A Man of Nerve
The Ten Marriages of Carey Harrison Boatright
Multiple marriages were common in the past, but my third Great Grand-Uncle was “marriage happy.”
Carey Harrison Boatright, born December 3, 1800, was an older brother of my third Great-Grandfather, John Daniel Boatright. Carey married ten times. One newspaper article described him as moving west down the Ohio River, marrying women all along the way. It wasn’t far off.
After his marriage in 1853, the newlyweds made the newspapers across the U.S. and abroad: Maitland, New South Wales; Stirling, Scotland; Canada; and Liverpool, England to name a few.
Not all the reasons for Carey’s repeated return to single life were because his wife had died, although that’s how it started out. Even though Carey must have been a charismatic, likable person, who was involved in local civic organizations, temperance societies and, at one time, his church, I have an inkling he may not have been the best person in private life. There was a notice in 1843 that he’d failed to pay a mortgage and the property was up for auction.
Here’s the breakdown.
Wife #1
Mahala Wheeler. Carey’s first marriage occurred on December 13, 1821 in Kanawha, West Virginia. Mahala died three years later on 24 August, 1824 in Kanawha, aged 21. She and Carey had one daughter. Frances was born 1823 but also died in 1824, possibly at the same time, or close to the same time, as her mother.
Wife #2
Margaret Jenkins. Margaret married Carey on May 3, 1825, in Kanawha, West Virginia. Margaret also died three years after her marriage, on 23 November, 1828 in Kanawha at age 18. Before her death, she and Carey had two daughters.
The first was Minerva Frances, born in 1826, who lived a long life, passing away in 1915 at 90. Minerva married Francis Asbury Settle and they had children of their own.
The second daughter was Nancy, born April 1828 who died the same year as her mother on December 10, 1828 at 8 months. She is buried in Jenkins Cemetery in Deep Water, West Virginia.
Wife #3
Harriet Boone Starke. Born in December of 1812, the daughter of Colonel John Starke married Carey on December 13, 1828 in Cabin Creek, Kanawha County, West Virginia. Harriet died 3-1/2 years after her marriage, on 13 May 1832 at 19. She is also buried in Jenkins Cemetery in Deep Water, West Virginia.
Carey and Harriet had a daughter and a son. Dorcas was born in May of 1829 but died two years after her mother in February of 1834, not yet 5 years old. Charles Franklin was born on 26 June, 1831 and survived to adulthood living until December of 1901. When Harriet died, Carey left 11-month-old Charles with his wife’s parents, Colonel John Dryden Starke and Sarah ‘Polly’ Whiteside, and moved west to Indiana.
Wife #4
Dorcus Pugh was born January 10, 1812 and married Carey on 17 May, 1834 in Marion County, Indiana. She died that same year in November at 22 years old. She is buried in Old Union Cemetery, Speedway, Marion Co., Indiana.
Wife #5
Sarah Cool had her turn on November 5, 1836. She and Carey had a son named William born on September 16, 1837. I wondered if with her husband’s history of four dead wives, Sarah got nervous, or Carey wasn’t such a great guy after all and she decided she’d had enough, because she divorced him. Turns out the second option is the most likely one. Based on a subsequent marriage record for Carey, she may have divorced him before William was even born.
I say this because there is a marriage record from the Indiana State Library from Indiana Marriages Through 1850 that shows Carey Boatright marrying a Mary Hinesley on 9 September, 1837. This was a week before William was born. This relationship understandably may have been the cause of the snappy divorce.
The 1850 census shows 36-year-old Sarah and 13-year-old William living next to 74-year-old Mary Cool. This is most likely Sarah’s mother. On the other side of Sarah and William lives the Roberson family who have a 10-year-old named Eliza Jane who would become William’s wife in 1865. She is named as Eliza J. Boatright on William’s death certificate which also shows Carey Boatright and Sarah Cool as his parents. Sarah never married again and continued to live in Marion County until her death in 1883.
Wife #6
Mary Hinesley and Carey married on September 9, 1837, and son Stoughton Auphen Boatright arrived on April 28, 1838 (seven months after marrying and after William was born). It’s plausible this was part of Sarah divorcing Carey even though she was pregnant with William. If he not only had another relationship, but also another child on the way, it would make sense. Sarah had family to go back to and she took the opportunity.
Two children I have seen named but for which I haven’t found documentation, were Carey Harrison Boatright Jr, born July 15, 1841, died by October that year, and a daughter, Mary Frances, believed to have been born during this time, passing away in 1847. Stoughton lived until 1920, so there is considerably more documentation of his life.
Frances is a name often given to Carey’s daughters. His mother was named Frances Tinsley, so it would seem to be in her honor. How long Carey and Mary were married, I don’t know, but there is a new marriage record from 1847.
Wife #7
Elizabeth McNitt. This marriage took place on May 27, 1847. I have found very little information on Elizabeth, but by 1848, she has either died or disposed of Carey, probably because…
Wife #8
Margaret Thornton is up to the plate next. She either bravely or unwittingly married Carey on November 22, 1848. Margaret hightailed it rather quickly because the Indianapolis census shows Carey and Stoughton, then 13, as the only members of the Boatright household. Carey filed a divorce petition in 1851 and it looks like Margaret left the state of Indiana altogether, or Carey thought she had. She apparently ceased all contact because Carey had to publish a divorce notice in the newspaper several times for notification.
Wife #9
Lucinda Ward is the woman given worldwide newspaper notoriety as Carey’s tenth wife when she married him in 1853. Although, the documentation I’ve accumulated so far indicates Lucinda would have been his ninth rather than tenth wife.
There is certainly a possibility there is another wife in the mix that is either unknown now or who has been duplicated from variant spellings of another wife with a similar name. I say this because I’ve seen some trees that list a Mary Hensley as a wife between Dorcas and Sarah. Hensley is very close to Hinesley in the genealogy scheme of spellings, but I can find no record of the marriage or any information to indicate they were separate marriages. Additionally, the timeline, which is pretty tight as it is, doesn’t have room unless Carey committed polygamy. There would be little time left for him to squeeze another bride in to his busy matrimonial schedule, although we’ve seen he isn’t opposed to doubling up.
The article regarding Margaret Thornton’s marriage to Carey also cites her as the ninth wife rather than the eighth, which may be where the error initially occurred.
Lucinda and Carey were married on July 31, 1853 and were divorced in 1855. No sense breaking a streak.
Carey then moved westward to Cooper County, Missouri where his son Charles had lived for several years. Charles is the child Carey left behind when he was yet a year old. I wonder how the reunion went. Charles may have chosen to move to Cooper County since he had family on his paternal side from Otterville, Missouri.
Wife #10
Last in the batting lineup was Elsey Boles. Carey married Elsey on January 29, 1860. Carey was 59 years old and Elsey was probably around 40.
Elsey had been married before since the Marshall Democrat newspaper refers to her as Mrs. Boles rather than Miss in the marriage announcement. This paper, as well as the Weekly Visitor of Waverly put the count at ten, with Elsey being the final wife. This corresponds to the documentation I have found.
Carey died on March 18, 1870 at 69. He is buried in Pleasant Grove Cemetery, just northwest of Otterville, Missouri.
Mahala Wheeler: West Virginia Marriages Index 1785-1971
Margaret Jenkins: West Virginia Marriages Index 1785-1971
Harriet Starke: No marriage record found yet; tentative marriage date per family history info, per births of children, and burial.
Dorcas Pugh: Indiana, Marriages, 1780-1992, No 2, page 11
Sarah Cool: U.S. Select Marriages 1748-1993
Mary Hinesley: Indiana Marriages through 1850, Indiana State Library
Elizabeth McNitt: Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992, No 4, page 395
Margaret Thornton: Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992, page 63
Lucinda Ward: Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992, page 583
Elsey Boles: Marshall Democrat newspaper, February 15, 1860; Weekly Visitor newspaper, February 25, 1860.
Cynthia, you have such a gift for taking all kinds of discombobulated records and turning them into a coherent, entertaining story -- you've been a great example for me in writing my own family history. This may be my favorite tale so far!!
What a fun story this was to read, and what a crazy search it must have been for you lol. Did you know about all the wives before you started or was it a surprise? Wonderful story, either way!
I’ve come across several men who were serially married, usually to very young g girls who had a few kids quickly and then died. I always think to myself, “this is why we need to teach boys to cook” 🤣
Great work, Cynthia!