When Samuel and Ruth Bukater entered their sixteenth year of marriage in 1903, their union was disintegrating. Their five children ranged in age from six to fifteen. The eldest daughter from this union, named Sabrina was packed away at a prestigious boarding school just outside the city limits of New York. Eventually she'd be sent further away, perhaps to Paris or Geneva for finishing school. Also living in New York was Alice. When Alice was six years old, she was sent to live with her half sister; Claire. Claire had been told by her stepmother that Alice was a "bad, stupid, and clumsy girl." This was in 1895, the time that the twins Emily and Rose had been born. Much like Alice, Emily was fostered away; only this time to a friend of Ruth's. Rose remained at home. A stubborn child, Rose was constantly at loggerheads with the household staff, as well as her parents. Something her father resented.
Lastly, Elizabeth arrived in 1897. Unlike her older sisters, Elizabeth seemed different. She hadn't reached her developmental milestones on time. Hopes were further dashed when by the age of four, she still couldn't walk. Her speech was guttural, and often she wouldn't speak at all. Could this have been the proverbial straw? Maybe this crossroads was unknowingly reached before 1896? Where had it all gone wrong? Perhaps this marriage was cursed. To say that the changes were subtle was to be so far from the truth, that the truth was a foreign concept. All the deceitfulness, and all those long, long nights that Samuel and Ruth quarreled. How Ruth had changed since they wed in 1887.
It unnerved him to say the least. When he married Ruth DeWitt in May of 1887, she had been a bubbly seventeen year old. Her personality had emotional baggage to be sure, but then again her family had practically forced her into this marriage. Her father, Horace was a shrewd mill owner who didn't give a damn to the men, women, and children whom he employed in his hulking, disgusting textile mills. Of course it was revealed that he was insolvent and all of his employees had gone unpaid. At his mills in Flourtown and Conshohocken the employees were in near revolt. Horace reached out to a mutual friend: Joseph Bukater. Bukater, a shipping magnate agreed to give Horace an injection of cash. In return, Horace gave Joseph's son; Samuel his youngest daughter, Ruth.
The ceremony took place on May 12th, 1887 at the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church. Ruth's family dressed cheaply. The DeWitt's were, to an extent, nouveau riche and hadn't gone unnoticed. The rest of the Main Line talked, in hushed tones at first, but the gossip had since become the size of the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers combined. Some of this gossip was based on heinous facts. Perhaps what damaged Horace the most was talk that he had slept with his daughters and performed acts of abuse so depraved, that he was seen as a devil in disguise.
Ruth was apprehensive at first. She was afraid that Samuel would hurt her in ways that Horace had. It took some months, but Ruth came to trust that her husband wouldn't abuse her. He held his word. On March 14th, 1888 their first daughter; Sabrina had come into the world. She wasn't Samuel's first child. Before he had married Ruth, he was married to a second cousin of his: Alice Gardner. Their short marriage had produced three children. The oldest, Samuel Junior was born in 1869. Two daughters followed: Claire, born in 1871 and Anna, born in 1873. Anna's birth was difficult and Alice died two days later. Now a widower, Samuel was alone. In 1882, Samuel entrusted his children in the care of his parents: Joseph and Mehitabel.
The children hated their stepmother; especially Claire, as they were about a year apart in age. Claire's hatred of Ruth became so intense, that she was barred from the property. Samuel Junior took a more civil approach, but his dislike of his father's new wife was quickly rising. Finally, there was Anna. Anna was oblivious to the fact that Ruth hated her. This surprised nobody, but no one had the heart to tell the young woman. Samuel and Ruth's early years were, barring any arguments from his older children; relatively stable. In October of 1890, Alice was born. Again, stability remained but the cracks, as minute as they were; were beginning to form. Unbeknownst to both of them, they were already on the road to disintegration.
Surely there were other signs? From the outside, Samuel and Ruth appeared happy. No one could get anything that would be considered damning evidence. To the rest of Philadelphia society, the Bukater Family, at least this branch, was squeaky clean. The veneer, however, was coming apart before society's very eyes.