Try, try again...

For several years we believed that James A. Blay had only one wife, Mattie Morris. However, recently we found that he actually had three wives. After Mattie's death he married Emma Lintges in 1906. The marriage lasted only 6 years. James (31 years her senior) filed for a divorce in 1912 citing "extreme and repeated acts of cruelty" on the part of Emma.

In 1913 James married Minnie Zuendt. Minnie (24 years younger than James) was a German immigrant; having arrived in this country in 1907. Their marriage lasted until his death in 1929.

In the following photo, James is sitting next to Emma. I calculate the photo was taken about 1909 or 1910. Melvina (standing on the chair) looks to be about 2 or 3 years old (she was born in 1907). I believe the older woman in the photo is James' mother, Cynthia Derrick, who died in October of 1910.