The divine intervention: Davidson County divorce case had surprise ending in 1904
Nov. 25—DAVIDSON COUNTY — If you don't believe the Lord moves in mysterious ways, you might want to consider what happened in a Davidson County divorce case more than a century ago.
The year was 1904, and the case in question — which was reported in several area newspapers — was handled by G.S. Bradshaw, a prominent, well-respected Greensboro attorney. Here's what happened:
Bradshaw's client, a Davidson County man, had gotten married in October 1903. We're not told the man's name, age, occupation or any other identifying details, which may be just as well. We don't know anything about the woman's identity, either.
What we do know is that this couple's unholy matrimony was apparently more of a marital abyss than marital bliss. By March of 1904 — that's less than six months, for those of you scoring at home — the grumpy groom was in court seeking a divorce.
We're not told the man's grounds for divorce, but with that short a marriage, it's safe to say he and his bride weren't exactly a match made in heaven. Which means they were probably a match made in — well, you get the idea.
A court date was set, and Bradshaw told his client to be prompt so as not to irritate the judge. The man was to be accompanied by another fellow who was described in newspaper articles as "his star witness."
Well, the client and his "squire," as the witness was also referred to, showed up on time, but the nervous client was in no condition to face a judge. Newspapers reported he'd had several drinks of "the ardent" — an old-timey word for liquor — and apparently was drunk as a skunk in a blue funk.
Bradshaw sent the man home and told him to sober up in time for court the next morning.
Didn't work. The next morning, the client showed up again "loaded for bear," the newspapers reported, and the agitated attorney warned his client about the danger of appearing before a judge in an intoxicated condition.
"For heaven's sake," Bradshaw told his client's friend, "take this man to his room and lock him up until tomorrow morning and get him sober, and bring him back tomorrow morning."
Still didn't work. The next morning, the client showed up drunk again, "so full he could scarcely bat his eyes," one newspaper reported. The attorney was said to be "fully disgusted," and by now he was probably getting a pretty good idea of what went wrong with his client's marriage.
So one last time, Bradshaw advised his client to sober up and come back the following week. This time, though, the client did not return to court, instead mailing a letter to his attorney. Here's the text of the letter, which we share with you verbatim — misspellings and all:
"Dear Sir: I drop you these few lines to let you know that I am very poorly and threatened with newmonia. I taken deep cold while in Greensboro last week. I drop you these few lines to tell you that I won't be there Thursday. That woman was buried yesterday. She died from newmonia. Tell the Jedge God has done the work and I won't trouble the Court any further. This is better than Court divorce and don't cost so much. She won't pull my hair any more. Bein' as she's gone in this way, you can send me back what money you think you have not yearned. Yrs, happily."
Newspapers got a kick out of the story, and their headlines reflected it:
"Fatality A Blessing."
"The Wife Died At A Convenient Season."
And our personal favorite: "The Lord Gave Him A Divorce."
Assuming God did, indeed, have something to do with it, we're not sure who he did the bigger favor — the client, his poor wife, or the exasperated attorney.
And what of Bradshaw? Did he actually refund any money, as his client so audaciously requested?
We don't know. But confidentially, in this case, we think the attorney more than earned whatever he was paid.
jtomlin@hpenews.com — 336-888-3579
