The Old Times: SLOBBERED OVER HUBBY IN PUBLIC



 It was a slow news day on Dec. 3rd, 1909, apparently. The Detroit Times decided it was appropriate and necessary to print this article about some nasty family drama. Imagine your domestic situation was so ugly that it made the news. Here's the lengthy article.  

SLOBBERED OVER HUBBY IN PUBLIC

But Mrs. Cornwall Was Prize Nagger In Private, Spouse Tells Divorce Judge

That the nagging of his wife made life with her unbearable, was the testimony of John J. Cornwall, in Judge Murfin's court, Friday, in his suit for divorce against his wife, Pearl Cornwall. Mrs. Cornwall is contesting the case, her interests being looked after by two attorneys.

"Wasn't Mrs. Cornwall ever affectionate?" the husband was asked in cross-examination.

"Yes, when people were present," he answered.

"What would she do?"

"Attempt to embrace me and kiss me."

"Did you object to that?"

"Yes. I didn't like hugging and kissing in front of people. I characterize that as slobbering."

"Wasn't your wife ever affectionate in private?"

"Very rarely."

Mr. Cornwall testified that the almost constant nagging of his wife and the worry it caused injured his health.

"How has your health been since you left your wife last winter?" he was asked.

"I have gained 30 pounds in weight,"  he said.

Cornwall blames part of his trouble to his mother-in-law, who, he alleges, joined with his wife in her demands. He says that when they lived in Cadillac, Mich., his mother-in-law visited them, and after her departure his wife's dissatisfaction was more marked than ever. He says she nagged almost continuously for a new piano, a larger house and a telephone. When he explained to his wife that he couldn't afford such luxuries, he says she would reply:

"You are an old miser just like your father. I'll make life a hell for you."

"And she did it," the husband added.

A witness for the husband testified that he was present at the home when Mr. Cornwall brought home a chicken for dinner. He says Mrs. Cornwall told him to take the chicken and get out or she would throw it into the alley.

The care and custody of a five-year- old son is one object for which the parents are fighting, and testimony was introduced intended to show that the boy was not properly cared for by Mrs. Cornwall.

Here's a brief breakdown. John Cornwall is sick of his nagging wife and decides to divorce her. While in front of the judge getting divorced, he asks some personal questions. Mrs. Cornwall is a total succubus who only pretends to love her husband when people are around and he's not into all that PDA. It's so bad that he's losing weight, I guess, because he ditches her ass and gains 30 POUNDS over the winter. Also, his Mother-in-law comes over to team up on him telling him that he's a cheap ass and won't buy her a piano, phone, and big house. She even makes fun of his father. This part gets me too:

A witness for the husband testified that he was present at the home when Mr. Cornwall brought home a chicken for dinner. He says Mrs. Cornwall told him to take the chicken and get out or she would throw it into the alley.

This lady was so nuts that, in front of one of his friends, she went out and got a chicken and threatened to destroy it if he didn't eat. Oh, yeah, and they had a kid that was being neglected too. Cornwall drama is spread so thick that Southeast Michigan needed to hear about it. 


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