Patterns of Relationships

In yesterday's post showing four and five generations of women in my Nana's family, I noticed that pictures of the husbands in the family were rare. There was the photo of Laura Weaver Ray and her second husband Alfred Ray, which I posted on Sunday. Separately I found two photos of Laura with her first husband Frank Kelley, which I will post here. But something I noticed is that over the years, Laura, her mother Nancy and daughter Marie Frances made a special effort to capture a generational photo with my Nana. There were quite a few.

Laura Weaver and Frank L. Kelley, 1898.

Laura Ethel Weaver was born on 25 February 1881 in Hamilton County, Indiana. She was the daughter of Nancy Barker and Alonzo J. Weaver. Nancy later married Milton Taylor in Indianapolis on 10 November 1907. Laura married Frank L. Kelley on 7 December 1898 in Bedford, Lawrence County, Indiana. The old photos inherited by my Dad included a copy of their wedding announcement, see below.

Laura and Frank had a daughter, Marie Frances Kelley, on 12 March 1900 in Bedford. By 5 June 1900 (the date of the 1900 US Census entry), they were living in the household of Nancy Weaver in Indianapolis at 613 Lockerbie Street.

Laura, Marie and Frank Kelley with Harry Weaver in middle.

The photo above shows Frank Kelley and Laura's brother Harry Weaver standing in front of their store in Indianapolis in 1905 or early 1906. I checked through the City Directories and confirmed they had an entry for the store in the 1906 City Directory.

1906 Indianapolis City Directory

It appears Frank Kelley went by various aliases during their marriage. There is a curious photo where Laura is sitting on the front porch of a home in the Lockerbie neighborhood, and her name is listed as "Laura Kelly Lindsey".

Laura Weaver Kelley.

By 1908, Laura filed suit to divorce Kelley.

Indianapolis News, 6 May 1908.

Laura married Alfred Ray on 22 April 1909, and they enjoyed a happy life in Indianapolis. He passed away on 15 September 1928, and Laura never remarried. I will have much more on her life in Indianapolis and Texas. She lived to be nearly 100 years old.

Marie Frances Kelley (later using Alfred's name Ray) married John Xavious Reynolds on 6 October 1918 in Indianapolis. Their photos are below:

Marie Frances Ray, 1918.

John X. Reynolds Jr., 1918.

Marie and John soon had a daughter, my Nana, Betty Jeanne Reynolds, born on the same day as her mother, 12 March 1923. There are several news articles mentioning Marie and John. I'll go into these further with the next post.