Most of you probably don't know but I am an avid genealogist and have been for about 30 years. It is addicting especially for those that love a good mystery and puzzles. Yup, I'm one of those kind of people.
I spent a little time this last week digging deeper into my Hawthorne line (no relation to the author). And found records that tell an interesting story that was probably a scandal at the time.
I had a great great great aunt Minnie who was born in 1880. She married a man named William. They had 3 children who were all teens in 1920. Unfortunately this happy family must not have been all that happy as Minnie and William divorced in November of 1924.
Then she gets married again, on Christmas Eve of the same year, 1924! How romantic to marry on Christmas Eve you say, but how did she find someone so quickly?
The story deepens and reads like any soap opera you've ever seen. The man she married was named George and he was 11 years older than Minnie. Interestingly though, he got divorced in November of 1924 as well!
Now I've seen heard enough to make an educated guess how this all came about. George had been married for almost 40 years and had at least one child. He did stay with Minnie until they both passed on in the 1950s so maybe it was true love after all.
But I feel pretty sad for the spouses that got left behind and the children who had to endure it all.
3 comments:
Maybe they both had unfortunate marriages, and everyone was better off. =) It probably WAS a scandal at that time, at least until the next one came along. Divorce itself was almost always a scandal in that earlier time. Even when my mother was divorced in the early 40s, and even though her husband beat her, it was a scandal.
Gosh, I remember when the word "divorce" was only whispered. Things have sure changed since then! (And I wasn't born in the 1800's either.)
When I started looking up family history, my mother said "Be careful, you might find out something you don't want to know". I haven't found anything yet ;)
Great story!
xo
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