Who doesn’t like a good romance? Or a good romantic comedy? Well, there are a few in our family’s history and it’s time I told one. Depending on your perspective you may consider it a tragedy, but I prefer the former.
“Virginia is for Lovers;” so, our great Commonwealth of Virginia has claimed since 1969. I think Vera Jean Moore (1923-2004)[1]would agree and she found love…time after time …with a sailor…in the state of Virginia.
Vera was a beautiful young lady, who made her living as a waitress and bartender in Portsmouth, Virginia, when she wasn’t a housewife. Portsmouth is home to the historic and active Norfolk Navy Yard where lots of sailors are stationed. And there are lots more coming and going on liberty in its port. With a job as a waitress and bartender, Vera met lots of them.
Vera Jean Moore (1923-2004), daughter of Elijah Moore (1896-1958) and Goldie Akers (1908-1977)
Who was Vera? She was the daughter of Elijah Moore (1896-1958) and his wife, Goldie Akers (1908-1977). To help out my Moore family, who knows we have a ton of cousins, here is where she fits in the family tree:
As a young 19-year-old, Vera met and married one Samuel G. Howard, an enlisted man in the U.S. Navy stationed at Norfolk Navy Yard.[2] He was from Lansing in Morgan County, Tennessee and had completed two years of high school. The two fell in love and on 9 June 1942, they made it official just across the state line in South Mills, Camden County, North Carolina:[3]
Marriage Record of Samuel Guy Howard to Vera Jean Moore
Being a sailor, Samuel was certain to have to go on cruise at some point. Whether that was the real cause of their divorce remains unknown, but on 22 June 1945, Vera was granted a divorce from him on grounds of desertion:[4]
Divorce Record of Vera Jean (Moore) Howard from Samuel Guy Howard
It didn’t take long for young Vera to recover. In fact, she recovered six months later when she married Ralph William Mattingly, a sailor from Indianapolis. They married in Newport News, Virginia on 2 January 1946:[5]
Marriage Record of Ralph William Mattingly to Vera Jean Moore
Well, things didn’t quite work out with Ralph, either. While no divorce record has yet been located for Ralph and Vera, their marriage didn’t last long, because Vera fell in love again. Three months later, on 12 April 1946, she married Daniel J. Malen from Detroit, Michigan:[6]
Marriage Record of Daniel J. Malen and Vera Jean Moore
And when things didn’t work out with Daniel, she married Ralph Gene Burroughs, a sailor from Madison, Wisconsin on 24 February 1947….[7]
Marriage Record of Ralph Gene Burroughs and Vera Jean Moore
And Andy Quinn Hedrick, on 17 November 1949….[8]
Marriage Record of Andy Quinn Hedrick to Vera Jean (Moore) Burroughs
And Bill Earl Keller on 14 February 1952….when she reclaimed her status as single and asserted her father’s last name was Hedrick; perhaps, the judge wouldn’t let her reclaim her maiden name on the last divorce?[9]
Marriage Record of Bill Earl Keller to Vera Jane (Moore) Hedrick
And William Beachley on 5 February 1955 in Perquimans, North Carolina….[10]
Marriage Register entry for William Beachley to Vera Jean Moore
And to 26-year-old William Robert Carman on 23 March 1957, reclaiming her father’s real last name, but asserting she had only been married once before and that she was 29 years old. (Hey, everyone knows we don’t age past 29, ladies…..she wasn’t lying too much here.)[11]
Marriage Record of William Robert Carman and Vera Jean Moore
And to 21-year-old Froman L. Fry II on 19 August 1960 claiming she was only 27 years old…(ahem…)[12]
Marriage Record ofr Froman L. Fry, II and Vera Jean (Moore) Carman
And finally, to 28-year-old Robert Lawrence Ouellette on 23 September 1966 when she was only 33 years old and had only been married and divorced once (cough…cough…):[13]
Marriage Record of Robert Lawrence Ouellette and Vera Jean Moore
Yes, Virginia is for Lovers….for Vera Jean…..and her sailors:
Vera Jean Moore and some friendly sailors
To use the old adage my mother uses from up the holler in Kentucky, “She shoe’d that ol’ horse all the way around…” Why yes, in this case, she did…twice…and half again…
[1] “U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007,” entry for Vera Jean Moore, database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 January 2020); Notes: July 1944: Vera Jean Moore; July 1945: Vera Jean Howard; March 1955: Vera Jean Keller; March 1960: Vera Jean Carman; February 1965: Vera Jean Fry; September 1966: Vera Jean Oullette. Father: Elijah Moore; Mother: Goldie Ackers. Birthplace: Panther, West Virginia.
[2] 1940 U.S. Census, Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, enumeration district 116-26, sheet 6A, line 20, Samuel G. Howard, 21, male, white, single, born in Tennessee, resided in Lancing, Morgan County, Tennessee in 1935; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 January 2020); citing NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 4318.
[3] Camden County, North Carolina, Register of Deeds, Marriage Licenses, 1942, Samuel G. Howard to Vera J. Moore, 9 June 1942; digital images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 26 January 2020); citing FHL DGS 102199478.
[4] “Virginia, Divorce Records, 1918-2014,” database with images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 January 2020) divorce record for Vera Jean Howard from Samuel Guy Howard, granted 22 June 1945 on basis of desertion, state file no. 2953; citing original records of the Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia.
[5] “Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936-1988,” database with images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.com : accessed 26 January 2020) marriage record of Ralph William Mattingly to Vera Jean Moore, 2 January 1946, Norfolk County, Virginia, file 2826.
[6] “North Carolina, Marriage Records, 1741-2011,” database with images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 January 2020) marriage record of Daniel J. Malen to Vera Jean Moore, 12 April 1946, file no. 3471.
[7] “Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936-2014,” marriage record of Vera Jean Moore to Ralph Eugene Burroughs, 24 February 1947, Portsmouth, Virginia. Vera was granted divorce from Ralph on 17 September 1949 in Virginia, state file 4202, “Virginia Divorce Records, 1918-2014”on the grounds of adultery and desertion. They had one minor child affected; no alimony was granted.
[8] “North Carolina, Marriage Records, 1741-2011,” marriage record of Andy Quinn Hedrick to Vera Jean Burroughs, Pasquotank, North Carolina, 17 November 1949.
[9] “Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936-2014,” marriage record of Bill Earl Keller to Vera Jane Hedrick, file 4616
[10] “North Carolina, Marriage Records, 1762-1979,” database with images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 26 January 2020) marriage register entry of William Beachley to Vera Jean Moore, 5 February 1955, Perquimans, North Carolina; citing FHL DGS 102471849.
[11] “Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936-2014,” marriage record of William Robert Carman to Vera Jean Moore, 23 March 1957, Portsmouth, Virginia, state file 5731, clerk’s no. 37524.
[12] “North Carolina, Marriage Records, 1741-2011,” marriage record of Froman L. Fry II to Vera Jean Carman
[13] “Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936-2014,” marriage record for Robert Lawrence Ouellette and Vera Jean Fry, 23 September 1966, Portsmouth, Virginia, state file no. 031625, clerk’s number 45541. Vera obtained a divorce from Robert on 9 March 1976 on grounds of desertion in Portsmouth, Virginia, state file no. 3412 in 1976.