Lewd and Lascivious Cohabitation

The idea of throwing a couple jail because they’re living together sounds like a throwback to the Victorian era. But for many years in Michigan there was a law on the books prohibiting “lewd and lascivious cohabitation.” If a man and woman were discovered to be living together without the “benefit of marriage,” their lives could be totally upended by the legal system. The Michigan statute called for a punishment of up to a year in jail and a thousand dollar fine.

On January 13, 1929, Sophia “Shumanski” and John Hollinger were arrested in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the crime of “Lascivious Cohabitation.” They were both 19 at the time. John was sentenced to 60 days in jail and Sophia was given one year of probation.

The arrest records of Sophia Shumanski and John Hollinger. Grand Rapids Police Department, “No. 4399 – Shamanski, Sophia,” and “No. 4398 – Hollinger, John,” City of Grand Rapids Archives and Records Center, accessed September 24, 2023

It might sound like Sophia got off comparatively lightly, but she was sent to the House of Good Shepherd, aka Villa Maria, a home for troubled young women run by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. She was still listed as an inmate there when the 1930 federal census was taken in April 1930, almost a year and a half after her arrest.

Sophia had something wrong with her eye. Her arrest record described it as “left eye contracted.” It’s unclear whether this was a temporary problem due to the stress of her arrest or due to an infection or some more serious medical condition.

Sophia was the only child of Polish immigrants, Ignatious Szymanski and Mary Lorencka. Her dad worked a laborer in the furniture industry in Grand Rapids. In 1931 she married an autoworker named Clifford Haas. They had four children and Sophia lived to the ripe old age of 85.

John Hollinger looks like a player, and his life history bears that out. He was married twice. The first marriage was to Norma Hazell in Michigan in November 1929, less than a year after his arrest for cohabiting with Sophia. The second marriage occurred in Indiana in 1931 to Phyllis “Noreen” Cogley.

John apparently didn’t get a divorce from Norma before he married Noreen. The 1940 federal census listed him as married to Norma, living in Detroit, and working as a truck driver. He had a second listing in that census, living in Detroit with his wife Noreen and their two sons. He worked as a tire builder for the auto industry.

John Hollinger was a bigamist, but there’s nothing to indicate he was ever charged with it. Did John’s wives know about each other? Impossible to say.

When the 1950 census was taken, Norma Hollinger lived alone and her marital status was recorded as “separated.” Apparently she was ill, because she was listed as “unable to work.” She died the following year. The 1950 census listed John and Noreen as married and living with their two sons. He died in 1980. She lived until 2010.

To get back to John and Sophia: the Michigan law criminalizing cohabitation was not repealed until 2023, almost 100 years after they were arrested in Grand Rapids. (Thirty-five Republican lawmakers voted against the repeal.) However “open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior” can still get a person arrested in Michigan. Bigamy also remains a crime in The Mitten State.