A couple years ago, it came to my attention in our family Facebook group that my paternal grandmother (Lillian Christina Gessner 1932-2018) had a half-brother. The only information she had, or could remember, was the name Martin, and that he had served in the army during World War II.
This reminded me of a strange entry in the 1930 census that I hadn’t really dug into further at the time. With my curiosity piqued, I decided to do some digging, uncovering a somewhat bittersweet story.
Birth (1923-1930)
My great-grandmother, Ruth J Leader, was born Oct 23, 1909 in Baltimore. The daughter of David George Leader Sr (1873-1934) and Elizabeth Goodwin (1878-1918), she lived with her parents and her brother David George Leader Jr (1914-1922) according to the 1910 census. By 1920, her mother had passed away, and her grandmother Josephine Goodwin (c.1860-unk) had moved in with the family.
On Oct 27, 1924 – only a few days after her 14th birthday – Ruth gave birth to a son. This was an alarmingly young age, and the circumstances of the pregnancy are still unknown, and probably lost to time. Perhaps that’s for the best. But the Maryland State Archives confirms the birth, with no father listed:
Come 1930, Ruth is listed as “Ruth Smith”, widowed, and her age at marriage listed at 15 years old. Her father and grandmother, both also widowed, still resided in the house, along with her brother David Jr, and a “James M Smith”, who was actually Ruth’s son.
This document raises more questions that are – for now – still unanswered. Did Ruth really marry her son’s father at age 15? If the father was around the same age, how did he die? Unfortunately those may never be answered, as finding an unknown “Smith” in one of America’s largest cities will be an uphill climb, to say the least. But if a marriage really did take place, it’s possible that a record still waits somewhere, waiting to be rediscovered.
I also find it somewhat strange that the family was so upfront about Ruth’s information. Certainly the social stigma of a 20 year old widow giving birth at 14 was not great, and could have been easily covered up by letting the census taker believe that James was just another son of David Sr. That was a common practice in those days to obscure teenage pregnancies, or children born out of wedlock. But I’m glad they were honest, as it made this puzzle just a bit easier to solve.
Early Life (1931-1939)
The early 1930s were a pretty rough stretch for Martin, to say the least. Ruth remarried William Paul Gessner Jr somewhere between 1930-1931, and she gave birth to two more daughters – Lillian Gessner (my grandmother) and Marie Gessner.
But in July of 1933, Ruth tragically died after complications from an appendectomy. She was 23 years old, leaving behind her new husband and two infant daughters. A little more than a year later, David Leader Sr died, the grandfather that had raised Martin and given him a home. Presumably, his great-grandmother Josephine Goodwin died somewhere around this time as well (no 1940 census record that we know of).
Within the span of just a couple years, Martin’s family had almost completely disappeared, leaving only his older half-brother David Leader Jr. By this time David had married Blanche Satterfield, and already had a daughter born in Dec 1934. Responsible for his own family now, David was either unable or unwilling to provide for the orphaned Martin. And his stepfather William Gessner was already struggling to provide for his own daughters. Given that this was during the height of the Great Depression, it’s hard to blame either of them for not being able to take on another child.
New Family and World War II (1940-1945)
Fortunately, Blanche had a sister, Mary (Satterfield) Vespermann, who must have had the means to provide for Martin, and at the request of David and Blanche, took the teenager into her home. The 1940 census shows Martin, now going by his mother’s maiden name, living with his new family.
We also see Martin’s adopted mother listed as his legal guardian and next of kin on his World War II registration card.
On March 16, 1943 Martin decided to enlist in the army. We have his service number – 33564568 – but do not know what he did in the war, or where he went, and can presume that he left the military in late 1945 after the war was won.
Marriage and Later Life (1946-2006)
Shortly after returning home from the war, Martin returned to Hyattsville, and met Selma Synder Helm (b. Dec 1925). Their engagement was announced in December 1946:
It’s interesting to note that Martin’s parents here are listed as “Mr. and Mrs. William J. Leader of Baltimore.” These were not his adopted parents (Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Vespermann), and per the 1930 census, his birth father’s surname would have been Smith. It’s possible that this announcement should read “William J. Smith”.
Martin and James were wed by 1949, and would enjoy 57 years of marriage. Settling down in Silver Spring, Maryland, the couple gave birth to two sons. It’s unclear how much contact, if any, Martin had with the remaining members of his birth family (my grandmother Lillian Gessner and great-aunt Marie Gessner, his half-sisters). But talking to family members, I’m told that Martin attended the funeral of my great-aunt Marie’s husband in 1973, implying that at least the two of them had some kind of relationship. Unfortunately we’re unable to ask her, as Marie passed away in 2001.
Martin passed away on April 9, 2006 at 82 years old. Having overcome a fairly rough childhood, then surviving a war, he found a happy ending, settling down and enjoying over half a century with his wife and children, who are all still alive as of this writing in July 2021.
After sorting through all of this information, we presented it to my grandmother, Martin’s half-sister, and she confirmed as much as she could. She herself then passed away only a couple months later, the last of Ruth Leader’s children. I’m just thankful that we were able to confirm this research before then, and now another member of the family can take their place on the tree.
Ryan's Roots 