The Search for Double-Dead Bob:R. W. CallahanFamily folklore claimed that my Prussian ancestor, Joseph Rubarth, was the survivor of a shipwreck, a kidnapping by a pirate, and wars on two continents. Research proved these stories were highly embellished, if not completely fabricated. But the most compelling story in the Rubarth family revealed itself in a paper trail, not oral history. Notes shared by a distant cousin showed that Joseph Rubarth's daughter, Martha Rubarth, had married (1) Robert M. Wiley and (2) R. W. Callahan. These two men, the cousin wrote, were actually the same man. Proving that Wiley and Callahan were one and the same was not difficult, because we had letters written by both Wiley and Callahan. Clearly, these letters were penned by the same person. Callahan's correspondence spoke of real estate acquired from his wife's first husband, Wiley, which showed there was something beyond a name change. Family history was scant about this branch of the family, only that Wiley was "a schoolteacher who was killed." No contemporary accounts were found of Wiley's alleged death, only a quote from a county historian's manuscript that Robert Wiley, "once a popular schoolteacher," had accidentally drowned. A search of court records revealed that Wiley was in debt to his former business partner. To protect vast land holdings, Robert and Martha Wiley "sold" the property to R. W. Callaghan. (He would later dropped the "g" from Callaghan.) Research into Wiley's background produced more surprises, including the fact that he was not even Robert M. Wiley. He was born Robert Wiley Callaghan in Botetourt County, Virginia, in 1835. He stole the identity of his wealthy uncle, Robert M. Wiley, soon after abandoning his wife and children in Knox County, Illinois, in 1867. Later that year, Callaghan (now Wiley) became a bigamist with his marriage to Martha Rubarth in Williamson County, Texas. (His wife in Illinois divorced him for abandonment two years later.) Curiously, one person who knew the truth about Wiley/Callaghan — Isaac Miers — was shot to death by J. Q. Adams, who happened to be Callahan's business partner. After my long search came to a close, I asked a graphologist to analyze the handwriting of the letters penned by Wiley/Callahan. Although the graphologist was given no details about the writer's background, his detailed report was uncanny. "I believe that Wiley (Callahan) is a con man," he concluded. "He was a schemer. His mind was always working on plans to deceive others." Ultimately, Callahan's schemes seemed to have taken their toll on his family. Martha Rubarth Callahan died in an insane asylum at age fifty-six, and their only son, Raymond Callahan, committed suicide at age twenty-two. The life of Robert Callahan, alias Robert Wiley, which unfolded in my research, proved far more compelling than those fanciful family tales about my Prussian ancestor. [For a fully documented account of R. W. Callahan's life, read the chapter in Destiny in Texas] |
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