Stepbrothers

My grandfather, Robert Rector Speas, has a stepbrother named Henry Augustus Newman. Although they are only seven months apart in age, it is unlikely that they ever met one another. 

Their story illustrates how the course of children's lives are profoundly affected by the decisions and choices of their parents. 

The Speas Children when
the twins were infants

Rector was born in Cana, Virginia, in November of 1895. He and his twin, Herbert Parr, joined four older siblings in the home of their parents, Wiley and Sally (Sarah Elizabeth Rigney) Speas. One older sister had passed away as an infant.

That same month, forty-four miles away in Pulaski, Virginia, Rosa Belle Bishop married Chesterfield Lee Newman. The following April a son was born to them and they named him Henry Augustus. Young Rosa was just shy of seventeen at the time of her marriage, and she and Lee were not prepared for marriage. Their union was short-lived. 

Back in the Speas home, illness struck in 1898, taking the life of thirty-seven year old Sally, leaving behind six motherless children. Of necessity, the two and a half year old twins were sent to live with their grandmother. 

Wiley was undoubtedly overwhelmed with parenting alone. He had enjoyed a happy marriage and longed for a wife and mother for his children and to restore a normal family life for his children.

Wiley and Rosa Belle - Newlyweds

You have already guessed that Wiley and Rosa somehow found one another and fell in love. Rosa was very beautiful, and not quite twenty-one years old when they married in 1898. Wiley was fourteen years her senior.

It is hard to imagine being twenty-one, mother of one and stepmother of six, the oldest of which was a fifteen year-old teenage girl. 

I can only guess at the motivation, or the timing of Rosa's decision for little Henry Augustus, now two years old, to be raised by his grandmother.

Henry's Grandmother
Flora White Bishop

Perhaps that arrangement had begun shortly after his birth, or at the time of the divorce, or maybe her marriage and pregnancy and the arrival of another son the following spring prompted her to seek help. But for whatever the reason, that decision had a tremendous impact on Henry's life and the path of his family for generations.

Henry with his Grandparents

A few years later, in 1901, Wiley and Rosa were converted to the Mormon church and their lives and the lives of their large family would never be the same. Unfortunately, Henry's life was not affected by their baptism or new-found faith.

Henry Augustus Newman

In 1908, the twins Rector and Herbert returned to live with Wiley and Rosa's family when their grandmother passed away.

Rosa with their landlord
at the Woodville home

Eventually, after relocating multiple times, the Speas family made their home in Woodville Idaho, very far away from Henry and his grandmother in Virginia. Although Rosa diligently tried to keep in contact with him, his life was not influenced by the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Rosa at Wiley's Grave

Wiley and Rosa 1937

Rosa was a devoted wife and dearly loved Wiley. Their marriage was solemnized in the Logan Temple in 1934, three years before Wiley passed away in 1937. 

At the time of Rosa's death, in 1956, Henry was living in Clarksburg, Maryland. It is sad to think of all he had missed out on: the life of his beautiful mother and extended family. In addition to Henry, Rosa was survived by her two sons by Wiley, four stepchildren, forty-seven grandchildren, seventy-two great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. 

Meanwhile, my grandfather was richly blessed by his stepmother and the large and loving family group. At the time of Rosa's death, friends and family were invited to pay their last respects at the home of my Grandfather, in Woodville. My grandmother lovingly presented the eulogy at the funeral.

I recently did some genealogical research for Henry's family. He married and had ten children. I hope that his family was also warm and loving. I hope that Rosa has now had the chance to share the gospel with her son and his children.