Monroe, August 6—Claiming that W. Henry Baker had failed to give him the 40 acres of land and a Ford automobile which he said was promised him if he would marry his adopted daughter, Clarence Simpson of Lanes Creek township, charged with abandonment, declared Wednesday in Superior court that he would go to the roads before he would again live with his wife.
Although found guilty by the jury, Simpson has not been sentenced, Judge Finley desiring more time to study the unique case.
The 40 acres and the Ford, and a recital of the many domestic difficulties between the two, involving a cow, chickens, a hog and the alleged pinning of a bouquet on the hired man’s coat by Mrs. Simpson, threw the court in a turmoil. It was one of the most amusing cases ever heard in the Union county Superior court.
Before the first witness was heard, J.C.M. Vann for the defense sought to have the case thrown out of court on the grounds that Mrs. Simpson, the prosecutrix, was mentally incapacitated, and that his client was therefore not legally married.
“Hence,” concluded Mr. Vann, “not being legally married, the defendant cannot be guilty of abandonment.”
This brought A.M. Stack, for the State, to his feet. “Your honor, my client may be mentally incapacitated, but before this case is over we will show that she has three times more sense than the defendant.”
The mentality of the prosecutrix questioned, Judge Finley examined her to determine her competency. A few questions seemed to satisfy His Honor of her mentality and the case proceeded.
It was charged that several months ago Simpson carried his wife to the home of Mr. Baker, who had reared her, and unceremoniously thrust her upon his care.
The defendant, when it took the stand, told that he had been offered 40 acres of land and a Ford automobile by Mr. Baker to marry the girl. “I did, and he hasn’t lived up to his contract,” he said. “I have received neither the 40 acres nor the Ford.”
Mr. Baker, when he took the stand, denied the alleged 40 acres and a Ford stipulation. “I didn’t want her to marry him,” he said. Shedding light on the domestic differences of the two, Mr. Baker continued.
“I gave Mrs. Simpson a hog, but Simpson sold it, pocketing the money.”
The couple owned seven chickens. Three of them were claimed by the defendant and four by Mrs. Simpson. “I sold them all,” admitted Simpson on cross-examination.
“What caused you to abandon your wife?” he was asked.
“She pinned a bouquet on the hired man’s coat,” was the response.
Simpson, however, returned Mrs. Simpson's cow to her after keeping it several days. “He found he couldn’t milk her,” remarked one of the attorneys.
A mule swap was at the bottom of the prosecution, Simpson maintained. He was unable to pay a difference he owned on the trade, and his creditor had him prosecuted, he said, “to get even.”
From The Charlotte News, Sunday, Aug. 7, 1921
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