Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 72, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 February 1909 — DOMESTIC INFELICITY. [ARTICLE]

DOMESTIC INFELICITY.

The climax of a double tragedy in which two families have been ruined, was .reached Monday when Pete Greiser caused his alleged faithless wife and her paramour to be dragged into court and show why he should not be given the custody of their two children, Arelia and Kenneth Greiser, aged 6 and 2 years, respectively. Mrs. Greiser with the two children are now in custody of Sheriff Shirer, pending the trial, which will be held today. In his petition for the custody qU the children Greiser states that were married in October, 1902, and lived together until Jan. 1, 1909, w T hen his wife left him and went to live w/ith Chas. Witham, who was divorced from his wife in the White circuit court last fall? and since the time she left him to live with Witham the two children have been confined in the home of Ebenezer Mabb, an old soldier who lives north of the railroad, and his wife refused to let him see them. He accuses her of being immoral, of cursing and swearing at the children and at times she has threatened to kill them. Wtiham came here a year or two ago. and secured employment as a millwright with Babcock & Hopkins where Pete Greiser was at the time employed. He was taken in at Greiser’s as a boarder and became infatuated with Mrs. Greiser, who it is alleged soon began to suffer from imaginqf-y ailments which came on only at night while Pete was at work in the elevator and her boarders say that she would call Witham from his sleep to nurse her. Gradually Witham drifted away from his wife in Monticello until she, having heard of his attachment to Mrs. Greiser, applied for a divorce in the White circuit court, which were granted and the custody of the two younger children given her, the older ones going with their x father. Witham now made his home permanently with the Greisers, and when they moved to Hammond in November he accompanied them. On their return here Pete was thrown out of employment and his wife is alleged to have deserted him for good and all. If he is given custody of the children they will live with his parents in the east part of town.