From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Foley, Alethea "Mattie"
(born: Circa 1848 - died: November 21, 1913)Alethea "Mattie" Foley was the first wife of journalist, writer, and author Patrick Lafcadio Hearn. The couple married in Cincinnati, OH, on June 14, 1874. They were married by Rev. John King, an African American Episcopal minister. The marriage was witnessed by Mrs. Lottie Cleneay and Mrs. Mary Field, both African Americans. The Cincinnati Enquirer fired Hearn after he married Foley, and he was hired by The Cincinnati Commercial. Foley and Hearn lived together for three years before Foley left Hearn in 1877 and moved to Indianapolis, IN.
When she returned to Cincinnati, Foley found that Lafcadio Hearn had left Cincinnati and moved to New Orleans, LA. He eventually made his way to Japan where he became a recognized author of literature of Japan. He wrote a total of 29 books and a number of articles. In 1891, Hearn married Setsuko Koizumi. The couple had four children. Hearn became a Japanese subject in 1895 and took the name Koizumi Yakumo. He died in Japan on September 26, 1904, leaving behind a widow and four children. Lafcadio Hearn is buried in the Zōshigaya Cemetery.
Alethea Foley claimed that she and Hearn were never divorced and she attempted a lawsuit to receive the benefits of his estate. But it was found that Foley and Hearn's marriage was invalid. Beginning in 1861, the marriage laws in Ohio forbid the marriage of African Americans and whites. The laws were repealed in 1877. With their marriage determined to be invalid, the royalties from Hearn's books went to his second wife, Setsuko Koizumi.
The newspapers described Alethea Foley as a mulatto woman. She had been enslaved by the Tabb Family near Maysville, KY. Her mother was one of the slaves that belonged to her father/owner. Alethea Foley had her son in Augusta or Dover, KY, in 1868, he was named William Louis Anderson. His father was William L. Anderson. The son William lived with his mother, who was a cook at a boarding house in Cincinnati where she met Lafcadio Hearn.
In 1910, Alethea "Mattie" Foley lived with her son and daughter-in-law, as enumerated in the 1910 U.S Census. Her last name is given as Klientunk (misspelling of Kleintank). Alethea had remarried after receiving the misinformation that Lafcadio Hearn had died. Her second marriage, to John Kleintank, was invalidated when it was learned that Hearn was alive, though she continued to use the Kleintank name. On November 21, 1913, Alethea Kleintank died. Her death date was provided by Monique Truong, author of The Sweetest Fruits. Truong was assisted in locating the death date by Stephen Headley at the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Public Library.
Alethea "Mattie" Foley Hearn Kleintank's birth and death dates are given on a copy of her Hamilton County, OH, Certificate of Death. Though her birthddate was probably much earlier than 1854. Her last name is spelled Klientank. According to the death certificate, Alethea Klientank was a diabetic and died from surgical shock after having one of her legs removed above the knee. Her funeral was held at her home at 313 Stone Street in Cincinnati on November 24, 1913. Rev. George W. Wyatt officiated. She was buried in Cincinnati, OH.
Sources: "Claim made by a Negress that she is the lawful wife of Lafcadio P. Hearn," The Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH), 07/14/1906, p.8; Lafcadio Hearn's Estate. A Negress sues for a share as widow.," Waterloo Daily Courier (Waterloo, IA), 07/14/1906, p.2; "Dead law to end war of yellow and black widows," Evening Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA), 08/03/1906, front page; see "Lafcadio Hearn" at Britannica online; see the William L. Anderson (son) marriage record on p.243 in the Ohio, County Marriage Records for 1900 (Ancestry), his birth location and parents' names are given; see the chapter "Alethea Foley" in The Sweetest Fruits by Monique Truong; "Controversial marriage," Western Hills Press, 02/23/2022, p.A4; see Alethea Klientank, Hamilton County, OH, Certificate of Death: File #64036, Registered #6417; see Mattie Klientank in "Deaths." The Cincinnati Enquirer, 23 November 1913, p.5.
*Alethea Foley was said to be 58 years old in The Enquirer 1906 article. There is also a 12-year-old enslaved girl owned by Longhorne Tabb in the 1860 Slave Schedules. Based on both sources, for this entry Foley's birth year has been estimated to have been around 1848. In the newspaper article, Foley was quoted has having said that she was a wedding gift to Tabb's daughter who married a man named Salee. Could the newspaper writer have confused the names? On January 19, 1859, Corinna Tabb married Benjamin Phister at the bride's home in Dover, KY. Corinna was the daughter of Langhorne Tabb. Rev. Eld. W. T. Sallee performed the services.
Sources: "Married." The Tri-Weekly Maysville Eagle, 01/25/1859, p.2; Kentucky County Marriage Records (Ancestry); "Claim made by a Negress that she is the lawful wife of Lafcadio P. Hearn," The Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH), 07/14/1906, p.8.