This post is the 5th in a series of posts about the life of Elridge Solomon Price, Sr. You can find the other installments here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.
Yes, you read that correctly. I will be covering only one year in this post. That is because a huge thing took place in 1940. Elridge filed for custody of his and Edith's youngest child - a daughter born in Alaska while he was on the run. In 1940, she would have been 4-5 years old. What I find interesting is that she was not the only minor child. They had 2 sons who were 16 and 12 years old in 1940, but Elridge did not pursue custody of them. Only the little girl.
However, before the custody case, another newsworthy event happened to the Prices. In May, Elridge and Edith were living in Ballinger, Runnels County, Texas. On a Sunday night, while they were asleep, a thief came into their home and robbed them. About $2,000 worth of jewelry was taken, among other items. The crime did not make the news until Tuesday.
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| Newspapers.com, San Angelo Evening Standard, San Angelo, Texas, Tuesday, May 07, 1940, Page 8 |
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| Newspapers.com, Standard-Times, San Angelo, Texas, Wednesday, May 08, 1940 |
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| Newspapers.com, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas, Wednesday, May 08, 1940, Page 18. |
It sounds to me like law enforcement was suspicious of the robbery story. I am too since there is no more mention of it after this.
On to the custody case: It all started June 26 when a listing in the newspaper showed that Edith had once again filed for divorce from Elridge, this time in Olathe, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City, which is where they were living at the time. Immediately, Elridge sued for custody of their daughter.
Perhaps the boys were with their father because when Edith left Elridge this time, she and the youngest daughter went and stayed at the home of Miss Lutie Davis, a Kansas city "woman lawyer" as the newspaper called her. There was no mention of any of the other children living with her. Elridge sued for custody saying that Edith was "unfit" to rear the daughter, and he used Edith's friendship with Miss Davis as the reason for this. Meanwhile, the child was eventually taken from Edith and placed in the custody of a probation officer pending the outcome of the case.
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri, Friday, July 12, 1940, Page 11 |
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Times, Kansas City, Missouri, Saturday, July 13, 1940 |
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| Newspapers.com, Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, Missouri, Saturday, July 13, 1940 |
It only gets confusing from here. A witness for the prosecution (Elridge) was brought in to testify about an assault she supposedly received from Miss Davis about 7 months earlier. The following article outlines the testimony. Just remember the names Lutie Davis (woman lawyer) and Miss Elinor Leonhardt (hotel manicurist).
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| Newspapers.com, Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, Missouri, Monday, July 15, 1940 |
So now in addition to the custody case, Miss Davis was arrested on a morals charge and placed in jail pending a $7,500 bond.
To say Elridge went on the offensive in this custody case would be an understatement. In addition to calling Edith "unfit," he also brought an insanity charge against her. She was taken into custody of the Johnson County (Missouri) court pending a hearing on this charge. Even the newspaper called this "the many sided lurid child custody case."
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| Newspapers.com, Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, Missouri, Tuesday, July 16, 1940, Page 3 |
The probate judge hearing the case spent part of July 16th interviewing the Price sons in private.
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Times, Kansas City, Missouri, Thursday, July 18, 1940, Page 8 |
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri, Thursday, July 18, 1940, Page 7 |
A verdict is reached on the insanity charge against Edith on July 23.
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri, Tuesday, July 23, 1940, Page 4 |
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| Newspapers.com, Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, Missouri, Tuesday, July 23, 1940 |
The custody case continues with the Prices' former nursemaid testifying on behalf of the defendant (Edith).
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| Newspapers.com, Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, Missouri, Friday, July 26, 1940, Page 6 |
According to this article, the case has taken another strange turn. Now Eldridge Jr. (age 18) has gotten drawn into the mess and has taken a morals charge out against Miss Davis. She was again held in jail.
And it continues to get stranger...
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| Newspapers.com, Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, Missouri, Sunday, August 04, 1940, Page 2 |
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri, Sunday, August 11, 1940, Page 4 |
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Times, Kansas City, Missouri, Tuesday, August 13, 1940, Page 7 |
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| Newspapers.com, Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, Missouri, Thursday, August 15, 1940, page 9 |
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Times, Kansas City, Missouri, Thursday, August 15, 1940, Page 7 |
I was beyond shocked that they printed the child's photo, name, and her sister's address in the newspaper! This would be unheard of today. I would think that with Elridge's notoriety, protecting the child's privacy and keeping her safe would have been a priority. I am sure he had a lot of enemies that would not think twice about going after his family.
So why did I publish it? Well, Jeamiesean "Jeep" has passed away now, and this all happened over 80 years ago.
Then it was time for tit for tat:
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri, Friday, August 16, 1940, Page 3 |
Feel like you're at a tennis match yet? Neck hurting from turning back and forth from a custody case to perjury cases?
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri, Wednesday, August 28, 1940, Page 15 |
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Times, Kansas City, Missouri, Thursday, September 05, 1940, Page 18 |
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Times, Kansas City, Missouri, Tuesday, September 10, 1940 |
For those of us who are not attorneys, I asked Google Gemini to explain this article in layman's terms. First of all, what is a Writ of Mandamus?
The Legal Maneuver Sequence
The Custody Order: The probate court granted custody of 4-year-old Jeamsiean Edith Price to her older married sister, Mrs. Lorraine Johnson, who then took the child to Texas after posting a return-guarantee bond.
The Blocked Appeal: Mrs. Price wanted to challenge this decision and filed a timely notice of appeal. However, Judge Jones refused to send the case records to the district court, arguing that his custody order was "not appealable" under the law.
The High Court Intervention: Trapped by the judge's refusal to pass along the paperwork, Mrs. Price's attorney (Thomas E. Joyce) bypassed the lower courts and went straight to the state's supreme court.
The Supreme Court Response: The supreme court sided with Mrs. Price's application by issuing the alternative writ of mandamus. This forced Judge Jones to either forward the transcript or explain his refusal in court by the designated answer day of September 25."
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Times, Kansas City, Missouri, Wednesday, September 04, 1940, Page 6 |
Then another bomb drops! While the following doesn't pertain to the child custody case, per se, I do think the timing is questionable.
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| Newspapers.com, Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, Missouri, Monday, September 30, 1940, Page 1 |
In October, the probate court judge finally conceded to the Kansas state supreme court and filed a copy of the transcript of the proceedings with the district court.
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Star, Kansas City Missouri, Tuesday, October 15, 1940, Page 6 |
Finally a little relief for Edith.
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| Newspapers.com, Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, Missouri, Saturday, October 19, 1940, Page 2 |
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri, Saturday, October 26, 1940 |
On November 4... nothing. Elridge was up to something.
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Times, Kansas City, Missouri, Tuesday, November 05, 1940, Page 8 |
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri, Sunday, November 17, 1940, Page 4 |
This is when we have to turn back to the perjury issues:
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| Newspapers.com, Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, Missouri, Friday, November 22, 1940 |
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| Newspapers.com, Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, Missouri, Saturday, November 23, 1940 |
Things begin to snowball at this point.
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| Newspapers.com, Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, Missouri, Wednesday, November 27, 1940, Page 8 |
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Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri, Thursday, December 19, 1940, Page 2 |
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| Newspapers.com, The Kansas City Times, Kansas City, Missouri, Saturday, December 21, 1940 |
At the end of 1940, the Price custody case was still dragging on. Elridge has a warrant for perjury and no one knows where his daughter is. Elridge is about to do what he always does... run. Unfortunately, you will have to wait until the next installment to find out what 1941 brings in this saga.
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