Bless your heart, Dora..
I've been to your grave at the main Gibson Cemetery in Corydon, KY, many times over the years, and I knew you died young. Way too young. I also knew it was suicide, as I had come across your death certificate many years ago.. but this was the first time I was seeing the newspaper articles about it. I never knew what drove you to suicide or the method used.
Isadora "Dora" Duncan was the daughter of John Melvin Duncan and Mary Susan Tapp. She was the Granddaughter of John Duncan & Nancy Smith // William Tapp & Mary Susan Gibson -- thus making her a Gibson descendant and a cousin of mine.
Dora's first marriage was to William Jasper "Jack" Nesler on February 14th, 1894, in White County, IL. They had two daughters together: Hazel and Ruby. For reasons unknown to me.. Jack and Dora divorced.
Dora's second marriage was to William Martin "Willie" Drury on August 8th, 1907, in Vanderburgh County, IN. They had no children together and were not married even a full year before Dora took her life.
By the 1910 census, the girls, Hazel & Ruby are living with their grandparents - John and Mary Duncan.
Jack Nesler, the first husband, eventually moved up to Michigan where he died in 1929. I'm not sure if he ever re-married. He was "single" on his death certificate. He's buried somewhere in Detroit according to the death certificate.
Willie, the second husband, he re-married and I believe had some children with that wife and ended up dying in 1943 in Los Angeles where he's buried.
I don't know if Hazel or Ruby ever had anymore contact with their father Jack, or not. I'm not even sure how much they knew about everything that happened, given that they were so young. I would hope that their Grandparents tried to shield them from as much as they could. But the loss of their Mother I'm sure left a lasting impression on both young ladies.
Hazel Nesler ended up marrying first to Fred Overfield, then to Eugene Butler.
Ruby, who I'm most familiar with, married Roy Poole Dixon Sr. Their son, Roy Poole Dixon Jr married Noretta Hooper (still living) who is my Grandma's 1st cousin (Noretta's mother Mary Lilly and my Great-Grandmother Anna were sisters.)
Roy & Noretta were 4th cousins - both being 3x Grandchildren of Berryman Gibson & Susan Duncan (Berryman & Susan are my 5x Grandparents.)
All this having been said -- the next time you're out at the Gibson Cemetery, please take a moment to think of Dora (Duncan) Nesler Drury. She lived a lot of life in 33 years, and clearly, some of it was unkind to her.
She left behind two young daughters (aged 12 and 10). Clearly, she felt she was in a situation that she couldn't get out of. She had to have felt trapped, like she was suffocating... and felt there was no other way out than taking her own life.
One of the articles mentions domestic trouble - I wonder if Willie was cruel to her. I wonder if her previous husband, Jack, had been cruel to her as well. Maybe two 'failed' marriages was just too much for Dora to take and she felt she had no other choice.. I wish I could go back in time and ask 'why.'
May you rest in heavenly peace, Dora.
*I also just realized the date on Dora's tombstone is wrong. She did not die June 16th, 1908 -- she died June 13th, 1908 (Saturday night).*
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