One of the items that turned up was the notice of John Salter Blue's (left) impending divorce from his second wife, Elizabeth (Vandeveer) Kelsey Blue, published several times during December of 1852 and early 1853 in The Des Moines Courier, Ottumwa. Had there been a newspaper in Lucas County at the time, the notice would have been published in it --- but the county's first, The Chariton Patriot, did not come along until 1856 and so The Courier would have been among the nearest newspapers of record at the time.
John (1805-1896) was the patriarch of Russell's Blue family and was marred three times. His first wife, Mary Martin, died at the age of 36 on April 15, 1847, in Illinois, leaving him with five surviving children. On the 17th of October 1847 he married the widowed Elizabeth, whose first husband, James Kelsey, had died in 1844 leaving her with five children. They had three children together, Cynthia, Absalom and Bailey Blue.
The blended family was living in Knox County, Illinois, during 1850, but apparently moved west to Lucas County ca. 1851 or 1852, a move that seems not to have agreed with Elizabeth and resulted in the divorce. It would appear that she returned to Illinois with her children, both Kelsey and Blue, and he remained in Lucas County with his children by Mary. Bailey Blue would have been an infant at the time.
The notice alleges that, Elizabeth "willfully, without just cause deserted him, and further that you (Elizabeth) are so disagreeable, insolent and abusive both to himself and children, that he cannot live with you in peace and happiniess." The latter seems on the face of it to be unnecessarily harsh since desertion alone would have been sufficient grounds for divorce.
When the 1860 federal census was taken, John was living in Washington Township, Lucas County --- juxtaposition of households suggest on the farm south of Russell that was the old Blue homeplace --- with his son and daughter-in-law, (Andrew) Jackson and Eliza (Gookin) Blue, as well as a younger son, Milton.
Elizabeth was back in Illinois with her Kelsey and Blue children. None of the latter seem ever to have lived in Iowa.
Elizabeth died during 1872 in Illinois and was buried beside her first husband in Greenbush Cemetery, Warren County.
John married again in Lucas County --- to Rebecca (Smiley) Myers during February of 1871. She died of tuberculosis during 1883 and was buried in the Russell Cemetery.
John was identified as Lucas County's oldest resident when he died at 91 during 1896. He, too, is buried in the Russell Cemetery. You may read a little more about him in this earlier Lucas Countyan post,"John Salter Blue, a timeline and a coffin."
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