Anna was born in Nashville, Tennessee on 3 December 1890. She was the daughter of John William Morton Gatlin and Sarah Claire "Sadie" Dyer. Anna married her first husband, Frank Joseph Smith, on 5 July 1910 in Williamson County, Tennessee.
Frank worked as a stenographer for J. B. Ransom & Co. Most of Anna's family moved to Chicago, Illinois (where my great-grandparents were already living), but Anna and Frank stayed in Nashville at least until 1916.
By 1920, they were living in Upper Penns Neck, Salem County, New Jersey with their daughter, Claire Marie Smith, who was born about 1911-1912. Frank was working as a clerk in a dye plant.
I am not sure when Anna left New Jersey or when she and Frank split up, but on 3 July 1928, she married Charles Morrison in Lucas County, Ohio. They were both residents of Detroit, Michigan at the time of their marriage. Anna claimed that the marriage was her first.
On 23 October 1931, Anna was granted a divorce from Charles. The cause was extreme cruelty. The case was contested.
Anna's next husband was Cornelius Thomas de Kam. Cornelius was from Wissenkerke, Noord-Beveland, Zeeland, Netherlands. On 28 August 1900 in Wentworth, Ontario, Canada, he married Grace Matilda Brandon. Grace died in Detroit, Michigan on 11 October 1918. On 21 June 1919, Cornelius married Anna Jacoba Peterson. Anna was granted a divorce from Cornelius on 13 October 1932. The cause was extreme cruelty. Perhaps infidelity was a factor. Just sixteen days later, on 29 October 1932 in Bowling Green, Wood County, Ohio, Cornelius married Anna E. (Gatlin) Morrison.
On 26 November 1935, Cornelius was granted a divorce from Anna. The cause was extreme and repeated cruelty. The case was not contested.
On 26 May 1936 in Lucas County, Ohio, Cornelius remarried his former wife Anna Jacoba (Peterson) de Kam. Anna (Gatlin) de Kam took a job as a saleswoman at Frank & Seder, and lived at the Strathmoore Hotel.
Anna's last husband was Russell Joseph Doying. The two of them had something in common: multiple marriages! Russell (who at that time was going by the name Joseph R. Doying) married Gladys M. Kiefer on 14 December 1916 in Redford, Wayne County, Michigan. She divorced him on 31 March 1920 because of extreme cruelty and non-support. On 31 March 1923 in Highland Park, Wayne County, Michigan, he married Minerva I. Coffron. She divorced him on 20 January 1927 because of extreme cruelty. On 5 August 1929 in Highland Park, Wayne County, Michigan, he married Jane G. Morgan. He divorced her on 19 May 1930 because of extreme cruelty. On 14 February 1931 in Highland Park, Wayne County, Michigan, he married Anna D. Gorenson. He divorced her on 31 January 1934 because of cruelty.
Under her first husband's surname, Smith, Anna married Russell Joseph Doying on 17 May 1937 in Detroit, Michigan. It was her fourth marriage and his fifth.
Anna and Russell divorced on 4 June 1941 in Wayne County, Michigan. She never remarried. She died in August 1964. According to the Social Security Death Index, her last residence was Illinois. I am still searching for her exact date of death and her place of death.
Wow! So many weddings! So much extreme cruelty! This is a fascinating tale well told with lots of documentation to back it up. It must have taken a lot of dogged research to follow all of this; thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWow! So many weddings! So much extreme cruelty! This is a fascinating tale well told with lots of documentation to back it up. It must have taken a lot of dogged research to follow all of this; thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! I hope to track down the case files and find out more about the reasons for the divorces.
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