Extreme Cruelty
Most of us want to believe the best about our ancestors, thinking of them as hard-working, honest, upstanding citizens. We also tend to romanticize the era they lived in, feeling nostalgic for what we perceive as a simpler time. It's important to remember that our ancestors were people, too, with their own faults and negative qualities, and that their history might not be as peachy keen as we'd like. I got a good reminder of this during some research I did on my great-great-grandmother, Ida.
I've written previously about Ida and her many marriages (and name changes). In 1905, she married a man named John Wellman, and they had one child together, Goldie. Ida had six children from her previous marriage to my great-great-grandfather Charles Tyrell (sometimes spelled Tyrrell in some records). Ida, John, Goldie, and Ida's kids all lived together for a time - I found them in the 1911 Canada Census living in Windsor, Ontario. Among Ida's kids living in Ontario in 1911 was Ida's daughter, also named Ida (who went by her middle name, Viola), my great-grandmother.
Ida and John's marriage was apparently not a happy union. In 1922, John filed for divorce. Grounds for divorce? Extreme cruelty. As in, he was claiming the extreme cruelty was coming from Ida. I was surprised to read this. What constituted the extreme cruelty? That I do not know.
I decided to look for a divorce record for Ida and Charles Tyrell, and was able to locate it pretty quickly. It was practically identical to the divorce record of Ida and John - Charles was the one who filed for divorce, and it was also on the grounds of extreme cruelty. Ida and Charles's divorce took place in 1905, and both married new spouses that same year. They sure didn't waste much time!
The fact that both divorces were filed by the husbands and both on the grounds of extreme cruelty makes me wonder about Ida and what kind of person she was. Strangely, it appears that Ida and John got back together after their 1922 divorce. They are listed in the 1930 Census as husband and wife living together in Oakland, California with their daughter Goldie. I don't know yet if they actually got remarried, or if they just got back together and said they were married. I'd love to know that along with why they decided to reconcile. Every time I find out something new, it just leads to more unanswered questions!
I've written previously about Ida and her many marriages (and name changes). In 1905, she married a man named John Wellman, and they had one child together, Goldie. Ida had six children from her previous marriage to my great-great-grandfather Charles Tyrell (sometimes spelled Tyrrell in some records). Ida, John, Goldie, and Ida's kids all lived together for a time - I found them in the 1911 Canada Census living in Windsor, Ontario. Among Ida's kids living in Ontario in 1911 was Ida's daughter, also named Ida (who went by her middle name, Viola), my great-grandmother.
Ida and John's marriage was apparently not a happy union. In 1922, John filed for divorce. Grounds for divorce? Extreme cruelty. As in, he was claiming the extreme cruelty was coming from Ida. I was surprised to read this. What constituted the extreme cruelty? That I do not know.
I decided to look for a divorce record for Ida and Charles Tyrell, and was able to locate it pretty quickly. It was practically identical to the divorce record of Ida and John - Charles was the one who filed for divorce, and it was also on the grounds of extreme cruelty. Ida and Charles's divorce took place in 1905, and both married new spouses that same year. They sure didn't waste much time!
The fact that both divorces were filed by the husbands and both on the grounds of extreme cruelty makes me wonder about Ida and what kind of person she was. Strangely, it appears that Ida and John got back together after their 1922 divorce. They are listed in the 1930 Census as husband and wife living together in Oakland, California with their daughter Goldie. I don't know yet if they actually got remarried, or if they just got back together and said they were married. I'd love to know that along with why they decided to reconcile. Every time I find out something new, it just leads to more unanswered questions!
Comments
Post a Comment