The New York Times, March 12, 1910. Had a Wife When He Wed. Barnum Thought His First Wife Already Had the Decree She Now Wins.
Justice McCall, in the Supreme Court, granted a decree of divorce yesterday to Frances Jane Cochran Barnum from Louis S. Barnum. Mrs. Barnum, who was adjudged an incompetent, but is now free on parole, sued through her mother, Anne Cochran.
She testified in her own behalf. She has one daughter, Isabella Walker Barnum, 11 years old.
Barnum married Lydia White at Waterbury, Conn., on May 28, 1906, and has a daughter, Ethel, 3 years old, by his second wife. He said he believed his first wife had procured a divorce already when he married the second time.