Helpful Dead Wife

Original article here.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 02, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Crime, Death, Superstition, Marriage, 1900s

Unique Real Estate Negotiations

Original story here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun May 28, 2017 - Comments (0)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, Domestic, Marriage, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Stupid Criminals

Left by wife, becomes caveman

There's two ways to read this. Either this guy really took the break-up hard. Or, after his wife left him, he decided to live exactly as he wanted, and he was the happiest man in the world.

I suspect there's a lot of married men who would revert to a caveman-like existence (perhaps to a less extreme degree) without the influence of their wives.

The Deseret News noted that he was known only as "Darab." But otherwise there's no more info to be found about this mysterious, wifeless hermit.

Philadelphia Daily News - Oct 24, 1996

Posted By: Alex - Tue May 02, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Divorce, Marriage, 1990s

Allergic to wife

1966: After suffering from asthma for 15 years, Sigurd Lindh learned that he was allergic to his wife, Greta. He moved into a cabin 600 yards from their home, and his asthma cleared up.

It's pretty rare for spouses to be allergic to each other (as in, actually having a physical reaction to the other's presence, not just hating each other's guts). But it's doubly rare for a husband to be allergic to a wife. So Lindh was pretty unique. For whatever reason, the overwhelming majority of these spousal allergy cases involve wives allergic to their husbands. See here and here.

Detroit Free Press - June 2, 1966

Akron Beacon Journal - Sep 12, 1966

Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 18, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Health, Marriage, 1960s

Accidental Marriage

The final paragraph of this article sounds like it could be the start of a novel:

The Canonsburg Daily Notes - Aug 30, 1952

Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 16, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Marriage, 1950s

Runaway Groom

Original article here.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 01, 2017 - Comments (0)
Category: Drugs, Marriage, 1950s, Brain Damage

Target Practice

Did she hit her target, or miss?

Grand Prairie Daily News - May 13, 1954

Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 24, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Marriage, 1950s, Couples

Secret to a successful marriage

February 1954: J. Frank Winebrenner, wed 72 years, when asked what the secret to his successful marriage was, replied, "We did little fussin'. We said little. Mostly we just set."

Looks like Frank died in March 1955 and Tressa in 1956. They're still "setting" together, saying little.

Chicago Daily Tribune - Feb 10, 1954

Los Angeles Times - Feb 4, 1954

Posted By: Alex - Fri Feb 24, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Marriage, 1950s

Allergic to her husband

BBC News reports on the case of Johanna Watkins who has a rare disorder (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome) that has caused her to become allergic to a whole bunch of stuff, including the scent of her husband. The allergy only developed after they got married.

At this point, they live in the same house but can no longer get close to each other. Instead they communicate via phone. Their "date night" involves watching a show together: "he will be three floors below me in a room on his laptop and I will be on mine and we'll watch the show at the same time and then text about it as we're watching it."

Scott and Johanna Watkins

This reminds me of the 1949 case of Joyce Holdridge, aka the "Allergic Bride," who broke out in a rash every time she was near her husband. She was the first reported case of a wife who developed an allergy to her husband. (I wrote a fairly long article about her for about.com, but it looks like about.com has since deleted it.)

After the Holdridge case, quite a few women came forward claiming to be allergic to their husband. So allergic wives are definitely a recurring theme in weird news. For whatever reason, cases of husbands who are allergic to their wives are much rarer (although not nonexistent).

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 17, 2017 - Comments (5)
Category: Health, Marriage

Owen Smells and Mary Knows

In its July 5, 1943 issue, Time magazine noted the marriage in Pryor, Montana of Owen Smells and Mary Knows.

The marriage only lasted three years, but in that time they had a daughter, Theresa, who eventually married Joseph Rock Above and became Theresa Smells Rock Above.

Findagrave.com lists a grave for Owen Smells which may or may not be the same Owen that married Mary. I'm not sure. But the dates seem about right.

Helena Independent Record - Oct 1, 1946

Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 08, 2016 - Comments (1)
Category: Odd Names, Marriage, 1940s