Below is the first installment of something I have tentatively titled Nobody Knows About —. As we research our family histories, we often come across those who seem to have been lost to time. Sometimes it is simply because no known descendants exist to tell their stories. Or perhaps their families chose to distance themselves from someone they saw as disreputable or improper. Regardless of the reason, these people deserve to be remembered, and that is what we hope to accomplish through this series of blog posts. Nettie Pearson is our first forgotten person. She is my great grandfather’s sister, but…
Nobody Knows About Nettie (Pearson) McClure Hudson Miller Reed Johnson
Nettie, like many others living during this time period, became acquainted with tragedy early in life. Her brother, Horace (the inspiration for this blog), lost both his legs in a railroad accident in January of 1903. Nettie was just shy of 5 years old, but one can imagine the upheaval in the household and the way in which her family’s focus (which had probably centered on her as the youngest child) now revolved around the recovery of her brother. How might this have affected her? Was she given free reign while her mother attended to Horace? Or was she perhaps tasked with responsibilities that would not typically be asked of a not-quite-5-year-old? Was she mentally scarred by the physical scars left upon her brother, or was she simply resentful of no longer being the center of attention? It is impossible to know, but it seems likely this event might be part of the reason for her myriad marriages.
Outside of the 1900 and 1910 census, the first information we have for Nettie is a 1913 marriage to Elmer McClure in St. Louis, Missouri. It lists her residence as East St. Louis, Illinois, and states that she is over the age of 18; in reality, she is not yet 15. Clearly, this marriage should have required parental consent, but her parents are back in Pulaski County. What happened here? It’s hard to say, but we can certainly speculate. Her half sister, Rosa/Rose, is married and living in East St. Louis by the 1910 census. Did Nettie travel to visit her and fall in love with Elmer McClure? Did he pay her the attention of which she was deprived after Horace’s accident? The details are lost to history (at present), but what we do know is that a son is born to them on September 30th, 1914, in Mounds, Illinois. In a nod to both sides of the boy’s family, he is given the name Pierson McClure.
And that is the last we hear of Elmer McClure, and for a time, of Pierson McClure. When Nettie’s mother dies in March 1917, Nettie is referred to as Mrs. Nettie Hudson. Indeed, a marriage record from November 1915 indicates Nettie married a Roy Hudson in Caruthersville, Pemiscot County, Missouri. Roy is also from Pulaski County, but a January 1916 newspaper clipping in which Roy loses his leg in a railroad accident (sound familiar?) states that he has been lodging in Caruthersville for several months, so that explains the location of the marriage. It also mentions his parents and a brother, Homer, who arrives in Caruthersville to take Roy back to Mounds after the accident. It does not, however, mention Nettie. And yet, Roy’s WWI Draft Registration card, signed on June 5th, 1917, lists “wife” as a dependent… Stranger still is a series of January 1918 newspaper articles describing a mysterious bundle found beneath a fishing dock; the bundle contained personal effects belonging to Roy Hudson. Eventually, it is claimed by Roy’s father, but even he does not know where his son is. Was this “disappearance” Roy’s way of severing ties with Nettie? It certainly seems that way, as he appears with a new wife in the 1920 census.
So, before the age of 21, Nettie has married and separated from at least two husbands, and she has a young child to support. It is the early 1900s, so what is there to do but marry again? Her third marriage takes place in East St. Louis - this time to Walter Miller on January 10th, 1918. The location for this marriage makes sense. Nettie’s mother is dead. Nettie’s father is still living, but he is found living in Cairo, Illinois, with his son, Peyton Eric, in the 1920 census. Rosa/Rose is still living in East St. Louis, and a brother, Daniel Benton lists his residence as East St. Louis on his WWI Draft Registration card. Perhaps the siblings orchestrated a marriage to assist their sister, or maybe Nettie was still seeking attention, and Walter supplied it.
And then, Nettie and Walter disappear into the census ether. I have yet to find a record for them in 1920. The next mention of Nettie appears in her father’s 1927 obituary; she is referred to as Mrs. Nettie Miller of Mattoon, Illinois. By 1929, Nettie and Walter have taken up residence in Niles, Berrien County, Michigan. Nettie’s nephew, George (son of Peyton Eric) sustains minor injuries from a fall while he is staying with Nettie in July 1928, not long after the death of his mother. The address given for Nettie, 1106 North 13th Street, is also her address on the 1930 census. Here, we see a 15 year-old boy named Joseph Miller listed as Walter’s son. At 15, the boy would have been born in 1914/1915, several years before Walter and Nettie married. He is, however, the right age to be Nettie’s son, Pierson McClure. Interesting…
Though Nettie and Walter’s marriage lasts a great deal longer than her first two marriages (individually or combined), they divorce in 1933. In the proceedings, Walter alleges cruelty, stating that Nettie “threatened to kill him, that he took a gun away from her, that she attacked him with a knife, and that she threw a pan of hot grease at him.” The divorce is finalized December 8th, 1933.
Once again, Nettie is on her own, so what does she do? You guessed it! Less than 10 months after her divorce, Nettie marries Walter Russell Reed on September 17th, 1934, in South Bend, Indiana. Their marital bliss is short-lived, however. This Walter files for divorce in January 1935. It is dismissed, and he files again in May. According to Walter, Nettie “strikes and scratches him and calls him vile names.” Perhaps the judge advised them to try again, or perhaps they reconciled on their own. Regardless, a July 1939 filing for divorce is even more detailed. Walter “alleges that his wife refuses to cook his meals [or] attend to her household duties, but instead spends much of her time in beer taverns and remains out late at night.” Their divorce is finalized in October 1939.
Right, right. I know you’re wondering what happened to her son in all of this. Well, the 1940 census places Joseph Miller as a lodger in the home of a Mrs. and Mrs. Nettie Johnson. Then, a WWII Draft Registration card from 1940 identifies a Joseph Miller with the same birthdate as Pierson McClure (September 30th, 1914) and the same place of birth (Mounds, Illinois) who identifies his mother as Nettie Johnson, and she lives at the same address as the Nettie Johnson in the 1940 census in Niles, Michigan. !!! So, no surprise, Nettie has married yet again. Big surprise, though, Pierson McClure IS Joseph Miller. How this happened is anyone’s guess. Perhaps Walter legally adopted him and there was an official name change. Perhaps Nettie and Walter agreed to change his name for the sake of appearances. I haven’t found any official documents to corroborate or disprove the first theory, but that means little. Unfortunately, I have no further information on Joseph Miller at this time. I have been unable to find a marriage, possible children, or a date of death. So, while the title of this post is Nobody Knows about Nettie, nobody knows about Pierson McClure/Joseph Miller either.
Back to Nettie. I haven’t been able to find a marriage record for Nettie and Mr. Johnson, but I’m sure it’s out there. The real question is, were there any other marriages? The only other document for Nettie between 1940 and her death in 1968 is her sister Cora’s 1945 obituary. It only serves to confuse, as the obituary refers to Nettie by her maiden name. The Social Security Death Index lists her as Nettie Miller. No obituary or burial information has been located.
So ends my first installment of Nobody Knows About…
