Case Summary

The Donohue family petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus to retrieve a boy named Bernard Seward from the custody of the Noonan and Seward families, which was granted. Bernard Seward was apparently the nephew of Agnes Donohue and Kittie Noonan. When Bernard had come to Lincoln to see Kittie Noonan and her family, they had kept him there, not returning him to the Donohues in Chicago. After hearing the evidence, the writ was denied and Bernard was remanded to the custody of the Noonan and Seward families. This was apparently because the judge decided that Lincoln was a better place to raise the boy than Chicago. Bernard was also the heir to a farm in Butler county, Nebraska. Almost two years later, the Donohue family successfully challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the earlier proceedings. The outcome of this challenge and the fate of Bernard are unknown. However, 1930 census records show Bernard living with the Donohues in Omaha.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

• Interpersonal

Petition subtype(s)

• Child custody

Outcome

Unknown

Fate of bound party

Unknown

Case Citation

RG207 Lancaster County Subgroup 9: Series 3 Appearance Docket L, p. 271; RG207 Lancaster County Subgroup 9: Series 4 Daily Journal #74: Feb. 1918-Jan 1919, p. 459

Source material(s)

Docket | Journal

Related petitions

• State of Nebraska ex rel Richard Seward by Kittie F. Noonan, his next friend, etc. vs. Agnes Donohue, et al.

Repository(s)

• History Nebraska (Lincoln, Nebraska)

State

• Nebraska

Tag(s)

• Children

People

• Seward, Bernard (bound party)
• Donohue, Agnes (petitioner)
• Donohue, Frank (petitioner)
• Noonan, Kittie F. (respondent)
• Noonan, Kittie F. (responding party)
• Noonan, Kittie F. (holding party)
• Noonan, Fannie (respondent)
• Noonan, Fannie (responding party)
• Noonan, Fannie (holding party)
• Noonan, Marie (respondent)
• Noonan, Marie (responding party)
• Noonan, Marie (holding party)
• Shepherd, Frederick (judge)
• Coufal, Edward A. (petitioner attorney)
• Ledwith, John J. (Ledwich) (petitioner attorney)
• Jones, Orville L. (petitioner attorney)
• Anheuser, Frederick W. (petitioner attorney)
• Adams, George A. (respondent attorney)
• Jeary, Clark (respondent attorney)

• Additional parties

  Miller, Ira (sheriff)

  Hughart, Charles A. (deputy sheriff)

  Donohue, Francis J. [Son of Frank and Agnes Donohue]