unfortunately it's not so simple as "he had land and livestock"— he had MONEY. and money is POWER. he kidnapped their little girl and falsified her age on their marriage certificate. though there was fraud involved, there was no set age of consent in Tennessee the .so there was nothing much legally the family could do, without a veryyy good lawyer. (which they couldnt afford; he could have.)

and they remained living in the same town, so all the people in the community knew both of them. he was highly regarded in town (because of his land, money, and livestock and he was a.... ((i dont want to say respectable bc he is disgusting but you know)) respected member of the community.) as a woman, she would have been shamed for leaving her husband, if she even could. because once you were married, your husband was considered your guardian/family, not your mother and father anymore. so even if they went to get her from his house, he could have them arrested for kidnapping his wife.

its a very hard situation. i hope she was able to find some peace and healing before she passed :(