has TODD! up
at the altar and solemnly took the,
3vowsSwhlch made ker3 the; lawful we'd
lded wife Of a man seven times her
own age.tt II gsf 81
When 1.-TWO years ago Gertie'
Trusty promised to Glove, honor cher,
ishg and 3obey"Bthe man who was old
enough to be her grandfather, a man
gray,bearded, gray.haired 3and bent
with the storms OF well.nigh three.
score years, and ten, she presented an!
odd sight to those who, witnessed the
ceremony. ri. ID
The bridegroom looked his age, land,
thefbride looked hers as she stood by
him with her head scarcely coming
up to his, elbow. y II q.
w Gertrudeais an orphan. and had mo.
brothers or sisters to look after$her.
She had friends, for everybody in
Brighton loved this sweet sunny
tempered, swinsome child; but those,
friends were passive rather than sac-
tive, and when Leeper made the.
shocking proposal that she ;marrylhim
none Of them did 2aught to save her
from SO unnatural a fate. b Il N. .s!i
Never had a man a more trustful,
obedient, diligent wife than had John
Leeper.s She accompanied him from
Brighton to Arkansas soon. after the
marriage, and there. in little vii.
lage, she assisted him to- establish
and maintain a. home. 1T must have
been a dull, lonely life for the child
wife, but never did she complain Of
her. lot, never did she meet her hus-
band when he came home at night
with other than a bright, smiling
face; never; did she fail to have his
meals cooked and z on the table
] promptly at the appointed hour; nev'
/ er did she fail to keep her house clean
and tidy: never did she fail to darn
the holes in Ills socks, sew buttons on
his clothing when that was necessary
or. to discharge any of the other wife
~ duties itffell to her lotto do. Other
children passed by her! door on theii
way to school or on some childish
pleasure bent, but Gertrude never
;. thought Of going with; them or hay
ing ought to do with them or theil
!. sports, for she was a wife. I: si' h
Leeper remained in the southwes
!, for something more than a year, when
: in company with his, wife, he return
ed to town. He went to Washington
: in this State, and there Gertrude
J, made friends who persuaded her t
e. file "a petition for divorce. IN.
i. The, child s.did not readily fall Il
n wlthfthe proposal. is true that ish
|. bore him none Of that love whic,
e wives commonly bear their husbands
I. She had not loved him when she BIZ
). came his wife and he had not; IL
s spired her with love, but he had nc
~ - b. ~ 49, e IS
r been cruel to her; he had given fhe
i. a home and she felt In duty bound I
d stand by him. Her friends insisted
IS however and finally she yielded I, I
o their opportunities and did so. n
3 1t did not take; the Judge long, I
vi decide what he should do. Whe
If he learned from the evidence offere
If by the plaintiff the circumstances u
G. der which the marriage had been SC
le emnized,y he quickly signed "a deere
lie Of divorce Leeper offered no d
( Tense " Thus, Gertrude Trusty, aft,
. II { 1. g. 9, {;