Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
NameLeo O. STAFFORD 
3134, p 1
3134, p 1Spouses
Memoat a farm near Meriden
ResidenceBremerton, WA (1969)3134, p 1
ResidenceRiverton, WA (1963)3134, p 3
FatherEdward BECKER (1874-1934)
MotherCarlotta O'BRIEN (1874-1969)
Individual Notes
• …has lived in Bremerton, Wash., since the mid-1940s.4128, p 2
• The twins were born Nov. 9, 1909, on a farm at Meriden, northeast of Topeka. They are the youngest, following four boys.
"We were told Mom said that last time she was going to have a girl, and she prayed for two," Bird said.
When the girls came along, the doctor couldn't get there, but "the vet down the road did," said Stafford, explaining that the premature babes weighted between 2 and 3 pounds.
"Mother had to be taken to the hospital in Topeka for some surgery, so we were left with father," Stafford said.
The twins' father, Edward Becker, rigged up some kind of heating device -- Bird says he put them in the oven -- to keep them warm and fed them cow's milk with an eyedropper until they were able to take a bottle.
"We might not have made it without the love of our father," Bird said.
"And Father had a 17-month-old son there to care for, too," Stafford said of her brother, Marshall. "For a lot of years, the three of us were called triplets.”4128, p 2
• The twins were born Nov. 9, 1909, on a farm at Meriden, northeast of Topeka. They are the youngest, following four boys.
"We were told Mom said that last time she was going to have a girl, and she prayed for two," Bird said.
When the girls came along, the doctor couldn't get there, but "the vet down the road did," said Stafford, explaining that the premature babes weighted between 2 and 3 pounds.
"Mother had to be taken to the hospital in Topeka for some surgery, so we were left with father," Stafford said.
The twins' father, Edward Becker, rigged up some kind of heating device -- Bird says he put them in the oven -- to keep them warm and fed them cow's milk with an eyedropper until they were able to take a bottle.
"We might not have made it without the love of our father," Bird said.
"And Father had a 17-month-old son there to care for, too," Stafford said of her brother, Marshall. "For a lot of years, the three of us were called triplets.”4128, p 2
Census
• 1910 Census: Rock Creek Township, Jefferson, Kansas. Age 6/12ths, b KS. Father b OH; mother b KS.3140
• 1930 Census: Topeka, Shawnee, Kansas. Age 20, b KS. Single. Stenographer, Newspaper. Father b OH; mother b KS. Living with parents.3141
• 1930 Census: Topeka, Shawnee, Kansas. Age 20, b KS. Single. Stenographer, Newspaper. Father b OH; mother b KS. Living with parents.3141
Marriageaft 9 Apr 19303134, p 1; marriage only,3141
Children(Private)