Surprise #52Ancestors

A number of years ago I was at my mom’s house in Warner Robins, Georgia, and wanted to look in her cedar chest. I know she had saved all the cards from people who sent flowers for my dad’s funeral in 1969, as I had previously looked at them. I wanted to review them again for possible relatives and family friends. While looking in the chest, I found a divorce certificate for my dad. What?! I had known about my mom’s previous 2 marriages, but Dad? Why had no one told me about this?

The given name of wife #1 was Wilma (she is still living so I am not listing her maiden name). They were divorced in Clark County, Ohio, on 27 October 1958. I asked my mom if they had had any children, and she said no (that did not stop me from checking that out!).

Since I had Wilma’s maiden name, I did some research. I found out that she had remarried and still resided in Springfield, Ohio. I wrote her a letter explaining who I was, asked her how she met my dad, where and when were they married, and if she had any photos of him. It took a while for a response, but I did receive one. She met my dad while he was working for Dolly Madison. They married 30 September 1950, in Wayne County, Indiana. She said she did not keep any photos of my dad.

I was planning my next research trip to Ohio and wrote her again. I told her I was going to be in Springfield, and would like to meet her. I never received a reply. I am pretty sure she had her curtains closed and did not answer the door or telephone during that time period I was in Ohio.

Since then, a family friend has told me that Wilma was a friend and co-worker of an aunt (this aunt died in 1978 so I could not question her). From an answer to a Rootsweb query I posted a long time ago, I found out that Wilma’s brother took my dad to some of his first field trials (my dad was very active with beagle clubs in Ohio). Who knows, one day I may surprise her and show up at her front door.