Leona was born on May 28, 1897, in Brewersville, Jennings County, Indiana, exactly one year after her parents were married. The story my mom told me was that Leona’s mother Viola became pregnant out of wedlock and her family forced her to marry a much older man. I am not sure of the validity of the story, but Viola Adams married William Gallimore on 28 May 1896. Viola was 15 and William was 22 at the time of their marriage.
Prior to 1907 birth registration in Indiana was done at the county level. I contacted the Jennings County Indiana health department, and they have the birth recorded of an unnamed female born to Viola (Adams) Gallimore and Henry Gallimore on 28 May 1897. The birth was registered on 15 June 1897.
My mom had little information about Leona. She had a photocopy of her delayed birth certificate, and the guestbook from her funeral in 1951, stating that she was 43 years old (she was really 54.) My mom also knew that Leona’s daughter’s last name was Dickson and that Leona’s final husband’s name was “Ace.”
Initially I began this research to locate the two known husbands of Leona, but I found so much more. Leona had been married ten times in a span of 36 years. She married twice to two men, for a total of eight husbands.
The poor woman was always trying to please or appease someone. Her mother loved her, but she didn't think she had brains enough to make up her own mind about anything. The one real love of her life, my cousin Lois' dad, was someone my grandma really couldn't stand. Unfortunately, Grandma drove him off. Viola managed to drive off everyone Leona ever paid any attention to. It's sad. I was with Leona when she died. Everyone else who was related to her except myself and her final husband, Ace, were in California. My cousin Lois, Leona's only child, was in California as well. Ace and I maintained a bedside vigil thinking Leona might wake up. She didn't. She had passed out at home and spent nearly two days in the hospital in a coma. The doctor told us that she had a heart valve that failed, and this had been like a time bomb in her system waiting to go off all her life. He said a piece of the valve or a blood clot must have lodged in her brain.
Marriage records were found for most of the marriages, and divorce or annulment records for the latter marriages. U.S. Census’ and city directories show her mostly living near, or with her mother, who usually went by the name of Viola Brown or Viola Forman.
Here is a rundown on the men involved:
Husband #1 and #4: Glen Dickson
Leona was married to Glen Everett Dickson twice, first from 13 July 1916 in Butte, Montana and again on 20 June 1921, in Pocatello, Idaho. Glen was the father of Leona’s only child, Lois, who was born in 1917, during their first marriage. According to my mom Glen was the one real love of Leona’s life. While records were located for both marriages and the birth of their daughter, I could find no records of divorce or annulment for either marriage to Glen Dickson.
Husband #2: Charles Frear
Leona’s second marriage to a much older Charles Frear and lasted for approximately 10 months. They were married in Pocatello, Idaho on 4 September 1919. The 1920 census enumerated four months later shows Charles Frear, age 42, and his wife Leona Frear, age 23. Daughter Lois was listed on the census as Lois Frear, age 2.
Husband #3: Gleason
In July of 1920 Leona her daughter and her mother were in an automobile accident in Butte, Montana. The accident is mentioned on July 2, 1920 in The Butte Daily Bulletin and the Anaconda Standard. The incident is also mentioned in the Butte Miner on July 3. In these articles Leona is mentioned as Leona Gleason, mother of Lois Dickson, age 3.
No marriage records could be located for a marriage of Leona Dickson, Leona Gallimore, or Leona Frear to anyone with the last name of Gleason. I could not locate the 1920 Butte City directory. The only mention of Leona Gleason is in the Butte newspapers at the time of this accident.
Husband #5: Joseph Davis
Leona was married to Joseph Davis for nearly four years, but it is unclear how long they actually lived as a couple. They were married 21 June 1927 in Anaconda, Montana. In 1928 the couple is shown living together at 207 West Broadway. However in 1929 the Butte school Census shows Lois and Leona living at the Montana Hotel. In 1930 the directory shows Joseph still at 207 Broadway, but Leona is living elsewhere, room 530 of the Phoenix Block at 68 West Park Street. Her mother Viola lived in room 528 and Viola’s business, a beauty shop, was located in room 529. Leona was working as a manicurist at J. N. Jahreiss, which was a barber shop in the swanky Butte Hotel.
The couple more than likely separated some time in 1929. A notice of divorce appeared in the Montana Standard newspaper in Butte stating that Leona Davis was granted a divorce from Joseph H. Davis on 10 April 1931 for failure to provide.
Husband #6: Arthur Read
Leona’s next husband was Arthur Read, who she married 10 April 1931, the same day that her divorce from Joseph Davis was finalized. Her marriage to Arthur Read lasted only two months, with an annulment granted on 29 June 1931, on the grounds that he was already married at the time of his marriage to Leona.
Husband #7 and #8: Clarence Foster
There is a ten-year break until her first marriage to Clarence Foster in 1942. The 1940 Census shows Leona Dickson once again living with her mother Viola Forman at 3110 Edwards Street in Butte. Leona and Clarence were married two times, once on 24 February 1942 with a divorce granted 8 March 1946 on the grounds of extreme cruelty. They were married for the second time three months later 22 June 1946 divorcing 2 April 1948 on the grounds of desertion.
Husband #9: B.C. O’Brien
Leona married Brian C. O’Brien six days after her second divorce from Clarence Foster on 7 April 1948. Leona claimed that her age was 42 at the time of this marriage when it was actually 51. In 1948 the couple is listed in the Butte City directory as living at 3110 Edwards, the home of Leona’s stepfather Lou Forman. Viola had died in 1946 leaving the home to Lou. They divorced after two years 9 May 1950 with Leona charging B.C. with mental cruelty.
Husband #10: William Porter
Leona’s final marriage was to “Ace” William Porter. While no marriage record can be found for Leona and Ace, he is listed on her death certificate as her husband and her name is shown as Leona Porter on her death certificate, her funeral guest book, and her gravestone. Her death certificate and funeral guest book show her birth year as 1908 rather than 1897, a difference of 11 years.
The average length of one of Leona’s marriages was two years and four months.
Here is a gallery of many of her marriage and divorce records. Click on them to enlarge.
