Bob White was said to be so small at birth that he was placed in a shoe box surrounded by hot bricks to keep him warm. He grew up to be quite a handsome fellow. As a young man he enjoyed dressing well and was fond of the ladies. Robert served in the United States Army at Fort Meade and Camp Niagara from November 1917 to June 10, 1918 when he was honorably discharged with a 33% disability. He was first assigned to Company A of the 304th Engineers. During his last month of service he was transferred to Company D, 9th Battalion of the US Guards. After his discharge the government paid for him to be trained as an auto mechanic. His widow Bertha related during a Girard school admissions interview for her son that "being gassed during military practice at Fort Meade" had made her husband "unwell".

He married young and became the father of many children. His first wife was Anna Caroline Springer (Rau), who later remarried. She was the daughter of Gottlieb Springer and Anna Felger. Robert and Anna had only one child, Anna Caroline White McNelly. Anna and Bob were divorced on March 5, 1916 in Camden, New Jersey (case/ certificate #56). His second wife was Bertha and they were the parents of four daughters and three sons together. He also had five children with Lillian Miller, of which one son and one daughter survived to adulthood. Bob and the mothers apparently named all of the children after themselves and relatives in each of their families.

Bob owned a number of cars which he repaired and sold from his residential garage. He employed drivers and lived comfortably with his family in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. He also had racing pigeons which he kept above the garage. The family would often go to Penn Treaty Park in Fishtown to picnic on Saturdays. This tradition continued years after Bob's death. Youngest son Lou remembers a tugboat explosion on the Delaware River in the early 1930's. He was left standing in the middle of the street when his siblings scattered in all directions as they ran from the river.

Bob unfortunately developed appendicitis at age 37 and was not advised to go directly to the hospital. The family doctor told his sister Mary to place cold compresses on his abdomen and wait for him to come by later to check on Robert. She confessed 50 years later that she did not follow instructions "because that sounded odd" and instead placed hot compresses on Robert. Perhaps this caused his appendix to burst. In any case, it was too late by the time he was taken to the Naval Hospital. Peritonitis set in after he was rushed to emergency surgery. He died at the United States Naval Hospital at League Island, Philadelphia after lingering for 8 days. The physician who operated on him and attempted to save his life was Dr. Thomas Jackson, Jr.

His almost five year old son Lou crept downstairs alone in the middle of the night to see his father's body laid out before the funeral. There was a Mass of Christian Burial held at St. Richard of Chichester Roman Catholic Church* in South Philly on October 27. Lou remembered that it was "like a cathedral" because he had only been to church at the Lutheran Settlement House with his mother. When they lowered the casket into the ground, Lou was afraid he would also be thrown in and began crying. His grandmother Mary Ann had to take him back to the limousine. When he saw the Army Honor Guards walking over to give a gun salute, he wanted to go back to the service. But Granny Devlin wouldn't let him.

Robert left behind 14 surviving minor children in four different families [new information]. His oldest daughter had recently given birth to her first child. The rest were raised by their mothers or enrolled in Girard College for Boys. His oldest son Robert was sent to a dairy farm to work. This is the probable naming pattern of Bob's children (all are linked below to their tribute page)-

1-Anna Caroline (named after her mother Anna Caroline Springer)
2-Robert Martin (named after his father and his maternal grandfather)
3-Thelma Marie (named after her mother's friend and cousin Thelma Ross- who was also her godmother. Marie was her maternal grandmother)
4-Bertha Elizabeth (named after her mother, and her father's sister Elizabeth 'Bessie' German Davis)
5-Thomas White (named after his paternal grandfather)
6-Louis Howard (named after his father's uncles on the White side; we recently found out Lou was named William Howard at birth but baptized Louis Howard- William was probably an as yet unknown relative that his father was also named after)
7-Mary Elaine (named after her paternal grandmother and probably Bob's sister Elena)
8-Lorraine Caroline (named after her mother's sister Caroline)
9-Mary (named after her paternal grandmother)
10-Caroline Mary (named after her mother's sister Caroline and her paternal grandmother)
11-Thomas Walter James (named after his paternal grandfather and his mother's brother Walter. James was an uncle on both sides of Bob's family)
12-Letty Helen (Letty and Helen Ostroske were 'cousins' of her mother. Their family stayed with the Ficks family when they first immigrated to Philadelphia). And Helen Dieffenbach Ross was her mother's cousin who also lived in Philadelphia.
13-Lillian (named for her mother Lillian Miller)

His widow Bertha was approved for World War I special veteran's compensation in June of 1934. His re-married first wife had also attempted to apply for benefits as his widow. Bertha had to prove that Robert had received a divorce (apparently in New Jersey about 1917). Robert's military ID# was ~ 1,790,107 (no records have ever been found to exist even though his V.A. medical records were not destroyed by the archive fire because they are kept in a different location).

UPDATE- Recent DNA testing has revealed that Robert had four children with a woman named Grace Elizabeth Hoult (1895-1959). This Grace was referenced in a letter I have from Mary Devlin White German Smith shortly after Mother's Day in 1918. One of Robert's oldest daughters told her grandchildren that he had dreams of being an actor. That would explain some things. She told them that she also heard he gambled. He did have those racing pigeons, and betting was involved there. Apparently he lived life as somewhat of a thrill seeker and gambled with his personal life as well. One thing is certain- he must have liked children!

14-Nellie Estella Alberta White (1914–2007)
15-Florence Geneva White (1916–1993)
16-Robert Earl White (1917–2012)
17-Jean Kathleen White (1918–1954)

*The original St. Richard's sanctuary was built in 1924 and torn down sometime after the new church was dedicated in 1951.

DNA research note-The DNA of Robert's son matches the DNA of a proven Mayflower descendant of William White and they have a common ancestor within approximately 20 generations back from 1925 (in about the 15th to 16th century). This means Robert and Mayflower William came from the same family in England, most likely before the Mayflower came to Plymouth in 1620. But research may yet determine that Robert was actually a Mayflower descendant.

Burial note~Clearly Robert is entitled to another veteran's headstone as his was broken off and reburied after vandalism decades ago (his grave is next to a service road on the edge of the cemetery and within an arborvitae shrub). Greenmount has claimed that to replace it requires exorbitant fees to 're-title' the plot, purchase a new base, and pay to have the V.A. stone placed on the base. Someone needs to check on this in the future. Broken or vandalized veteran's headstones would seem to create some responsibility for the cemetery in cooperating in the replacement process. Bertha White Delarso's family are probably the people with legal ownership rights of the Robert/Martin plot (and also the Bertha/Marie plot of his wife and mother-in-law).

2022- Linda White contacted me to say her father may have been another son of Robert White. Her grandmother had an affair in 1927 but told people his name was Martin White. She has not corresponded further.