So he was raised with a strong mother figure, and probably respected women. Served in two wars, when he probably could have gotten out of the 2nd, so patriotic. Married 3 times, so ... hard to tell. Bad choices? Had an ideal that they didn’t meet? Just simple tragedies?
My father’s mother married 3 times. Father’s father at least 4. I hope they did better and were happier each time.
Strong women could do a lot for themselves. And especially out west, there were a lot of role models of strong women. Grandmother was the first newspaper publisher in Colorado. She divorced grandfather, and took a job in state government. Yours seems to be that same strong type. And tragic that he lost his father so soon. What do you bet she had a large garden, something you don’t find so often now?
I don’t think she had a large garden. She was in a very urban area of Los Angeles. I think one reason she moved to LA was to get away from a cold rural area to a warm urban area. Who knows. But maybe I have her genes. I have a large garden and lots of firewood.
But I am so impressed that in 1900 she was able to somehow support herself and care for her child. And he grew up to at least connect with a ‘life’ partner.
I have been so impressed with how difficult life was back then. There was no social security, no welfare, and people had to work hard to keep a roof over their head. So many people lived in other people’s houses as servants. That was the only way to get food and a place to sleep. Hire yourself out. How she was able to live independently and not be indentured is impressive.