Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
Life can be complicated; more so for some. In 1897 Earle Van Buren Ackerman married Rhoda Beatrice Snell (1877-1953). Their wedding took place in Brooklyn, New York. This was the same year that Earle’s brother P. Dodd Ackerman married his first wife Margaret.
Earle and Rhonda celebrated the birth of their son Robert on August 28, 1898 in Brooklyn, NY, the same year that P. Dodd and Margaret celebrated the birth of their daughter Emma. Each couple lived in Brooklyn with infants, the men of the family trying to succeed as a scenic artist.
1916 was a turning point for each brother. That year the marriage of each couple made headlines. Margaret divorced P. Dodd, after he had an affair with his daughter’s friend.
Similar troubles were also brewing for his younger brother Earle, when another woman caught his eye, also making headlines. On Feb. 12, 1916, the “Times Union” reported, “Mrs. Shean is Held. Charged with assault by Mrs. E. Ackerman, Wife of Scenic Artist” (page 1). The article continued, Mrs. Thomas F. Shean of 8 Glenada place, was held in $200 bail by Magistrate Naumer in the Gates Avenue Court late yesterday afternoon on the charge of assault…Mrs. Shean is the wife of an insurance broker and Mrs. Ackerman’s husband is a scenic artist with a scenic studio at 531 Grand avenue. The courtroom was crowded with a number of club women and society folk who had come to hear the domestic troubles of the couple in court. Mrs. Ackerman testified that she accidentally met Mrs. Shean in a Fulton streetcar Sunday night, When Mrs. Shean got off at Grand avenue, Mrs. Ackerman followed and pursued her for over half a mile. Finally, Mrs. Shean turned and said: ‘Do you expect to find your husband by following me?’ Mrs. Ackerman replied that she did. Thereupon Mrs. Shean struck Mrs. Ackerman over the eye with her handbag, so Mrs. Ackerman testified, and she took off Mrs. Shean’s hat and pulled her hair. Mrs. Ackerman further testified that her husband told her, after the arrest, that he would leave her unless she withdrew the complaint against Mrs. Shean. Mrs. Ackerman claims she is going to sue her husband for a separation.” Mr. Shean posted bail for his wife (The Standard Union, 12 Feb 1916, page 9). Mrs. Ackerman’s suspicions were justified, and the couple divorced two years later. The “Standard Union” added, “In telling the story to the Magistrate, Mrs. Ackerman declared her assailant had alienated her husband’s affections…Mrs. Ackerman said she was unwilling to make any trouble for Mrs. Shean because her son, Robert, was an intimate friend of the Shean children, Ethel, 18 and Edward, 16. The public assault was ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back, Mrs. Ackerman averted” (8 Feb, 1916, page 14).
And yet, Earle and Margaret continued to ride the wave of wedlock in a sinking ship. On March 30, 1916, the “Standard Union” announced, “Mr. and Mrs. E. Van Ackerman of 329 Halsey street, celebrated their nineteenth wedding anniversary on Tuesday night with a social at their home” (page 9). That same month, Mrs. P.Dodd Ackerman was awarded $30/week alimony, pending her suit for separation (Standard Union, 17 March 1916, page 17). After two years of denying an affair with the young stenographer, Miss Smith, he put her name on his draft registration as his second wife. Earle Van Buren Ackerman’s WWI draft registration card listed his physical appearance as identical to his older brother, with fair hair, blue eyes, medium height and medium build. The registration card listed his occupation as “theatrical scenery,” and his employer H. Robert Law, at 502 W. 38th in New York.
About the same time that P. Dodd was writing May Smith on his draft registration form, Earle Ackerman made headlines when the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” reported, “Artist Sued For Divorce” (Nov. 12, 1918,page 2). The article continued, “Mrs. Rhonda B. Ackerman today brought suit in the Supreme Court for a divorce from her husband, Earle Van Buren Ackerman, known in theatrical circles as a scenic artist, naming Mrs. Martha Shean of 8 Glenada pl., co-respondent. The wife alleged that Mrs. Shean induced Ackerman to leave his home and then taunted Mrs. Ackerman. Mrs. Shean is known in church circles and was active in charitable and social welfare work. The Ackermans were married in 1897 and have one son” (page 2).
The next day, the “Times Union” reported, “Church Worker in Divorce Case” (12 Nov 1918, page 7). The article expanded on the Ackerman’s marriage troubles: “Artist’s Wife Names Mrs. Shean as Co-respondent. ‘Well, I’ve got him now,’ said Mrs. Martha Shean, of 8 Glenada place, Brooklyn, snapping her fingers under the nose of Mrs. Rhonda B. Ackerman, according to Mrs. Ackerman’s complaint in her divorce suit filed in the Supreme Court today against Earle Van Buren Ackerman, a scenic artist. Mrs. Ackerman named Mrs. Shean as co-respondent. Mrs. Shean is a church worker and known in the Stuyvesant Heights section of Brooklyn, according to Frank X. McCaffry, attorney for Mrs. Ackerman. Mrs. Ackerman stated that she and Ackerman were married in 1897 and have a son. The finger snapping episode occurred after Mrs. Shean and Ackerman had met several times, Mrs. Ackermam asserted. She declared further that the co-respondent engaged an apartment on Pacific street where Ackerman would visit her.”
The battle between Mrs. Ackerman and Mrs. Shean continued into 1919. That year Mrs. Ackerman wanted $20,000 for her “Lost Love.” A “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” article reported, “Mrs. Rhonda B. Ackerman of 158 Lefferts pl. has brought suit for $20,000 damages against Mrs. Martha Shean of 8 Glenada pl., whom she charges with alienating the affections of her husband. Francis X. McCaffry counsel for Mrs. Ackerman today files notice that the case would be moved for trial in the Supreme Court next month. Mrs. Ackerman recently brought suit against her husband, naming Mrs. Shean as correspondent. Ackerman did not defend the suit and Mrs. Ackerman won a decree. The two women at one time were friends, and on one occasion when they met in the street, Mrs. Ackerman alleges that her rival snapped her fingers at her and declared she could get her husband away from her anytime she wanted. Mrs. Shean, who is said to be prominent in church and social activities in Stuyvesant section, finally did succeed in her endeavors, Mrs. Ackerman alleges, and that is why she asks $20,000. Mrs. Shean, through Meier Steinbrink, has entered a denial of Mrs. Ackerman’s charges” (page 18).
Little is known of Ackerman’s life or career or personal life in the post-WWI years. Very seldom did his name appear in print. He did do some design work, such as the scenery for “Tia Juana,” at the Schubert Playhouse (Wilmington, DE, page 13). In 1934, he was listed as an art director, supervising the production of murals in the Broadway Theatre (Courier-Post, Camden, New Jersey, 28 Aug. 1934, page 9).
There seemed to be a little black cloud that was forever over Earle Ackerman’s head. By 1939, he made headlines after a car collision. The “Courier-News” reported, “Car driven by Isador Gelbard, 43, of Davidson Ave., Franklin Township, was in collision with a car driven by Earle Van B. Ackerman, 57 Howard Ave. South Bound Brook, in Hamilton Ave. in front of the Brooks Theater Saturday afternoon. No one was hurt and no complaints have been made. Mrs. Isador Gelbard was in the car with her husband” (Bridgewater, CT, page 4). His life trudged along for the next few decades.
By 1940, Earle was living in Franklin, New Jersey; lodging in Franklin, New Jersey, with scenic artist George Washington Korb (1889-1957) and his wife Theresa E. Zsiday Korb (1893-1947). At the time, Ackerman had already lived with the couple for five years and his marital status was still listed as divorced. The Korbs always made room for Ackerman, even after death; their gravestone marked a place for Earle.
The Korbs are a fascinating couple in their own right and will be the topic of my post tomorrow.
To be continued…
