Society Pages Identify Unknown Photo and Expose Marital Heartbreak

Remember earlier this month when a newly digitized 19th century newspaper helped me identify Lucinda Dornon as the subject of an unlabeled photograph?

What if I told you I did it again and found another photograph of Lucinda, and, in the process, uncovered more of her heartache?

Lucinda, my fourth great-aunt who was sister to my third great-grandmother Anna (Dornon) Benedick, led a life marred by personal tragedies.

• During the Civil War, her family lost many of their possessions as they hurriedly fled invading Confederate forces.
• Her father died in his 40s before she was ten years old.
• In 1893, her husband Sylvester Scannel was killed in a prairie fire.
• In 1904, she was judged insane and admitted to an asylum where she died just one month after turning 50.

Another Photograph
In the same family photo album as the recently identified photograph of Lucinda was a photo of a couple - perhaps a wedding picture - that was imprinted with the logo for the Wheeler Portrait Studio in Taylorville, Illinois.

The back of the photograph included an inscription, "Al and Annie from Mertie and Lou." Al and Annie were my third great-grandparents Albert and Anna (Dornon) Benedick. But I hadn't identified a Mertie or Lou in my family tree, so the image was left unidentified.

Nosy Society Pages 
Recently digitized Kansas newspapers offered a series of clues that snowballed and culminated with the identification of the pictured couple.

The mystery first revealed itself when I came across a brief blurb published on February 25, 1898, in the Rooks County society pages. I was puzzled.

The Stockton Review and Rooks County Record, February 25, 1898

Mr. and Mrs. G.W. Benedick are George and Abigail (Dornon) Benedick. Abigail was a sister of both Anna (my third great-grandmother) and Lucinda. [Yes, Dornon sisters Abigail and Anna married Benedick brothers George and Albert, but, alas, I digress!]

Who was the mysterious Mrs. M.L. Moore who was evidently a sister of Abigail? I had never come across any Dornon sister marrying a Moore.

A key clue was in the location: Lucinda and her first husband Sylvester Scannel had lived near Palco, Kansas. That's where Sylvester was killed in the tragic fire.

Following Sylvester's death, Lucinda had lived with her siblings, bouncing from her brother's home in Colorado to her sisters' homes in Plainville, about 15 miles east of Palco. Eventually, she moved to Illinois where another sister, Mary Susan (Dornon) Vandegraft, lived.

Did Lucinda get married in Illinois and return to Kansas? Were her impending nuptials what she was hinting at when she wrote to her sister on the back of the previously-identified photo: "Sister dear... I have news for you... The sooner you ably answer this the sooner you will get the news. You will both be glad to hear it, I am quite shure [sic.]."

Misspelled Marriage Record
I was highly skeptical that I would find a marriage record for Lucinda in Illinois because I had already conducted that search. There were no hits for a Lucinda Dornon or Lucinda Scannel remarrying.

But what would happen if the search was for a man surnamed Moore with a spouse first named Lucinda?

1896 Illinois marriage record between Lucinda and Meredith L. Moore

It came back with a match in the Christian County, Illinois marriage registers. However, Lucinda's surname was misspelled as Scannen instead of Scannel. Apparently that was enough of a spelling difference to befuddle a handful of genealogy sites' search algorithms and overlook this marriage in my prior investigations.

On June 7, 1896, Lucinda married Meredith L. Moore in Christian County, Illinois. Where was Christian County, I wondered?

A Google search quickly provided a synopsis of the County's location, its demographics, and the county seat - Taylorville.

I immediately thought of the photograph taken in Taylorville, Illinois that was sent from Mertie and Lou to Al and Annie. Were Mertie and Lou actually diminutives of Meredith and Lucinda?

Both the name and location coupled with a strong resemblance with the previously identified photograph of Lucinda led me to conclude that the photograph was likely an 1896 wedding picture of Meredith L. Moore and Lucinda (Dornon) Scannel.

Lucinda (Dornon) Scannel Moore Stanley

Marital Bliss It Was Not
It was just four months after the death of her sister Mary Susan (Dornon) Vandegraft when Lucinda (Dornon) Scannel married Meredith L. Moore. By November 1897, Meredith and Lucinda were living in Kansas.

Apparently, though, it was an unhappy marriage.

On March 4, 1898, the society pages wrote that M.L. Moore had returned to his former home in Illinois. For a visit? Permanently? The paper didn't clarify.

The Stockton Review and Rooks County Record, March 4, 1898

In March 1898, Lucinda visited with her sisters in Plainville before returning home to Stockton in April.

In May 1898, Meredith "formerly of Palco" along with his father returned from Illinois and were headed for Palco.

The Stockton Review and Rooks County Record, May 6, 1898 

The phrasing that Meredith was "formerly of Palco" was unusual and seemed to indicate that he was no longer permanently living there, and, perhaps, we could infer, not with Lucinda who had just returned to Palco the prior month.

On May 27, 1898, the society pages wrote that G.W. Benedick visited his sister-in-law "Mrs. M.L. Moore of Palco" the previous week. There was no mention of Meredith.

The curious comings and goings made more sense in July, when a divorce petition was published in the newspaper.

The Stockton Review and Rooks County Record, July 15, 1898

On July 11, 1898, Lucinda E. S. Moore filed for divorce from Meredith Moore. He had until August 26, 1898, to answer the petition, otherwise the court would grant and decree "a divorce in favor of said plaintiff and against said defendant and further restoring said plaintiff to her former name of Lucinda E. S. Scannel" as well as making her the sole owner of property near Palco.

The divorce must have been granted. Nothing appeared in the society pages suggesting Meredith contested the petition, and Lucinda married Levi Stanley on June 11, 1899 in Gove County, Kansas. She was listed in Gove County's marriage register under the surname Scannel, further suggesting her divorce petition was granted in full. 

I am thankful that a recently digitized 19th century small town paper's nosy society pages helped me identify another unknown photograph, and surface the marriage, and, sadly, the heartache that Lucinda must have endured as she petitioned for a divorce in a very public manner. Digitized records are the gift that keeps on giving to genealogists.

Newly Digitized Newspaper Identifies Unknown Photograph

Lucinda Dornon, my fourth great-aunt, has been a remarkable character and the subject of a handful of this blog's attention-grabbing headlines.

Lost Lucinda: Like Father Like Daughter
First, there was the hope that she, along with her siblings, could help me determine what happened to her father - my fourth great-grandfather Burr Zelah Dornon, whose death and disappearance from the record trail was sudden and shrouded in mystery during the height of the American Civil War. She suffered terrible tragedy. Her first husband, Sylvester Scannel, was killed in 1893 in a terrible prairie fire. Following her early widowhood, Lucinda married Levi Stanley in 1899, moved to Oklahoma, and then disappeared - like her father - from the records. 

Probate Record Lays Breadcrumb Trail
A 1916 Oklahoma guardianship case for Lucinda's second husband Levi Stanley filed by "Committee of Friends Church Cherokee" told the court that he "lives alone, and is old and bed-fast, and has no one to care for him." There was no mention of Lucinda, which made me wonder if she pre-deceased Levi.

Examined and Judged Insane
Several newspaper clippings from 1904, shone a light on the mysterious Lucinda. The articles detailed Levi and Lucinda's trip from Oklahoma to visit her sisters in Plainville, Kansas. While in Plainville, a probate judge, jurors, and physician "examined and judged Mrs. Stanley insane." She was sent to an asylum in Topeka for treatment where she died within days of her arrival. 

Lucinda's Bout of Insanity Topples A Family Mystery
Lucinda's asylum patient file unexpectedly held the key to determining the circumstances of her father's death. According to her admission form, her father died of dropsy at the age of 45 - apparently not a victim of the Civil War as I initially speculated.

An Unknown Photograph
In late 2015, I wrote a blog featuring five unlabeled photographs that I was certain featured my family. However, without an inscription to identify the portraits' subjects, I was at a loss and they remained mysteries lost to time.

Number five was a portrait of a woman in a Salvation Army uniform, with the typical 'S' on each lapel of her collar, meaning "Saved to Serve." The photograph was taken at East End Gallery in Decatur, Illinois.

There was a strong resemblance - particularly in the eyes - to other identified Dornon sisters. Lucinda did live in Decatur for some time following the death of her husband Sylvester. However, her older sister Mary (Dornon) Vandegraft also lived in the state.

Naturally, I wondered if the photograph was of Lucinda, but I had never heard any mention of membership in the Salvation Army.

At least not until another Kansas newspaper was recently digitized.

Digitized Paper Reveals Answers
The Stockton Review and Rooks County Record was recently scanned and made available online. A search of the surname Scannel returned the following hit for June 28, 1895.

Stockton Review and Rooks County Record, Stockton, Kansas, June 28, 1895

The newspaper confirmed that Lucinda was a member of the Salvation Army.

A Note Between Sisters
Although there's no name or signature to identity the pictured individual, the back of the photograph does have a handwritten note suggesting that it was sent from one sister to another.

The name Ernest, written in another hand at the top of the photo, is of my second great-grandfather who owned the photo album. I believe it was added by another person, likely to indicate it belonged to his photograph collection.

The note reads, "Sister dear let me know if you got this chromo all rite [sic.] or not. This is an answer to your letter. Write all the news and write soon. When I hear from A.C. I will send him one not like this. I have news for you when..." The note is obscured by a tear to the back of the photograph.

Turning the photograph 90 degrees to the right, the writing continues, "The sooner you ably answer this the sooner you will get the news. You will both be glad to hear it, I am quite shure [sic.]."

The note, addressed "Sister dear" clearly links the pictured individual as a sibling to the recipient. Now would be a good time to note that the photo was in the collection of Ernest Benedick whose mother was Anna (Dornon) Benedick, Lucinda's sister.

Based on the evidence in the photograph, the newspaper blurb, and the handwritten note, I believe the image is of Lucinda (Dornon) Scannel Stanley - a woman who suffered much in her life, but who did  help answer the question of her father's mysterious death.

There's no better feeling than identifying an unlabeled photograph with the help of a newly digitized newspaper! I'm glad to finally have a face to put with her storied name.

Family History Coded in Shorthand

Several years ago I began correspondence with a distant cousin of my paternal grandmother. The cousin was a genealogist who had spent years gathering family stories and photos.

In our first email exchange she reassured me, "I have the answers to all of your questions. I also have pictures that I will copy immediately." That, of course, was music to my ears.

Sadly, she passed away a year later without having the opportunity to share much of her research or photos.

Fast-forward to this week when a package from her daughter arrived in the mail. Inside were dozens of black and white photos. Some were labeled, but many were not.

Among the collection was a curious group of nine pictures each measuring 1.75" W x 2.75" L. The photos depict a group of people dressed in coats outside a stone building in a downtown setting.

Although I don't recognize anyone or the setting, it appears to be a family gathering. Perhaps a birthday or courthouse wedding? In several of the photos I can discern signs in the background advertising loans, mortgages, ladies hair cutting, and a bank. There's even a scale that says, Your Weight, apparently offering passerby the opportunity to weigh themselves.

On the flip side, seven of the photos include a date. Six of them have 1928 inscribed on the back. One of them provides an exact date: October 2, 1928. Was someone getting married at a courthouse? I haven't found a matching wedding date in my tree.

Aside from the year, each of the photos has the same illegible inscription on the back. At first, I thought it was someone's name (Leona?). It then occurred to me that this may be shorthand describing the event. I've never learned shorthand, so I'm stumped as to what this may say.

How's your shorthand? Are you able to decipher my coded family history?