Case Summary
Sylvia and Audrey Brewer were allegedly concealing Edna May Smith without the legal right to custody. They were not given custody rights by any court order or judgement. The petitioner, M. E. Smith, was the father of Edna and asserts that he was able to care for her and that he is entitled to legal custody of the child. On 3 September 1914, Judge A. L. Sutton ordered that a writ be issued in favor of Merle E. Smith, directed to Sylvia and Audrey Brewer. The defendants, Sylvia and Audrey Brewer, were the sisters of Prudence A. Smith, who was the mother of Edna M. Smith. On 23 March 1906, “Prudence A. Smith against Merle E. Smith” was filed in Fremont County, Iowa. This petition for divorce between the two parties granted Prudence A. Smith the sole and absolute custody of Edna M. Smith. Following the divorce, Prudence moved to Nebraska to find employment. She lived with her two sisters, both of whom were employed. M. A. Stephenson, one of Edna’s guardians, was a man of high standing whose worth exceeded $50,000. The sisters jointly owned 295 acres of land in Fremont County, Iowa which grossed $1,000/year in income. Merle Smith visited Edna in Nebraska one year after the divorce, but had not seen or contacted the child since that time. Prudence died on 11 July 1914. “In the Matter of the Guardianship of the Person and Property of Edna M. Smith, minor heir of Prudence Smith,” was filed on 15 July 1914 granting guardianship of Edna M. Smith to Sylvia Brewer and M. A. Stephenson. They had been the guardians of Edna since that date. Merle Smith had not contributed to support the child in any way since the divorce. He did not make any effort to contact her until 2 September 1914 when he demanded that Audrey Brewer tell him where Edna was. The defendants were returning home when they were accosted by Frank Smith, brother of Merle E. Smith, Frank called for Merle who arrived with three police officers. Smith demanded the child, but the defendants refused to turn Edna over to Merle. The defendants asserted that they had reason to fear that Frank and Merle intended to kidnap Edna and to harass and disturb the defendants. On 8 September 1914, the cause was dismissed without prejudice.
Case Information
Petition type(s)
Petition subtype(s)
Outcome
Writ dismissed
Fate of bound party
Remained in custody
Case Citation
Douglas County District Court, Criminal Appearance Docket Books, Vol. 17: ca.1914-1915, p. 207; Douglas County District Court, RG230 Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 7: Criminal Case Files, 1897-1920, Roll 60: Doc. 17-255 to 17-388, Aug. 31, 1914 - Oct. 7, 1914, No. 17-207 (microfilm)
Source material(s)
Docket |
Case File
Length of case file
Between 11 and 20 pages
Repository(s)
State
Tag(s)
