Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have a copy of Stella 's marriage certificate to Harvey Terrell. I also have copies of their divorce filings. So that marriage is definitely not in doubt.
I've never been able to figure out where or when her marriage to Clinton Pearman occurred. Their son Kenneth was born almost two years before her divorce from Harvey was finalized (Harvey even alludes to this in his part of the filings). I have wondered if she ever officially married Clinton. I've written to the Douglas County clerk and they don't have a marriage record on file. Though it seems like they would have made things legal at some point, since they had a total of five children together.
You're a little bit confused. Mildred's last name was always Kuemmerle until she married Kenneth Pearman. Kenneth's mother, Stella, was the one with the last name situation I was describing. I am not sure whether or not her step father, Abraham Fleener, ever formally adopted her or not.
Also, I should have mentioned that both of Kenneth's parents died in 1924, from separate illnesses. So they were already gone when he married Mildred. I would think that he would have known his mother's maiden name, but maybe he was somehow wrong about it when he got married?
Today I discovered the marriage application for Stella and Clinton Pearman (Kenneth's parents). They were married in Indiana, and not Illinois, as I would have assumed.
Their marriage occurred in October 1912, the same month Stella's divorce from her first husband was finalized.
What's more interesting (though maybe not surprising) is that Stella lies on the application and claims she hasn't been previously married. Further, they both claim to have been living in Hillsdale, Indiana (very doubtful...both had been living in Tuscola as of the 1910 Census, and would raise their family there). Clinton says he doesn't know the whereabouts of his father (very dubious, as he had been living in his father's home just two years earlier), and says his mother is living near Indianapolis (probably false...I have her still married to Clinton's father at this time, and dying just five years later).
Further, Stella says her adopted father (who she says is her birth father on the marriage application) is living in a place called "Cherry Point", which I've never heard of. Pretty sure he was still in Tuscola, Illinois at the time. He died in Tuscola in 1933.
It's very weird. It seems like they were trying to claim Indiana residency in order to be married in that state, and right around the time her divorce from her first marriage was finalized. Very interesting, at least.
Today I discovered the marriage application for Stella and Clinton Pearman (Kenneth's parents). They were married in Indiana, and not Illinois, as I would have assumed.
Their marriage occurred in October 1912, the same month Stella's divorce from her first husband was finalized.
What's more interesting (though maybe not surprising) is that Stella lies on the application and claims she hasn't been previously married. Further, they both claim to have been living in Hillsdale, Indiana (very doubtful...both had been living in Tuscola as of the 1910 Census, and would raise their family there). Clinton says he doesn't know the whereabouts of his father (very dubious, as he had been living in his father's home just two years earlier), and says his mother is living near Indianapolis (probably false...I have her still married to Clinton's father at this time, and dying just five years later).
Further, Stella says her adopted father (who she says is her birth father on the marriage application) is living in a place called "Cherry Point", which I've never heard of. Pretty sure he was still in Tuscola, Illinois at the time. He died in Tuscola in 1933.
It's very weird. It seems like they were trying to claim Indiana residency in order to be married in that state, and right around the time her divorce from her first marriage was finalized. Very interesting, at least.
Just thinking out loud here, but could Cherry Point have been misinterpreted from Crown Point?
And I see that you also have creative ancestors in your family tree . My relatives took 'stretching the truth' to a whole new level. I have an obit that is a really fine work of fiction and marriage records? My g-grandmother loved getting married; but divorced?...not so much so there are plenty of inaccuracies in the 'official record'.
Just thinking out loud here, but could Cherry Point have been misinterpreted from Crown Point?
And I see that you also have creative ancestors in your family tree . My relatives took 'stretching the truth' to a whole new level. I have an obit that is a really fine work of fiction and marriage records? My g-grandmother loved getting married; but divorced?...not so much so there are plenty of inaccuracies in the 'official record'.
RVcook
Good point about Crown Point, but I rather doubt it. Abraham Fleener (Stella's step-father) was born in Bloomington, Indiana, but the rest of the records show him living most of his life in Clay County and then Douglas County, Illinois.
I think Stella may have thrown out a random town name, for whatever reason.
One of my husband's maternal great grandmothers was a bit of a mystery. My husband's mother has no idea what happened to her. her mother was raised by her father's family and two brothers lived in a home for "half orphans and destitute children". In the records for the home, the father is listed as the only surviving parent. The family lived in Albany, NY but the father moved to New York City and that is where the boys lived in the home.
However, I stumbled across a marriage in MA for the mystery lady, who described herself as a widow! Fortunately, the marriage record includes her parents' names, so I am sure I have the right person.
I have not yet informed my MIL that her grandmother was a bigamist.
The bad news is that she disappears again after this marriage. I cannot find her living with the new husband, though he is in the Albany city records and the Federal census (living with his father). I suspect she took off again. She was only 33 when she "married" the second time. I wonder if that guy discovered she was still married? Apparently it would cost a fortune to find a death record, since apparently you have to know when the person died in order to find it in NY, and no telling what her surname was when she died.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,777 posts, read 15,786,780 times
Reputation: 10886
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaseMan
I'm sure I'll never know exactly why...but it is very interesting to think about, at least.
One thing I'm sure of is, if in fact she decided to make up some information in order to get married, she never expected that 100 years after the event that one of her descendants would figure out what she did and discuss it with a few thousand of his closest friends on something called the Internet.
One thing I'm sure of is, if in fact she decided to make up some information in order to get married, she never expected that 100 years after the event that one of her descendants would figure out what she did and discuss it with a few thousand of his closest friends on something called the Internet.
No probably not, that's for sure. It's too bad these people didn't keep diaries (at least that we have). Would be pretty interesting.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. My relatives took 'stretching the truth' to a whole new level. I have an obit that is a really fine work of fiction and marriage records? My g-grandmother loved getting married; but divorced?...not so much so there are plenty of inaccuracies in the 'official record'.
