WV - Sodder Family - 5 children, Christmas eve 1945 - #1

[shadowangel]

It would be interesting to verify whether any type of search was ever conducted on the Sodders' property.

If these children were killed, I think the ravines sound like a quick way to dispose of the bodies.

I know that most of the people posting on this thread are of the opinion the children are alive, and I hope they are right. However, with the passage of time and no word from any of the missing Sodder children, I just don't think it is likely they survived.

Since the Sodders travelled to several other states to follow up on any leads they received, I feel rather certain they scoured the local countryside. But, maybe not...
Personally, I think posting the children on Doe Network should happen sooner rather than later. Anything that comes up in the forseeable future is most likely to be more conjecture, and lets face it---Anyone still alive at this point who may have first-hand knowledge doesn't have much longer among us. If the basics-House burned, four escaped, no remains of other five ever found-can be posted, that should jog the memory of anyone with clues (and certainly be enough to intrigue others out there-my original post asked about a billboard I didn't where put up I didn't know when about some kids that I couldn't remember anytihng about, and looked how many folks are hooked here! )

 

[Shadow205]

That is possible but, like you, I don't really believe that. Even if they had been taken far away (Italy?), and grew up to be happy, content people, it just seems they would eventually want to reconnect with their family in West Virginia.

And trying to take five kids overseas when you have no documentation for them would not be an easy task. I don't know what the travel requirements were back then, but I would assume that you would at least need a birth certificate for each child. And I doubt these kids would have gone willingly, so you'd also have to be dealing with screaming, crying, traumatized children who just want to go home.

To me, the mystery isn't about what happened to these kids, because I think they were killed. The mystery as I see it is who set this whole thing in motion by setting the fire? And for what reason?

Marilynilpa,

You make several good points in your post however consider this....

"A woman from Charleston, WV called to say that she had seen the children in Charleston the day after the fire with an Italian family. A year later she called again and reported seeing Louis in Charleston again, this time in the company of one man. She stated that she recognized the children from newspaper photographs. But there was no way to verify her story."
Then in 1968, over 20 years after the tradgedy, the Sodders received yet another mysterious reminder. An envelope arrived addressed to Mrs. Sodder with no return address. Inside she found only a photograph of a young man 24-28 years old, wearing white pants and a shirt, and sitting in front of a window. On the back of the photograpgh were these words:
"Louis Sodder"
"I love brother Frankie."
"lilil Boys"
"A90132 or 35"
Mrs. Sodder was convinced that the photograph was that of her son Louis Sodder. who was supposed to have died in the fire at the age of nine."
The above info was taken from the book WV Unsolved Murders. Mrs. Sodder was so convinced that the picture was indeed that of Louis that she had it enlarged and placed it in a frame in front of her fireplace. The picture was also added to the billboard.
I think that the children were split up. It seems possible that Louis remained in the country based on the above information. Why he never contacted his family...I don't know, I wish that I did. Is it possible that Stokholm Syndrome came into play? It is possible. It would also explain how someone would be able to relocate these children without them causing a scene. I don't think that taking them out of the country would have been that difficult, that was way back in 1945 and things were not checked that closely. Obtaining a birth cetificate for them would have been as simple as a trip to the courthouse or an inside source could have obtained them without anyone ever knowing. We have seen enough speculation on involvment of officials to suspect that this could have been the case. Consider that they children were victims of Stockholm Syndrome. It could explain several questions. Add to that, if they were taken to Italy and the lack of communication compared to what we have today. A child in Italy may have never known that they had family here who were searching for them. Why did they never contact their family as they grew older? I am no expert on Stockholm Syndrome but couldn't it have had life long effects?

 

[LButler]

One thing I've thought about is, I know very little about true Italian culture.

Let's assume my story that Maurice was killed at the house and the other 4 taken, maybe Louis is kept "locally." Why he never returned home or contacted someone is strange. Maybe they were told stories, the house burnt and all the family died (he could have even been shown pictures of the fire scene before the billboard was erected...), your parents didn't want you, they sold you, they couldn't afford 10 kids....who knows. Anyone cruel enought to steal kids would easily tell them hurtful lies.

The girls, may have been taken to Italy. Maybe as soon as they were old enough, they were put into marriages. Here's where the culture thing comes in. Italian males seem to be pretty authoritative. Maybe they were told "It's stupid to pursue this "family" in WV, it was a childhood dream, forget about it...We're not talking about it anymore..."

I don't know. I do think about it alot, because things like this just don't happen around here. This would be a very bizarre story for even a big city - back in 1945 or in the present day!! And it seems that the Sodders were just fed enough crumbs to keep them going, but never getting answers. It's heartbreaking!!

 

[Shadow205]

One thing I've thought about is, I know very little about true Italian culture.

Let's assume my story that Maurice was killed at the house and the other 4 taken, maybe Louis is kept "locally." Why he never returned home or contacted someone is strange. Maybe they were told stories, the house burnt and all the family died (he could have even been shown pictures of the fire scene before the billboard was erected...), your parents didn't want you, they sold you, they couldn't afford 10 kids....who knows. Anyone cruel enought to steal kids would easily tell them hurtful lies.

The girls, may have been taken to Italy. Maybe as soon as they were old enough, they were put into marriages. Here's where the culture thing comes in. Italian males seem to be pretty authoritative. Maybe they were told "It's stupid to pursue this "family" in WV, it was a childhood dream, forget about it...We're not talking about it anymore..."

I don't know. I do think about it alot, because things like this just don't happen around here. This would be a very bizarre story for even a big city - back in 1945 or in the present day!! And it seems that the Sodders were just fed enough crumbs to keep them going, but never getting answers. It's heartbreaking!!

This has been my theory all along. Throw in the "Stockholm Syndrome" and I think that it is a very good possibilty.

 

[on the trail]

as a person who grew up in this area , my grand parents lived there in fayetteville , i still have family there , but no one ever i think really knew much as to what happened , lot of stories lot of rumors but i think a lot of the reason was out of respect of the family is why no one disscused it much. i can as a child remember asking about the billboard once and my grandparents just stated know no really knows what happened , they just didn't want to talk about it. at the time that it happened i think fear and the rumor mill scared a lot of pepole . i do know that later on my grandmother did say they thought the kids had been taken to the old country . and even then she wouldn't say anymore than it was just a rumor .

 

[shadowangel]

"Returned to Italy" seems a fairly common theory. Isn't it reasonable to assume George Sodder changed his name upon immigrating here? ("Sodder" is certainly not a traditional Italian name, and it was common practice for male immigrants to "Americanize" their names so they could get work in areas where Italians were less than welcome).
I'm just wondering if he had good reason to change his name...
Is it possible that the relatives, for example grandparents, could have orchestrated this thing?

 

[fox1950]

Giorgio Soddu came to the United States at the age of 16, in the beginning of the 1900's. His name was changed to George Sodder. He had a brother who remained in Italy named Salvatore Soddu.

 

[LButler]

To my understanding, it was fairly common for them to change their last names upon entry into the US. And, to be honest, it could be us "natives" that butchered their last names and ultimately changed them. In fact, on one of the birth records of one of the Sodder kids, Jenny's maiden name is listed as "Soprano" when it was actually Cipriani.

I've spent a little time reading up on some history (amazing how boring that all was back in HS). Anyway, Mussolini had a huge backing in the US. Many US-Italians and US politicians backed his regime in a big way. However, some US Italians did not like him at all. George Sodder was said to be very vocal in his dislike of Mussolini and stated that he would not "raise sons for him." In my readings, one Italian was quoted something to the effect of, if you were an Italian and a Mussolini supporter and a fellow Italian spoke against him, it was equivolent to slandering a family member. Serious business.

Since I can find no evidence that kids as "old" as the Sodders were put into the black market adoption rings, I stand by my theory that the backlash came from the local Italian community. Maybe not a Mafia move as many of us would think about it, but it had to have been carried out in a fashion similar to a Mafia "hit."

 

[upallnite]

"Returned to Italy" seems a fairly common theory. Isn't it reasonable to assume George Sodder changed his name upon immigrating here? ("Sodder" is certainly not a traditional Italian name, and it was common practice for male immigrants to "Americanize" their names so they could get work in areas where Italians were less than welcome).
I'm just wondering if he had good reason to change his name...
Is it possible that the relatives, for example grandparents, could have orchestrated this thing?

There are records of Sodders immigrating here from Italy on Ancestry.com, however you have to pay to read them and I'm not a member there. They are expensive too.

 

[LButler]

PS George was born in Tula, Italy in about 1895 (I know he died in 1969 and I think he was 74, therefore...)

Jenny Cipriani was born in Troy, Italy in about 1904 or 05 (died 1989 at 84)

Place of birth of parents was listed on one of the birth records of the kids.

 

[shadowangel]

Since I can find no evidence that kids as "old" as the Sodders were put into the black market adoption rings, I stand by my theory that the backlash came from the local Italian community. Maybe not a Mafia move as many of us would think about it, but it had to have been carried out in a fashion similar to a Mafia "hit."

My only problem with this...The whole took a lot of planning, and the mob has never been known for sublety, why didn't the kids die in the house?
This case makes my head hurt...

I checked into the Capriani name in connection with the mob, both her and in Italy/Sicily, not much...Anyone looked into George's real name for a conection?

 

[on the trail]

the Mussolini theroy is one that i hadn't heard before, there are alot of old country families in and around fayetteville , boomer, smithers ,montgomery. but you need to know that fayette station at one time was a jumping off spot for folks back then as there was at least 4 smaller towns in the gorge, kaymoor,nuttleburg , there were a large amount of imigrants in these towns as well , like a little ellis island . the closeness of the property to rt 60 could have made a fast get away to charleston or montgomery or smithers . smithers is across the river from montgomery . but if a person was going to new york let's say then they would have been going the wrong way . why go all that way if you could have gone back to fayetteville down to fayette station in the gorge and caught a train . i do think it was planned but maybe a simple plan at that.

 

[Shadow205]

Giorgio Soddu came to the United States at the age of 16, in the beginning of the 1900's. His name was changed to George Sodder. He had a brother who remained in Italy named Salvatore Soddu.

Great find Fox! I have been looking for George's name, Your info is helpfull to Les, narrowing it down to where they came from in Italy.

 

[on the trail]

what other parts of the country did the reports,letters,sightings come from ? do we know if the F.B.I ever looked into this case as well. did the sodders have any family in the area at the time i know mrs sodder was from smithers . any other strange things happen in the area around that time missing pepole- kids , other fires threats etc? what was the imigrant population of fayetteville area in the 30's- 40's . who handled the investigation st police or sheriff dept. was a search of the area ever done by the police ? was there snow on the ground at the time ?

 

[Stacy Horn]

According to what I read, on RootsWeb I think it was, Giorgio Soddu came to the United States in 1900, when he was 16. If this information is true, it can't be the same guy. I have George Sodder's date of birth as 11/24/1894.

On Ancestry.com, it says that George Sodder came to the United States in 1911. Well, depending on the month, that would have made him 16, right? Perhaps they just got the immigration year wrong on RootsWeb.

Jennie arrived in 1905.

 

[Shadow205]

According to what I read, on RootsWeb I think it was, Giorgio Soddu came to the United States in 1900, when he was 16. If this information is true, it can't be the same guy. I have George Sodder's date of birth as 11/24/1894.

On Ancestry.com, it says that George Sodder came to the United States in 1911. Well, depending on the month, that would have made him 16, right? Perhaps they just got the immigration year wrong on RootsWeb.

Jennie arrived in 1905.

Stacy, the way I read that was that Giorgio Soddu came to the United States in the beginning or early 1900's not 1900 so that would work.

 

[mysteriew]

Has anyone heard anything further from the state police?

 

[Stacy Horn]

Yes, I'm sure I read it wrong, or I remembered it wrong. I went back, and it looks like Giorgio and George are in fact the same person, and that descendents of George's brother are living in Italy, and are in touch with Jonathan, the great grandson.

I am in regular touch with the State Police, but I won't have concrete information to report back until after 11/17. Also, I'm now communicating with the Sodder family, so anything I learn I have to talk to them about it first. (I'm not being witholding, I promise, I'm just trying to be sensitive to their feelings.)

That reminds me, Sylvia, the youngest surviving child, asked me how I learned about all this and I mentioned this place, and the thread that Shadow205 started. She's not on the internet, but she is going to ask her daughter to show her. You should all be aware that she will read what you have said. Not that anyone has been insensitive, but I thought you would want to know.

 

[mysteriew]

Can you share any info that she may have known? What she remembers from what happeded? It would be helpful if she was able to give new info or to confirm or deny what we already have.

 

[Stacy Horn]

I will know more over the next few weeks! Hopefully. I'm going down to West Virginia the first week in December.