On This Date in Minnesota History: May 20

May 20, 1920 – Seven days after he is alleged to have deserted his wife and baby in Duluth, Frank W. Hart, 33 years old, is said to have married a widow in Seattle last August. Today he was arrested in Chicago and tomorrow he will be en route to Duluth to answer the charge of abandoning his 7-months-old daughter.

Hart’s trouble started when the two women who claim to be Mrs. Hart accidentally met last week. They compared notes and took their stories to St. Louis County Attorney Greene, who issued the complaint against Hart.

“Mrs. Hart No. 1” formerly was Miss Matilda Tilseth, 29. She is now employed as a clerk. The other was Mrs. Agnes Lawson, 36, of Seattle. She is visiting a sister in Duluth.

While Hart was in Duluth September 13, 1918, on a furlough from Kelly Field, San Antonio, Tex., he married Miss Tilseth after they had known each other a year. Hart is said to have told her he had a home and a mother in Minneapolis.

Mrs. Lawson, it is claimed, married Hart on August 20, 1919. She was an attractive widow of Seattle and had met Hart while visiting friends in Duluth.

The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; “2 Women Claim Duluth Man, Cause His Arrest as Child Deserter”; May 21, 1920; p. 8.

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