Louella.

Louella Bender has been mentioned in passing here before, the younger sister of my great grandfather Jesse “Joseph” Preston Bender, she and her brother were the children of Martha Magnora Fast and the enigmatic William G. Bender. Like her father, Louella has always been under a veil for me. Unlike her father, I know where and when she was born, I’ve seen her name on every census right up to 1940. I know when, how, and where she died. I know where she was buried. What is so curious about Louella? She never married or had children. Now, I’m not saying that makes her bizarre – it just got me to wondering… Was she just against it? Did she just never fall in love? Did her father abandoning her at the tender age of two affect her that profoundly?

I was testing out Newspapers.com when I found the above article from the Delphos Courant dated August 6, 1949. Delphos lies partially in Allen County, Ohio and partially in Van Wert County, Ohio. Louella’s mother, Martha Fast Bender Couts, died in Van Wert County on May 3, 1949. I believe Dillie Showalter was actually “Dollie” Lydia Anne Showalter nee Mowrey, mother of Sarah Jane Showalter whom married Robert Stanley Bender (son of Louella’s brother, Jesse P. Bender) in 1941. If I hadn’t already been curious about Louella’s life, I certainly was now. Why would a 54 year old woman need to have a guardian of her estate?

Louella was born January 8, 1894 in Mercer County, Ohio. In 1896, her father left the family and seemingly disappeared. In 1900, her mother divorced her father after running a notice in the Celina Democrat for six weeks straight. In 1903, Martha remarried James M. Couts, a laborer on the steam railroads, they also ended their marriage with a divorce. From at least 1910 to 1940, she lived with her mother at 137 East Third Street, Van Wert. Louella would complete the third grade, one year more than her mother – but five grades less than her brother. She knew how to read and write. And in 1920, at 26, she was a domestic worker and was paid wages. She hardly sounds like she would need a caretaker of her estate, perhaps she was just a more independent woman than most in that time.

In the neatly typed letters resting in the four little lines that lay out the borders of the box where other significant conditions contributing to death lie; I found why Louella never married, never had children, and why she needed someone to handle her finances for her. Mental retardation. My heart sank when my eyes found the words. Obviously, I knew that would be the most likely reason for her needing to have a guardian of estate appointed to manage her affairs. But she went to school (it would be unlikely she would have been sent to a school as a mentally disabled child to school around 1900).

Was she born that way? If so maybe that contributed to her father abandoning the family… Or was there an accident or illness that caused it to happen?

I called the probate court for the guardianship record hoping for answers, unfortunately all that is on there is the following:

• She was “feeble minded”.
• She was 54.
• She had a brother, Jesse Bender.
• She had a relative named Robert Bender (her nephew).

Hopefully I’ll find out soon whether or not it was an accident, illness, or the way she was born.

“Deserted and Abandoned”

I received the full divorce file of Martha Fast and William G. Bender from an extremely helpful Deputy County Clerk in Mercer County, Ohio and although unsurprised that the full record did not shed any light on the residency of William, I am a bit disappointed.

Martha Magnora Fast, wife of the ever elusive William was about 24 in the year 1896. She had two little children; a two year old daughter, Louella, and a four year old son, Jesse Preston (my great grandfather). This was also the year that her husband of six years, William G. Bender, vanished seemingly without a trace. He left his wife and children and failed to provide necessities such as food, clothing, and a home. Martha waited four long years before filing for divorce.

By the time Martha started trying to divorce her husband, she was just five days past her 28 birthday. She now had an eight year old son and a six year old daughter, they were all living in the home of her parents. Because she could not find her husband even after a diligent search and inquiring his whereabouts, she turned to a publication of her intent to divorce William in an attempt to notify him. The publication ran every Thursday for six weeks beginning on August 2nd 1900 in The Celina Democrat, ending on September 6th, 1900. On September 26th, 1900 the final paper was filed and the divorce, along with custody of the children was granted to Martha.

Although I haven’t succeeded in my ultimate goal of locating William Bender, it is amazing to know how brave Martha must have been during all of this. I have to wonder why she waited four years, maybe it was the stigma that came with being a divorcée back then, or maybe she wanted him to come home to her.