While a lack of actual history might seem to be an ideal opportunity for a writer to invent, most writers would agree that more often than not, actuality (or fact) provides far more fodder to a creative enterprise. The phrases, “I couldn’t make this stuff up!” or “The truth is stranger than fiction” apply here.
As nearly all of the persons in my story have passed on, and those remaining were children during the greater part of my great-grandmother’s life, I am endeavoring to acquire the facts and then build on them. After all, seven times married between 1913 and 1969 is intriguing, if not sensational, enough to warrant interest. The more historic details I can uncover the richer the texture of this biographical novel I am undertaking. My job, as I see it, is to fill in the details. Knowing how long Leta was married to a specific husband, as well as his background and marriages (before or after) are terrific fodder for the creative process.
So here is an update on Leta’s husbands and marriages (see blog entries of September 9 & 14, 2010 for the introduction). My sincerest apologies for repeating previous information.
Leta Scott (age 19) married Ralph Chetister (age 21) on April 19, 1913. Both were born and raised in Ohio. They had two children (Vivian in 1913 and Dale in 1916). Leta filed for divorce, which was granted on November 8, 1922. Ralph subsequently married Eunice Tinkle (born June 12, 1895 in Moreland, Indiana. She died on August 26, 1934. I do not know their marriage date or location. As he was living in Toledo at the time, I hope a trip to the county courthouse yields the answer.
On November 22, 1922, just two weeks after her divorce from Ralph was finalized, Leta married Albert Mohr. She was 28 years old. Albert was born on June 20, 1885 in Toledo, Ohio. This was his first marriage. He was murdered just outside their home on June 4, 1927.
Six months later on December 27, 1927, Leta married husband number three, Ora Freeman. Ora, a house painter, was born on October 10, 1885 in Michigan. Although he was married previously, I have so far been unsuccessful in locating the dates and details of that marriage. I have been equally unsuccessful in learning how this marriage ended, whether Ora died or they divorced. All I know is that after early 1929, Leta’s children Vivian and Dale moved in with their father, stepmother and grandmother.
Robert Fields, husband number four, was born on November 14, 1893 in Butte, MT. He died on June 19, 1946 of a heart attack, while he was married to Leta. I still do not know when and where they were married.
Leta married Claud N. Bassett, husband number five, on December 30, 1948. He had been previously married to Bertha R. Kohlman, from March 21, 1907 (in Palmyra, Lenawee, Michigan) until after the 1930 census. I do not yet know how this first marriage concluded. Leta and Claud divorced on October 15, 1952, and she returned to the surname of Fields. Claud died on August 11, 1953.
On September 22, 1960, Leta married her sixth husband, Richard Adrian (or Adrian Richard) Eckman. I have not yet been able to ascertain if there are two different individuals, because the information is so similar. Richard/Adrian was born on February 27, 1894 in Toledo, Ohio to Albert and Daisy. On August 8, 1917, he married Sadie Edwards of San Francisco in Lucas County, Ohio. Both noted that they had been married previously. The 1930 Census lists Adrian (born 1894/1895) and Lillian Eckman as the parents of three young children: Richard, Albert and William. I am still trying to sort this one out. Richard/Adrian died on December 27, 1963, about 28 hours before I was born.
There is still a mysterious seventh husband to whom Leta was reportedly married for one week. As the timeline has worked itself out, it seems more and more likely that this husband would have come between Claud Bassett (divorced 1952) and Richard/Adrian (1960), or possibly in the period between Ora Freeman and Robert Fields. The only other information I have is that it was after her daughter Vivian married, and that was September 14, 1936. Apparently, he was a farmer with 12 children.
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