2nd generation of orphans

After their mother, Clara Gustafson, passed away, the children were separated and grew up apart from each other, except for Raymond and John who ended up in the same orphanage.

The oldest child, Raymond Oliver Fredrick Henderson (1881-1965) (Robert Henderson’s Grandfather) was eleven when his mother died. Raymond and his brother John Victor were sent to the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran orphanage in Stanton Town, Montgomery, Iowa, at the ages of 11 and 6, respectively. The boys attended the Mamrelund Lutheran Church there , and Raymond was confirmed in 1897. Raymond moved to Omaha, Nebraska in 1899 when he was released from the orphanage, and went to work at the Adams & Kelly sash & door factory as a Boiler Fireman earning $15 a week. He had a second job at night, at the same factory, as "Night Watchman.” On May 15th, 1915 he married Leila Irene Mason and over the next twelve years managed to have six children, Paul David, King Elisha, Mark Andrew, Eleanor Adams, Ralph, and William Raymond.

Raymond and Leila had met in their 30's while doing volunteer work with the Salvation Army in Omaha. After marriage, Ray was not reliably employed and often went off on Seventh-Day Sabbath convert missions. He would reappear at home at least long enough to keep Leila pregnant. They eventually had 6 children.

 L to R: Raymond, Eleanor, Paul, Leila, Mark, and King, about 1926

Sadly, Raymond followed in the footsteps of his father. According to family history, he was basically a religious fanatic of sorts, and insisted that his wife, Leila, convert to seventh-day Sabbath but, being Methodist, she resisted. Raymond threatened to take the children from her if she did not comply, so she packed them all up while Raymond was away and, with the kids in tow, walked across the river to Council Bluffs, obtained housing and tried to hide out. Raymond reported them missing and testified that she had a mental breakdown and obtained papers to have her committed to the State Hospital when found. Ultimately they were found and the children (my father and all his siblings) were taken to the orphanage and Leila to the State Hospital where she remained the rest of her life. The children were in the orphanage for over a year before Raymond was able to place them in homes of people practicing his own faith, Seventh-Day Sabbath. It was 1928, just before the Great Depression, and Raymond had just created a second generation of orphans. Raymond passed away on the 31st of January, 1965 due to a heart attack caused by bone cancer.

Oscar Carl Henderson (1882-1965) was 10 when his mother died, and he was taken under the guardianship of Dr. Orrin Porter McDonald of Keokuk, Iowa. As soon as he turned 18, he left Dr. McDonald’s home and can be found in the 1900 US census living in Fremont, Iowa, on the farm of Frank Anderson. The Anderson’s farm was near the orphanage in Stanton where Oscar’s brother, John Victor, was still residing. When John Victor, was released, the two of them teamed up and moved to Omaha where they went to work for the same company, “The Implement House.” Oscar married Jennie Sophia Benson in 1917, and they had one child. Oscar passed away on September 8th, 1965, due to heart failure.

John Victor Henderson (1885-1968) who produced the narrative of their early years in Keokuk, lived a long and fruitful life as a farm equipment Dealer.

When he was released from the orphanage, he moved to Omaha, Nebraska with his brother Oscar. He and Oscar can be found in the 1910 US census in Omaha, working at the “Implement House,” Oscar as a teamster and John Victor as a bookkeeper. In 1912 John Victor married Rosanne Emilia Shalberg and had four children. John Victor died of pancreatic cancer on September 16th, 1968.

Edward Henderson (1886-1966) remained in Keokuk for some time and is found in the 1920 US census living as a “Boarder” with the Cooper family at 320 A Street. He eventually moved to Omaha, Nebraska to be near his brothers and was the victim of a beating in Omaha, which left him brain damaged. He can be found in the 1930 US census residing at the State Hospital for the Insane, at Lincoln Nebraska. Edward lived in the state hospital until his death on the 8th of March, 1966.