Below is a copy of the divorce papers for Frederick (Fritz) August Hain and Caroline Hain. I found the reading of this funny but, sad.
State of Missouri, In the Circuit Court,
ss,
County of Gasconade, To January Term, 1908,
Fritz Hain, Plaintiff
-VS-
Caroline Hain, Defendant
Plaintiff states that on the 16th day of December, 1896, at the County of Gasconade, in the State of Missouri, he was lawfully married to the defendant; that plaintiff continued to live with defendant as her husband from and after the date of said marriage until the 25th day of March, 1901, after which he on the 13th day of July, 1901, instituted suit against her in the Circuit Court of Gasconade County, Missouri, for divorde on account of various acts of indignities hereinafter complained of; that upon defendant's promise to reform and not again be guilty of the acts complained of, plaintiff was thereby induced to become reconciled and at the August Term, 1901, of said Circuit Court, dismissed his said suit for divorce, and again resumed marital relations with defendants which continued until on the ____ day of ____ 1907.
Plaintiff states that during all the time while cohabiting with defendant as her lawfully wedded husband, he at all times faithfully demeaned himself, and at all times treated defendant with kindness and with affection, but the said defendant wholly disregarding her duties to plaintiff as his wife, has offered such indignities to plaintiff as to render his condition intolerable, in this, that defendant prior to said 25th day of March, 1901, and many times during each and every year since September, 1901, frequently for weeks, and sometimes months has refused to cook and wash for plaintiff, demanding that he pay defendant $2.00 a week, or surrender unto her one-half of his soldier's pension, and compelling then plaintiff to do his own cooking and washing, or getting such work done by others; that several times since September, 1901, upon resuming martial relations after the dismissal of the aforesaid suit for divorce, when plaintiff on account of his poor physical condition, was confined to bed, defendant would refuse to nurse him, and would then go off and leave him, and be off for weeks and even months, and would tell plaintiff when leaving him that she would only stay with him in case he got no better and could not regain health; that defendant during each and every year since the year 1900, has abused plaintiff as a daily occurrence by calling him all sorts of vile and vulgar names, and repeatadly has carried on such abuse to such degree and extent as to torment plaintiff during whole days and nights, accompanying such abuse during nights repeatedly with such disturbance and noise as to alarm neighbors and cause them to call and inquire; that defendant would fequently taunt plaintiff with the false accusation that plaintiff's children by former marriage were bred of negroes and were the offspring of negroes; that prior to March 25, 1901, defendant against the wishes of plaintiff associated with one Elisha Llotd, and kept company with said Lloyd during unusaul hours, and with said Lloyd sought to lead her own daughter from the paths of virtue; that since the dismissal of the former divorce suit in August, 1901, defendant on frequent occasions has boasted to plaintiff to his great humiliation concerning her association with said Lloyd, and in regard to her living in St. Louis with a man named Frederick (inserted her is a name that I cannot make out) too whom she never had been married.
Plaintiff states that the acts of conduct and misconduct alleged as aforesaid continued during each and every year since the dismissal of the former divorce suit until present year, and that further on the 25th day of February, 1907, when while plaintiff was sick and disable, defendant secretly and fraudulently during the night abstracted plaintiff's pocket book with $395.00 cash money contained in the same, which was the accumulation of plaintiff's savings; that after so secretly and fraudulently abstracting such pocket book with said cash money, defendant on the day following her said act of misconduct absconded from the home of plaintiff and remained away for weeks; that later on while plaintiff was confined to his bed most of the time suffering with dropsy, defendant without cause left plaintiff again, asserting that she would only stay with plaintiff if he paid her for staying, or in case she saw that plaintiff could not regain health anymore, and while plaintiff was then so down with dropsy, went away for several weeks, and that plaintiff then was necessitated to call on his children by a former marriage to come and nurse him; that after being away several weeks defendant on or about the ____ day of August, 1907, returned to the home of the plaintiff, and upon finding plaintiff's children then admintering to the wants of the plaintiff, abused such children and drove them away and at time used language unfit to be set forth herein, and at the same time boasted about her taking and abstracting the aforesaid cash money of plaintiff, and further boasting that she had a right to take away everything that plaintiff including the pants he was wearing, and refused and still refuses to return to aforesaid cash money so ao aforesaid secretly and frauduledly abstracted by her from plaintiff; whereupon and bt virtue of the premises, plaintiff refused and refuses to futher cohabit with defendant.
Plaintiff states that by reason of the premises and facts alleged aforesaid, he has been greatly humiliated and injured in the mind and body, and that hiss condition in married life with the defendant is no longer tolerable.
Plaintiff further states that he is a resident of the County of Gasconade, and has resided within the State of Missouri, for one whole year next before the filling of this petition.
The premises considered, plaintiff prays to be divorced from the bonds of matrimony contracted between him and the defendant as aforesaid, and that he be restored to all the rights of a single person; and that the court render such further orders and decrees touching the premises as shall be just and proper.
Fritz Hain (He signed it and had amazingly great handwriting)
Plaintiff
