My great-grandfather Charles C. FREEMAN married my great-grandmother, Elizabeth O'CONNOR in 1900, while he was in the Army and stationed in San Francisco. They produced 2 children. They separated in 1903. FREEMAN got out of the Army in 1905 and settled in Hickory, Catawba County. He married a woman named Laura LOWE about 1906. I think they got married in Hickory. At any rate, they were living there in 1910. FREEMAN was from Colerain, Bertie County NC, born 1876. Laura LOWE had been married before to a man named O. L. LOWE. She was his widow. She was born somewhere in North Carolina about 1866.

At the time of the marriage, Laura already had 3 childen, Thomas Lee LOWE (b. 9/6/1887 in Hickory), Annie L. LOWE (b. abt. 1894), Augustus LOWE (b. abt. 1892).

Charles and Laura produced one child, Mary FREEMAN (b. abt. 1907 probably in Hickory).

Laura left Charles sometime before 1917, and moved with her children to St. Maries, Benewah County, Idaho. Charles rejoined the Army in 1917, and served till 1919. After that, he came back to Hickory, and met and married Minnie Bell SIDES, and moved away to Winnsboro, SC, where he lived out his life.

I'm interested in any information regarding any of these people, including:

Any record of the marriages of Laura and O. L. LOWE. Any information concerning O. L. LOWE's death and where he might be buried. Information regarding a divorce for FREEMAN and LOWE. Any birth information for Laura's children, especially Mary FREEMAN. Any record of the marriage of Laura LOWE and Charles FREEMAN. Information regarding the birthplace of Laura LOWE, and her maiden name.

I'm not convinced my great-grandfather even bothered to divorce his first wife, my great-grandmother. He lied in the 1910 census about having been married before, about whether he had any other children, about where he was born, and about where his parents were born!!! I have no doubt that he "forgot" to mention to Laura that he had been married before and already had children living in San Francisco. He did tell his third wife, Minnie Bell SIDES, about his first two marriages. But he lied to her, too, telling her that his first wife and children had died in the great 1906 earthquake. He also lied to everyone regarding his Army career, saying that he had been a Major, when he had only been a Captain, and that he had graduated from West Point. In fact, "West Point Class of '98" is inscribed on his tombstone! I also have in my possesion a newspaper article in which he lied to the reporter, telling him that he was recommended for the Congressional Medal of Honor.

As you can see, he was quite a character. He was a total mystery to my family out here in California until I began to do research on him. My grandfather, in fact, never go to meet his own father. The more I uncover about Charles C. FREEMAN, the taller the stories get, and that just makes me want to know more.

I'd really appreciate any information that anyone can throw my way.

Cindy