Madeleine Smith, Julia O'Callaghan and Hearne Christopher

"Immigrants: we get the job done" -- Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton

Madeleine Margery Smith and Hearne Christopher were married 22 Feb 1936 in Jackson County, probably in Kansas City. Madeleine was the daughter of Margery Menefee and John Henry Smith born 10 Mar 1915 in Kansas City.

The 1940 US Census found Madeleine and Hearne living at 4914 State Line Road in Kansas City. Hearne was working as a manager and junior partner at B C Christopher & Co.

As far as I can tell, Madeleine and Hearne had three children, but there are some oddities in the records:

My entire knowledge of Jimmy Christopher comes from a story published in the Kansas City Times 15 Nov 1949. A nurse, Mrs Forbes Robertson, was heading to the grocery store with the two children of Mr and Mrs Hearne Christopher: Jimmy, age five years, and Lynn, age 21 months. Lynn was riding in a stroller, while Jimmy had hold of the nurse's hand. Near 63rd Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, they encountered an English bulldog named Mugsy, who clamped his jaws onto the bumper of the stroller and began to shake it. Mrs Robertson removed Lynn from the stroller so the child wouldn't get bitten and sought police assistance. A patrolman managed to detach Muggsy from the stroller, but a large chunk of rubber baby buggy bumper remained with the bulldog. Mrs Robertson placed Lynn back in the stroller, took Jimmy by the hand and continued on to the store.

I know that the story is not entirely accurate in at least one particular: the reporter consistently refers to young Lynn as a boy. It's possible that another mistake was made concerning Jimmy's identity and that Jimmy's last name was not Christopher. In this scenario, he might have been the son of a friend or neighbour of the Christophers or even Mrs Forbes Robertson's son.

However, there's some evidence that Jimmy really was Madeleine and Hearne's son. When Hearne's mother Mary Frances Hearn Christopher died in 1960, her obituary mentioned that she was survived by eight grandchildren. Since Hearne's two siblings - both of whom were already deceased by then - had two children each, this suggests that Hearne had four children, three from his first marriage and one from his second. Hearne's second wife's parents both died in 1956, as discussed below. Their obituaries also suggest that Hearne had a total of four children. (Madeleine's mother's obituary in 1952 mentions no grandchildren at all.)

The name James would also be a logical choice for Madeleine and Hearne. Hearne's father Stanley Pitkin Christopher had a brother James K Christopher (08 Mar 1884 - 01 Apr 1964) whose wife Jessica C Nienstedt died 19 Sep 1922, less than a year after they married 31 Oct 1921. He never remarried and thus had no children of his own. His nephew Hearne might well have named a son for him out of courtesy and respect.

Another oddity concerning Madeleine and Hearne's children is that when Margery Menefee Smith made her will 22 Feb 1950, she directed that her money and securities were to be placed in trust and a monthly income paid from the trust to Madeleine for life First Nat Bank of Kansas City v Christopher, 1981). After Madeleine's death, a monthly income was to be paid from the trust to Mary Hearne Christopher for life. It's not surprising to me that the will doesn't mention Margery's son John Henry Smith Jr. Men had more opportunities to make their own way. Margery may well have wanted her own money to go to her daughter. But why would she then include only Mary Hearne Christopher when Lynn Christopher was also her granddaughter? It's not that Mary Hearne was particular close to her mother and maternal grandmother. The case notes for First Nat Bank of Kansas City v Christopher specify that she wasn't. So why Mary Hearne and not her sister Lynn?

The Kansas City Times published 17 Sep 1949 included the information that Madeleine had filed for a divorce from Hearne. According to First Nat Bank of Kansas City v Christopher the divorce was granted in 1950. This must have been in January or February, as Hearne remarried in early March. "Mary was in the physical custody of her father, a person of prominence in the community and a member of a family of reputed affluence and active in the grain brokerage business."

After the divorce Madeleine Margery Smith seems to have moved out to Los Angeles, possibly with her mother. Margery Menefee Smith moved to Los Angeles in or about June 1951. She had two brothers and two sisters living in Los Angeles County, at least one of whom, Ida Menefee Thompson, was living in the city of Los Angeles. Ida had married in Los Angeles County in 1897. As of the 1900 US Census, Margery had been living int the city of Los Angeles with Ida and her husband. At the time of Madeleine's divorce, Margery had been a widow for 12 years. There was little to hold Margery and Madeleine in Kansas City.

Margery died in Los Angeles 07 Dec 1952. According to her obituary in the Los Angeles Times published 11 Dec 1952, she was survived by her daughter, Mrs Madeleine Epting of Stockton, and by her four siblings, all of whom are described by name and location. There is no mention of surviving grandchildren.

Madeleine seems to have filed for divorce from Mr Epting in March 1954 and to have been granted her divorce in May 1954. She died in Los Angeles 07 Sep 1978.

Julia Frances O'Callaghan and Hearne Christopher were married in Kansas City 04 Mar 1950. Julia was the only child of Antoinette "Nonna" Henschel and Edward O'Callaghan born in Kansas City 06 Feb 1923.

Julia and Hearne had one child, Hearne Jr born 09 Jan 1951. However, both of her parents' obituaries mention them as having four grandchildren. Her father Edward died 26 Apr 1956 and her mother Nonna, 17 Sep 1956. In both cases, their obituaries were published in the Kansas City Times the next day. The number of grandchildren appears to include Julia's stepchildren - and it appears to include the mysterious Jimmy. Jimmy also appears to have been included among the eight grandchildren mentioned Mary Frances Hearn Christopher's obituary in 1960.

A news snippet in the Kansas City Star published 05 Apr 1959 reports that, "Mr. and Mrs. Hearne Christopher and children Lynn[,] Mary Hearne and Hearne Christopher jr., have returned from Camelback Inn, Phoenix, Ariz." Jimmy isn't included, but he would have been 15 years old. He may well have been away, perhaps attending a private boarding school.

However, there's no mention in the Kansas City newspapers at all of Jimmy, nothing similar to the news snippets regarding his siblings' education, travels, engagements, etc. He's not mentioned with his siblings in his father's obituary in 1998 or his stepmother's obituary in 2014. One thing that occurs to me is that Jimmy's grandaunt, Mary Frances' sister Annie Theresa Hearn Heise Werner, had a daughter from her first marriage and two grandchildren from her second marriage who were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Is this relevant to Jimmy? I have no idea.

Lynn Christopher married Bruce William Carney in Kansas City 18 Dec 1971. Bruce was the son of William Robery Carney of Fresno, California, born 30 Nov 1946 in Guam. Lynn and Bruce divorced sometime before 1998. By 2008 Lynn had married Bill Schenck.

The Kansas City Star published 31 Dec 1978 included a news snippet to the effect that the engagement of Jennifer Dawn Montgomery to Hearne Christopher Jr had been announced by Jennifer's parents, Mrs Roger Joseph O'Kane and Joel Whittaker Montgomery, both of Grove City, Mercer County, Pennsylvania. I don't have a record for the marriage itself. However, I know that Hearne Jr had certainly married once before February 1982, when that marriage ended in divorce. On 02 Sep 1989 he married Lori Lynn Wilber, born 23 Nov 1961, in Jackson County, Missouri. At the time both he and Lori were living in Johnson County, Kansas.

Mary Hearne had married or partnered with someone with the last name Harris by 1988. This relationship was no longer in effect ten years later.

Meanwhile, Julia and Hearne Sr moved from Kansas City to Florida in 1983 after Hearne retired as chairman and CEO of B C Christopher & Co. He and Julia were living in Delray Beach when he died 15 years later on 20 Apr 1998. Besides Julia, he was survived by Lynn; by Hearne Jr, Lori and their two daughters and by Mary Hearne and her son.

At some time after Hearne Sr's death, Julia moved back to Kansas City, where she died 17 Jul 2008. Both Julia and Hearne Sr are buried in Mount Washington Cemetery in Independence, Missouri.

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In memory of Janet A Werner, 1931-2015