John Leslie Hudson was born February 8, 1906, in St. Louis, Missouri.[1]  He was the third of nine children of John William Hudson and Henrietta Carmean.  John had seven brothers and one sister.  Edgar William, Ellen Barbara, Merrit Orville, Jesse Orlen, Cecil Ellsworth, Charles Evert, Marshall Edward, and Raymond Fletcher Hudson.  John ended up with a seventh-grade education[2], but due to possible work interruptions or truancy, he was held back by a grade or possibly two.[3] Once he was done with school, John worked in various jobs as a laborer. To supplement his income, he enlisted in the Missouri National Guard.  According to his application dated July 26, 1926, he was 6 feet tall, weighed 154lbs., had blue eyes, light hair, and a fair complexion.  He’d been vaccinated for smallpox in 1921, but not typhoid.  At the time he was living with his parents in Webster Groves, St. Louis County, Missouri, at Laclede and Watson Road.  He was placed in the 138th Infantry, Company C, with his older brother Edgar who enlisted at the same time.  They both enlisted for three years.[4]  In August 1926, John was at a Missouri National Guard encampment at Camp Clark, in Nevada, Missouri.  While there he participated in a boxing competition that was held.  John medaled  second place in the Welterweight division, 140lbs. to 147lbs.  They must have been working him hard because he’d lost seven pounds since his enlistment date.[5]   

          According to family members, John was a strong man.  On one occasion a friend of his was working on a car.  He’d jacked it up and had crawled under it to do some repairs.  As his friend was working on the car it shifted and slipped off the jack, pinning him underneath.  Several people rushed over, but John got there first and lifted the car up high enough to allow the others to pull out the injured man.[6] 

          John and some of his brothers had a past time, they indulged in on occasion.  They would pick out a bar and enter at different times, picking out spots located apart from each other.  After a few drinks, the appointed brother would pick a fight with someone.  Once the fight was on the other brothers would join in, with the intent of bringing in as many other bar patrons as possible.  For obvious reasons they chose different bars whenever they decided to engage in this activity.[7]  In 1927, John was arrested for stealing a car.  He got out of jail on a $5,000 bond but failed to show up for his appointed court date.  He was arrested and put in jail for default of his bond on July 21.[8]

          John made the acquaintance of a woman named Olive Mae Storie.  Her maiden name had been Francisco.  Olive had married a man named Andrew Smith Storie October 21, 1922, in Waynesville, Pulaski County, Missouri, when she was fourteen.[9]  At some point before August 1923, the new couple moved to the St. Louis, Missouri area.  They had two children together: Clifford was born in 1923, and Donald was born in 1926.  Olive had become unhappy in her marriage and said that Andrew was a jealous man and wouldn’t allow her to leave the house or associate with her friends.[10]  The marriage became unhappy enough that Andrew and Olive divorced on August 30, 1927, in St. Louis County, Missouri.  Andrew retained custody of the two boys.[11]  On September 27, 1927, in Webster Groves, St. Louis County, Missouri, John and Olive were married.[12]

          In December of 1931, the Hudson family was living on Manchester Road in St. Louis, Missouri.  John and Olive had added two children to their family, John Leslie Jr., and Henrietta Louise.  John had fallen into a destructive cycle with his family.  He was drinking a lot, he was quarrelsome, and sometimes abusive.  He was arrested several times on peace disturbance and intoxication charges along with his older brother Edgar.  He wasn’t providing for his family; he worked performing various hauling jobs but spent all he made on liquor leaving Olive and the children to depend on neighbors for food and clothing.  John would leave his family for weeks at a time, only to return with no explanation for his absence.  The family came to the attention of the County Welfare Association December 16, 1931, when Olive applied for work.[13] 

On December 4, 1932, Robert Gene Hudson was born.[14]  The family had grown by one, but their circumstances remained the same.  On May 16, 1934, John started feeling ill, he was running a high fever and just ached all over.  After two weeks with no improvement John was admitted to Isolation Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.  It was determined that he was suffering from Typhoid Fever.  All efforts to help John seemed to be failing, and soon he developed Bronchopneumonia.  On June 10, 1934, at 9:30PM, John died at the age of 27 years, 4 months, and 2 days.  Three days later he was buried in St. Peter and Paul Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.[15]  Four days after his burial on June 17, 1934, Olive gave birth to a daughter, Mary Ann Hudson.[16]

                  

 

[1] Death Certificate

[2] National Guard Enlistment Application

[3] 1920 United States Federal Census

[4] National Guard Enlistment Application

[5] St. Louis Globe Democrat August 25, 1926

[6] Firsthand from Raymond Fletcher Hudson

[7] Firsthand from Raymond Fletcher Hudson

[8] St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 29, 1927

[9] Marriage License

[10] Robert Gene Hudson Orphanage Records

[11] Court Records

[12] Marriage License

[13] Robert Gene Hudson’s Orphanage Records

[14] Robert Gene Hudson’s Birth Certificate

[15] John Leslie Hudson’s Death Certificate

[16] Robert Gene Hudson’s Orphanage Records