"Marriage on the Rocks"

Hello, reader! As we leave the holiday weekend behind, I am happy to inform you that I have completed all 27 Dublin Core-formatted entries relating to the fabulous family of Judy Ustler Babb. Over the weekend, I was given my next prospective assignment- to tackle a family narrative in two parts, digitally donated by Apopka resident, Nancy Ryan Blalock.

During my Saturday visit to the Museum of the Apopkans, I asked the Museum Technician, Justin, if he had any information on the donor. He then informed me that Nancy Ryan Blalock had been the museum’s former executive director back in 2001! I viewed the Blalock family folder, which contained two newspaper articles. One article, published by The Apopka Chief on October 26, 2001, details her outstanding community career within Apopka and her familial ties to the city’s fascinating history. Nancy herself has served on the Apopka Citizens Advisory Committee, Apopka’s zoning board, founded the annual Miss Apopka Foliage Scholarship Pageant, and co-founded the Apopka Community Theater, just to name a couple of her contributions to the community. 

Additionally, I made progress on creating metadata entries for more Gladden Collection objects, including some that seemed close to Mr. Michael Gladden Jr.’s heart. One such collection was addressed to Mr. Gladden’s first wife, Edith Aileen Means, from a friend named Velma, who still lived in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, on October 8, 1926, using a loving diminutive of her name, “Lean.” In the letter, Velma asks Aileen how she is adjusting to married life in Florida, wonders how she and Mr. Gladden fared during an intense storm, and gives Aileen news from home.

From the marriage certificates Justin was able to unearth, I learned that Michael Gladden Jr. and Edith Aileen Means were only married as of September 13, 1926, just 25 days after Velma wrote her letter to Aileen. In contrast, Michael Gladden Jr. married Marie Stapler on June 10th, 1935, after Aileen had left him for larger pursuits outside of small, confining Apopka. At first, these marriage records seemed to be rather commonplace and unassuming. This was until Justin handed me a real-life plot twist in the form of Edith Aileen Means’ second marriage record, hailing all the way from Vigo County, Indiana! 

On the record, it shows that on July 23rd, 1943, Edith Aileen Means married a man by the name of Robert E. Davis, who originally hailed from Illinois. However, Aileen lists the year she was divorced from Michael Gladden Jr. as 1939- four years after Marie Stapler married Mr. Gladden. Given that the two marriages occurred in Orange and Volusia counties, respectively, it is reasonable to infer that Mr. Gladden and Marie Stapler were married in another county because they would not have a preexisting marriage record. This Saturday, I hope to figure out the year when Aileen left Mr. Gladden to further understand the fascinating life events of the Gladden family. I’ll let you know what I find out next week, reader!