In February of 1898, Mrs. Ina Cooks of Detroit, Michigan, came to Wahpeton. Her purpose was to establish the 90-day residency required for divorce in North Dakota. She rented rooms and lived quietly until the court proceedings in June.
Judge W.S. Lauder of Wahpeton presided. The pioneer law firm of McCumber & Bogart represented Mr. Cooks, while W.E. Purcell represented Mrs. Cooks. Mr. Cooks was not present; his testimony was given by deposition before a notary public in New York City.
The couple had separated after quarreling at the home of Mrs. Cooks’ parents, where they were living. Mr. Cooks denied Mrs. Cooks’ charges that he willfully deserted her and refused to provide for her. He said he had been asked to leave by his wife, who rejected his repeated offers to return. He declared he had been ready and willing to provide for Ina. They apparently did not yet have their own home.
Judge Lauder ordered a decree of divorce for William Cooks and dismissed Ina Cooks’ action, saying she had abandoned Mr. Cooks and had no cause for action. “It is further ordered and decreed by the court,” Judge Lauder said, “that the defendant, Mr. Cooks, be granted an absolute divorce against the plaintiff.”
On this date in 1931, thirty-three years later, newspapers reported that Mrs. Cooks was seeking to set aside the divorce granted to her late former husband. He had evidently died a wealthy man in New York City. Mrs. Cooks believed she was entitled to part of the $12,000,000 estate he left to charity, public institutions, and other relatives.
Mrs. Cooks wrote to Mr. McCumber, now a U.S. Senator living in Washington, hoping to annul the divorce. McCumber contacted Forbes & Forbes, his law firm’s successors in Wahpeton. According to Joseph Forbes, Judge Lauder’s 1898 order left no apparent legal loophole for Ina C. Cooks to pursue. “I really don’t see where that can be changed,” Forbes said.
Dakota Datebook written by Lise Erdrich
Source:
Richland County Gazette, April 21, 1931
