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Application of Alice Bigelow for a Writ of Habeas Corpus on Behalf of Edith and Edna Bigelow, her Daughters

March 22, 1899

Petitioned on March 22, 1899

Filed before the Douglas County District Court (Omaha, Nebraska)

Case ID: hc.case.ne.0962

Case Summary

Alice Bigelow's twin daughters Edith and Edna were placed in the Home of the Good Shepherd under two conditions: 1) they would only be there for six months and she could remove them whenever she wanted, and 2)they would not be taught the Catholic religion. Alice's daughters were there for one year and three months and she was only allowed to see them through bars under the supervision of a woman referred to as "Mother Superior." They were also taught Catholic practices which Alice believed affected them mentally and physically. She refers to them as being "regular prisoners in fact." On March 22, 1899, Alice petitioned to get her children back and was granted custody on that same day.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

  • Institutional

Petition subtype(s)

  • Child custody

Sites of significance

Outcome

Writ allowed

Fate of bound party

Released from custody

State

  • Nebraska

Tag(s)

  • Children

People

Source Materials

To acquire the complete case file, contact the repository via email and provide the case citation to request a print copy or digital scan of the original file. Reproduction service fees vary by repository. Tribal members, descendants of enslaved petitioners, and community constituents without professional or academic affiliation may contact Katrina Jagodinsky for assistance in securing case file scans.

Repository(s)

Case citation

RG230 Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 4: Criminal Appearance Docket Books, 1855-1900, Vol. 4: Pages 1-401, Nov. 25, 1898 - Aug. 2, 1899, p. 122 (microfilm); RG230 Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 7: Criminal Case Files, 1897-1920, Box 9: Doc. 4-24 to 4-137, 1898-99, No. 4-122

If you are teaching, publishing, or presenting from this work, please cite this page.

Type of source(s)

Case File | Docket

Length of case file

Between 11 and 20 pages

Cite this page

If you are teaching, publishing, or presenting from this work, please cite this page as:

Katrina Jagodinsky, Cory Young, Andrew Varsanyi, Laura Weakly, Karin Dalziel, William Dewey, Erin Chambers, Greg Tunink. “Application of Alice Bigelow for a Writ of Habeas Corpus on Behalf of Edith and Edna Bigelow, her Daughters.” Petitioning for Freedom: Habeas Corpus in the American West, 1812-1924, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Accessed April 4, 2025. https://petitioningforfreedom.unl.edu/cases/item/hc.case.ne.0962

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