Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 85, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 July 1908 — MITES DISAGREED; MARRIAGE IS OFF [ARTICLE]

MITES DISAGREED; MARRIAGE IS OFF

■William Cooper, a Mute from Evansville, and Mrs. Mary Hopkins, Have Falling Out.

There was to have been a marriage of mutes in Rensselaer today, but the principals disagreed on the terms of the marriage and the courtship ended in a row a few hours before the ceremony was to have been performed, and the city marshal had to be called to aid in the settlement of some matters in dispute.

wanted then to take his things away, but Mrs. Hopkins claimed that he should bear the expense of the wedding preparations amounting to 93 anc' he refused. Mrs. Hopkins would not let him have his belongings and he called for the town marshal. Mr. Parks went to the house and finally rranged for a compromise settlement of $2.50. The wrath of each by this time was at fever Mrs. Hopkins got out his picture and threw it at him and he demurred somewhat at giving hers back to her, as it was a picture she had taken several years ago and showed her to be a real good looking young woman. After some fingered controversy, however, he decided to give it up, and taking it from his grip he made a motion as though he would throw it on the floor and then there was a lot of silent wrangling. Cooper took his things and came down town and when seen by a reporter for the Republican he was willing to talk. He said he did not want any bad stories published. He said he did not find things here as repre-‘ sented and said he thought Mrs. Hopkins was only 45 years old. He said he was 71 years old, and that he had two pieces of property at Evansville and had some money in the bank, but that he was not rich. He said Mrs. Hopkins had told friends at Delphi that he was rich. He said he would not marry her because the house she owned did not suit him, and said that when he refused to marry her she "got very mad and cross."

The bride-to-be was Mrs. Mary Hopkins, widow of “Dummy” Hopkins, and who is now 72 years of age. The groom-in-prospect was William Coopei who came here from Evansville, after having had some correspondence with Mrs. Hopkins, and after they had exchanged photographs. It seems that they had been made acquainted by some mutal mute friends at Delphi, who told each about the other and got them into correspondence. They had been acquainted when they were young people and their correspondence soon turned them to the subject of love and marriage and Mrs. Hopkins wrote to him that ■he owned an eight room house and he wrote that he had some property at Evansville, and they decided to hold the wedding. So he came here about a week ago and arranged to room at the home of William Dixey, and boarded with Mi ■. Hr pi ins. E e ything seemed to go on smoothly and plans for the wedding progressed. They arranged for quite a wedding spread, baked cakes and ordered ice cream and Monday Mr. Cooper called at the clerk’s office and inquired the cost of a marriage license. When he was told he bald he would be back again the next day. This morning, however, he decided to work a game on Mrs. Hopkins and he asked her to deed her property to him before the marriage. She refused to do this and he refused to marry her unless she would. They soon became angered and he declared he would not marry her at all. He

He took the 10:56 train for Crawfordsville, where he will visit friends and then he will return to Evansville.

He wag evidently trying to work a sharp gafne on Mrs. Hopkins by getting her to deed him her property, and she did a very wise thing, no doubt, by refusing to do It.