Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 June 1887 — The Circuit Court. [ARTICLE]

The Circuit Court.

Cbas. Summers, of Milroy tp., was tried before a jury, last week, charged with assault and battery upon Mrs. John Wolf, a neighbor. The verdict was a fine of one cent and costs, but the. costs were no joke. The trouble arose over a row about the privilege of picking wild strawberries. The case of Augusta Staehel vs. August Staehel, a suit for divorce* was concluded Tuesday. The defendant filed a prosp-bill, in which the charges of the plaintiff in her complaint, previously noticed in this paper, were met with counter charges of cruelty, extravagance; a habit of going away from homo without her husband’s Knowledge, and of frequenting saloons and other low resorts, drinking beer and whiskey, and divers other unwisely acts. The court decided, very properly that the evidence upon both sides showed that the marriage ought to be dissolved In deciding which party ought to be granted the divorce he took into large consideration the extreme, youth, (only 15 years) of the wife, and her physical unfitness for matrimony, and to her the divorce was granted. She was also allowed an, alimony of $l5O, which included $25 for her attorney’s fees. The parties live in Kankakee township. The big suit for damages for slander from Nubbin Ridge was tried Tuesday afternoon. Jonathan W. Hill wanted $5,000 damages from Ohas. W. Crawford, because the latter had asserted, at various times, that Hill had killed and wantonly injured certain domestic animals, the property oi Crawford. The jury brought in their verdict just before noon yesterday. They found that the words of the defendant Had inflicted an undoubted injury upon tho plaintiff’s reputation, but not ; quite to the extent the latter estimated, and instead of five thousand dollars they gave him one cent. The defendant promptly tendered the amount of the judgment to the plaintiff’s attorney. He did not make any tender of the amount of the costs, however, and it is probable that the witnesses in the case, and the court officers will be considerably older than they now are, before that little ceremony takes ! place. Wednesday forenoon the divorce suit of Hetty Y. Goss vs. Chas. GosS was heard and disposed of, by the granting of the decree. The made no contest and ! the amount of alimony was fixed, by agreement of parties, at SBOO. The plaintiff' resumes her former name, Hetty Y. Sims. The parties are well known and prominent residents of Carpenter township