Let me start with their child. Sherman's wife, Mary May Brown, divorced him in the fall of 1903. Her divorce complaint stated that in May of 1902, she was pregnant with their child. Early on in my research, I had come across the following burial record from the Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.
Dodge, S.E. - 22 June 1902 (interment date) - Stillborn - Child of
I made the presumption that this could possibly be Sherman's child because of the initials, and the presumption was confirmed with the divorce complaint and the newspaper articles I had found that chronicled the divorce trial. Yet, I still didn't have a birth record or an exact date of birth. Last week, I found a birth record for Sherman's child. Their child was stillborn on 30 May 1902. Below are the birth and records I received from the Colorado State Archives, in addition to the interment record.
Now, on to Sherman's wife; Mary May Brown. When I started, I knew that she and Sherman had married and divorced. I didn't know anything about her background, where she was born, where she grew up, her parents or what happened to her after the divorce. This last week has changed a lot of that.
I first found out that after the divorce, Mary stayed in Denver. She remarried; on March 17, 1907 she married a man named Judson C. Bayless. Below is the marriage record. On it, she lists her divorce date as October 1, 1903 as well as the reason for the divorce: desertion.
This last week, I came across the book The Wine Family in
America, First Section © 1952. This book lists Mary May Brown as a daughter of Joseph White Brown and Elizabeth Wine. This book lists her date of birth as December 5, 1868 and her date of death as June 10, 1918. It also lists her marriage to Judson Bayless. However, this book doesn't list any places to accompany the dates, nor does it list the date and place of her marriage to Judson Bayless (not to mention it omits her marriage to Sherman Elwood Dodge).
I searched for Mary and her family just last night, and I have found much of the information I was hoping to find. The book does list the marriage date for her parents (July 9, 1861). After searching on familysearch.org, I found that her parents had married at Lancaster, Keokuk, Iowa. I then decided to search the Census records in Iowa for Joseph White Brown. I found him in the 1850 & 1860 US Census and the 1856 Iowa Census. Joseph White Brown had previously been married to a Martha H. (last name unknown) and that they had several children together. I had also found Joseph W. Brown (spelled Browne) in the 1880 Census in Texas with Mary and her two sisters, Margaret Brown (b. 1865) & Louisa Brown (b. 1872). According to the 1880 Census, Mary was born in Missouri.
The information for Joseph Brown in the 1880 Census matched what I had found in the other Census Records, but I still hadn't found the 1870 Census. I have found over the years that if you can't find the person you are looking for in the Census, try looking for their children and very likely you will find who you are looking for. This is what I did for the 1870 Census; I looked for some of his children in the 1870 Census, and I was able to find Joseph White Brown, his wife Elizabeth, and their children. However, most of their children are not listed with the correct last name.
In the 1870 Census, in between Joseph and most of his children is a man by the name of Joseph W.B. Cook and two other individuals who are apparently part of this Cook family. After these three people are listed, the census record returns to enumerating Joseph Brown's children, but does not return to the correct last name. Upon a casual glance, these children appear to have the last name of Cook as well. However, when you compare the children with the children of Joseph White Brown in the 1860 Census, it is immediately clear that these children are those of Joseph White Brown, including Mary May Brown, who is a little girl of one year old. Below are the 1850, 1860, 1870 & 1880 US Census and the 1856 Iowa Census for Joseph White Brown and his family.
1850 US Census - Monroe, Johnson, Iowa
1856 Iowa Census - Jefferson, Johnson, Iowa
1860 Census - English Township, Keokuk, Iowa
1870 Census - Preston, Jasper, Missouri. Joseph White Brown's family begins at the bottom of the first page and continues onto the next page; his family is interrupted by a family with the last name of Cook; the 1860 Census verifies that these are indeed the children of Joseph White Brown.
1880 Census - Tarrant County, Texas - Mary is listed with her father and two sisters
Sometime before 1900, Mary May Brown moved to Denver, Colorado. She is found in the 1900 Census working as a servant in Denver. In the 1900 Census, she is listed as May Brown and was born in Missouri in December of 1868.
1900 Census - Denver, Colorado
During their divorce, Sherman made the claim that Mary was a Spiritualist. There appears to be some truth to that claim. On November 5, 1899, Mary M. Brown took out an advertisement in The Daily News: Denver, Colorado that reads: 'Clairvoyant, gives advise on all affairs, can lead you into the light so you will understand; she gives with each reading the secret how to win others' esteem and control those around you; puts you on the road to health and happiness; why walk in darkness when assistance is so near you; reading by mail $1 and stamp; 1338 California St., Denver, Co. In August of 1906, Mary M. Dodge gave a series of spiritual lectures entitled: 'Passport to Heaven", "Spirit World", "Why Jesus was Crucified," and "Immaculate Conception of Jesus."
The book that I mentioned earlier states that Mary died on June 10, 1918. However, this book doesn't list any places to accompany the dates. I haven't been able to verify the death date listed in the book (yet), nor have I found Mary in the 1910 Census. But what I have found so far has answered a number of questions regarding Mary May Brown.
