LAWYER A COUNTERFEITER
Says He Made Spurious Coin to Support His Sick Wife.
Indianapolis, Ind. – William B. Schwartz, a member of the Indianapolis bar, was arrested by Federal officers on charge of counterfeiting.
Schwartz confessed to the officers and surrendered the things he used in making the spurious coins. His law practice, he said, did not yield a sufficient income for the support of his sick wife.
“Lawyer A Counterfeiter,” The Abbeville Press and Banner (Abbeville, South Carolina), 20 June 1906, p. 2, col. 2; digital image, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 4 April 2014).
Genealogy Lady 
I wonder if there is any record of how the news of his arrest for counterfeiting was received in his circle of professional colleagues. It must have been a real shocker.
Hmm.
I have a hard time wrapping my head around this man. Was he a good man who was dealt bad cards in the poker game of life or was he really a jerk?
Exactly. Hard to say from the article.
And then you think back about the incident where he stabbed the other lawyer with a knife. And how many women were locked up in the insane asylum who weren’t really crazy? I don’t really have any documentation from her side of the story. Eventually I want to get the court documents from when she was judged insane.
It’s kind of scary and I usually think where there’s smoke there’s fire. Did you ever read “The Yellow Wallpaper”?
I might have. I might have to read it again!
I’ve been wondering what would happen to his wife had the divorce gone through? Would she become a ward of the state and release W.B. from financial responsibility for her care? Is that part of his reason for seeking the divorce?
I don’t know which is a perplexing issue for me. Would her siblings bear the burden of her care or would she have become a ward of the state? She outlived W. B. by a few years so I don’t know what happened then. There also does seem to be some issues with her possible dower rights. She was not sane enough to sign documents where her signature was required. Also I think her father was wealthy enough that she may have inherited a share of his estate. So many questions!
Such an interesting situation. I hope you get some more answers.
You mean they had dishonest lawyers in those days? 😉