September 15, 1898

Alexander Belleville, the East St Louis man whose many matrimonial experiences were recounted in the papers recently, has made a successful attempt to add another wife to his already lengthy list. Belleville is 57 years old and has had seven wives in 42 years, whose terms of service in his household ranged from three hours to thirteen years.

All of them died “on his hands,” as he put it. Their ages varied from 15 years to 40 at the time of union, and collectively they represented a great many types of womanhood. One Native woman with whom he lived the longest was included in the lot. Belleville’s happiest days were passed with his first wife, who was 15 when he married her.

After trying six others with whom he became acquainted, with the various foibles of femininity that come between childhood and old age. Belleville determined that youth was the thing for him in a wife, and so he courted 15-year-old Josephine Miller. It was “Josie” who accompanied him to the marriage license office at the court-house the other day. “Josie” was anxious to become the eighth Mrs. Belleville. “Josie’s” mother went with the couple.

She gave her consent willingly and there was nothing for the recorder to do but issue the license. “Josie” was in a short dress. She hadn’t enough hair to “do up behind” and so it hung down her back in a braid.

She was just a slip of a girl who would have been taken for old man Belleville’s youngest child had it not been for the presence of his son, about 9 years old. Belleville’s oldest son, who is 21 years old, was also of the party. Belleville laughed and chuckled merrily after getting the legal document permitting him to wed the little girl.

September 15, 1898

You would think this would be the end of the story.. But as I looked at the illustration of this young gal I wondered how she was going to keep up with the cooking, cleaning and child bearing.

Then this happened..