Jerry and Linda Butler

Viola was born in September of 1884 in Missouri. She was the oldest daughter of Robert and Nancy (Butler) Keating. She had a brother, Oly, and a sister, Ada.

Viola (unmarried at the time) became pregnant with her son, Dallas Robert Keating, approximately around July 8, 1905. As the story goes, she became pregnant by Albert Cates. Albert was a bit of a "rounder", and he also got another girl, Ida Bush, pregnant around the same time. He had to make a decision of which girl to marry, and he chose Ida, leaving Viola to go thru her pregnancy and have her baby on her own, without a husband. That's the story that's been passed down thru the family all these years. However, after doing some research at the library, I found out that this can't be true. Albert and Ida were married on January 8, 1905, in Stoddard County, MO. This means that they had already been married about 6 months at the time that he got Viola pregnant. So obviously he didn't have to decide who to marry, because he was already married. I guess he chose to stay with Ida and not Viola. It has also been told in the family that years later, when Dallas was a young man, he went looking for Albert, saying that he was going to kill him for what he put Viola through, but he didn't find him.

Anyway, Viola gave birth to Dallas Robert Keating on April 8, 1906. A couple of years later, on May 6, 1908, Viola married a man named Elmore Nunn. They were married in Viola's home. Both were of age at the time and of Stoddard County, MO. The ceremony was performed by I. J. Cates, MG (a relative of Albert's). Viola was Elmore's second wife.

Viola passed away on February 20, 1911. I found the following article in the Bloomfield Vindicator newspaper, dated Friday, March 3, 1911 (page 7):

"Mrs. Viola Nunn, daughter of Mrs. William Henderson, died of consumption on February 20, aged 25 years. The deceased leaves a husband, two small children, a mother, one brother and one sister and a host of friends to mourn her loss."

Well, this is a mystery to me. I only know of Viola having one child, Dallas. The 1910 census lists their family as consisting of: Elmore, his mother Lucinda, Viola, and Dallas. It says that Viola had 2 children, one still living. So she must have had one more baby after this census was taken in 1910 but before her death in February 1911. Dallas was age 3 at the time of this census, so it was taken in early 1910. I don't know for sure. I am still trying to research this.

Viola died in Swinton, MO. She is buried in Gravel Hill Cemetery, next to her father.

• research of Lisa Boyle