Hi I found this
Lulu Helen Porter's cremated remains were never taken after her death and are still available at the Oregon State Hospital to be claimed by anyone who is related. Her closest living relatives are descendants of her siblings.

Lulu was born in Kentucky in 1872. Her parents, David Derefield and Melissa Culver, were married on 8/14/1863 in Lawrence County, Kentucky. David had been married previously and had at least 2 children with his first wife, Mary Jane Caldwell.

Lulu's siblings and half-siblings, all born in Kentucky, included: John (born in 1858), Laban (1859), Almeda (1863), Mary (about 1863), Martha (about 1864), Allie (1867), Enos (1869), Cordilla (about 1874), William (1875), and Mariner (about 1877).

During the census of 1870, before Lulu was born, her parents and siblings were farming in Lawrence County, Kentucky. During the 1880 census, Lulu was 8 years old, living with her parents and siblings in Lawrence County. Lulu's father was unable to read or write and her mother could not write which may explain the lack of consistency in the spelling of their name Derefield/Derifield/Derfield.

Between 1900 and 1908 Lulu married Henry Distel, an insurance agent. He was born in Ohio in 1855. It is not yet known when they moved to Oregon and when she married Henry Distel, but in the 1910s they were living in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon. Meanwhile most of her siblings stayed in Kentucky. On 9/29/1913, Henry died of heart problems in Portland. In 1914 Lulu had to sue the insurance company for Henry's death benefits. While living in Portland, she married at least three times in Vancouver, Washington just across the Columbia River from Portland.

On 4/26/1919, at 47, she married 56 year old John W. Jones. On the marriage license she said this was her third marriage. It is not known if she was married to someone before Henry Distel or married someone between Distel and Jones. In the census of 1920, Lulu was living at 530 Seventh St. in Portland with her husband John W. Jones. He was born in Oregon of English immigrants. He was working as a laborer in the ship yards. On 10/30/1922 Lulu was in court seeking a divorce from John Jones. She said she was afraid he was going to kill her. He placed a newly sharpened ax by his bed. According to Lulu he was "acting like a wild man" while declaring "something will be doing within a week" as he put his hand on his hip as if to draw a revolver.

On 8/15/1923 in Clark County, Washington, Lulu married a divorced 55 year old engineer named Dan McCurdy of Portland. They divorced. On 3/27/1926 in Clark County, Washington, Lulu married 51 year old Albert Porter of Portland.

At the time of each of her last 3 marriages she was using the name Distel. Her signatures on each marriage certificate seemed labored, like a child might sign. Her first name was written slightly differently each time (Lill, Lila, Luli). It appears she had no children with any of her husbands.

On 6/9/1926 less than 3 months after marrying Albert Porter, she was admitted to the Oregon State Insane Asylum (later know as the Oregon State Hospital), a residential facility in Salem, Oregon for the treatment of people with mental illness. Her death certificate said she had syphilis. She may have had general paresis, also known as general paralysis of the insane or paralytic dementia. It is characterized by dementia, progressive muscular weakness, and paralysis. This condition is a neuropsychiatric disorder affecting the brain, caused by late-stage syphilis. Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease, is easily cured today in its early stages with penicillin which was not discovered until 1928 and was not in general use until after clinical trials in 1943. Before that time paresis was a common cause of mental dysfunction. She died of heart disease on 11/19/1927, a year and a half after entering the hospital.

More information about the 3500 unclaimed cremains at OSH is available at http://www.oregon.gov/oha/amh/osh/pages/cremains.aspx A book by David Maisel and a documentary by Ondi Timoner & Robert James, both entitled "Library of Dust" also provide more information.

This is so interesting! I have found that David's first wife is actually a Culver as well, Melissa's sister. Could Caldwell be the name of her 2nd husband?
David's son, William D. Is my Great, Great Grandpa, his daughter Ollie being my Great Grandma. Ollie's daughter, Edna, had two sons and a daughter. Her oldest son, Daniel, is my father.
I have been trying to find any family along the Deerfield lines, if I come across any, I will share this information. It's so sad that nobody has claimed her ashes.