The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-03-17
BETWEEN TEARS AND .SOBS, MRS. MOORE TELLS STORY OF LIFE
Mother of Mary Blackburn, For Whose Custody Legal Battle Is Being Waged,
 on Stand

Ol MdIy D1dChDuIll, 1Ol " iiOoS possession she is fighting in Judge Horace Wilkinson's dl- vision of the circuit court, com pleted her testimony yesterday afternoon at 4 o'clock, after being on the stand for several hours. The love of mother for her child was told by her as she related to the court the story of her life from the time she was born.
 During the recital she was moved to tears at times and her body was shaken with sobs, which forced her to pause on several occasions. At the conclusion of this testimony Judge Wilkinson announced that the cross examination would begin this morning at o'clock
 Mrs Moore referred to her meeting with pr. Carl Blackburn while they | were attending school in Nashville, of their courtship and marriage, and re- moval to IFayette. She told of the ! neglect and cruel and brutal treat ment manifested toward her by her husband and of her final separation | The witness testified that after her | final separation from her husband she l had signed the agreement allowing the ! father to have custody of the child be- cause she did not have sufficient funds to care for her. She spoke of going
 to California with the hope of some day having money enough to be able l to have her child with her.
 According to Mrs. Moore, Dr. Black l burn became indifferent to her i'm ' mediately after they were married and it later developed into cruel ane brutal treAtm in which her husband l struck her several times during th' 1 time they were at Fayette. She testified l that he threatened to horsewhip her oi one occasion in the barn when she hat asked him to take her with him for al l automobile ride and that on similar | occasion he had attempted to whip hei
 with a razor strop which was hanging
 in the bathroom of their home. bu | someone ifterfered, she stated. | After they had been married about | two years the witness stated, that she | learned pr. Blackburn was a drinkei land addicted to the use of opium ano other drugs. She finally left him, talk | ing Mary with her to the home of he' step- parents in Texarkana Later sht signed the agreement giving pr. Black burn the custody of the child after tie court of Jefferson county haC granted her the custody of Mary.
 When just years of age, accord ing to the testimony of the witness
 her name was changed to Shuptrine b.
 Der mother. who had married Shup
 Urine following the separation of he
 mother from her father. w. B, Weeks
 some years previously. This resulted in total estrangement between her self and her real father she said, a he refused to have anything to d' with her until she took her name back Her real father had told her tha
 Shuptrine was criminal and he hat refused to recognize her on the street. lef Texarkana. according to the wit
 ness. He later declined to see he
 baby.
 The witness stated that her mothe
 was constant attendant at churc
 and that her parents always too
 her tc church with them and at on
 time she was secretary of Methods Sunday school.
 | GAVE BLACKBURN MONEY
 She stated she gave Dr. Blackburn s3,5O
 in addition to $500 she gave him at tn
 time of their marriage. He bought hom
 at Fayette but she did not know whethe
 any of her money had gone to pay for Il
 However. she declared she furnished tn house with her money and her mother sen her piano and an s850 suite of furnitur she stated, and which is part Of tn
 property that is in the Blackburn hom there now, and which John Blackburn re fuses to turn over to her.
 When asked if she had ever done any thing to make her husband slap her afte she had testified that he had frequent done so, Mrs. Moore stated that she ha not and supposed it was the influence c the drugs he took. On one occasion sh told the court, she sat on his lap and h : got very angry and told her if she did nc get up he would slap ner face. She to' : him he would not she stated and h slapped her so hard it almost stunne } her Then he seemed very sorry accord ing to her testimony and begged her pal } con and heated a poker red hot in tf } fire and said he was going to burn h hand for having struck her and st , begged him not to do it. At this poll } Mrs Moore was overcome and it VIZ several minutes before she could col tinue
 ATTENDED CHUCRH
 She stated she attended the Method
 church at Fayette and always took h' daughter with her from the time she WI two months old When asked with refe
 ence to Miey Basket boarding in q
 house with them. the witness told ti
 court he was brought there by pr. Blacl burn over her protest on the ground ths they needed the money he would pay. Sf / stated she went riding with him fr | Iuuently with her husbands consent an ldenied there was any improper relation lbetween them. declaring he seemed mol } like a younger brother to her than an,
 thing else.
 , When asked if her husband had ey'
 threatened to take Mary away from he Mrs. Moore said he had and that they ha , a suit in Birmineham over the child wle ? Judge Crow gave her the custody. Sf f stated that with her own experience
 being separated from her father sl [ asked that the father be allowed to g
 Mary and at her request that was put 2 the decree.
 : The witness said she signed the agre
 ment to let the father have Mary, b , she never intended the grandfather
 have her and she would not have signi l any agreement to sire her up at all if sl , had had money to take care of her. Ho'
 ever, she declared she had given all h
 money to her husband. and did not sis q the agreement until after she sent tel f gram to her Ia wyers in Birmingham. I PRAYED WITH PJCkFORD
 Mrs. Moore said she had been inform n that when Mary was 14 years of age sl 0 would be allowed to choose for herse