Secret revealed: Ohio woman unknowingly married father

This is one of those stories that leaves you with a million questions.

www.cnn.com...

Nobody shared it with Valerie Spruill while her husband was alive. For years after his death, she heard bits of the story. It was something about an absentee father, something about her husband. None of it made sense, she said. That's not until her uncle finally told her what no one else had: She had unknowingly married the father she never knew.

By all accounts, Spruill's mother got pregnant as a teenager while dating her then 15-year-old father.
She was 3-months-old when she was sent to live with her grandmother and grandfather, who she initially believed as she grew up was her father.
Spruill said at about age 8 or 9, she discovered that the woman who often visited the house was not a family friend but her mother.
But nobody, she said, talked about her father.

"I don't know if he ever knew or not. That conversation didn't come up," she said. "I think if he did know, there is no way he could have told me."

She confirmed that her husband was indeed her father through a DNA test, hair taken from one of his brushes.

The aftermath of the secret was devastating emotionally -- and physically, Spruill suffered two strokes and was diagnosed with diabetes.

It was her second marriage. Spruill was a nice man, a good provider. He was kind to her three children from her previous marriage.

"We had a good life," she said.

There's nobody left to give her the answers about her husband-father. Her mother, Christine, died in 1984. Her grandparents have long since passed. So, too, have a number of Percy Spruill's relatives.

What a messed up situation for this woman. She loved him and was happy with him, but is now psychologically devastating.

After all these years, should the uncle have kept the secret and let her live peacefully? Since they didn't have any children together, does it really matter after all this time has passed?.

I wonder how many years the secret has been known by the relatives? Or if she ran off and got married and it was too late when everyone knew?

reply to post by tinker9917


I think it is simply mind blowing that members of the woman's family knew that the man was her biological father and did not speak up. Even if the family didn't know about the marriage until after the fact someone should have said something as soon as they found out.

If I found out any of my kin had married their own biological parent I wouldn't just call- I'd be beating their door down with that information so fast there wouldn't even be a speed to describe it!

What kind of sick psycho family IS that? They aren't named Addams by any chance? Big dark house set apart from the rest maybe? Weird noisy car coming and going at odd times?

I mean really... What kind of outright demented sickness would allow ANYONE to watch a daughter marry her FATHER and not say something well in advance or ..for the love of God..say something in whatever way is most appropriate the MOMENT it's discovered?

I know people think the blood tap for a marriage license is/was stupid, old fashioned and without any meaning of any kind in the modern world, but I dare say, this case proves a rather wacky example of why that once was a required step. Brothers/Sisters and Cousins were more the concern I believe...Who ever imagines a Father and Daughter marrying and at least one of them not being 100% fully aware of it??

Good Lord..what would kids have looked like if the family gene went a little funny for cross breeding? We have honest to life stereo-typical Banjo players back in the hill country not far from where I sit....where this kind of craziness probably had A LOT to do with that.

Family had a shameful secret they wanted to hide, daughter who was a prostitute and teen mother. Propably paternity test were never taken and they thought "maybe..maybe not".
When truth is so devastating, living in a lie might be easier. I believe there is more in this than they are saying.

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
I know people think the blood tap for a marriage license is/was stupid, old fashioned and without any meaning of any kind in the modern world, but I dare say, this case proves a rather wacky example of why that once was a required step. Brothers/Sisters and Cousins were more the concern I believe...Who ever imagines a Father and Daughter marrying and at least one of them not being 100% fully aware of it??

I don't think the blood test before marriage was to determine relatedness. I thought that it was just to show that the potential partners did not have syphilis.

I don't think they had DNA tests back in those days that could determine relatedness anyways. From what I remember, there used to be just a bunch of blood type tests to at least try to see if two people had blood types that might have shown some degree of relatedness - though that wasn't that accurate either.

reply to post by davidchin

You know what, I'll be damned....but you're right and I stand corrected. (looks up for possible lightning bolts coming to fry his floppy ears) . All this time I've been under the impression it was about confirming you were not direct blood family because that is how it was explained when I married so long ago.

I wonder...if it was just easier to say that then raise the issue of veneral disease for the clerks? Interesting.... That could be and there are some quirks to living in the 'buckle of the Bible belt'. Heck. we're more the pin in the buckle here..with the major Biblical Universities and Faith headquarters right in the area.

Thanks for the correction! ..and thanks for not correcting with a little hammer. lol For anyone else's curiosity..I bookmarked the page correcting my bad information.

The truth about Martial Blood testing

and almost no states still require even that much...

Marriage laws by US State at a glance

Somebody should have told her before the marriage. To tell her after he died when they didnt have children together doesnt serve any purpose but to upset her. She suffered physically and mentally.
Some things are better left unsaid.

Surely when the priest asks the question about knowing any reason why they shouldn't get married one of the family should of stood up and said "he's her father"

The husband/father had to at least suspect it, didn't he?
If he did know the whole time, he was a sick, sick man!

Originally posted by tinker9917
The husband/father had to at least suspect it, didn't he?
If he did know the whole time, he was a sick, sick man!

edit on 11-10-2012 by tinker9917 because: (no reason given)

Thats what I meant by saying at least one of them......I too wonder if HE knew. If the Uncle knew, well..How couldn't he have known too?

Oh...That isn't just sick almost beyond words...but the level of betrayal is almost to the level of karmic. I meant, that's the kind of bad deed that carries to the next lifetime to those of us who carry that belief. Sick? Yeah.... and demented. Twisted. Warped.

This is just messed up.. I agree in this day and age, DNA should be done before marriage. Due to children being put into orphanages, with no information on parents, then adopted and names changed or not adopted with no real surname of their father, only their mothers surname.

Her Uncle is a disgusting human being. He knew and he didn't' tell her.This is a very sick family indeed!..Ugh i cant even imagine this..peace,sugarcookie1