Leona Leota Weldon
Leona was the mother of Edna Pearl King, aka Mary Creamer. Leona married four times and was either divorced or separated at the time of her death, at age 55, in 1924.
Leona Leota Weldon was born February 17, 1869, in Hart County, Kentucky, probably near the county seat of Munfordville, just down the road from the largest town, Horse Cave, Kentucky She married, on December 18, 1883, James Robert King, she was 14 years of age. In the ensuing 14 years she gave birth to seven children. The information about the birth of these children is based, almost exclusively, on records of their marriages or deaths. No census exists in 1890 and I can’t find the family in 1900. The 1900 census would have told me if she’d had children born that did not survive.
In 1906 Leona married William McGinnis in Marion County, Indiana. He had married previously in 1899, had a son in January of 1900 and was widowed in December of the same year.
In 1910 Leona is living in Indianapolis and operating her own dress shop, she states, for census records, that she is divorced. Living with her are her two youngest children, Mary and Bernice, ages 13 and 11. Edna Pearl (Mary Creamer) is enumerated in St. Louis, Missouri, aged 17; she is lodging in a private home and working as a seamstress in a dress making shop. I can’t find Josephine, who would have been 16 at the time. Josephine doesn’t marry until 1914.
In 1911 Marion County marriage records record a marriage to Carl Kasmer (aka Charles) Yomans. This marriage must not have lasted long as Leona is listed in the 1912 Indianapolis City Directory as Leona L. McGinnis, widow of William, no mention of Yomans.
William A. Scott
In about 1918 Leona married William Albert Scott, he had been a resident of Hondale, New Mexico. Hondale was a town about 10 miles southwest of Deming, New Mexico, it no longer exists.
Several days later they published, “Dr. W. A. Scott and his wife arrived in Hondale this week from Florida. Dr. Scott has the best wishes of the community in his newfound happiness. “ Oddly, they never mention her name or when and where they were married.
The couple regularly appears in the paper. My favorite is a Valentine Party held February 14, 1922, hosted by Mrs. Scott. “Mrs. W. A. Scott entertained a coterie of neighbors and friends very appropriately in the nature of a Valentine party on Tuesday afternoon at her residence, 609 South Silver Ave. The home was artistically decorated with hearts and crepe paper in honor of St. Valentine. During the business hour two Larkin clubs were formed which other members will entertain during the coming year. Several kodak pictures were taken, after which a scrumptious luncheon consistin (sic) of pimento cheese sandwiches, pickles, assorted cake, snowball dessert and coffee was served.” After the Valentine party the couple is never mentioned again, as a couple. In March of 1922 Leona runs several advertisements for lodgers at her home on Silver Avenue.
In July of 1922 Leona takes over management of the American Cafe at 106 Silver Avenue, waffles being a specialty. Ads for the restaurant list Mrs. L. L. Scott as the proprietor. This is a clue as to the state of her marriage to William, as a woman is generally not called or referred to by her Christian name unless unmarried or a widow.
In September of 1922 it is reported that the Cafe reopened under new management and Leona is never mentioned in the papers again.
W. A. Scott is occasionally mentioned in the newspaper after the departure of Leona. At the county fair in 1923 he won a blue ribbon for his pimentos and wonder berries. In 1924 he places an advertisement calling himself Dr. Scott (and not being a doctor of any sort). The Fix-It Hospital, where one is to contact Dr. Scott, is his small repair shop.
“ BE IN TIME – Have your shade trees, Fruit trees, Grape Vines and shrubbery scientifically pruned. Consult Dr. Scott at Fix-It Hospital, 212 Silver Avenue, Deming, N. M.”
Up until his death, William Scott is always referred to as Dr. Scott. His record of occupation according to census records is as follows:
1880, age 18, Works of Farm, although at the time the census was taken it is noted that his leg is broken.
1900, age 38, Livery Man
1910, age 48, House Carpenter
1920, age 57, No occupation
1930, age 68, Proprietor, Repair Shop
He also regularly appears in the exact article shown here. The article claims Mr. Scott obtained relief from his lame back, too freely acting kidneys and highly colored secretions in passage of same. By using one box of Doan’s pills, he was cured of his entire trouble. He hopes to give encouragement to the anxious sufferer of the dreaded kidney disease. These types of advertisements, cloaked as news stories, were quite common. I wonder if the subject was compensated in any way.
Leona died July 7, 1924, in Indianapolis, Indiana at age 55 from chronic nephritis (kidney disease). The certificate states she is married and her husband is W. A. Scott. The informant for the certificate is Edna P. Creamer of Oklahoma City.
The death of W. A. Scott was published in The Deming Headlight on August 18, 1933. It states “W. A. Scott, owner of the Fixit Shop on South Silver Avenue died Wednesday morning. Deceased was ill only a few hours before death. Mr. Scott had lived in and near Deming for about 20 years. The paper also publishes a summons from the probate court “To: Sarah Ann Scott, Jesse Carl Scott, Goldie Eliza (Baxter) Scott and Otterbin Home, in the Town of Lebanon, County of Warren, State of Ohio, the heirs at law of said William Alfred Scott.”
More than a year later notice is given in the paper that the estate had been appointed an administrator and gave one year for claimants to come forward. The following year, 1935, the estate is sued for the foreclosure of a mortgage. The article asks that the heirs come forward. In addition to those named in the paragraph above are Mrs. John J. Quinn, Mrs. Cary H. Fleishman and their heirs.
It seems as if the heirs could not be found but, 91 years later armed with the internet, I found the following. In 1933 each of the named individuals are deceased. Given that they are William’s first wife and his son and daughter-in-law it appears as if William’s will was not updated after their deaths. Sarah Ann Scott is William’s first wife. In various records she is usually Sarah M. Scott and sometimes just Margaret Scott. They married in 1882 in Indianapolis. She died in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1909 at the age of 41, her cause of death is listed as pulmonary tuberculosis. The 1900 census records the couple as having been married 18 years and that they have only one child.
Jesse Carl Scott is the son of William and Sarah, he was born in Indianapolis in 1887. Jesse died in 1928, his cause of death is listed as, “General Paralyses of the Insane”. At the time of his death his residence is listed as the Central Indiana State Hospital and his occupation as Truck Owner. The informant is Goldie Scott.
Goldie Eliza Baxter is the wife of Jesse Carl Scott, they married in 1910. The 1920 census records that they have no children and that Jesse is a retail grocer. Goldie died, at the age of 44, in 1929. Cause of death is listed as Peritonitis and Uterine Fibroids.
The Otterbein (corrected spelling) Home of Lebanon, Ohio was formed in 1912 when the Union Village Shaker Community transferred 4005 acres of land to the United Brethren in Christ Church. In 1913 the United Brethren Orphanage and Home for the Aged became Otterbein Home. The first adults were admitted in 1913 and shortly thereafter children. In the 1960’s Otterbein began to focus exclusively on care for elders. It is still in operation, providing everything from Independent Living to Adult Day Care, Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing.
I haven’t figured out William’s interest in Otterbein. The home is 130 miles southeast of Indianapolis. His parents lived out their lives in Indianapolis and died in their 70’s or 80’s, so we know William was not an orphan. Perhaps William had some sort of affinity toward the United Brethren. I have not been able to figure out the two added to the list of heirs.
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