Newspapers are such a wonderful source for details about the lives of our ancestors. Even when we don't find articles specifically about every individual in our family there are so many other insights to be gained about the times our ancestors lived in.One such example is Hezzie Carter Purdom. Daughter of one of the first women practitioners of osteopathy, Hezzie also became a doctor, as well. Her husband, Frederic Everett Moore, a native of California, attended the same Kirksville, Missouri osteopathy school as Hezzie. They were married in Kansas City on June 1, 1903, and shortly thereafter set up a joint practice in LaGrande, Oregon. Eventually, they moved their practice to Portland. At some point, however, they became expatriates in France, where Hezzie apparently finally reached her limit with dear old Fred.*
They were divorced in Paris on June 15, 1927. Hezzie wasn't content with her newly-minted divorce decree, however. According to a wire story picked up by dozens of newspapers across the country, Hezzie further distanced herself from her former husband by having divorce announcements printed. Described as a tasteful lavender, the scented cards clarified she was now an independent woman, and that she had severed her relationship with Fred both personally and professionally.
Fred would die in France just two years later. His sister arranged for his remains to be returned to the United States, where he is buried at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hezzie died in San Bernardino, California, in 1941. She was buried alongside her family at Forest Hill Cemetery in Kansas City. A woman ahead of her times in so many ways!
* For the curious, dear old Fred is my first cousin, four times removed!
Copyright 2019 by Lisa A. Oberg, GeneaGator: Vignettes of Yesteryear. All Rights Reserved.
I wish my ancestors had announced their businesses and divorces in the paper for me to find.
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