SELFISH INTENTIONS - K-REx - Kansas State University
SELFISH INTENTIONS - K-REx - Kansas State University
SELFISH INTENTIONS - K-REx - Kansas State University
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The judge granted Mrs. Holzgang the divorce on March 20, 1895 along with a decree that<br />
declared her the owner of all property in her name and further, that she was clear of all right,<br />
title, interest or claim of the defendant on this property. 94 In the judge’s statement, he granted<br />
the divorce because Mr. Holtzgang had abandoned his family for eight years. The duty of the<br />
husband was to provide for the family and Mr. Holtzgang was no longer providing for his family.<br />
One suspects, however, that the finding of guilt on the part of her husband was of less interest to<br />
Bertha Holtzgang than the title to their <strong>Kansas</strong> property.<br />
In 1897, Bertha Holtzgang remarried and eventually sold the Pioneer Drug Store and<br />
moved to <strong>Kansas</strong> City. 95 Even though she did not remain in Clay Center, Mrs. Bertha Holtzgang<br />
Johnston was well known and respected for her business ability, fairness, and integrity. Mrs.<br />
Holtzgang Johnston’s life was a testament to women of the day for their resilient nature and<br />
ability to rise above the gender roles of the time by owning a business. When her husband<br />
abandoned her, Mrs. Holtzgang used the legal system to her advantage to keep her property and<br />
support her daughter.<br />
Both of these Clay Center women had unusual property interests to protect, but in other<br />
respects, their situation was typical. Marriage and divorce statistical data from the Bureau of the<br />
Census within the Department of Commerce and Labor established that abandonment was the<br />
primary reason for divorce in <strong>Kansas</strong> in 1897. In 1897, <strong>Kansas</strong> reported a total of 1226 divorce<br />
petitions. Of these 1226 petitions, 492 or 40% listed abandonment as the reason for the<br />
divorce. 96 What the statistics cannot indicate is the reason for abandonment. In both Clay<br />
Center cases, neither husband responded to the divorce petition, and one must assume that both<br />
94 Ibid.<br />
95 Clay Center Register of Marriages, 175.<br />
96 Carol Wright, A Report on Marriage and Divorce in the United <strong>State</strong>s, 1867-1906, Parts I-II.<br />
(Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1908-1909), 23.<br />
36