Omar Wallace Sessions was born in 1892 on January 21st to John A Sessions and Martha Kindell. He was the first of their children and he grew up in Waldron Arkansas.
His father passed away in 1906 when Omar was about fourteen years old. Robert Eugene Sessions who was his Grandfather was on the census as living near Omar and his family. I have a feeling he was extremely close with Robert Eugene Sessions because he named his first son his name and among the items Omar had that were passed on to me included an old political poster of Robert Eugene Sessions.
He was sent to fight in World World 1 in December of 1917. He left Arkansas to end up at the Army base in Fort Baker in San Francisco. He was in the artillery. He was learning how to be a solider and mange large guns.
He only served a hand full of months until he was in the hospital in February of 1918 then was released from the Army hospital and was honorable discharged on March 21st 1918.
A few years after serving he would attend classes at A & M College in Stillwater. He had plans to become a farmer and the college offered farming classes in 1924.
He married Cora Eisenhour in September of 1924.
They had their first child Eugene son December 27th 1925.
I don’t have much information after 1925 because my Great Grandmother was so tight lipped about Omar. They had 4 more children. My Great Grandmother didn’t talk about when Omar got syphilis but she never had it herself. She never spoke poorly of Omar. I asked my Grandmother Faye Sessions when she was still alive (who was his youngest child) what her dad was like and she said she loved him and he would make her laugh sometimes.
Omar was in and out of hospitals for the rest of his life because he had been diagnosed with syphilis was dying from it because there were no cures or effective ways to treat it until after 1943. He was most likely treated with mercury or other barbaric ways they though syphilis could be cured. In 1942 was the first time the US cured syphilis, unfortunately for Omar he slipped into syphilis related psychosis and was deemed incompetent by 1943.
A few months before he was deemed incompetent he was in the US Army Navy Hospital in Arkansas he wrote a letter to Cora about how he missed her and the kids. He wrote about his journey to the facility and how he had to take a bus for 12 hours to get there.
He was stayed at the Central Oklahoma State Hospital for 2 years 7 months and 5 days (until his death).
His death certificate states he died from Syphilitic Meningo Encephalitis (Advanced Syphilis).
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