In my recent research, I located some of the divorce documents from Leta’s marriage to Leech
Hoose, her fourth husband. They were married on March 3, 1929, only eight days
after Leta’s divorce from Ora Freeman. While the marriage and divorce to Ora
occurred in Lucas County, the marriage to Leech Hoose occurred in a Wood
County, which is adjacent to Lucas.
Slightly over
two years later, on October 8, 1931, Leech Hoose filed for divorce from Leta. This was a bit of a shocker, since she
was the one who instituted both of her prior divorces. In the document
submitted by his attorney James L. Monaghan, Leech claims:
“Plaintiff
[Leech] says defendant has been guilty of gross neglect of duty toward him in
that she deserted this plaintiff six months after their marriage, and has
remained away from him since that date, and refused and still refuses to return
to plaintiff.”
I admit that
learning that Leech divorced my great-grandmother was a surprise, and the
further revelation that she “deserted
[him] six months after their marriage” was stunning. In fact, it alters the
timeline I have been following. While I knew that at some point, Leta took her
children Vivian (my grandmother) and Dale to live with their father, stepmother
and grandmother, it now appears that this occurred either before or during her
marriage to Leech. Based on prior information, I timelined this for right after
the break-up with Leech. Then Leta moved in with her brother Aaron and his
family. However, I sincerely doubt that she would have left the children with
Leech when she abandoned him, and my grandmother Vivian’s report cards end in
1929, signed by Leta Freeman. The combined information indicates that Leta took
her children to their father around the time she finalized her divorce to Ora
Freeman and married Leech Hoose. This was also before their father and Leta’s
first husband Ralph married his second wife.
In addition to
being left, Leech: “further complains of defendant and says that during the
time they lived together, defendant was of quarrelsome disposition and abusive
toward plaintiff, and continually neglected her household duties, and that by
reason thereof she is guilty of extreme cruelty toward plaintiff.”
This paragraph
increases my curiosity further and perhaps gives insight into the brief marriage.
Leech alleges that if a wife neglects her “household duties” and is
“quarrelsome (and abusive)” that she is “guilty of extreme cruelty.” I wonder
what kind of household duties he was expecting and why she neglected them, or
if this is simply legalese used to fortify his claim.
Leech further
filed an Affidavit of Poverty, declaring that he was “without sufficient means
to prepay or give security for costs of said action.”
Is it any wonder
that she didn’t stay with him?
According to the
County Clerk’s records, no final divorce decree remains in the records.
However, Leta was married again—to Robert Fields—on September 17, 1937 in Lucas
County. This marriage would not have been legally possible or wise if she did
not have proper divorce papers. Still, there is a curious cover document from
the same case filed on December 29, 1933 that states: “Dismissed, at Ptlf’s
cast No record.” As this record is dated over two years after the originally
divorce filing, I am more inclined to think that it relates to something
connected to the divorce rather than the divorce itself, perhaps a counter
filing for alimony, or the court went after Leech for court costs or even an
argument over a piece of property.
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