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My first and only husband was Daniel M. Fay. I was living in Pierpont, Ashtabula Co. Ohio when we were married Sept. 17, 1848. We lived together until about 1870, when he went away with another woman. |
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My husband enlisted in the army, but I cannot tell the day nor year. I think he enlisted in 1862, but I am not sure. I never had his certificate of discharge, but I saw it when he came home out of the service. I know that he served in Co. I 17 Ia. Inft., but I do not know that he served in any other organization. He came home once; had his hand injured so that his two middle fingers were bent over touching the center of the hand. I do not know how they came to be that way. He was a man you could not depend on; you could not rely on what he said. He was at home about a year then went back into the service, and I think he went back into the same organization. |
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My maiden name was Ford and we were married by Elder Dodge of the Free Will Baptist Church at my father's home at Pierpont. I found [?] that marriage by my brother, Ambrose Ford, and by Emily Follett. The latter is dead, but my brother lives some where in Florida or did when I last knew about him. I do not know his post-office address, and am not sure he is living. |
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At the time I applied for a pension I supposed my husband was dead, but I learned through the Pension Office that he was still living and a pensioner, so I dropped the matter. |
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I show you my bible in which there is a record of my marriage. The bible was published in Chicago, Ills, at 142 La Salle st. by J. S. Goodman +so. That record was copied from another bible which is not now in existence that I know of. It was coming to pieces and I gave it away to a German who was trying to learn to read English. |
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The record shows that "Daniel Merit Fay was born July 2, 1825, and was married Sept. 17, 1848, to Amanda Cornelia Ford who was born Dec. 20, 1825." Mr. Fay had not been previously married. Immediately after our marriage we moved to Linesville, Pa. where we lived about 2 years. My first child was born there in February. The child's name was Ambrose E. Fay. He did live at Great Falls, Mont. but I think he is now in Seattle, Washington or near there -- I do not know his address. After living about 2 years at Linesville, Pa., we came to Elkader, Clayton Co, Ia where we lived, in and around, a good many years. He was of a roving disposition, but we were generally around near Elkader, then moved to Minnesota. I cannot remember when we moved there, but my granddaughter with whom I am living says I moved there when she was four years old and she is now 26. Chatfield was our nearest post-office there. My husband did not go to Minnesota with me. We parted at Elkader about 1870. Delmar A. Fay, our youngest child, was born in 1868, and he was about 2 years old when his father left home. As to the cause of the separation, I can hardly tell. One cause was drunkenness, another cause was women. He did not provide for his family and I had to work to support the family. He would go away and be gone a week or two at a time. I told him I would not and could not put up with it. He would return home and promise to do better and we would live together again. I had a stroke of paralysis four years ago, and it affected my head so I cannot remember things as well as before that. |
I wish to tell the truth in this matter, but do not like to talk against my husband because he was the father of my children, but he was a bad man, and while at Elkader the officer of the law got after him and he went to Cedar Rapids, Ia. There he became acquainted with Mrs. Hattie Bennett. Prior to that time he and I had been in Cedar Rapids on a visit to Franklin Bennett, who had married my sister. Franklin Bennett was a brother of Lewis Bennett who married Harriet L. Smith, in other words Hattie Bennett. While myself and husband were in Cedar Rapids, I was taken sick and we were there sometime, and it was during this time that my husband became acquainted with this Hattie, who is
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now an applicant for pension. Afterwards when the law officer got after him and he went to Cedar Rapids, he got pretty thick with Hattie Bennett and her husband coming home one time found them in bed together. Bennett and Fay had a fight, and afterwards a law suit and Fay was sent to the penitentiary of Anamosa, Ia. for a year. Bennett and his wife separated and Bennett went back to Ohio and died there. He never was divorced from her to my knowledge. Mrs. Bennett went to Animosa and hung around there until Fay got out of prison, then they went away together -- I did not know where they went for a long time but I heard that they were living in Clinton, Ia., then in Davenport, Ia. I do not believe they were ever married. I knew Hattie Smith, afterwards Hattie Bennett, in Ohio, at Richmond. She and Bennett were married there. His folks were much opposed to the marriage because she did not have a very good reputation prior to her marriage. |
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There was never any divorce between myself and Daniel M. Fay. I was persuaded to apply for a divorce, and did make such application at Elkader, but it never went any further. It never went through court, and I never received any decree of divorce. I made an application through Rialto E. Price, a lawyer at Elkader. He lives there yet. I did not prosecute the divorce for the reason that I thought I had gotten rid of him any way. I did not think he would bother me any more, and I did not have any money to spend in the matter, and I did not want to marry again, so I just dropped the matter. |
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I do not think he ever applied for a divorce. I never received any notice of such proceeding nr [? two words uncertain]. I cannot say whether my husband and this woman ever lived in Missouri. I heard of their living in Clinton and Davenport, but do not know what years they lived there. After we separated I lived near Chatfield in Fillmore Co and Dexter Waseca Co and Spring Valley Fillmore co, Minn. I came from Dexter to this place last September. |
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I cannot tell where my husband was after he left Davenport. I think he lived awhile in Vinton. Ia. soon after he got out of prison. He was a carpenter and cooper by trade, but did not work much at his trade nor at anything else. He spent his money for drink.
Elder Dodge who married us lived in New Lyme, Ashtabula Co, Ohio. He preached there and also at our town. I cannot say whether he kept a record of marriages. |
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The above is correct except that I never heard of my husband living in Clinton, Ia. I meant that he lived in Vinton, not Clinton. |
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I hand you herewith some testimony that was secured in my claim before I found out that my husband was not dead. Where I found he was living I dropped the matter and did not file this testimony. |
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I have no property or income from any source. |
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The word "to my knowledge" underlined before signing.
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