Read all eight parts of the story here: Part 1: The Khaki sets. Part 2: Searching for Pvt. Robert Mercer. Part 3: Robert Mercer Joins the Army. Part 4: Over There. Part 5: Battle. Part 6: At Wars End. Part 7: What Became of Robert Mercer? Part 8: Fathers and their children Part 9: Robert Mercer and Little Chicago Why a new chapter? In April 2018 I posted part 7, the ‘last’ chapter about my investigation of the history of my vintage World War 1 razor and its owner: private Robert Mercer. Back then I had some vague ideas about making additional chapters at some point in the future. I knew that in mid-2022, the 1950 US census would become available to the general public, so I planned to wait and see what these and other ‘new’ documents might reveal about Robert and his family, before posting again. However, in the summer of 2019 I received a message that changed my plans. When writing part 7 I was only able to piece together the final part about Robert’s later life and his tragic death because I got in contact with some of Robert’s descendants in Ohio. I am eternally indebted to them for providing me with a photograph of Robert, and copies of articles about his death and funeral. After receiving these documents, I was under the impression, that it would be difficult to find any more information about the postwar life of Robert Mercer. Luckily, I was mistaken. Even though the Shave Den is primarily a site for shaving afficionados, another great-granddaughter of Robert, this time one of his descendants in Pennsylvania, stumbled upon my blogs, and contacted me. It was this message that I received in 2019, and it broadened the scope of what could further be told about Robert Mercer. I am again eternally grateful for the information that I have received from her, and I hope that I can give a little bit back to the family, by further investigating the avenues this new (and in some respects incredible) information has opened. Apart from this new information I have since 2018 dug deeper into the archives, and even though the 1955 census ended up not telling me much, a list of other documents did. This new information is also used in the new chapters about Robert Mercer and his WW1 Gillette shaving set. The result of this new contact and these new findings is going to be found in two new chapters about Robert’s and his family’s post-war life. Part 8 (the one that you are now reading) mostly concerns itself with Robert’s family and his relations with them. Most of these stories pick up loose ends, that I could not properly address while writing part 7. The as yet unpublished part 9 – that I will post shortly – concerns itself with a more sinister piece of history. But I will not reveal what this history is yet. Due to a long list of circumstances, I have waited until now to tell the more detailed story of Robert’s post-war years. I hope that you will agree that it was worth the wait. The fate of the razor In part 6 I theorized that Robert used the razor until the early 1950’s. My theories were based on the serial numbers on the blades left in the bladebox and the fact that the razor had been auctioned off at the same time as some of Robert Mercer’s other belongings. When I later found out, that Robert died in a horrible train accident on 31 January 1955, it matched this information, and I concluded, that Robert must have used the razor from 1917 until his untimely death in the winter of 1955. Roberts great granddaughter can corroborate this conclusion. According to her information, Robert used the razor until his death in 1955. She further narrates, that the contents of Robert’s RR locker, containing the razor and more of his personal belongings, were boxed up after his funeral and given to his daughter Amelia. Apart from the razor, the belongings, among other things, included a pocket watch won in a poker game, a silver cigarette case, and a set of dentures. Amelia kept these keepsakes in her cedar chest until the 1990’s, where she handed them off to her family, before her eventual death in 2003. Not so long after this, some of Robert’s old possessions was sold in a public auction, and it was at this point that the person who later sold me the razor purchased it. As I told in part 1, this seller initially told me that more of Robert’s belongings had been up for sale at this auction. Now I know what some of them were. As a historian it is a bit saddening to learn, that Robert’s belongings have now been scattered. But on the other hand, had this not happened, I would never have come into possession of Robert’s old razor, and his story would never have been told by me. The above information actually concludes my primary mission in writing these blogs, that mission being the investigation of the history of the razor. I have pieced together where the razor was, at all times since it was given to Robert in Camp Sheridan, Alabama in 1917 until today, where it is resting in my living room in a nice display case, that my loving wife has made for my collection. Robert Mercer's old WW1 razor today (third row from the top on the right) surrounded by other beautiful vintage razors - and one new Merkur 34c. (A better photo is on the way...). But over the course of the seven parts, my mission expanded, and the ever-growing number of blog-chapters were transformed in to being primarily the investigation of Roberts fascinating life-story. That investigation, as it turns out, is far from over. Firstly, I need to address two items, that I previously could not tell much about. Namely the circumstances of Robert’s father’s death and the mysterious Allen Mercer, the possible fourth child of Robert. The death of Roberts Mercer’s father In chapter 7 I reported that Roberts father, Charles Miller Mercer had died of heart problems at the age of 53. This information was gained through his death certificate. Since then, I have found a 1926 article from the ‘Dayton Herald’ describing Charles’ sudden death. Even though the article mistakes Charles for being two years older than he was at the time of his death, it also gives us more details of the sad event. An event that shares some similarities to Robert’s later tragic death. Like his son would later do, Charles Miller Mercer died suddenly in the middle of the city where he lived. The article tells us, that in Dayton on a Friday night in November 1926 on the way home from work as a conductor for the B & O Railroad, Charles suddenly experienced heart problems. He sat down on a curb. Help was sent for, but he died before any could arrive. A cutout from the ‘Dayton Herald’ - Saturday, 6 november 1926. The article furthermore shows us a photo of the proud figure of Charles Miller Mercer. The once young farm hand from Bristol, Virginia had risen in stature and was now a part of the growing US middle class. A middle class that had flourished in pre-depression America. Allan Mercer revealed In part 7 I summed up that Robert had fathered three daughters with his first wife Edith-Marie Balser. His first daughter was the stillborn child, that Edith-Marie gave birth to three days after their wedding in July 1920. The two surviving daughters were Amelia-Lucille Mercer and Mildred Launa Mercer who both lived long lives. One question not answered in chapter 7 was why some of the records show that Robert Mercer may have had a fourth child, the mysterious Allen Mercer, who seems to have been born around the same time as Roberts stillborn girl. But now, four years later, I am finally able to answer that question. Allen Mercer was NOT Roberts son. But he just might have lived with Robert longer than Robert’s two daughters did. Allen was born 6 January 1921. His parents were Myrtle Douglass and Robert Allen Sanders (Yes, another Robert). The archives are ambiguous whether Myrtle and Robert Allen Sanders were married at any point. If they were, it was a short marriage. Under any circumstance, the pregnancy seems to have been accidental, and Myrtle was only 17 years old when she gave birth to little Allen. To be a ‘teen mom’ was not that uncommon in 1921, especially among the poorer families. Myrtle was herself one of eight siblings, even though her mother, Callia Douglas, was only 33. Callia had given birth to Myrtles oldest brother, Herbert, when she was herself only 16. An excerpt from the 1920 US census showing the Douglas family. Myrtle (16) is on row 66 and her mother Callie (33 - but mother to 8 children) is on row 64. Whatever the circumstances of Myrtle’s split from Allen’s father, she was married to Robert Mercer sometime after 1926. At the same time, she seems to have changed Allen’s name from Robert Allen Sanders to Robert Allen Mercer. As told in chapter 7, Robert and Myrtle was in 1930 registered as living with both Allen (then 9) and Roberts two daughters Amelia-Lucille (8) and Launa (6). The girls later moved to live with their mother, Edith-Marie, but for a period of time Allen was part of the second version of a ‘Robert Mercer household’. An excerpt from the 1930 US census showing the Mercer family. The number 16 on the far right in Myrtles row (row 35) shows the age from her first marriage. It is the only registration in the archives that Myrtle WAS married, when she gave birth to Allen. However, she could have lied to the census people. So, sometime between 1930 and 1940 Allen became the only child in the household, and when Robert Mercer and Myrtle split up, he stayed with his mother. As related in chapter 7 Myrtle tragically died at age 36 in 1940. The 19-year-old Allen was the only one living with her at the time, and we can only guess at how he lived through these tragic events. Myrtle Mercer's grave. The archives show no evidence of Robert Mercer and Allen Mercer having been in contact after 1940, and the descendants of Robert’s daughter Amelia-Lucille had no knowledge of Allen’s existence before reading this historical investigation of Roberts life. This implies that Allen was very much left to his own devices when his mother died, and in an eerie way, this mirrors what his stepfather, Robert Mercer, went through when he himself lost his mother at the age of 14. Because just like Robert Mercer before him, Robert Allen Mercer went to war soon after. On 16 September 1940 President Roosevelt signed the first of six draft laws, as part of the preparation for the looming new war. All US men that fit the draft age was to register, and Allen did just that. According to the draft form the 21 year old Allen was at that time working for the Lowenstein Furniture Company in Hamilton Ohio, which means he stayed in Hamilton after his mother’s death. But this was soon to change, because Allen joined the marines and went off to fight in the Second World War, the same way his stepfather had fought in the first. The similarities are striking, and the draft form even shows that Allen Mercer did not call himself Allen at the time. He used his first name, and thusly another Robert Mercer went to war. Allen Mercers draft registration card from World war 2. Robert Allen Mercer survived the war and luckily lived through his mid-fifties, thereby breaking the ‘curse’ of the Mercer men. He died May 22, 2000 at 79. He was survived by his wife, a son, and a stepson of his own. A cutout from the "Dayton Daily News" - Sunday, 28 May 2000. Robert Mercer finally got "drafted" Before we move on to Robert’s daughters, there is one more document that should be mentioned. In part 2 I told the story of my fruitless search for Robert’s draft papers from 1917. I later found out, that Robert was too young to be included in the draft, so he was naturally never told to registered for it. That is probably the reason why he lied about his age when he enlisted for the war anyway. In the World War 2 draft, all men between 18 and 64 years ended up being registered, and that is why the 42 year old Robert Mercer finally filled in an draft registration form, even though his age group were (luckily) never sent to war. I found it while searching for Allen Mercer’s papers. Robert Mercers draft registration card from World war 2. So, I finally found Robert Mercers draft papers, even though they are from the ‘wrong war’. That makes the document interesting in itself. What is even more interesting thouigh, is that it is actually only the second document I have found which displays Robert’s handwriting. Robert Mercer and his daughters Since Allan turned out not to be Robert’s son by birth, that means that Robert were only survived by two biological children, the two daughters Amelia and Launa. Launa, born in 1923, was married to an Amos R. Stone, and passed away in 2008 having had no children. At least no children that I have been able to find. Robert’s eldest daughter Amelia Lucille who was born in 1921, was the only one to continue Robert’s bloodline. Amelia had three children, and it is some of her grandchildren that I in recent years have been fortunate enough to have come in contact with. As mentioned above, it is thanks to Amelia that Robert’s razor still exists today, and it is also from her, that we have the stories that the following is based upon. Furthermore, it is one of her stories that all of the forthcoming part 9 (currently the final part) is based upon. Amelia died in 2003 at the age of 82. Firstly, the stories that Amelia passed on to us can tell us more about Robert’s relationship with his daughters. Robert and Edith-Marie were married on 7 July 1920 and separated sometime before 8 august 1927, where Edith-Marie married her second husband William Schmaltz, whom she would remain married to until they both passed away in 1977. As I mentioned in part 7, it is not too far-fetched to theorize that Robert’s marriage to Edith-Marie was not a happy one, which might also be the reason why it lasted less than seven years. This fact could lead one to believe, that Robert Mercer not necessarily had a good relationship with his daughters. But three pieces of evidence points to this being false. The first piece of evidence is that Robert does not seem to have just left Edith-Marie and the children in the 1920’s. Proof of this is that all his children (including Allen) is living with him and his new wife Myrtle Mercer in 1930. The census can be seen above. 10 years later though, Amelia and Launa, now 18 and 16 years old, were living with their mother, but is seems like they lived with their father for a part of their childhood. The second piece of evidence is a part of the story I have been told from Robert’s great-granddaughter from Pennsylvania. She tells me that Robert, on that fateful night in January 1955 where he fell under a train, was about to take a long vacation, and that he was planning on spending a part of it on Amelia and her husband Henry’s farm. Apart from making the story of Robert’s untimely death even more sad, it also tells us, that Robert probably had a good relationship with Amelia after she had grown up, and had settled down with her own family. The third and final piece of evidence is another of Amelia’s anecdotes, passed on to her granddaughter. An anecdote that I will quote in full: This, one of only two personal anecdotes I have so far had the privilege to have been told by a member of Robert’s family, is a funny and revealing window to Robert’s private life. It tells us that Robert was in no way an abstainer, a fact that somewhat corroborates my earlier conclusions about Robert being a bit of a “rolling stone”. What it also tells us though, is that Robert was well liked, and that he had a good relationship with his son in law, Henry. All in all, we seem to be able to conclude, that Robert, even though having lived a somewhat changeable life with no less than four wives, still had a fairly close relationship with his daughter Amelia and was generally well liked. This fits well with the information about his good standing in the community revealed in part 7. These conclusions also explain why Robert’s razor and the rest of his personal belongings passed to Amelia, after his death in 1955. The last open saloon in Hamilton, Ohio, Monday, May 26, 1919. Just before prohibition went into effect. The other anecdote I have been told of Roberts post-war life also opens a window to a part of his story that I until now have not known anything about. A possibly darker part. The story opens an avenue that takes us into the more dangerous parts of Hamilton’s and Ohio’s history in the prohibition era, where Hamilton was known as ‘Little Chicago’. Robert Mercer might have been a part of the story and taken part in the events that gave Hamilton that ill-fated name. Because, as his daughter told her granddaughters many years later: “Robert Mercer knew Al Capone”. Read all about it in part 9 of this ever-growing chronicle of the history of Robert Mercer and his WW1 razor. Part 9: Robert Mercer and Little Chicago
WOW! I had forgotten about this saga (living one of my own tends to do that), but I REALLY enjoyed this story. I’m simply in awe of your research abilities, and while the inner webs have shrunken the world immeasurably, you still get bonus points for doing this all from Denmark. I’m waiting for Pt 9 . BTW, have you done a deep-dive investigation on Rasputin and uncovered anything not commonly known?
Thank you very much L.L. I am happy that the new chapter made you remember Robert's story again. As You can see, I have thought about the story on/off for the last 4.5 years, so it is nice finally to publish something about it again. And no, I am not an expert on Rasputin. The reason I am using his picture is much more silly. My name is Rasmus (a very normal danish name), which sounds a bit like Rasputin. So since i was a young man, I have been using Rasputin as an online alias from time to time.
