Eva Leihy v Thomas Frances Leihy

Thomas Leihy and Eva Wren were married on 3 April 1907 at St Joseph’s Cathedral, Dunedin. Eva was the daughter of James and Rose Wren. James Wren had established in 1896 the Dunedin firm of James Wren and Company Limited, paint, wallpaper and glass merchants and manufacturers. Eva and Thomas had one child, Patricia Constance Leihy who was born on 6 September 1915.

On 26 May 1927, Eva petitioned for the dissolution of her marriage on the grounds of desertion by her husband Thomas. In her Petition, she states that from March 1922 her husband had deserted her and that for the last three years, from 1924, had continued to desert her and hadn’t maintained her. Thomas had left her to live in Melbourne, Australia, in 1924. She also petitioned for custody of Patricia, costs of the divorce proceedings and any other relief. The Decree Absolute was made on the 21 December 1927.

There are approximately 100 letters, dating from 1917 to 1927, as exhibits in this Divorce file. They were used to document the amount of money paid by Thomas in maintenance. The letters also document Eva and Thomas’ personal and business relationship as well as Thomas’ relationship with his daughter Patricia.

Most of the letters are from Thomas to Eva, but there are some to Patricia and to Chris and Percy Wren, her brothers. They document the breakdown of the relationship between him and Eva, but primarily illustrate his attempts to re-establish himself in business in Melbourne.

Thomas was an Indent Agent, based in Auckland, and he worked for a period as the Manager of Van Dugteren and Sons, manufacturer’s agents and indenters, based in Auckland. Thomas appears, by 1927, to be working in Melbourne as a commercial traveller. Thomas also had agencies for several products including Q-Tol, the well known brand of skin lotion as well as agencies for wallpaper and fabrics.

Eva worked for James Wren and Sons Ltd, probably as an interior designer. She was also a partner in Thomas’s importing business. A number of the letters document her personal and working life and her efforts to establish herself in business.

Eva does not appear to have remarried; she died in 1960. She was living in Melbourne, Australia, when she died. We have her probate file [Archives Reference: DAAC/9076/D239/672 - 830/60].

Their daughter Patricia had been married to John Bell and was divorced in 1948 [Archives Reference: DAAC 20681 D140/465 – 2262/1947 Bell, Patricia Constance v Bell, John Percy, 1947-1948].

Patricia was remarried in 1953 to John Gerald Hayden, a Professor of Medicine, from Melbourne. Professor Hayden died in 1960.