OR OR – Martin Family Ken 54, Barbara 48, Barbie 15, Columbia River Gorge, Dec 7 1958

[Austin023]

Do we know if the couple were both the parents of all the children? The age gap makes me wonder whether Donald was the child of an earlier marriage who was pushed out in favour of a second family.

For any sources I've ever consulted, Donald is their son to both Kenneth and Barbara. Donald was born in 1930, about a year after they were married. The gap otherwise is odd, but there are probably reasons they had to wait 14 years before having more children...I never found evidence of any deceased siblings in between Donald and his younger sisters, either.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

For any sources I've ever consulted, Donald is their son to both Kenneth and Barbara. Donald was born in 1930, about a year after they were married. The gap otherwise is odd, but there are probably reasons they had to wait 14 years before having more children...I never found evidence of any deceased siblings in between Donald and his younger sisters, either.

It's weird, I agree. Usually gaps in the ages of children are explained by miscarriages or children who die in infancy, but you say you've not found evidence of this in Ken and Barbara's case. It's certainly strange for a couple of have one child, followed by a long gap followed by a batch of children as in this case. Usually you see the batch of kids early on and then the classic outlier menopause baby which appears when the couple believe the mother to no longer be fertile.

Had the couple always lived in Oregon? Could one or more deceased children have been born and died while they were living in another state? Is it possible that the couple separated for some years before getting back together?

 

[Valiant]

Do we know if the couple were both the parents of all the children? The age gap makes me wonder whether Donald was the child of an earlier marriage who was pushed out in favour of a second family.

That’s a very good question. I’ve never read anything about the possibility of that but it could explain the gap.

 

[Austin023]

It's weird, I agree. Usually gaps in the ages of children are explained by miscarriages or children who die in infancy, but you say you've not found evidence of this in Ken and Barbara's case. It's certainly strange for a couple of have one child, followed by a long gap followed by a batch of children as in this case. Usually you see the batch of kids early on and then the classic outlier menopause baby which appears when the couple believe the mother to no longer be fertile.

Had the couple always lived in Oregon? Could one or more deceased children have been born and died while they were living in another state? Is it possible that the couple separated for some years before getting back together?

To answer your question about where Ken and Barbra were from:
Kenneth Martin was born in North Dakota in 1904 to parents who were from Iowa...they moved to Oregon sometime before 1929.

Barbara, his wife (nee Cable) was born in Hillsboro ,Washington County, Oregon in January of 1910....her father, George Cable was from Kansas and her mother Emma (Nee Blanchard) was born and raised in Portland, Oregon.
Note: her father George Cable died by suicide in Los Angeles October 29, 1929. I do not know the specific circumstances....her mother died in 1943 in Portland Oregon.

So, there's a rather mixed bag of places of origin for the family, but some as you see is multi generational. Kenneth and Barbara Martin were married in 1929, and Donald their first was born October 28, 1930...the Martin family bought the house they were living in, in 1933 or 34. Given the state of the country at the time, the wide gap between Donald and his sisters might have been a strategic financial decision. I've never found evidence of deceased siblings in between either. I do not know exactly what day the Martins were married except is was in 1929. I'll have to check again for that.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Note: her father George Cable died by suicide in Los Angeles October 29, 1929. I do not know the specific circumstances.

The obvious suggestion that comes to mind is a connection to the Wall Street crash of that day.

I wonder if Kenneth and Barbara were married earlier in 1929 or after her father's death. Sad detail either way.

 

[OddOneOut]

If you click on the picture of Donald on Find A Grave (post 109?), it brings up more information including 10 pictures. The 7th picture is an article about Donald and his parents and sisters. You will have to enlarge it to read it. The information in it gives a completely different picture of his relationship with his family. According to this article, it doesn't appear that he was estranged from them at all. He received a Christmas present from his mother just days after they disappeared. It was mailed before they disappeared. He did come home the summer of 1957. He didn't come home the summer of 1958 because he had jaundice. He did come home for the memorial for his sisters but was a day late.

Also, another post on here mentioned that Donald worked with someone named Wayne at the department store. Also, Donald didn't like guns, but Wayne did. Donald was only accused of stealing the gun not convicted. What if it was Wayne that stole the gun? That would explain it still being in the area when the Martins disappeared. Was Wayne one of the convicts?

HM1 Donald Kenneth “Don” Martin (1930-2004) - Find...

DONALD KENNETH MARTIN, 73, of Kapolei, died Oct. 8, 2004. Born in Portland, Ore.He retired from the U.S. Navy.Retired teacher at Campbell High School. Survived by son, Donald II; daughters, Lisa and Sarah Martin, and Heather Beal; friend, William Vannatta; caregivers, Elena Brans-field and Kelly...

www.findagrave.com

 

[Austin023]

The obvious suggestion that comes to mind is a connection to the Wall Street crash of that day.

I wonder if Kenneth and Barbara were married earlier in 1929 or after her father's death. Sad detail either way.

I found their marriage record. They were married November 28, 1929 in Portland, Oregon.
Below is the link:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPQF-Y5SJ?lang=en

As for Barbara's father George Cable, maybe but I know nothing about the circumstances unfortunately, other than the death certificate, which states he died by a knife wound to the neck "suicidal", October 30, 1929 (note this is the date given on the death certificate. His find a grave gives the day before, the 29th. But the 30th would be considered correct). Maybe if an obituary can be found, that'll settle that question...