Bio: Wilbur, Carl (18 March 1943)

Contact: Crystal Wendt
Email:  crystal@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Wilbur, Crosby

----Sources: The Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark County, Wis.) 18 March 1943

WILBUR TROUBLES END IN CIRCUIT COURT HERE

Marital Difficulties Which Stirred Humbird Are Echoed in Divorce

When Judge Crosby granted a divorce Tuesday to Harriet Wilbur, formerly of the town of Mentor, he made no provision for Carl Wilbur, the defendant, to see little Anne Jean, 5. Anne Jean was there in court, sitting by her mother even when her mother took the witness stand. Around her head was a bandage, mute evidence of a mastoid operation, for Anne Jean has had a tough time of it since last October 30, when the Wilbur matrimonial bark went finally upon the rocks. This little lady was not quite old enough to know what it was all about, when the Judge said that Carl Wilbur, town of Mentor farmer, took no interest in her.

The divorce to Harriet Wilbur marked the climax in a situation which has created a furor in the Humbird neighborhood, and which, a little more than a year ago, occasioned a hearing on the sanity of Carl Wilbur, held in the town hall in Humbird, with 15 witnesses having their say about his behavior and attitude. The conclusion of that hearing was that Mr. Wilbur was found sane, that being the opinion of the doctors. But much of the testimony was to the effect that Mr. Wilbur, following the first departure of his wife, in November, 1941, had acted like a man beside himself, creating fear in the minds of at least some of his neighbors.

Mrs. Wilbur, testifying in Circuit Court Tuesday, told about what led up to her departure in November, 1941; said that Carl Wilbur had threatened her and had actually choked her. After an absence of some time, she went back and tried it again, but by spells, she said, her husband talked violently to her, and finally choked her again on October 30, 1942. She then left for keeps, taking Anne Jean with her.

Judge Crosby, acting promptly upon the petition for divorce, inquired Mrs. Wilbur about the experience of Carl Wilbur as to his health; brought out of the fact that Carl had been a soldier in World War One, had been hospitalized at least once since. The Judge spoke of his personal acquaintance with the situation, and referred to the fact that Carl Wilbur, as a young man, was liked and respected in the town of Mentor. The Judge inquired whether he had been gassed or shell shocked in the war, but Mrs. Wilbur thought not.

The Judge brought out the fact that some of the neighbors are afraid of Carl Wilbur, and James Briggs, constable and only other witness, considered that his was so, but he admitted, in response to the questions of the Judge, that he thought he could take care of himself. He looked as though he could, for James Briggs is no pigmy.

Since her departure form the Wilbur farm, just west of Humbird, Mrs. Wilbur has secured domestic work in Minnesota. The court found that the Wilbur property, real and personal, was worth $2,500, with only a little against it. He directed that Mr. Wilbur pay the cost of child’s recent illness, nearly $250; that he turn over to Mrs. Wilbur $600; that he pay $10 per month toward the care of Anne Jean.