The New York Sun/1897/Took A Widow And Six

Took A Widow And Six.

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Lowe Married Also Into Real Estate And Lawsuits.

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Proceedings for Divorce, Separation, Abandonment, Slander, Assault, Replevin, and to Set Aside Conveyances. A suggestion of Hypnosis Thrown in by Mrs. Lowe.
Adelheid Lowe has an action on before Justice Pryor of the Supreme Court yesterday to set aside a conveyance of a half interest in two houses made by her to Ira Lowe immediately before her marriage to him. She alleges that he exerted a mysterious influence over her and that he failed to keep promises made to her and had misrepresented his financial condition, she had six children living of nine by a former marriage, and his promises were to care for all her children until they reached their majority. Two grown girls testified yesterday that very soon after the marriage of their mother to Lowe he had been making desperate love to them and that he had told them that he did not love their mother, but had married her for their sakes. The Lowe marriage was the work of a schatchen who got $50 for bringing it off. The schatchen, David Michaels, had known Mrs. Lowe for twenty years when when in July, 1894, Lowe went to him and said he was looking around for a wife. Mr. Michaels explained that he knew a woman who had six children. Lowe did not object to the children, and he had not then risen to the business of ladles' tailor, which he now conducts at 2150 Lexington avenue, and was shifting about at odd jobs of tailoring, and it was explained that the woman was well-to-do. Lowe immediately called with a note from the schatchen and as a result he married her on August 31, 1894 and went to live at the house, 2150 Second avenue, which she owned. Here is a part of her cross-examination:

• Q. What is your age? A. I am 44 or 45 years old; but I don't see what that has to do with this.
• Q. Forty-four or 45? I don't know exactly, I am so excited.
• Q. How old is he? A. I don't know.
• Q. Didn't he tell you he was 27 years old? A. number of women, including the eldest daughter of the plaintiff, fairly shouted with laughter.
• Q. Didn't he tell you he was only 27 years old? A. My God! he always wanted money, as young or as old as he was.
• Q. Who introduced Mr. Lowe to you? A. Himself.
• Q. What did he say? A. He said his name was Lowe.
• Q. What did you say? A.- I asked him what he wanted.
• Q. What did he say? A. "I am looking for a widow," is what he said.
• Q. What else? A. Oh, he said. "I want to marry a widow, and you are about the right age."
  

The two elder daughters are Rosie, 19 years old, and Lena, 17. They described their life at home as almost a constant dodging of Lowe when their mother was out and only one of the girls was present. He did not make love while both were present, but the girls, who to prevent trouble, did not tell their mother, used to swap notes about his advances. Before Lowe would marry the plaintiff, he insisted, so he says, that she make an ante-nuptial agreement by which he was to get a half interest in the houses she owned. The houses were 1150 Second avenue, worth $24,000 and 365 Bushwick avenue, Brooklyn, worth $12,000. Immediately before the marriage she executed the deed. She also says she let him have large sums of money, and set him up in the business he now conducts. She paid all the expenses of the wedding and of the trip they made. For months he used to hang around the house pretending that he could not get work. He said that she would become q travelling man in the clothing business, but she did not want such a husband. Her first, George Rothgeiser, who left her the money, was a travelling man, and she had resolved that if she married again, she would have a man who would stay at home. So Lowe stayed at home, as the daughter testified to quit fully, until the separation of the couple in the fall of 1895. But since the separation he has continued to hold the property, claiming that it was given in consideration of the marriage. She said that at the time of marriage, while agreeing to care for her children, until they came of age, he had explained that he had $1,500 in a building loan company, and belonged to a lot of lodges from which his widow would receive benefits. She declared that she never saw any of his money, and that even after she had established him in business, he gave her nothing, but kept getting money from her to pay the eight hands he employed. But even on the representation of his financial condition, which she believed now to be false, she would never have deeded him the property, she says, unless he had exerted some influence over her which she does not understand. It was this influence which induced her also to withdraw money belonging to her children from savings banks to set him up in business and keep the business going at its early stages, and which resulted in some of her children proceeding against her to recover this money. When Lowe wanted to get money from her, the plaintiff testified, he used to say, "you don't want me going around on my uppers, do you?" A multitude of legal proceedings have followed their separation. The daughter Lena, who had called on Lowe after the separation, had him arrested twice on charges of attempted assault, but he was discharged. The mother sued for money loaned and replevened fittings in his shop. She had him arrested several times for abandonment, sued him for slanderous statements made when she brought another action for absolute divorce, which she lost, and she now has another pending against him for separation. Mrs. Lowe testified yesterday that Lowe had "pawned everything she had that could be lifted without a derrick." When asked why she had married him, she said that one reason was because he was "sweet and loving to the children." Objection was made to the testimony of the two daughters about the doings of Lowe on the ground of irrelevancy to the case, but the Judge allowed the evidence to show that Lowe had not kept his agreement to care for the children of the plaintiff. She also testified that after her mother and Lowe returned from their wedding trip of four days she had prepared a repast and had invited friends. When the evening broke up and her mother was in another room, her stepfather began to "act fresh." That night while she was asleep with her two sisters her stepfather came in and kissed her. She cried and her mother came in, but she was afraid to say anything to her mother for fear of trouble. As the result of further importunities on the part of Lowe she left her mother and went to board in a home in which her brother had gone to board in Harlem. Lowe visited her there. Lena said that about three months after the marriage of her mother Lowe bad tried to embrace her. Afterward, while he was in his shop, he asked her for a kiss, but she repulsed him, He persisted and she testified: "I let him, I could not think anything wrong of my stepfather kissing me." He often kissed her afterward. He had afterward made other advances which she told Rosie about. He had shortly before asked Rosie to go to Europe with him, Rosie told her mother of the conduct of her stepfather to Lena, and all hands repaired to court and had him arrested. As the result of the hearing he was discharged. The case went over to today.