My great grandmother, Lorena Estelle/Estella Eley Norsworthy Dews Harlow Lenahan Collins was married FIVE times! Lorena outlived each and every husband. All FIVE! My father used to tell me she must have fed them poisonous mushrooms. He was just kidding - -
Her fourth hubby, Robert E. Lenahan has been a bit of a brick wall (so was hubby number 1, Mills Norsworthy, but, this is about Robert).
Years ago, early in my research, I found a marriage index for what was then, Norfolk County Courthouse at Portsmouth Virginia. Year, 1918. I tried to find that marriage license, it was even given a number in that index. I tried several times, in all courthouses in the Norfolk area. I also tried from the Commonwealth of Virginia. The effort was a total fail. I was always more than befuddled by that failure.
Recently, I found another marriage index, this time over in North Carolina for the same couple and the same date, right to the very day. For a variety of reasons, that marriage record has not yet been procured, but, that will change soon!
This weekend while cleaning email and working diligently on the family history data base, I wandered in and out of Ancestry, FamilySearch, Fold3 and Find A Grave. And, I found, this!
Over the last couple of days I have (along with the help of some good genie angel researching friends) discovered some more about ole Robert here.
So, Happy Veteran's Day Robert, thank you for your service (which happened between May 12, 1898 and September 1898) during the Spanish American War era.
I am not sure I have any other Spanish American War vets, you may be my first.
Now, I am off to learn some more about Robert. And, I have some pension files to try and get copies of.
* The required disclaimers: I am a user of Ancestry, FamilySearch, Fold3 and Find A Grave. I pay the required memberships to access those that require fees. I have not been asked to chatter about their services, good or bad. I refer you to my Disclaimer page.
** Ohhh, and there is this family tree I discovered on Ancestry, that shows Robert living around Memphis Tennessee for a number of years, with a wife, Lizzie. Yep! Am I surprised?? Not much, remember, I have been researching Archibald Norman Lashbrook, aka Arthur Norman Stevens for years!
*** This also pretty much busts up a family tradition/story that Robert just up and disappeared one day and that 7 years later she had him declared dead.
**** By the way, Robert died in Louisiana in 1930 per another index card I found. Lorena resided in the general Norfolk area all of her adult life. I may get another surprise or two when and if I get the pension application file, but, somehow Dad, I don't think she fed him any poisonous mushrooms.
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