Seven husbands - #2

Last time, we made it to husband number four. To recap, Leta Scott married Ralph Chetister on April 13, 1913. They had two children, Vivian (1913) and Dale (1916). They divorced in 1924 or 1925. She almost immediately married Albert Mohr, and stayed married until he died in June of 1927. By January of 1928, she was married to a fellow with the last name of Freeman.

Now, remember I am still in the midst of my research, and I still have a gap in my history right here. As of right now, I do not know how long she was married to Freeman or how that marriage ended. I do know that during World War II, she was married to Robert Fields (husband number four) and lived in the Point Place District of Toledo, Ohio.

Leta’s daughter Vivian married Edward Metzker on September 5, 1936. Their son Donald (my father) was born on January 17, 1939, and shortly thereafter, Ed put his radio technology expertise to work for the war effort. While he was in various military locations throughout the country and world, Vivian and Don lived with Leta and her husband Robert Fields. He died of a heart attack on June 19, 1946.

The next and fifth husband information comes from Leta’s Bible. After my grandfather Edward died, this Bible became mine and has become a source of some valuable and curious information about Leta. I suspect that she acquired this Bible around 1948, because the additional fill-in-the-blank sheet about marriage lists the wedding of Leta M. Fields to Claud N. Bassett. According to my father, this marriage only lasted a few years, and they divorced.

After Claud, the next husband of record is Richard Eckman. He is husband number six. I don’t yet have a marriage date for Leta and Richard, but this was to be her last marriage. Richard died on December 27, 1963, the day before I was born. He had a heart attack.

There is a mysterious husband number seven, and actually, I don’t yet know his place. But he makes for a fascinating story. Edward told me the story, and as I remember it, it went like this:

“One day your grandmother [Vivian] got a call. Her mother wanted us to come and get her. She had married a farmer with 12 children and wanted out. That marriage lasted a week.” This currently mysterious farmer would be husband number seven.