Brazeau John Kienlen
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Week 13 Theme: In the Papers
Generation 7
My Great Great Uncle
Rigsby, Kienlen
Brazeau John Kienlen, who went by the name
John B. Kienlen, was my Great Great Uncle. He was born
John B. Kienlen, was my Great Great Uncle. He was born
in St. Louis on 19 February 1866 to Alexander J. Kienlen and Julia Brazeau. It's strange to think about how long ago he was born because my dad knew him. He told me he was a real estate agent, and he lived in a fancy apartment in the
Central West End.
That's all I really knew about him until I began searching newspapers for my maiden surname, Kienlen.
I came across an interesting tale of John and his on-again/off-again wife, Mamie. I think it's best to let the
newspapers tell the long but entertaining tale.
1911 Transcription of newspaper article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch 8 Jun 1911:
Married When Lonesome, Seeks Second Divorce. Fourth Husband, Who Was Also Third, Has Left Mrs. Kienlen;
She Asks Freedom.
Mrs. Mamie Kienlen, who has been married four times, twice to the same man, and has filed three suits for divorce, is not worried over the fact that her third and fourth husband, John B. Kienlen, has filed a cross bill. "When I married him the first time I told him I didn't love him." She said to a Post-Dispatch reporter Thursday. "I was lonesome and wanted company." While suing her third and fourth husband for divorce Mrs. Kienlen cherishes the memory of her first husband who died 22 years ago. "There is no use to bring his name into this." She said. "He was a good man. My second husband was Gustave Salzman. He died eight years ago."
Met at Dog Show.
"I met Kienlen at a dog show, where I was exhibiting my kennel of white poodles. I was real lonesome then. My second husband had been dead eight months. Kienlen seemed to be a nice man and he told me he was a real estate dealer, with lots of money. He courted me two months, and we were married in June, 1908. If my husband had any money I never saw it. Apparently, he had no business, and I gave him from $7 to $9 a week spending money. In February, 1910, I got a divorce, on grounds of non-support and incompatibility. I got awfully lonesome, and when he came around to plead with me to take him back I consented and we were married a second time in June 1910." The Kienlens resumed housekeeping at 7426 Flora avenue, in Maplewood,
where Mrs. Kienlen now lives.
Quarreled About Money.
"But it wasn't a go," she said. "We quarreled about money all the time. Without telling my husband anything about it, I filed suit for divorce March 15 last. We continued to live together and Kienlen didn't find out about the suit until May 20. He came home furious and made me go to Clayton with him at night and withdraw the suit. That was Friday. The next Sunday we quarreled about money again, and I told him I was going to file another suit for divorce. He said he wouldn't mind that if I would give him $200. I compromised by giving him a $5 bill. He shoved it in his pocket, put on his hat and walked out. I haven't seen him since. I'll admit that I've been lonesome since he went away, but I am going to fight for divorce." In his cross-bill Kienlen alleges that Mrs. Daisy Price influenced his wife to obtain her first divorce, and that Mrs. May Keller is aiding her in her present action. "There is nothing to that at all. I hate to be lonesome, and when I haven't got a husband I employ women housekeepers, but they have never influenced me," said Mrs. Kienlen. "I own property which requires my attention, and I can't always look after the house as I should." Mrs. Kienlen is 47 years old and her husband is 43.
1911 Transcription of article regarding divorce,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 16 Jun 1911:
Says man Met at Dog Show Led Her a Dog's Life. Mrs. Mamie Kienlen, Twice Married to John, Asks Third Time for Divorce. Mrs. Mamie Kienlen of 7426 Flora avenue, Maplewood, who has been married twice to John Kienlen, divorced once and reconciled twice, took the stand in Judge Wurdeman's court at Clayton Friday to tell, in her third suit for divorce against him, her experiences with him. One of her suits was dismissed May 20, after one of her reconciliations with him, but she filed another seven days later and this one is on trial. Before going on the stand she summarized her troubles by saying: "I met him at the dog show and he certainly led me a dog's life." She told the Judge she met Kienlen at the dog show in May, 1908, and they were married June 20 that year. He told her he was a real estate man with an income of 475 a month, but after they were married he never worked. She gave him $3000, she said, and owned the clothes he was wearing in the courtroom. She obtained a divorce from him in February 1909. He called on her June 30, 1910, fell on his knees and wept and tore his hair, and she took pity on his loneliness, she said, and married him again. March 15, this year, she sued again. May 20 he came to the house and created a disturbance and, at his demand, she went to Clayton and withdrew the suit. She filed another one May 27.
1912 Transcription of article about marriage, Raleigh Times (Raleigh, North Carolina) 15 Aug 1912: "Twice Divorced
from Each Other Wed Again"
St. Louis, Aug. 14 - Secretly married recently to his wife who has twice divorced him, John Kienlen is apparently happy with his three time bride at her home 7426 Flora avenue, Maplewood. When the couple were first married, Kienlen was her third husband. She divorced him on the grounds of non-support, made him her fourth husband, divorced him again on the same grounds, and now he is her fifth husband. Mrs. Mamie Kienlen's first husband's name she refuses to divulge. Her second was Gustave Salzman, who died in 1903. After her second divorce from Kienlen thirteen months ago, she said she had married not because she loved him but because she was so lonesome. The last marriage did not become known until yesterday because the license was not entered immediately on the public record at St. Charles. At first it was denied that such a license was issued, but later it was admitted that the couple had gone to the home of Assistant County Clerk Duebbert in St. Charles and the license was issued. Justice Bruns married the couple. Since her second divorce June 27, 1911, Mrs. Kienlen had lived alone in her Maplewood home. She is 48 years old and Kienlen is 42.
1912 Transcription of article about divorce, New Orleans Item (New Orleans, Louisiana) 19 Dec 1912:
"Mrs. Kienlen Finds Hubby a Luxury."
St. Louis, Mo.: Dec. 28- Mrs. Mamie Kienlen this afternoon filed suit for divorce against John B. Kienlen. She married him June 1908. Since then she has been divorced from and married to him again three times. "I tried to starve him to death," Mrs. Kienlen said to-night, "but he still hangs around. He has cost me $4000. Every time I get a divorce from him, he comes around on his knees and begs me to take him back. Never again!" After the fool and his money are definitely separated, he can't even get a third-rate lawyer to pay any attention to him. - Chicago News.
1913 Transcription of article regarding divorce, St. Louis Star and Times 11 May 1913:
Fourth Divorce Suit of Woman is one of 53 in County Court. Mrs. Mamie Kienlen Breaks in on
Largest Docket in Clayton's History.
The largest divorce docket in the history of St. Louis county is scheduled for the present term of court. Twenty-eight cases are on the docket in Judge McElhinney's division of the Circuit Court for Monday and Tuesday. Twenty-five more cased are docketed in Judge Wurdeman's division for May 26 and 27. Among the list of petitions to be heard Monday is one of Mrs. Mamie Kienlen of Maplewood, who is suing John Kienlen for the fourth time and whose suit represents ten changes of mind, as shown on the court records. First Suit in 1909: The court records begin with February 9, 1909, when she brought her first known suit. Soon after that she changed her mind and had the suit dismissed. She brought a new suit June 14 and a divorce was granted February 12, 1910. She had her maiden name of Salzman restored. In less than a year she married again. Another suit for divorce was filed March 15, 1911. She decided to dismiss it May 20 but a week later called at the Court House to have the suit reinstated. June 2 of the same year she again bore the name of Salzman.
Once More She Weds.
Grass widowhood did not seem so desirable after it had been attained and when John Kienlen appeared in the role of a suitor once more she succumbed to his entreaties and consented to become Mrs. Kienlen again July 7, 1912. For two whole months she lived with Kienlen. Finally, in September, life with him became intolerable again and she left home to file the present suit. She asks that her maiden name be restored. She charges her husband was cruel and was guilty of non-support. He used intoxicating liquor, she also alleges.
1913 Transcription of article regarding divorce,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 13 May 1913:
Awaits Ruling in 5th Divorce Suit Against One Man. Mrs. Kienlen Wed 6 Times, Twice Widowed, 3 Times Divorced, Dropped 2 Suits. Court Hopes For a Rest.
Judge Takes Evidence Under Advisement
After Conflicting Testimony is Given.
Mrs. Kienlen's Many Marriages: 1. Mrs. Mamie Ortman first became a widow 23 years ago. Husband left her a large property. 2. Second husband, named Hoffman, divorced by her after her fortune had been lessened by $20,000. He stayed divorced. 3. Third husband, Salzman, died nine years ago. 4. Married Kienlen, June 1, 1908. Sued for divorce in February, 1909. Withdrew this suit, filed second suit in July. Obtained first divorce from Kienlen Feb. 12, 1910. 5. Married Kienlen again June 30, 1910. Sued for divorce March 15, 1911, withdrew suit May 20, filed another May 27, and got second divorce from Kienlen June 26, 1911. 6. Married Kienlen for third time July 15 last. Sued him for fifth time Dec. 28 and case was taken under advisement by Judge McElhinney May 12. Judge McElhinney will within a few days announce a decision in the fifth divorce suit filed by Mrs. Mamie Kienlen of Maplewood, who has been married six times, against her fourth, fifth, and sixth husband, John B. Kienlen. This takes some study, but it all works out. She was twice widowed and once divorced before marrying Kienlen, and she has divorced him twice, each time filing one suit, withdrawing it and then filing another. In her most recent proceeding against him, she did not relent in this manner. The Court's hesitancy in granting the divorce is said to be due to the fact that no way is known to keep the Kienlens from marrying again. Divorce and remarriage seem to have become a habit with them and the Court has enough regular business to attend to, without being cluttered up with the Kienlen case continually. In the hearing of the latest suit Monday afternoon the husband and wife wrangled in court over the amount of beer they had respectively drunk before their latest marriage at St. Charles. Mrs. Kienlen said she must have been drugged. "I treated my wife as a baby," said Kienlen, "and she treated me like a dog." She has previously said that they first met at a dog show, and that he led her a dog's life. Kienlen acted as his own lawyer, much to the amusement of the spectators and the discomfiture of the Judge. He kept putting himself on the witness stand so frequently as to give the whole
proceeding a kangaroo-court aspect.
[Photo of Mamie Kienlen] Woman Who is Seeking Third Divorce from Same Husband. This is the Maplewood woman whose many marriages and divorces have kept the County courts busy. Her latest husband whom she has already divorced twice is acting as his own attorney in the third divorce action she has instituted against him.
1913 Transcription of article regarding divorce, St. Louis Star and Times 26 May 1913:
Divorces Her Husband for Third Time.
Mrs. Mamie Kienlen, whose divorces and marriages to John Kienlen cover a good many pages of the records of the St. Louis County Court at Clayton, received her third divorce from Kienlen Monday in Judge John W. McElhinney's court. Judge McElhinney had the case under advisement ten days trying to see if there was not some way to prevent the couple from marrying a fourth time if a divorce was granted. He said there was nothing to prevent remarriage and Maplewood neighbors again expect to see Kienlen paying court to his former wife. Since June 1, 1908, when the couple were first married, they have lived together twenty months. Two of the divorce actions were dismissed after suit was brought. Both were renewed by Mrs. Kienlen. With the divorce Judge McElhinney restored the wife's maiden name of Salzman. In her suit for divorce the wife charged her husband with being indolent. She said she had to support him out of funds she inherited from her first husband. She was married twice before she met Kienlen. Her first and second husbands died.
1913 Transcription of article regarding divorce, St. Louis Post-Dispatch 26 May 1913:
Mrs. Kienlen Divorces Same Man Third Time. Judge, Giving Right to Maiden Name, Advises Her to
Try Single Life for a Time.
A divorce was granted to Mrs. Mamie Kienlen, 7426 Flora avenue, Maplewood, Monday from John B. Kienlen. The right to resume her maiden name, Miss Mamie Solzman, was granted. This is the third divorce she has obtained from Kienlen, and prior to him she had three other husbands, he told the court. Judge McElhinney of the Circuit Court, who had the case under advisement three weeks, advised Miss Solzman to try single life for a couple of weeks any way. The couple married June 1, 1908, and separated Dec. 5. Mrs. Kienlen sued for divorce Feb. 9, 1909, charging "cruel and barbarous treatment," but dismissed the suit May 26, 1909. Two weeks later she filed another suit, and Feb. 12, 1910, obtained a divorce. They were married the second time June 30, 1910. On June 2, 1911, Mrs. Kienlen got a divorce, alleging nonsupport. They were remarried July 17, 1912, and separated Dec. 24 last. Mrs. Kienlen testified that during all their married life her husband had given to her only 26 cents, She said she bought his clothes, which Kienlen indignantly denied.
1913 Transcription of article regarding divorce,
St. Louis Star and Times 1 Jun 1913:
Man Divorced for Third Time Asks for a New Trial:
John B. Kienlen, whose wife, Mamie Kienlen, was granted a divorce by Judge John w. McElhinney in the Circuit Court at Clayton, May 26, filed a motion for a new trial Saturday. Mrs. Kienlen had field four suits for divorce against Kienlen, and won three of them. Kienlen's petition says he was forced to trial without a lawyer, the Court failing to continue the case so his attorney could represent him at the trial, and he alleges his wife did not show in the testimony given that she was the innocent and injured person. Mrs. Kienlen was granted restoration of her former name, Salzman.
1918 Transcription of article about divorce,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 20 Jan 1918:
Woman's Fifth Divorce Suit Scheduled for Early Hearing. Mrs. Mamie Kienlen Again Charges Nonsupport and Indignities - Denial by Husband.
The fifth divorce suit of Mrs. Mamie Kienlen, formerly of 7426 Flora avenue, Maplewood, against her husband, John B. Kienlen, will be tried at Hillsboro, Mo., Jan. 31. The couple was thrice married and as many times divorced, Mrs. Kienlen in each case obtaining the decree. A fourth suit was filed by her, but was dismissed and a reconciliation was effected. Here is their marriage and divorce record: Married June 1, 1908; separated Jan. 15, 1909; divorced Feb. 12, 1910. Married June 30, 1910; separated Feb. 10, 1911; divorced June 26, 1911. Married July 17, 1912; separated Dec. 24, 1912; divorced May 26, 1913. Married Feb. 9, 1916; separated June 17, 1916; suit pending for divorce. Mrs. Kienlen's invariable complaint against her husband is that he does not work and subjects her to general indignities commonly practiced by the idle. Kienlen denies the charges. He told a Post-Dispatch reporter that he is 49 years old and his wife is more than 60. He said he nursed her through an illness previous to their last marriage and as a reward for his devotion, he declared she proposed marriage to him on his birthday. "In a moment of weakness" on his part induced by a too lively celebration of his birthday.
I came across an interesting tale of John and his on-again/off-again wife, Mamie. I think it's best to let the
newspapers tell the long but entertaining tale.
1911 Transcription of newspaper article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch 8 Jun 1911:
Married When Lonesome, Seeks Second Divorce. Fourth Husband, Who Was Also Third, Has Left Mrs. Kienlen;
She Asks Freedom.
Mrs. Mamie Kienlen, who has been married four times, twice to the same man, and has filed three suits for divorce, is not worried over the fact that her third and fourth husband, John B. Kienlen, has filed a cross bill. "When I married him the first time I told him I didn't love him." She said to a Post-Dispatch reporter Thursday. "I was lonesome and wanted company." While suing her third and fourth husband for divorce Mrs. Kienlen cherishes the memory of her first husband who died 22 years ago. "There is no use to bring his name into this." She said. "He was a good man. My second husband was Gustave Salzman. He died eight years ago."
Met at Dog Show.
"I met Kienlen at a dog show, where I was exhibiting my kennel of white poodles. I was real lonesome then. My second husband had been dead eight months. Kienlen seemed to be a nice man and he told me he was a real estate dealer, with lots of money. He courted me two months, and we were married in June, 1908. If my husband had any money I never saw it. Apparently, he had no business, and I gave him from $7 to $9 a week spending money. In February, 1910, I got a divorce, on grounds of non-support and incompatibility. I got awfully lonesome, and when he came around to plead with me to take him back I consented and we were married a second time in June 1910." The Kienlens resumed housekeeping at 7426 Flora avenue, in Maplewood,
where Mrs. Kienlen now lives.
Quarreled About Money.
"But it wasn't a go," she said. "We quarreled about money all the time. Without telling my husband anything about it, I filed suit for divorce March 15 last. We continued to live together and Kienlen didn't find out about the suit until May 20. He came home furious and made me go to Clayton with him at night and withdraw the suit. That was Friday. The next Sunday we quarreled about money again, and I told him I was going to file another suit for divorce. He said he wouldn't mind that if I would give him $200. I compromised by giving him a $5 bill. He shoved it in his pocket, put on his hat and walked out. I haven't seen him since. I'll admit that I've been lonesome since he went away, but I am going to fight for divorce." In his cross-bill Kienlen alleges that Mrs. Daisy Price influenced his wife to obtain her first divorce, and that Mrs. May Keller is aiding her in her present action. "There is nothing to that at all. I hate to be lonesome, and when I haven't got a husband I employ women housekeepers, but they have never influenced me," said Mrs. Kienlen. "I own property which requires my attention, and I can't always look after the house as I should." Mrs. Kienlen is 47 years old and her husband is 43.
1911 Transcription of article regarding divorce,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 16 Jun 1911:
Says man Met at Dog Show Led Her a Dog's Life. Mrs. Mamie Kienlen, Twice Married to John, Asks Third Time for Divorce. Mrs. Mamie Kienlen of 7426 Flora avenue, Maplewood, who has been married twice to John Kienlen, divorced once and reconciled twice, took the stand in Judge Wurdeman's court at Clayton Friday to tell, in her third suit for divorce against him, her experiences with him. One of her suits was dismissed May 20, after one of her reconciliations with him, but she filed another seven days later and this one is on trial. Before going on the stand she summarized her troubles by saying: "I met him at the dog show and he certainly led me a dog's life." She told the Judge she met Kienlen at the dog show in May, 1908, and they were married June 20 that year. He told her he was a real estate man with an income of 475 a month, but after they were married he never worked. She gave him $3000, she said, and owned the clothes he was wearing in the courtroom. She obtained a divorce from him in February 1909. He called on her June 30, 1910, fell on his knees and wept and tore his hair, and she took pity on his loneliness, she said, and married him again. March 15, this year, she sued again. May 20 he came to the house and created a disturbance and, at his demand, she went to Clayton and withdrew the suit. She filed another one May 27.
1912 Transcription of article about marriage, Raleigh Times (Raleigh, North Carolina) 15 Aug 1912: "Twice Divorced
from Each Other Wed Again"
St. Louis, Aug. 14 - Secretly married recently to his wife who has twice divorced him, John Kienlen is apparently happy with his three time bride at her home 7426 Flora avenue, Maplewood. When the couple were first married, Kienlen was her third husband. She divorced him on the grounds of non-support, made him her fourth husband, divorced him again on the same grounds, and now he is her fifth husband. Mrs. Mamie Kienlen's first husband's name she refuses to divulge. Her second was Gustave Salzman, who died in 1903. After her second divorce from Kienlen thirteen months ago, she said she had married not because she loved him but because she was so lonesome. The last marriage did not become known until yesterday because the license was not entered immediately on the public record at St. Charles. At first it was denied that such a license was issued, but later it was admitted that the couple had gone to the home of Assistant County Clerk Duebbert in St. Charles and the license was issued. Justice Bruns married the couple. Since her second divorce June 27, 1911, Mrs. Kienlen had lived alone in her Maplewood home. She is 48 years old and Kienlen is 42.
1912 Transcription of article about divorce, New Orleans Item (New Orleans, Louisiana) 19 Dec 1912:
"Mrs. Kienlen Finds Hubby a Luxury."
St. Louis, Mo.: Dec. 28- Mrs. Mamie Kienlen this afternoon filed suit for divorce against John B. Kienlen. She married him June 1908. Since then she has been divorced from and married to him again three times. "I tried to starve him to death," Mrs. Kienlen said to-night, "but he still hangs around. He has cost me $4000. Every time I get a divorce from him, he comes around on his knees and begs me to take him back. Never again!" After the fool and his money are definitely separated, he can't even get a third-rate lawyer to pay any attention to him. - Chicago News.
1913 Transcription of article regarding divorce, St. Louis Star and Times 11 May 1913:
Fourth Divorce Suit of Woman is one of 53 in County Court. Mrs. Mamie Kienlen Breaks in on
Largest Docket in Clayton's History.
The largest divorce docket in the history of St. Louis county is scheduled for the present term of court. Twenty-eight cases are on the docket in Judge McElhinney's division of the Circuit Court for Monday and Tuesday. Twenty-five more cased are docketed in Judge Wurdeman's division for May 26 and 27. Among the list of petitions to be heard Monday is one of Mrs. Mamie Kienlen of Maplewood, who is suing John Kienlen for the fourth time and whose suit represents ten changes of mind, as shown on the court records. First Suit in 1909: The court records begin with February 9, 1909, when she brought her first known suit. Soon after that she changed her mind and had the suit dismissed. She brought a new suit June 14 and a divorce was granted February 12, 1910. She had her maiden name of Salzman restored. In less than a year she married again. Another suit for divorce was filed March 15, 1911. She decided to dismiss it May 20 but a week later called at the Court House to have the suit reinstated. June 2 of the same year she again bore the name of Salzman.
Once More She Weds.
Grass widowhood did not seem so desirable after it had been attained and when John Kienlen appeared in the role of a suitor once more she succumbed to his entreaties and consented to become Mrs. Kienlen again July 7, 1912. For two whole months she lived with Kienlen. Finally, in September, life with him became intolerable again and she left home to file the present suit. She asks that her maiden name be restored. She charges her husband was cruel and was guilty of non-support. He used intoxicating liquor, she also alleges.
1913 Transcription of article regarding divorce,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 13 May 1913:
Awaits Ruling in 5th Divorce Suit Against One Man. Mrs. Kienlen Wed 6 Times, Twice Widowed, 3 Times Divorced, Dropped 2 Suits. Court Hopes For a Rest.
Judge Takes Evidence Under Advisement
After Conflicting Testimony is Given.
Mrs. Kienlen's Many Marriages: 1. Mrs. Mamie Ortman first became a widow 23 years ago. Husband left her a large property. 2. Second husband, named Hoffman, divorced by her after her fortune had been lessened by $20,000. He stayed divorced. 3. Third husband, Salzman, died nine years ago. 4. Married Kienlen, June 1, 1908. Sued for divorce in February, 1909. Withdrew this suit, filed second suit in July. Obtained first divorce from Kienlen Feb. 12, 1910. 5. Married Kienlen again June 30, 1910. Sued for divorce March 15, 1911, withdrew suit May 20, filed another May 27, and got second divorce from Kienlen June 26, 1911. 6. Married Kienlen for third time July 15 last. Sued him for fifth time Dec. 28 and case was taken under advisement by Judge McElhinney May 12. Judge McElhinney will within a few days announce a decision in the fifth divorce suit filed by Mrs. Mamie Kienlen of Maplewood, who has been married six times, against her fourth, fifth, and sixth husband, John B. Kienlen. This takes some study, but it all works out. She was twice widowed and once divorced before marrying Kienlen, and she has divorced him twice, each time filing one suit, withdrawing it and then filing another. In her most recent proceeding against him, she did not relent in this manner. The Court's hesitancy in granting the divorce is said to be due to the fact that no way is known to keep the Kienlens from marrying again. Divorce and remarriage seem to have become a habit with them and the Court has enough regular business to attend to, without being cluttered up with the Kienlen case continually. In the hearing of the latest suit Monday afternoon the husband and wife wrangled in court over the amount of beer they had respectively drunk before their latest marriage at St. Charles. Mrs. Kienlen said she must have been drugged. "I treated my wife as a baby," said Kienlen, "and she treated me like a dog." She has previously said that they first met at a dog show, and that he led her a dog's life. Kienlen acted as his own lawyer, much to the amusement of the spectators and the discomfiture of the Judge. He kept putting himself on the witness stand so frequently as to give the whole
proceeding a kangaroo-court aspect.
[Photo of Mamie Kienlen] Woman Who is Seeking Third Divorce from Same Husband. This is the Maplewood woman whose many marriages and divorces have kept the County courts busy. Her latest husband whom she has already divorced twice is acting as his own attorney in the third divorce action she has instituted against him.
1913 Transcription of article regarding divorce, St. Louis Star and Times 26 May 1913:
Divorces Her Husband for Third Time.
Mrs. Mamie Kienlen, whose divorces and marriages to John Kienlen cover a good many pages of the records of the St. Louis County Court at Clayton, received her third divorce from Kienlen Monday in Judge John W. McElhinney's court. Judge McElhinney had the case under advisement ten days trying to see if there was not some way to prevent the couple from marrying a fourth time if a divorce was granted. He said there was nothing to prevent remarriage and Maplewood neighbors again expect to see Kienlen paying court to his former wife. Since June 1, 1908, when the couple were first married, they have lived together twenty months. Two of the divorce actions were dismissed after suit was brought. Both were renewed by Mrs. Kienlen. With the divorce Judge McElhinney restored the wife's maiden name of Salzman. In her suit for divorce the wife charged her husband with being indolent. She said she had to support him out of funds she inherited from her first husband. She was married twice before she met Kienlen. Her first and second husbands died.
1913 Transcription of article regarding divorce, St. Louis Post-Dispatch 26 May 1913:
Mrs. Kienlen Divorces Same Man Third Time. Judge, Giving Right to Maiden Name, Advises Her to
Try Single Life for a Time.
A divorce was granted to Mrs. Mamie Kienlen, 7426 Flora avenue, Maplewood, Monday from John B. Kienlen. The right to resume her maiden name, Miss Mamie Solzman, was granted. This is the third divorce she has obtained from Kienlen, and prior to him she had three other husbands, he told the court. Judge McElhinney of the Circuit Court, who had the case under advisement three weeks, advised Miss Solzman to try single life for a couple of weeks any way. The couple married June 1, 1908, and separated Dec. 5. Mrs. Kienlen sued for divorce Feb. 9, 1909, charging "cruel and barbarous treatment," but dismissed the suit May 26, 1909. Two weeks later she filed another suit, and Feb. 12, 1910, obtained a divorce. They were married the second time June 30, 1910. On June 2, 1911, Mrs. Kienlen got a divorce, alleging nonsupport. They were remarried July 17, 1912, and separated Dec. 24 last. Mrs. Kienlen testified that during all their married life her husband had given to her only 26 cents, She said she bought his clothes, which Kienlen indignantly denied.
1913 Transcription of article regarding divorce,
St. Louis Star and Times 1 Jun 1913:
Man Divorced for Third Time Asks for a New Trial:
John B. Kienlen, whose wife, Mamie Kienlen, was granted a divorce by Judge John w. McElhinney in the Circuit Court at Clayton, May 26, filed a motion for a new trial Saturday. Mrs. Kienlen had field four suits for divorce against Kienlen, and won three of them. Kienlen's petition says he was forced to trial without a lawyer, the Court failing to continue the case so his attorney could represent him at the trial, and he alleges his wife did not show in the testimony given that she was the innocent and injured person. Mrs. Kienlen was granted restoration of her former name, Salzman.
1918 Transcription of article about divorce,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 20 Jan 1918:
Woman's Fifth Divorce Suit Scheduled for Early Hearing. Mrs. Mamie Kienlen Again Charges Nonsupport and Indignities - Denial by Husband.
The fifth divorce suit of Mrs. Mamie Kienlen, formerly of 7426 Flora avenue, Maplewood, against her husband, John B. Kienlen, will be tried at Hillsboro, Mo., Jan. 31. The couple was thrice married and as many times divorced, Mrs. Kienlen in each case obtaining the decree. A fourth suit was filed by her, but was dismissed and a reconciliation was effected. Here is their marriage and divorce record: Married June 1, 1908; separated Jan. 15, 1909; divorced Feb. 12, 1910. Married June 30, 1910; separated Feb. 10, 1911; divorced June 26, 1911. Married July 17, 1912; separated Dec. 24, 1912; divorced May 26, 1913. Married Feb. 9, 1916; separated June 17, 1916; suit pending for divorce. Mrs. Kienlen's invariable complaint against her husband is that he does not work and subjects her to general indignities commonly practiced by the idle. Kienlen denies the charges. He told a Post-Dispatch reporter that he is 49 years old and his wife is more than 60. He said he nursed her through an illness previous to their last marriage and as a reward for his devotion, he declared she proposed marriage to him on his birthday. "In a moment of weakness" on his part induced by a too lively celebration of his birthday.
Wow! Great story.
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