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Well, all I can say is that the copy I have of the 1900 Census lists Chester Walls as the head of household along with his wife Merta (Mertie Spears) and his stepdaughters Nona and Martha. It wasn't until fairly recently that I found that Mertie had married him. I do have Roxie (spelled Roxey) on the same page living with Leander. He was Roxie's first cousin. Leander Spears' father was Thomas Harmon Spears, Jesse's (Roxie's father) brother.
There is some confusion concerning Mertie, Chester, and Nona, as well as Jesse and a couple of his brothers. One researcher on RootsWeb says that Mertie was actually married to Hiram Spears when she had Nona by Jesse. She also says that she had Martha by another brother John Wesley and that Hiram ran her off and she "took up" with Chester Walls. This same site also states that Nona later married Chester. It also says that Mertie was never married to Jesse and I know that this is false. As is the statement that Hiram Spears died later in life from the effects of a gunshot wound received in the Civil War. He wasn't even born until three years after the War.
I don't know the whole story about Jesse and Myrtle. It was passed down through the family that Jesse had two children by Mertie's sister and that he "got around". It looks more like she's the one who did that, though it's very possible that they both did.
There is possibly a good explanation as to how Nona and Chester could be your Great-Grandparents and still be step relations. I've run across this type of thing before in records. In 1900, Chester was just 23 years old and Mertie was 32. I never have found Mertie's death records, so I can't be sure yet, but she may have died before 1911 and it is very possible that Chester may have married Nona in that year. She would have been 19 at the time.
As I'm writing this, I was looking through the Census records and found my Great-Grandmother Malinda listed as the adopted daughter of Elisha Vance who was married to Lucinda Spears. Malinda is supposed to be (according to family history and her death certificate) a daughter of Jesse Spears and Mertie Elkins and a sister to Nona and Martha. Now, according to family history as well as other researchers' records, Lucinda was the first wife of Hamilton Spears, Jesse's brother. Lucinda was also considerably older than Elisha. Why did he adopt Malinda in this marriage if she was not Lucinda's daughter. Also listed in this family group was Boyd Wilson Spears who was Malinda's brother. But, he's not listed as adopted, but as a nephew. The plot thickens.
As you can see, there are a lot of unexplained relationships in this family and since all the principal players are dead, we may never get all the answers. It would have helped if the Lincoln Co. Courthouse hadn't burned down, but there's nothing we can do about that. Just hope that some records have survived elsewhere.
By the way, do Chester and Nona's death certificates have their birthdates? And does Nona's show her parents? That may help on this end. I've gotten a lot of certificates online from the State Archives, but their's are not listed.
Thanks and good luck!
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