Betts et al. v. Betts

Mises Walker said to him that the property he inteded for his Daughter Maria would be unincumbered and subject to the marital rights of her husband - and that after the marriage had taken place, to wit, in December A.D. 1934 at his own house in Burk County Georgia the said Walker gave to Respondent the said negroes, Jacob, Ann, Dinah, Beek, Louiza and Johmaed with one bay horse and one hundred fellows as the property, to which he was entitled in virtue of his marriage with Complainant as respondent then and now undersands as fully and effectually the property the property of respondent as if he had purchased the same with his own money - That said negroes, horse and money were given by complainants father to respondent freely, voluntarily and unconditionally, that at the time of his intermarriage with complainant he was in good circumstances had a good property to wit, about twenty negroes mostly likely and valuable and were then worth about the sum of six thousand five hundred Dollars, besides real estate worth about the sum of six thousand Dollars all unincumbered he having a sufficient amount then due him in good hands to pay off and satisfy discharge the debts due by him, which property was mainly the product of his own and a former wifes industry and economy - that prior to his intermarriage with complaintant he has prospered in the world had lived comfortably and collected together some wealth as before referred to, and much regrets, that he is under the himiliating necessity of stating or admitting that his marriage with complainant has been atteded with numerous reverses of fortune in the loss of property and absence of that domestic peace and quiet which he had before enjoyed, mainly attributable as he believes to the conduct of complainant. Respondent admits that the girl Bick has given birth to girl Jane, that the horse he received was not worth more than about eighty Dollars. He admits that immediately after the delivery of said property to him they have been applied to the use of complainant and Respondent - Admits that complain ant & Respondant were married in 1834 but not at the then residence of the complainant as eharged but at the place

herein before named when she was on a visit- He further denies that Complainant settled with Respondent in said District in 1837 as charged by her but as herein after named, to wit, from the time of his intermarriage with Complainant in 1834 he never heard anything of any claim by said Complainanat of seperate property until inthe Fall of 1836 and until after the death of Complainants father- Complainant received a letter purporting to be from one of her brothers addressing her as a feme sole and inviting her to come to Burke and informing her that he father had not given Respondent anything, but had given the property which he then had of her part to the dauther of Complainant by Mr. Nelson now the wife of Complainant; assumed next friend and further informing her that the old deed as he then called the same gave to Complainanat the entire control and management of the property, referring to the negroes herein beforre named- that immediately after the receipt of this letter Complainant (against the will and desire of Respondent expressed to her) took the carriage horses and driver of Respondent and started for the County of Burke a distance of about one hundred & fifty miles from the City of Columbus where Respondent there resided at which time she remained absent above five months. That before her return home Respondent had removed and settled in Eufaula in said District, to wit, in January 1837 And Complainant did not return or come to Respondent until the 27th day of March 1837. There was no necessity for the stay or absence of Complainanat, but believes that she remained about solely for the purposes of distressing and harrassing respondent and that he has been informed that she was advised and urged by her more discreet relations and friends to return before she concluded to do so.

He admits that Complainant has resided in the District named since the time last named. Respondent denies leaving Complainant over three years before the filing of said bill with the intention of abandonment- denies that with such intent he hath since remarried and still continues absent as charged- admits that on the fifth day of

March A.D. 1843 Respondent left complainant and his home which he was induced to leave or rather was compelled to leave in consequence of a difficulty with a citizen of Barbour County of a personal nature in which Respondent was charged with assault with an attempt to murder and was threatened with arrest- Respondent was soon afterwards taken ill and confined to his bed during which confinement he was greatly annoyed by calls for money which he could not meet, that he was then greatly embarrassed in his circumstances and believing from the misfortunes he had been the participant of in Barbour and from the evidences which then presented themselves to Respondent that he was unsafe in that County determined that he would not longer remain a citizen of the County unless he was compelled so to do- with these feeling respondent mentioned to Complainant his unenviable situation and informed her of his determination to quit the County and that he could and desired to purchase a very pleasant situation and residence known as the former residence of Genl. Phillips in Harris County, Geo. about 15 miles East of the City of Columbus near to her relations too in Georgia where we could do better than where we then resided and moreover urged our removal because of the sickness of the place where we resided reminded her of the fact that we had lost several of our negroes there, had a sickly family that she and myself had suffered much with the fever almost every summer that we had resided there and further that the afflictions then pressing upon respondent was such as he could not bear much longer and that he believed that the attempt to remain would not only destroy the Estate which they then posessed but would also be the means of shortly putting an end to respondents life-with many such arguments and evidences respondent undertook to pursuade complainant to remove with him to the above named place but to which she in an angry maner refused to go with respondent, said she would not go with respondent where he thought proper to go and further that she

could do much better without respondent than with him, with many abusive eptithets which delicacy forbids restating and which the proper adjudication of this cause as respondent believes does not now require to be made public-

Respondent further answering saith that Complainant in aobut one or two months after his marriage with her had either forgotten or disregarded her marriage vows to love serve and obey scripturally mor than this he never asked, never desired and would not have-instead of conforming to her vows as before referred to within the time named she attempted to usurpe the entire control and management not only of his servants but also of himself and at other times she has abandoned all control and management whatever just as the whim might take her-

Further said that she has since the time last named been undutiful, unkind, disobedient, cross, contrary and a common scold, posessing of an incourigible temper which seemingly she made no effort to control when in company with respondent, or as between her and respondent these admissions he regrets being under the necessity of makeing, but believes that justice to himself to his relations and his friends require that they should be here stated- respondent as before stated being in extreme feeble health and scarce able to ride for the purpose of obtaining some respite from his troubles of evading the prosecutions before referred to, he conscientiously felt that he had done no wrong, with the view of travelling with the hope of restoring his then feeble health and with the hope of manifesting to complainant his disapprobation of her course and of inducing her to reflect upon the impropriety of the same with the hope that under such humiliating circumstances she would pause and allow the force of truth and the light of reason to guide her future conduct, respondent left home at the time stated and went to the residence

of a friend in Chambers County in this State and soon afterwards where by attention and kindness his health being a little improved he visited his native State, Virginia for the purpose of regaining his health in which State he spent the summer and returned to Chambers County, Alabama, and soon afterwards received information that he was likely to be arrested if he remained int hat County from thence he went to the west and remained until informed by a friend that the indictment against him had been stricken from the docket and that he could safely return to Ala. whereupon he did return to this Village. Tuskeege in the spring of 1845 where he now resides and where he has to some extent been honored with the confidence of the citizens - that since respondent has been in Tuskegee he wrote to Complainant that he was about to get a House in this plae and that respondent desired Complainant to come here & live wiht hime, further informing her that he was coming down to see her, which letter she received in complyance with what respondent had written he early in December last went in person to his own house in Barbour County, where he found Complainant, and the other members of his family in good health, where respondent remained for eight days and nights peaceably and quietly, during which time, Complainant and respondent eat, drank and bedded together as husband and wife (as he really thought they were) without objection on the part of either so far as he is informed and believes and during which period he heard no intimation that she desired a divorce from respondent, that his visit to Barbour was not for the purpose of remaining in that County but for the purpse of inducing Complainant to come and live with respondent in this Village, situate about fifty miles from the place where she resides- To this end respondent procured the assistance of some influential and mutual friends of Complainant and himself to aid him convincing her of the propriety of coming