Walter and Minnie – 2 Peas in a Pod

How is that to catch your attention? The person making the declaration was my great grandmother Mary “Minnie” MacEachern French who was calling out her husband, Walter A. French, for being a bigamist. The irony in all of this is that Minnie was, just a few years later, involved in a sensational court case against a wealthy Bostonian for breach of promise – to wed! Into the Breach-Promises, Promises. The newspaper articles highlighted in this post can be viewed in their entirety below. They are a great read!

Walter’s Tale

  • Walter Abram French was born in January 1877 to Horace and Laura Foster French in Medford, Massachusetts.
  • May 1896, his mother, Laura French, passed away.
  • April 1897, Walter marries Minnie MacEachern. (Hello Minnie)
  • January 1898, Walter has a son (my grandfather), George French, in Boston with Mary “Minnie” MacEachern. Minnie, originally from Nova Scotia, was working as a dressmaker in Boston. Walter was employed as a wagon maker.
  • June 1899 – Birth of Horace French to Walter and Minnie. No additional record of Horace has been discovered, he likely died as an infant.
  • 1899/1900 – Walter abandons Minnie and Walter and moves to New York.
  • 1903 – June – Walter marries Sadie Elizabeth Thayer in New York. They have a son, Walter Cornelius, born in November 1903.
  • 1907 – Walter, Sadie and Walter Jr. move to Hartford, Connecticut. (1907/8 – at some stage they board at home of Dr. Froelich)
  • 1908 – In Hartford, Walter files for bankruptcy with business partner James Tilden (d.b.a. Auto Body and Top Manufacturing Company). Walter claimed that Tilden had assumed all financial responsibilities and he did not respond to additional court inquiries.
  • 1909 – Sadie separates from Walter.
  • April 1910 – Walter is living in Red Bank, New Jersey with his son, Walter Jr. Walter files a $25,000 lawsuit against Dr. Charles Froelich for “alienation of his wife’s affections.” Walter skips town in dark of night without paying his rent.
(click to read)
  • May 1910 – After being requested by the court to clarify the date of his “marriage” to Sadie Thayer and if he was legally divorced from Minnie, Walter drops the case.

The last trace of Walter was a September 1918 WW I draft registration card that lists him living in New York City and working as an oil operator.

What about Sadie? By 1915, Sadie had returned to Brooklyn with her son Walter C. and was running a boarding house with 14 tenants. In 1918, she married Michael Schroeder, an immigrant from Luxembourg and they had a daughter (Dorthy) together. Sadie passed away in 1944.

Notes/Questions:

  • While the article (Declares Red Bank) closes by stating that Sadie and George have a little daughter, all evidence points that it should have stated they had a little son, not a daughter.
  • Did my grandfather, George, ever know he had a half brother?

Comments, corrections and and suggestions appreciated.

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