RESEARCH
RESEARCH
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COMMUNITY - PAGE 10
Darrtown man discovers sister-in-law is a bigamist
Community
10
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NEWSPAPER ARTICLES REPORT WOMAN WITH SIX LIVING HUSBANDS
In 1906, Edward Bacon of Darrtown, while seeking legal custody of his ten-year-old niece, learned that the girl's mother, Ida Mae Knapp Spivey was married to SIX men, two of whom were brothers, George SPIVEY and John SPIVEY.
Click the links below to see three separate 1906 newspaper accounts...
Research has uncovered a 1938 news article that tells of a similar, two-day event held at Darrtown’s Lutheran Church.
Click to see:
The news article was more than the customary announcement that the local schools were reopening after Christmas vacation.
January 1 marked the beginning of a new year (1919) and Darrtown, as well as much of the rest of the world, was recovering from the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.
The newspaper reported that the Darrtown school had been closed for "the greater part of the time for the last TEN weeks."
The original news item has been reproduced at the two following links.
The above words appeared as a headline of a January 1st, 1919 newspaper item.
The Journal News, Wed, January 1, 1919, page 4 DARRTOWN SCHOOLS ARE OPEN AGAIN. The Darrtown public schools are again open. On account of influenza conditions, these schools have been closed the greater part of the time for the last 10 weeks. Health conditions in the village and township are now reported as practically normal once again.
1️⃣ The January 2025 edition of the Darrtown website newsletter included the "six living husbands" story.
2️⃣ After reading the "six living husbands," story, Valerie Elliot submitted the following email message.
"Fred, I enjoyed reading your great newsletter! The Spivey brothers and the bigamist story got my attention because of the Spivey brothers who caused problems in Oxford in 1903. They got drunk and started shooting people at a street fair. A mob attempted to lynch Joseph Spivey but the hanging was stopped and he went to prison. I think his brother Louis was killed in the melee. ~ Some newspaper accounts indicate the brothers were from Kentucky and had been visiting a friend in Billingsville, Indiana. Another reported that they had recently lived in Middletown if I'm remembering correctly ~ Do you know more about George and John Spivey in your Darrtown story? Were they originally from Kentucky? Any connection to the ones who caused problems in Oxford? Val"
3️⃣ Valerie's email message (above) led to research that uncovered newspaper accounts about the 1903 Oxford riot.
Click the following link to see info about the: Oxford Riot of 1903.
