128 Iowa 476 | Iowa | 1905
Anna Van Auken was bom in December, 1896, in Lyon county. Her mother survived the ordeal of childbirth but a few hours. Her father, E. Van Auken, at once arranged with his sister, the defendant Ella Wieman, and her husband and codefendant, Christ Wieman, who lived a quarter of a mile away, to take the infant child to their home for the time being and care for her. Soon after, the further arrangement was made that the child should remain with the Wiemans, and that the father should pay $50 per year as compensation for her keeping. It is agreed that payments in accordance with the agreement have been made regularly. Without doubt the defendants gave, the child a good home and all proper care. So, too, it cannot be questioned but that'they became and are very much attached to her. As stated, the father lived a quarter of a mile away, and with him his aged parents.. He recognized that the child was better off with her aunt, and so the arrangement continued down until shortly before the commencement of this proceeding, when he remarried. In the meantime the child had been'fully informed as to her parentage, and she frequently visited her father and grandparents. So, also, after the remarriage of her father, she came to his home, and was kindly and affectionately treated by her stepmother. When called upon to surrender the further custody of the child, the defendants refused, and this proceeding was instituted.