Opal (Miller) Mayhew's Illegal Operation

     ©  Kathy Duncan, 2022

Opal (Miller) Mayhew was the daughter of Alfred E. Miller and Mary Ellen Brown. She was also the granddaughter of John DeLoss Brown. Opal died on 20 April 1913 in Springfield, Illinois. The direct cause of death was septicemia, following an abortion. However, there were several contributing factors in her death: an inability to access birth control because it was illegal, a controlling mother-in-law who threatened to kick Opal and her husband out if she continued with her pregnancy, and a husband so tied to his mother's apron strings that he was willing to force Opal to have an abortion - to the extent that he was willing to chloroform her himself during the operation.

Prior to the illegal operation, Opal had gone to visit her mother Mary Ellen (Brown) Miller Walker. During that visit, Opal confided that she was pregnant and that her mother-in-law was pressuring her to abort, but Opal did not want to. The mother-in-law was holding their residence in the household over their heads, threatening to throw out Opal and Harry and their little son William A. Mayhew. Opal related that they had saved up money to move out and had even acquired a few pieces of furniture. Her mother urged her not to have the operation. However, the mother-in-law was also insisting that they could not move out. 

On the evening of Friday, 11 April 1913, Opal Mayhew underwent an abortion. Whether she was pressured into it or forced into it is unknown. Her husband anesthetized her, probably with chloroform, while the operation was performed by Dr. J. O. Salyers. It would come out at trial that Slayers had performed two previous abortions on her and had told her after the second one that she should not have any more because she would not survive. Opal became ill soon after the "operation." By Tuesday, 15 April, she was unconscious. No one in the household - her husband, her mother-in-law, her father-in-law, or Dr. Salyers sought additional medical care for her - because then they would have to reveal what had happened. By Thursday, 18 April 1913, she was even more ill - she had not regained consciousness and would not. Still, no additional medical care was summoned for her. However, her mother was finally notified that she was ill. A doctor was finally summoned on Friday. One imagines that Opal's mother may have insisted on a doctor being called. However, Opal died on Saturday, 20 April 1913. 

Harry and his parents planned to hold a funeral for Opal from their residence on Tuesday, 22 April 1913. No doubt they were hoping that once she was buried, her cause of death would be hidden.

Note that Opal's funeral notice appeared in the newspaper on Monday, 21 April 1913. In the meantime, Opal's brothers and mother, suspecting that she had been the victim of an illegal operation, had gone to the coroner's to demand an inquest. By the evening of 21 April, Harry Mayhew and Dr. J.O. Salyers were in the coroner's office providing their statements as to the events that caused Opal's death. Their initial statements were actually confessions with each man dramatically threatening to kill himself. They were questioned through the night, and the story was published in the newspapers on Tuesday, 22 April 1913, the day that was to be Opal's funeral. The coroner ordered that the funeral be postponed so that an autopsy could be performed.

The autopsy was performed, and by Wednesday, 23 April 1913, the coroner determined that Opal died as the result of an illegal operation.

Opal's funeral was finally held on Thursday, 24 April 1913, from a funeral home in Springfield. It was reported in the newspaper after the fact to prevent curiosity seekers from attending. 

Opal was buried in the Mayhew family plot in Oak Ridge Cemetery. Her name may have been added to the marker for her father-in-law and his first two wives. It's interesting to note that her mother-in-law Emma Mayhew seems to be buried in an unmarked grave.

The day after the funeral, Opal's mother, Mary Ellen (Brown) Miller Walker, testified before the coroner's inquisition.

The case went to the grand jury, resulting in indictments for murder against Dr. J.O. Salyers and Harry Mayhew. After a series of delays, the case finally went to trial almost a year later in late March 1914. In the midst of those delays, Harry Mayhew married Bertha C. Sears on 4 December 1913 in La Porte, Indiana. Harry's residence is reported as St. Louis, Missouri. Evidently, he had fled the scrutiny and gossip of Springfield residents. In less than eight months, Harry Mayhew had literally moved on. 

Bertha had divorced her first husband Thomas Meagher in 1911 on the grounds of cruelty. She asked for alimony and the custody of their child. 

In court, both men's defense involved putting the blame on their victim. They claimed that Opal had tried to perform the abortion herself and that Dr. Salyers was called in to perform an operation to save her life. There was no accounting for why that operation was performed in the home or why no additional medical attention was provided for her until she was on her deathbed. Both men threw themselves on the mercy of the court because they were fathers and family men, and their incarceration would be to the detriment of their children. Dr. John O. Salyers in particular put on a show of being attentive to his young daughter, who was in the courtroom. Opal's son William A. Mayhew was also in attendance with his father and his Mayhew grandparents. After voting three times, the jury finally acquitted both of them.