January 20, 1911. Visited a neighbor who said at the time the man was in the Bridewell the woman had some man staying with her....
Visited. Mary ironing; does not go to school; said father has not returned; said father has very often abused mother for many years and mother would not tell any one; also says the man who has been coming to the house bought her mother a comb for Christmas, worth about $1.00, which her father also burned.
February 8, 1911. Mary in office to say her mother was sick; told same story as mother regarding Tony R., says he is a brother of Mrs. Meyer’s brother’s wife. [March 7, 1911. Man given a year in Bridewell. August 25, Mrs. Meyer gave birth to a boy. Mary working in the Mary Crane Nursery at $3.00 a week.]
October 21, 1911. Miss C. ’phones to advise office about Mary. Says that many small articles have been disappearing since Mary arrived. Finally they deliberately put temptation in her way by leaving money in the nursery room, which disappeared within a half hour and nobody but Mary had entered the room. Mary steadfastly denies everything, and they feel absolutely baffled by the mother; they had found her to be untruthful several times which has complicated matters since she has been working at the nursery.... Later visited and told mother.... She cried and said that Mary did not bring anything home, and said she had warned her before she started to work that she was not to touch anything; said she never brought home any candy or anything which would lead her to suspect her of wrong doing. Mother went to work; Mary stayed home.
February 8, 1912, woman in office; said man had come home the day before at noon ... and the children let him in. When she came home he knelt before her and kissed her hands and begged her to allow him to remain. Because he humbled himself to kneel before her she weakened and told him if he worked he could stay....
March 14, 1912, Mary in office first thing in the morning to say that her father tore good overcoat into strips last night and burned it in the stove; that early this morning when they were all asleep in the house, he tore the curtains down and cut them, cut some of woman’s clothing into strips, poured kerosene over feather beds, slashed the leather seats of the four dining-room chairs and did other damage of this sort. [Threatened to buy pistol and kill Mrs. Meyer.] ... Mrs. Meyer frightened and nervous and broken-hearted over the loss.... [Later Mary ’phones that her father has come home and is sitting quietly in the kitchen.] Visited. Mr. Meyer announced that he had nothing to say for himself except that “the woman got the best of it and had everything her way.” He stated that he knew the patrol was coming for him that day and wished to “fix” things for his wife, that he “had not done much but had done something.” His attitude in the matter was one of spite and the attitude of his wife toward him unusually fine. Despite all that had happened she was rather gentle and almost pathetic in her statement of the case....
March 15, 1912, case tried in court. Man had no excuse to give and did not attempt to defend himself before Judge other than to make the statement that “there was a God in Heaven.” Was given $100 costs; sent to House of Correction....
May 3, 1912. Took Mary to Dr. Healy ... he could find nothing wrong with the child.... While she is slow she is normal.... He finds no evidence of kleptomania; he fears that too much temptation was put in the child’s way. [Found new rooms for the family so that man might not find them when released.]
December 12, 1912, a neighbor ’phones, saying Mr. Meyer home, and as Mrs. Meyer wanted to put him out again he beat her unmercifully [with a poker].
December 24, 1912, woman says man was arrested....