Remembering Harold James Ripley, 1928-2020

WILLIAM CUSTER SMITH m Mary Ann Munson> EDWIN SMITH m Kate Smull > VERLIE SMITH m Ted Michaelsen > HAROLD RIPLEY

Click to enlarge

His early years were marred by terrible strife. The man himself defied the odds of his childhood and built a highly successful life. He had four children and raised two more who came from his second wife. He ended up with scads of grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. When his time came, he went out with a heavy sigh, in his sleep, at the age of 92 after a brief illness.

He was one of the hardest working people I ever met, was sharp as a whip, and did not suffer fools

Harold at the orphanage (right)

gladly. He had a keen insight and knew everyone in the Butler/Bremer County area from his long career in agriculture - either as a solo farmer or as senior manager for massive ag operations. He was also an entrepreneur, starting a Mad Hatter Muffler back in the 1970s among other business ventures. He was also a great storyteller. Because he was not a gossip by nature, it was tough to pull out details and dig deeper sometimes, but it was always going to be a fun ride if you were lucky enough to get this very stoic guy going on a tale to tell.

He was born the first child of Rasmus Theodore "Ted" Michaelsen, a 2nd generation Dane on March 15, 1928 in Plainfield, Iowa. His mother, my grandmother, Verlie Lynette Smith, like Ted, came from a large family. His lived in Cedar Falls, hers lived in Plainfield. 

Over the next years, three sisters would join him: Janis, two years younger, Dixie, four years younger, and baby Judy. The depression, now in full gear by 1936, had decimated the Michaelsen's ability to thrive. They were usually one step ahead of the sheriff who was looking to evict and the entire family had to be resourceful in finding ways to put food on the table. It didn't help that Ted liked to drink. Or had a tendency to be physically abusive to his wife.

Janis told me about one Christmas, when there was no money for gifts. Harold found an old cedar chest

Harold & Ellen (left)

with a leg missing. He fashioned a new leg for it and gave it to Janis and she kept it until her death. That year, she saved her pennies from selling eggs to buy each of the children a bar of soap.

Janis recalled to me that one day, they had all been sitting on the porch on a hot day. Verlie was nursing baby Judy. Ted hit Verlie and they both went flying. She also recalls that it was not long after that Verlie left. Without the kids. She had no job, no chance of a job, and no money.

Ted had the kids and the support of his sister Margaret. Margaret hadn't been able to reach Ted after several days, so she went up to where they were and found the children alone. Ted had taken a job in a CCC camp as a cook, and put Harold, the 9-year-old, in charge. Janis, age 7, cooked whatever they had and cared for baby Judy. She recalled that she knew she needed to wash the diapers, but no one had ever told her she needed to rinse them out. Baby Judy ended up with a serious diaper rash by the time Margaret made her way to them to check on them.

Quick-action was required. She loaded them on the bus and they all went to the Bremer Lutheran Orphanage, where they were placed and now had steady care. Janis thrived in the institution. Harold seemed to be doing fine and was in school and participating in activities. One day that winter, Verlie arrived with winter coats for them all. Janis was in no hurry to go anywhere, she liked the routine.

Margaret worked hard with the Smith's and the Michaelsen's to find permanent placement for the

Harold's 1950 Studebaker

children. Janis and Dixie went to Ted's sister Dagmar in Mississippi and would get involved with 4-H and excel in school. Harold was eventually sent to Verlie's brother Claude and his wife but was treated poorly, by all accounts, and ran away.  Verlie's younger sister Evelyn, who lived in Plainfield caring for her mother, Kate Smull Smith, brought him in. Her husband Marvin Ripley was often away at sea as a Navy man, but they adopted him. Baby Judy, for some reason, did not end up with the family, but was adopted to a wealthy rural couple. Some of that story can be found elsewhere here and here. Verlie would have another family with Leo Linsey - three boys, the oldest of which is my dad.

Harold had a happy life with the Ripley's. Things became normal. He grew up and married Ellen Chester, a very pretty local girl, and a few months later, their first child was born. Three more would follow. He farmed in Bremer County and later, was hired by a large ag firm to manage farms all over the area. He knew his stuff and did well. By the early 1970s, the marriage was failing. After the divorce, he married Judith Stigers, a divorcee with three children. Her two sons lived with her and Harold would adopt the youngest and raise them both. Out of this, I got my cousin Tony, who chose not to take Harold's name, but lovingly supported his parents in their old age and fondly called Harold, "Dad." They were married 48 years-ish when Harold died.

I want to recount a time I had questions about my great aunt Mary and a conversation I had with Harold to tell you a little about his absolute disdain for gossip.

I had been trying to talk about his aunt Mary Marie Adaline Smith, who so far, I had found two husbands for. I peppered him with questions about her Greek immigrant husband and the time they lived in Michigan running a Greek restaurant. He gave me very basic information. I also asked about her last husband - the one she lived with in California when she died. Again, all he said was that she married him because she had known her when she was younger.

After much more research, I came back to him, only this time, I took a different tack: "Uncle Harold. Here's my theory, tell me if it's right. Aunt Mary married the first time to the guy name Hoard and got divorced. It looks like she met her second husband DL Albert right after that and they also got a divorce. Then she married the Greek guy. Then she married DL Albert AGAIN, not because she knew him when she was younger, but because she'd been married to him before!  Is that right?  He said, "Yup."

I loved him a lot, just as I do his lovely wife, my Aunt Judy. I will miss him. 

Judy and Harold

A Little Pile of Treasures

Click on photo to enlarge

My dad and I have spent much of the last forty years either estranged or annoyed with one another.

When he remarried when I was 14 years old to a woman only 9 years older than me who spent a lot of time subtly sabotaging our relationship, we were never the same. Then, though many years younger than my dad, his wife died last December, quite unexpectedly. In that moment, our relationship moved from eternal darkness to dawn.

As his life went on, the retired Army recruiter, his son and wife, plopped themselves down in a house near a major military base in the Midwest. He made his home there for over 20 years. A rambling house, of good bones, but which had little attention in the past few years as my dad became more and more challenged to finish projects, it had become too much for him to care for. Now, he's moving out of his home and to a new adventure in a seniors community here near me.

My sister and I helped for a week organizing him in the first step to prepare and in the meantime, I located photos he hadn't seen in forty years. Photos he'd forgotten about. Photos no one else living had seen. I got my first glimpse into the childhood of my dad and his brothers. Into my grandmother's relationship with her first family's children. Into what my grandpa looked like with hair. No one knew him then. I don't think they ever owned their own camera, strictly based on the fact there are so few photos. I have a lot of work to do.

What a treasure.

Yet Another Cousin

VERLIE SMITH m Ted Michaelsen > Judy > Joe

I had waited a long time to take a DNA test, but I ended up taking two. Ancestry.com and 23andMe. In the first, I discovered a second cousin, whose mother was the child of one of my great uncles and was given up for adoption. That was a little mind-blowing.

The Willows, Kansas City

Then, I got my 23andme results and danged if I didn't run across a heretofore unknown first cousin. I shared a large first cousin-sized bit of DNA with him and immediately contacted him. He hadn't really been interested in seeking out any bio family, because his adoptive parents provided him and his sister a wonderful home and life. But...maybe he had siblings. He had been talked into doing the test.

I contacted the three first cousins I gained last year who were most assuredly his siblings and they are waiting for the results of a DNA test of their own to confirm the connection. I really have no doubt since Joe, our newest cousin, comes complete with a court record with his birthmother's last name.

I think, based solely on the results of my family, that there must be a lot of mind-blowing going on all over the country over other people's own results. Many secrets are being revealed. Some might cause additional heartache - some may be joyful news. The way I look at it, I'm glad to have a new family member and hope he has a chance to join us for our next reunion.

He's a storyteller, and you know I love that.

Family Secrets Revealed: Verlie Smith Michaelsen Linsey

"Last night, one of my new cousins said something to the effect that shining light on family secrets frees us all from the tyranny of the pain those secrets can bring. A lot of wisdom there!" Me, 2017

In late 1937, life changed for one family in a way that would greatly impact them for a lifetime. Verlie Smith's marriage to her husband Ted Michaelsen, fell apart and she left to save herself. Alone. Without her children, because how would she support and feed them in the middle of the depression, her without a job? What happened next can be learned about here.

Click to increase size

I am the grandchild of the purple set of children of Verlie Smith. I had contact with three of the children in orange of Verlie's first marriage throughout my life, but I never met nor did any of we "purples" get to meet our aunt Judy Lou, who was adopted outside of the family. She maintained some contact with her full siblings, but not a lot and as reported, did not speak often about her first family.

This past week, two of my cousins and I got to meet two of Judy Lou's three daughters. They had just recently discovered we existed and we they. They have a lot of blanks to fill in because in all of this, no one really ever talked about it. My dad reportedly did not even know he had another sister until he had to get his birth certificate to join the Army, which reflected an additional birth to his mother. 

After my Grandma Verlie died, I wrote to Judy Lou, extending a hand, but was not met with a response. I know that we all respected her desire to have nothing to do with the family, though we all regretted knowing there was someone out there we'd never get to know. We heard for the first time that our grandma asked for Judy Lou to come see her as she was dying and after much soul-searching, did. 

It had to be really hard for Judy's daughters to meet with us - a mixture of pleasure and pain and a sense of being overwhelmed by "What could have been," and "What if they are crazy and bad for us?"

I was grateful to have met them and look forward to them joining us at our third annual revival reunion (we restarted reunions a couple years back after a long period of not having any) this fall and meeting our third first cousin who lives out of state. We have a good little family, if a bit convoluted in connection in time and space. I admire all of my other cousins and it looks like I'll have three more to enjoy moving forward.

Dixie Lee Michaelsen Pedersen Pedersen

Young Dixie

Dixie Lee, born 11 Oct 1934 in Black Hawk County, Iowa, was born to Rasmus Theodore "Ted" Michaelsen and Verlie Smith. Her parents had a challenging relationship and the four children of their marriage would all end up in the Bremer Lutheran Orphanage in Waverly, Iowa and be adopted out to various family members and a Lutheran couple.

Dixie was an adorable, free-spirit who was adopted along with her sister Janis by Axel and Dagmar (Michaelsen) Pedersen,her paternal aunt and uncle. They were raised in Hurley, Mississippi. Like her sister, Janis, Dixie was also involved in 4-H and won three blue ribbons at the 1950 Jackson County Fair and won a number of other ribbons over the years of her participation ranging from her vegetables to her sewing.

In 1952, she met Corporal Flemming Jessen Pedersen of the Danish Air Force, who was undergoing training at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi. Dixie's Michaelsen side of the family were from Denmark. When the couple married 23 Nov 1952 in Biloxi. Their wedding "blended traditions of the old and the new countries." It was described as "particularly colorful" in the newspaper.  Her sister Janis was Dixie's attendant and Corporal Kaj-Erick Andreassen of the Belgian Air Force was best man.

Dixie

After their marriage, they moved to Copenhagen where their first child, daughter Ivy Ann, was born on 03 Sep 1953. In mid-1955, the couple came to the US and stayed with sister Janis and her husband in Mississippi. Their young son, Flemming Dale, born 26 Dec 1954, died while sleeping in its carrier at the Ladnier's. The autopsy confirmed that the child had an undiagnosed heart defect.

Flemming worked at NASA at Cape Canaveral in the 1960s and the family lived in Florida. While living in Florida, Dixie taught dance classes.Two more children came along: Leif David, born 16 Dec 1960 who was born in Lake Worth, Palm Beach, Florida and Eric. Leif would die 15 Mar 2004 in Pascagoula. Ivy Ann died 25 Sep 2012 in Melbourne, Florida.

They eventually moved back to Pascagoula, and Flemming worked at the shipyards where LeVerne worked near Moss Point. Dixie was a life member of the Pascagoula Elks Lodge #1120 Ladies Auxiliary. She served two terms as President and was selected Officer of the Year twice. She died at the age of 75 on 09 Jan 2010 in Moss Point. Her husband Flemming died 23 Sep 2014 in Melbourne, Florida.

Remembering Janis Michaelsen Pedersen Ladnier

Janis Ladnier

JACOB SMITH > WILLIAM CUSTER SMITH > EDWIN SMITH > VERLIE SMITH m Ted Michaelsen > JANIS PEDERSEN

Janis was born on 12 Aug 1929 in Nashua, Chickasaw County, Iowa to Theodore Michaelsen and Verlie Smith. At the time, her parents lived over the butcher shop in a small apartment.

This is a bit of a convoluted tale, but follow along. I mentioned that my grandmother Verlie's first marriage was stricken with violence and poverty. Their children were placed in the Bremer Lutheran Orphanage in Waverly during the depression. Family members from both sides moved to place the kids in the family, but it did take some time. Janis recalled that they were there for over two years. She also said, "They wanted me to be placed because they felt I was becoming institutionalized - I liked it too much there."

The oldest child, Harold, was first sent to Verlie's brother Claude and his wife Lucille. It wasn't a good match at all and he ended up being adopted by Verlie's sister Evelyn and her husband Marvin. The "baby," Judy Lou, was adopted outside of the family to a Lutheran couple. While she would maintain contact with her siblings in her lifetime, she did not seem to maintain any contact with her biological parents.

Janis and Dixie ended up being adopted by Ted's sister and brother-in-law Axel and Dagmar (Michaelsen)  Pedersen. According to Janis, they had wanted to adopt only Dixie because Janis was by now too old, but further discussions led to her going with her sister. Janis and Dixie were raised in Hurley, Mississippi.

LeVerne Ladnier

The girls would be raised there in a loving home, but the family in Iowa did not see them frequently. She settled in down in Mississippi and was active in 4H. In 1946, she was the high scoring participant in the 4-H contingent at the South Mississippi Livestock Show in Hattiesburg.

She married Leverne Jacob Ladnier and they would have three children. They resided in Moss Point. Laverne was a World War II veteran who served as a Radarman 2nd Class aboard the USS Latimer. After his service he worked in the shipyards in Moss Point starting as an electronics technician and moving into engineering. He also repaired small electronics on the side.

Janis completed her Registered Nursing degree at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. She worked for

the Jackson County Hospital for four years. She also worked in the offices of Drs McDonough and Minkler. She was vice president and president of the Mental Health Association of Jackson County in the 1980s.

Janis was deeply involved in her community. She was a member of the Granley Danish Society and

A Young Janis

was a volunteer for the American Red Cross Blood Bank and Our Daily Bread. She taught expectant parents class at Singing River Hospital and also was active with helping at Singing River Mental Health Association. She taught Sunday School at the Christ Lutheran Church in Pascagoula for many years. She was also a Youth Court volunteer for four years. She recalled that her house was often the site of post-athletics gatherings and was a member of the Moss Point High School Band Parents Association. She was a former Boys Scout assistant den leader, president of a local crafts club, and was past president of an extension homemakers organization.

I had memories of Janis and Dixie's visits when I was a kid, but then I left home at 17 and didn't return for 35 years. I picked up the phone when I started this family genealogy project and talked to Janis. We spent the next two years talking on the phone, exchanging letters, and photos, and having a great time together. Her storytelling was excellent, as was her memory. She had been struggling with some health issues following a car accident a few years ago, but was still living on her own. She liked to reminisce and was proud of the fact that she and Harold had somehow managed to look out for the younger kids and each other during those troubling times at the beginning of their lives. I found one story particularly sweet:

"Buying each other gifts was difficult, because we had nothing. One day, Harold found an old cedar chest with a leg missing. He made a spindle leg and attached it and gave it to me for Christmas." Janis recalled also that their aunt Margaret would sometimes give them money. Janis saved hers up so she could buy a gift for her siblings, "I bought a scented soap bar for Harold, Judy, and Dixie at a cost of five center per bar that Christmas."

In 2015, her son Chris died suddenly. The heart seemed to go out of her after that. The family in Iowa got a call that Janis had a fall in her home and had died after surgery on 25 Feb 2016 in Jackson, Mississippi.

I feel incredibly grateful that we had the time we had together. She was quite a woman. I miss her still.

Johnathan Smull: Katie Smull

PETER SMULL > JOHNATHAN SMULL > KATHERINE MABEL SMULL m Edwin Smith

CLICK ON IMAGE TO INCREASE SIZE

Katie was born 27 Sep 1873 in Rock Grove, Stephenson County, Illinois and came to Bradford,

Kate Smull Smith, 1940s

Chickasaw County, Iowa with her parents in 1876. Her father, Jonathan Smull, a Civl War veteran, died in 1885 on their farm. Mary Jane Cooper Smull, Kate's mother, moved the family to Plainfield, Bremer County, Iowa after his death - Plainfield is the next town over. She married Edwin Smith, son of William Custer Smith and Mary Ann Munson on 11 Jun 1890. Edwin was born 06 Jun 1869 outside of Plainfield on the family farm.

Unlike his father, he was not a farmer and did various manual labor jobs during his lifetime. He died of a heart attack on 10 Jan 1939 in Plainfield. Katie lived with daughter Evelyn until Evelyn and her husband, Marvin Ripley, a career Navy man, took a posting in Ohio as a recruiter. Kate lived on her own, then briefly with daughter Verlie, then, as was described by Evelyn's daughter, "Checked herself into a nursing home in Waverly." It was while there she suffered a stroke and died on 04 Mar 1956.

They had twelve children:

1. Marie Adaline "Mary" Smith. You can read about her here. 

2. Harold Raymond Smith:  Born 16 Aug 1893 in Chickasaw County, he married Edith Elizabeth

Young Harold Smith

Blum on 23 Dec 1915 in Allison, Butler County. Edith was the daughter of Carl Blum and Katie Halm in Illinois on 13 May 1896. Harold was a buttermaker who learned the trade at the old Plainfield Creamery at age 16. He went to Ceylon, Minnesota from 1916-1929 and then to Lotts Creek Creamery near Lone Rock, where they lived until 1930. "Ill health forced him to give up his occupation," according to his obit. He held various jobs in Plainfield until his retirement. They had five children. Harold died 23 Jul 1976 in Clarksville and Edith 13 Apr 1983 in Mason City.

3. Bernice Lorraine Smith:  Pronounced, "Berniss," she was born 05 May 1896 in Plainfield. She married Andrew Jackson "Andy" Beckage on 14 Apr 1917 in Nashua, Chicasaw County. At that time, Bernice was working as an operator for the new telephone exchange in Plainfield. Andy was the son of John Beckage and Marie Moore and was born in Olyphant, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania on 09 Jan 1894. Andy worked for the Illinois Central railroad and had a good career with them, taking various postings across Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota before moving to Waverly. They had one daughter, Shirley, who married and moved to California. It was while returning from a visit to their daughter that Andy was struck with a heart attack at the Kansas City train station. He died there on 01 Aug 1947.

Bernice in California, late 1960s

One of the interesting things in researching Bernice is that I remember her ever-so-little from childhood. She went by Beckage and was buried a Beckage - yet, she had a second marriage that no one in the family discussed later. On 21 Aug 1948, she married Frank Holiday, of Orinoco, Minnesota. He was working as a cheesemaker for Hy-Grade Food Products in Plainfield. After their marriage, he quit his job, they packed up their stuff and sold their household goods, and moved to California to be near Bernice's daughter. By December, they had returned to Plainfield, he got his job back, and they moved into an apartment in Albina Boveia's house. They still visited California regularly.

The last joint reference in the newspaper to the pair was in early 1951. According to my uncle, Harold Ripley, he believed that they quietly divorced and that Frank remarried and returned to Minnesota.

Bernice lived until 20 Oct 1973, when she died in El Cajon, California. She had lived with her daughter for several years.

4. Madge Lucille Smith:  Born 17 Jun 1898 in Plainfield. She married Glenn Wesley Scoles on 19 Apr 1920 in Waverly, Bremer County. He was the son of James Francis "Frank" Scoles and Ada Tracy, born 29 Feb 1896 in Pearl Rock, Chickasaw County. Glenn was a farmer. They had nine children, two of whom died in infancy. You can read about the life of one of their twins, who married a man who survived the sinking of the USS Arizona and subsequently died in a battle at sea, here. Glenn died in Nov 1953 and Madge 27 Feb 1977, both in Charles City, Floyd County.

5. Howard N Smith:  Born 22 Jun 1900 in Plainfield. Married Gyneth Marie Boveia on 08 Jul 1921 in Floyd County. She was the daughter of Albert Boveia, born 17 Nov 1904 in Iowa City, Johnson County. Howard worked in the Plainfield area his entire life, the last 18 years working at Schield Bantam in Waverly. They made heavy equipment. Howard had four kids. He died 03 Aug 1977 in Waverly and she 15 Jan 1983 in Plainfield.

6. Grace Olive Smith:  Grace was born 06 Aug 1902 in Plainfield. She married Jesse Gulick, son of

Grace's 80th

Steward Gulick and Sarah Jane "Julie" Parker, on 09 Feb 1920 in Waverly. Jesse was born 21 Jan 1896 in Iowa. I also remember Grace as being just that, full of grace. Kind, warm, and loving. When she was six months old she had the "grip" (flu), which she survived. At age 9, she fell at school and broke her foot, keeping her out of school for six weeks. Grace and Jesse moved to Mount Vernon to farm, putting her quite a distance from her large family. The Gulick's had two sons, one of whom had a son who is on the city council in Cedar Rapids. Grace died 10 Jun 1984 in Cedar Rapids and Jesse died 14 Dec 1989 in Vinton. 

7. Nila Fern Smith: Born 15 Jan 1905 in Plainfield. Married Ralph Chester, son of Frank Chester and Anna Walter on 19 Dec 1923 in Waverly. They had one son, Lee, who married Lorraine Lynes of Plainfield. Ralph died 21 Nov 1976 in Plainfield and Nila on 06 Sep 1994.

Young Claude

8. Claude Erwin Smith: Born 15 Dec 1907 in Plainfield. He married Bertha Lucille "Lucille" Grapp on 11 May 1929 in Janesville, Iowa. She was born to William F Grapp and Augusta Mary Seiling on 14 Jan 1909 in Chickasaw County. Just two years previous to his marriage, Claude had taken a position in a drug store in Apple River, Illinois. Lucille worked at the telephone exchange as an operator in Plainfield. After his marriage, in 1931, he was working as a salesman at Boyd's Bargain Store, owned by Frank Boyd, another relative!  The Smith's took various rooms and apartments for the first few years of their marriage. Claude became a mason, paper hanger, and carpenter for the remainder of his life. They belonged to the First Baptist Church in Plainfield. The couple had two daughters. Claude died 05 Feb 1981 in Waverly and Lucille died 31 Oct 1999 in Maynard, Fayette County.

9. Verlie Lynette Smith: Born 14 Mar 1910 in Plainfield. She married first Rasmus Theodore "Ted"

Young Verlie

Michaelsen of Cedar Falls on 06 Nov 1927. They had four children, all of whom were later adopted out when the marriage failed. You can read a little more about that here.  The Michaelsen's in the early days of their marriage, lived in an apartment over the butcher shop in Nashua and then had a series of rented rooms and apartments, or houses as they added to their family, always trying to stay one step ahead of eviction. Verlie met Leo Linsey and they cohabitated as a married couple from about 1937, having three more children. The couple finally married in 1965, but separated in the late 1970s. Verlie died at Ravenwood Nursing Home, under the loving care of her granddaughter, who worked there, in Nov of 1986. 

10. Vivian Katherine Smith: "Aunt Viv" as we all called her, was born 07 Jul 1912 in Plainfield. She married Leland Barr, born 02 Nov 1906 in Shell Rock, Bremer County, on 03 Jul 1938 in Plainfield. Leland was the son of  William P Barr and Mabelle Hufstader. Leland died 13 Jan 1979. Vivien died 07 Dec 1986 in Wavery. They had no children, but were loved by all of their nieces and nephews. I'm going to do a separate post on Vivian.

11.  Evelyn Joyce Smith:  Born 25 Apr 1914 in Plainfield. Married Marvin Guy Ripley, son of Frank Ripley and Goldie Sperbeck of Charles City. He was born 15 Jan 1914 in Carrville, Floyd County. They had one daughter. Marvin, a career Navy man, died 16 Nov 1990 in Van Wert, Van Wert County, Ohio. Evelyn died 17 Dec 2002 in Convoy, Van Wert County, Ohio. I'm going to do a separate post on Evelyn.

12. Baby Boy Smith: Unknown date of birth/death. Died as infant.

The Cappoens/LeRoy Line: Leo Linsey

Leo Lee Linsey was born the oldest child of Florence Miller and Charles Lindsey (later Linsey) on 18 Jun 1904 in Benton County, Iowa. Florence was a farmer's daughter, having been raised in the rural Benton County area prior to her marriage. They resided at 410 11th Ave in Vinton, Iowa.  They would have two other surviving children; Lucille and Charles, Jr. who went by "Junior" his entire life.

Charles was a working man, working various jobs and spent the last 12 years of his life working on a section gang for the railroad.

Leo would grow up to be a pressman, but also was a sales delivery man for a company for a while. He spent his longest working stint with a printing company in Waverly, Iowa until his retirement. On 12 Apr 1930, he married Hazel Batchelder in Vinton. She was the daughter of Lottie Berry and Lester Batchelder. From this point, things get dodgy. They filed for divorce in 1935, each slinging accusations at each other which made the paper in great detail and the wife requesting Leo be institutionalized (mostly likely for alcoholism). Eventually, the request for commitment was dropped, a demand was made by the court that they stop slinging mud, custody was awarded permanently to Hazel's mother of the son. Leo had very little contact with his son from then on. That son had a successful life and looks back very fondly on his grandparents who raised him. Hazel and Leo were divorced at last in 1936 for the 1st time.

But, lo and behold, come just months after the protracted legal battle, they announced their intention to marry again. I'm guessing this engagement was on and off until they finally remarried on 12 Dec 1936. They separated within months, but did not divorce immediately.

By 1937, Leo was living and working in Waterloo, Iowa. He began cohabitating with Verlie Smith Michaelsen sometime that year. Both were still married. Verlie's husband finally filed and was granted a divorce in 1941 and he remarried in April 1942. It is presumed that Leo's divorce from Hazel was finally finalized sometime prior to her marriage to Jack Ritzman in the mid-1940s. 

Verlie's relationship with her first husband, Ted Michaelsen, was marred by spousal violence and alcoholism. It was also the depression and things were very dire financially for her. Verlie had four children by her first marriage. Many children ended up in orphanages during this time as many did not have the means to even feed the children. Three of the children of this union were adopted by various family members after stays of various lengths in the Bremer Lutheran Children's Home, and the youngest was adopted to a well-to-do Lutheran couple. Two girls were adopted by a paternal aunt and uncle and the oldest was adopted by a maternal aunt and uncle. After extensive conversations with the children of the first marriage, one can only presume that while difficult for all involved, the children ended up in safer, more stable environments. All but one of the children of that marriage maintained a relationship with Verlie her entire life.

Leo and Verlie had three sons between 1939 and 1944. The couple did not marry until 1965, when they drove up to Minnesota and tied the knot 12 Jul 1965 in Fillmore. Leo reportedly wanted to ensure that Verlie was able to get his Social Security. They generally lived on the edge financially their whole lives. Near the end of Leo's life, which had ritually involved stopping off at the tavern after work and after getting a paycheck, he and Verlie separated. Their decree of separate maintenance appeared in the Marriage Dissolutions column in the Waterloo Courier in 1975 and terms were, "She gets household goods and furniture, he pays debts incurred during their marriage." He died on 04 Feb 1980 in Waterloo of a heart attack. His final years were spent with his companion, Elsie Stoner. Verlie lived on until Nov 1986 and died at Ravenswood Care Center in Waterloo. 

I have incredibly fond memories of both of my grandparents. Leo was quiet and smoked stinky green cigars outside. He affectionately called me his "Little Kraut" because I was born in Germany. He mostly liked to sit back in his recliner and watch Lawrence Welk on Saturday nights. Grandma made the best fried chicken dinners and a had a little candy dish on her buffet waiting for all of us when we came for Sunday dinner after church. She was the typical grandma, baking and cooking her way into each of our heart's.

It's much easier to step back and look at their lives from a dispassionate perspective now, with them both gone for over 30 years. They made a lot of probably not so good choices in their lives, but managed to have a bunch of kids between them that did what America is great for -  providing opportunity for each to find their own success and doing it better in the next generation.

The Edwin Smith Family

JACOB SMITH > WILLLIAM CUSTER SMITH > EDWIN SMITH (my great grandfather)

Remember that terrible personal interview I went to a couple of months ago? Well, out of that came getting this photo. Although it's a paper copy, it's still far better than nothing. I've now seen them all.

The Edwin Smith Family, very late 1920s, early 1930s.
Madge, Kate Smull Smith, Bernice, Howard (rear), Nila, Evelyn, Harold (rear), Claude, Vivien, Mary, Verlie, Grace, and Edwin Smith

My uncle Harold Ripley, oldest son of Verlie, had never seen this photo. I've never seen Kate so young and never seen Edwin or Mary before this. I also had no idea Harold Smith was so short!

The youngest three are the ones I knew best - Evelyn, Vivian, and Verlie (my grandma). Bernice is pronounced "Berniss" and I get corrected by my uncle every time I forget and call her "Berneece." Mary's story is told here.

Edwin had done a lot of different work, but farming was never for him. Among other things, he was a day laborer, teamster, and carpenter for the railroad.

Edwin died at age 69 of a massive heart attack while working outside, according to Uncle Harold. He died 10 Jan 1939 in Plainfield, Bremer County, Iowa. His wife Kate, who reportedly put herself in a nursing home after an unsuccessful stay with her daughter Verlie, died at the Waverly Convalescent Center on 04 Mar 1956, due to complications from a stroke. She was 82.

Simeon LeRoy dit Audy

Christina Cappoens was the mother of one side of the family that eventually became the Linsey family and can be read about here and here. The father of the other side of that equation was Simeon LeRoy dit Audy, a Frenchman who became a French-Canadian. Rather than excerpt his story, I share this link with you, which details his life and addresses some of the mysteries of his life in a way I think most plausible. It's written by Lorine McGinnis Schulze: Simeon LeRoy dit Audy

I hope to be uncovering more about the LeRoy family in the coming weeks. The visual of descendancy is below. You may recognize names like "Owens," a family well-documented within this blog: