Accusation of Adultery in the Wisconsin Territory. 1845
"Public Whore"? [Manuscript]. [Wisconsin]. [Acker, James, Defendant]. [Accusation of Adultery]. Walworth County, Wisconsin Territory, 1845. 12-1/2" x 7-3/4" (31.75 x 19.7 cm) sheet. Moderate toning, two horizontal fold lines, light edgewear. Content in neat hand, docketed on verso. $450. * This original territorial legal document details a slander and defamation suit filed against James Acker by Dyer Read on behalf of William and Lona Smith. The suit stems from a highly public insult, charging that: "The said James Acker falsely and maliciously charged the said Lona Smith, then being the wife of the said William Smith, with being a public whore, and falsely and maliciously stated in the presence of a number of persons that the said Lona Smith was a public whore..." Because the accusation publicly imputed the crime of adultery to Lona Smith, the plaintiffs claimed hefty damages of $1,000 (a significant sum for 1845). The case was brought before Supreme Court Commissioner George Gale (1816-1868). Gale was a prominent figure in early Wisconsin history; he later served in the Wisconsin State Senate, founded the town of Galesville, and established Gale College. The defendant was likely James C. "J.C." Acker (1819-1892), an early Wisconsin pioneer who migrated from New York in 1842 to settle 160 acres in nearby La Fayette Township, where he operated a farm and a stone quarry. While the ultimate disposition of the case remains unknown, the document offers a fascinating, raw look at frontier community standards, women's legal standing, and honor in the Wisconsin Territory just three years before statehood.
Price: $450.00
Book number 71720