View source for Genie Wiley

'''Susan Wiley''', (b Apr 18, 1957), daughter of Clark Wiley and his wife Irene, the famous case of the "feral child" called "Genie" by a few scientists, who was raised under severe conditions until she was 13 years old.  She was kept isolated in a back bedroom, locked in a bed surrounded by chicken-wire at night and strapped to a potty chair by day.  She couldn't walk normally, couldn't speak and had abnormal reactions.

<blockquote>
Copyright 2007, Will Johnson, [mailto:wjhonson@aol.com wjhonson@aol.com], Professional Genealogist, All Rights Reserved.  This page is locked, if you'd like to add or correct anything, please email me.
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
[http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php?title=Talk:Genie_Wiley&action=edit&section=new Sign the Genie Wiley Guestbook]</blockquote>

Consider making a [http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&amp;business=wjhonson@aol.com&amp;amount=15.00&amp;item_name=Genie_Wiley_Fund financial contribution] to keep research like this going.

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~wjhonson/WileyHouse.jpg

<center>The Wiley House Above, Golden West Avenue, Temple City, California</center>

----
==Susan Wiley==
===Why this article?===
I had writen on the David Pelzer article and from a mention there, I became curious to do an article about "Genie the Wild Child".  Here is what I found out quickly and what you probably knew before you arrived here, which I summarize as:

<blockquote>"Genie" was a child who was kept virtually a prisoner, almost her entire life, by her parents somewhere in the Los Angeles area.  Her parents isolated her, penned her up at night and tied her sometimes during the day, malnourished her stunting her growth, and never spoke to her.  She never attended school, only being allowed outside rarely.  She never learned to speak.  She was found in 1970 age 13, her parents were charged, her father committed suicide.  She was studied and helped to learn some language skills, her case was remarkable and exciting, as it could finally answer unanswered questions about language development.  After four years the funding and the studies ended.  She briefly went back under her mother's care, but then was placed in a series of foster homes, and is still living somewhere in Los Angeles in an assisted living home.</blockquote>

Like you, these details repeated over and over, on various websites, were not satisfying to me.  I wanted to know more.  What were her parent's names? Was her mother convicted? Did her father leave a suicide note?  What about her grandparents, what did they know or do?  Various postings online claim that her real name has been kept private.  I had thought that was because documents were sealed, but as you see shortly, I was wrong.  At the time she was found, all the details were reported widely, all across the country.  And now I'm going to tell you.

===The Trigger===
On 6 Mar 2007, an anonymous editor on Wikipedia, added an newspaper article as an external link to the article on Genie, which identifies her as "Susan Wiley" [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Genie_%28feral_child%29&diff=113030190&oldid=111647057 here].  In their edit summary they cite "LA Times article, March 18, 1979 by Myrna Oliver."  In this same anonymous editors' next change [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Genie_%28feral_child%29&diff=next&oldid=113030190 here] they add the parents names "Irene and Clark Wiley" and for this cite a website http://www.mymultiplesclerosis.co.uk/misc/wild-child.html 

Seeing this, I knew immediately something was fishy.  Not only were the names known at some time, but more could be discovered, if one were focused and determined.  And I am, so I did.

===Finding Susan Wiley===
<table><tr><td>http://www.homeworking.ws/children/genie-wiley.jpg</td><td>Her situation was discovered in 1970.  Susan's mother Irene had about a month prior left her abusive husband and, taking her daughter Susan with her, was living with her own mother in Monterey Park, California.  John Wiley, Susan's brother, was living with their father Clark in the family home in Temple City, California.

Irene being nearly blind, went to seek public assistance for the blind, bringing Susan along with her.  One version states that an alert social worker spotted the oddly walking and behaving child, alerted her own supervisor who called the police.  A second version states that Susan's abnormal background was not discovered until a social services home visit on Nov 4, 1970.  Shortly after the real reason for Susan's unusualness was discovered, both Clark and Irene were arrested and charged with Felony Child Abuse.</td></tr></table>

An article in the ''Valley News'' of Van Nuys, California, Dec 17, 1970, (page 23C "Felony Charge Dismissed in Wiley Child Abuse Case") gives her name as "Susan".  It repeats her parents names as above and adds that she had a brother or half-brother named John Wiley, calling him "Clark's son".  In this same article, Irene is called "of Alhambra, California", although their home is described as being "in Arcadia".  In 1970, in the Los Angeles suburb of Arcadia. Susan "Genie" was taken into protective custody.

===Susan Wiley: The Full Biography===
Clark Wiley did not like children.  In fact he disliked them intensely.  Clark and Irene had four children altogether, but one of, and probably both of the first two had died at Clark's hands.

Their first child Dorothy Irene Wiley was born 2 Jun 1948 in Los Angeles County.  She developed some sort of illness (?), so Clark wrapped her in a blanket and put her in the drawer of a dresser in the garage.  She died.  Their second child Robert Clark Wiley was born 15 Sep 1949 and died 17 Sep 1949 "choking on his own mucus" as it has been reported. ([http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4873347&page=1 See here])  When their third child John Gray Wiley was born 11 Mar 1952, he initially lived with them apparently, but when John was about four, Clark's mother Pearl, believing that Clark was unbalanced, took John to live with her.  Two years later, while Pearl and John were outside together, Pearl was killed by an "out of control pickup truck" and dragged down the street.  John went back to live with his parents.  Meanwhile, Clark and Irene had had their fourth and final child  Susan M Wiley born 18 Apr 1957 in Los Angeles County.

<table><tr><td>http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/abc_wiley_080519_mn.jpg</td><td>-----<br>The picture on the far-left shows Dorothy Irene (Oglesby) Wiley with her two surviving children John and Susan "Genie".  The side-by-side photo is of that son John Wiley today.  The original photo is at the ABCnews article linked below in Sources.


The teen-aged driver who killed Pearl was never charged in the incident, which apparently sent Clark even further off the deep end.  He blamed his son John for the death of his "beloved mother Pearl"</td></tr></table>

Around October of 1970,  Irene estraged herself from her husband and taking Susan, went to live with her own mother in Monterey Park. (see [http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=53636353&firstvisit=true&src=search&currentResult=9 "Arcadia Tribune", 22 Nov 1970, page 6).   She went seeking assistance for the blind but ended up at a Social Services office where an alert worker, seeing this very odd looking and behaving child with Irene, notified her superior who alerted the police.  Clark and Irene were arrested and charged with Felony Child Abuse for keeping Susan virtually a prisoner, almost her entire life.

"Just before he was due in court to be arraigned for child abuse, he shot and killed himself", as the Valley News reports, adding that he was 70 years old, and killed himself on Nov 20.  The article also states that Mrs Wiley is 50 years old.

The person who sent me the above picture of the house states that it is in Temple City, California. John Wiley appears in the Temple City High School year book for one year, but after the story broke, he declined to have a picture taken. 

Dorothy Irene (Oglesby) Wiley died in 2003 in Los Angeles.  Susan is supposed to still be alive in an adult-care home somewhere in California.  Her brother John was reported to me, by a site visitor, as having already died, but ABCnews has just interviewed him [http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4873347&page=1 here].  He is now a house painter, living in Ohio.

Some editors at Wikipedia have been quite vocal about trying to suppress her real name from her article there, in addition of course to suppressing her surname, and details about her family.

The initial social worker on the case, recommended on 5 Nov 1970, that Susan Wiley "Genie" be removed from her parents and made a dependent ward of the state.  Susan Wiley "Genie" had a state appointed attorney and advocate John Miner. Susan "Genie" lived first at the Children's Hospital, but scientist Jean Butler stating that she had exposed her to German measles, took her to her own home in quarentine.  Genie lived there while other investigators like Susan Curtiss, were denied access to her, and Jean applied to be her foster parent.  Her application was denied.

Shortly afterward, Susan "Genie" was placed as a foster child with David and Marilyn Rigler, in 1971.  David was a psychologist at Children's Hospital, and Marilyn was a graduate student in human development, who would become Genie's first teacher.  She lived with the Riglers and their children in their home near Children's Hospital for about four years.  This ended when the National Institutes of Mental Health denied continued payment for the study of Susan "Genie".

<table><tr><td>http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/ht_wiley4_080515_ssv.jpg</td><td>At this time she went to live with her mother, who being acquitted of all charges and following cataract surgery, now wanted to take care of her.  But Irene found it too difficult and so Genie was moved to the "Beatrice Mansfield family home" in 1975.  She was placed with the Crocketts about 1977.  Susan's mother Irene Wiley appears in one of these documents dated Jan 1974.  And again Irene signs an authorization form in Jun 1975.

Susan Wiley was placed at Immaculate Heart College 1973, the "Sophia T Salvin School" 1973-1974, "Diane S Leichmann School" 1974-5, and the Lincoln School 1976-7.

The picture at the left shows Irene Wiley and Susan Wiley "Genie" in 1989.<br><br>Irene Wiley, in 1979, filed a lawsuit against "Hansen, Rigler, Kent, Curtiss, and Children's Hospital of Los Angeles" charging them with "excessive and outrageous testing....[claiming] the researchers gave testing priority over Genie's welfare, pushing her beyond the limites of her endurance."  The mention of the lawsuit appears in an article in the ''Los Angeles Times'', dated 18 Mar 1979 "Retarded Girl Used for Profit, Suit Alleges".  A photograph of the article appears in the BBC documentary on this case [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NGUP_JSRic&feature=related here in Part 6].  If you stop the tape at time 3:30 you can read that the article states "...Mrs Wiley had cared for the child as best she could..."  The lawyers for Irene were Louise Monaco and Samuel Paz.

The PBS program "The Wild Child", dated 4 Mar 1997 includes a statement that : "...Genie now lives in an adult foster care home in southern California."</td></tr></table>

===Primary documentation===
*[http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt0q2nc69q&chunk.id=c01-1.2.7.5&brand=oac Finding Aid for the Collection of Research Materials related to Linguistic-Psychological Studies of Genie, Section 4 "Guardianship"], in particular note : "4B. Education . 1970-1977 Subseries is comprised of school progress reports, pedagogical material from the Los Angeles Unified School District, a small amount of correspondence, and other ephemera and miscellaneous material. [ Box 54 ] [ Folder 5 ] Authorization for exchange of medical, psychological, and education information between school and David Rigler . 1975 June 2 Signed by '''Irene Wiley'''."
*[http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt0q2nc69q&chunk.id=c02-1.2.7.9.5&brand=oac Finding Aid for the Collection of Research Materials related to Linguistic-Psychological Studies of Genie, Section 8C "Family History"]
*[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/default.aspx?htx=view&dbid=50155&iid=NEWS-CA-TH_DA_RE.1970_11_17_0012&r=an&rc=2605%2c1146%2c2697%2c1192%3b2716%2c1146%2c2827%2c1192&fn=&ln=Record+Clark+Wiley+from+1960-2007&st=d&ssrc=&pid=508937228 ''The Daily Report'' (Ontario, California)], 17 Nov 1970, page A-2, "Parents Charged in Girl's Imprisonment" : [picture of Susan] "Susan Wiley, a teenager with the mentality of a 12 to 18 month old infant, was kept a prisoner in the home of her elderly parents for 13 years.  No reason was given for her confinement...." "...The girl's plight was discovered by a social worker who visited the home...the family applied for welfare aid and an eligibility worker was sent to their home.... A son John, 18, was sent to live with his grandparents following the arrest of his parents."

*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=CAdeath1940%2c&rank=0&gsfn=Clark&gsln=Wiley&sx=&gs1co=2%2cUnited+States+&gs1pl=7%2cCalifornia&year=&yearend=&sbo=0&ufr=0&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&o_iid=21416&o_lid=21416&o_it=21416&fh=0&recid=7913222&recoff=1+2 California Death Index 1940-97] showing "Clark G Wiley born 29 Mar 1901 Oregon, died 20 Nov 1970 Los Angeles County, California

*[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=view&dbid=7683&iid=NEWS-CA-VA_NE.1970_12_17_0114&r=an&rc=3599,308,3847,450;3825,1246,3930,1292;3442,1292,3554,1338;3813,1654,3921,1700;3446,1879,3571,1925;3619,2700,3740,2746;3823,4146,3946,4192;4215,704,4330,750;4013,929,4135,975;4269,1121,4385,1167;4378,2113,4490,2159;4017,2267,4139,2313&fn=&ln=Record+Clark+Wiley+from+1970-1970&st=d&ssrc=&pid=508970098 ''Valley News'' (Van Nuys, CA), Dec 17, 1970, page 23C "Felony Charge Dismissed in Wiley Child Abuse Case"]

*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=0&f2=&f1=Wiley&sx=&f9=&f5=&f4=&rg_f3__date=&rs_f3__date=0&f6=&f7=Oglesby&gskw=&prox=1&db=cabirth1905&ti=0&ti.si=0&gl=&gss=rfs&gst=&so=3 California Birth Index 1905-1995] showing "Susan M Wiley born 18 Apr 1957 Los Angeles County, California.  Mother's maiden name: Oglesby".  Searching on *any* child born to father Wiley and mother Oglesby we get the whole family: "Dorothy Irene Wiley born 2 Jun 1948, Robert Clark Wiley born 15 Sep 1949, John Gray Wiley born 11 Mar 1952, and Susan [as above].  All born in Los Angeles County."

*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=0&f1=&f2=&f0=wiley&sx=&f4Day=&f4Month=&f4Year=&f6=&f5Day=&f5Month=&f5Year=&f7=&f10=&f9=Oglesby&f3=&f8=&prox=1&f4=++&f5=++&db=cadeath1940&ti=0&ti.si=0&gl=&gss=rfs&gst=&so=3 California Death Index 1940-1997] showing "Dorothy Irene Wiley born Jun 2, 1948 California, died Aug 19, 1948 Los Angeles County, California.  Mother's maiden name Oglesby" and "Robert Clark Wiley born Sep 15, 1949 California, died Sep 17, 1949 Los Angeles County, California. Mother's maiden name Oglesby"

===Secondary Sources===
*[http://www.mymultiplesclerosis.co.uk/misc/wild-child.html An article which gives her real surname] and a photograph
*[http://kccesl.tripod.com/genie.html "The Civilizing of Genie"], by Maya Pines
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie_(feral_child) "Genie"] on Wikipedia
*[http://highschoolbioethics.georgetown.edu/units/unit3_4.html An article] describing Genie's life with the Riglers
*[http://www.newspaperarchive.com/DailyPerspectiveFullView.aspx?ViewDate=11/4/2007 1970: Feral Youth Discovered] on newspaperarchive.com
*[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2112gchild.html "Secret of the Wild Child"], transcript of a show on Nova, PBS, 4 Mar 1997
*BBC documentary on Genie, now on YouTube (in six parts), posted by manwithaplan999 (thanks to site reader Kirsten Johnson for pointing me to this)
**[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipt0pjz0mwg&feature=related Part 1], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nha-lGE_wjo Part 2] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxUBkKNOz_k&feature=related Part 3] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcEEvNFNETM&feature=related Part 4] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsRr9COItp0 Part 5] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NGUP_JSRic&feature=related Part 6]
*[http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1992/04/20/1992_04_20_043_TNY_CARDS_000359120 Abstract of "Il-A Silent Childhood"] by Russ Rymer, abstracted in ''The New Yorker'' 20 Apr 1992, page 43
*[http://www.psych.utah.edu/classes/2007_fall/3220_001/readings/Rymer,%20R.%20(1992)%20Part%20II.pdf "Annals of Science - A Silent Childhood - II"], by Russ Rymer, 20 Apr 1992, ''The New Yorker'' (PDF, 29 pages)
*[http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4804490&page=1 "Wild Child Speechless After Tortured Life"], ABCnews, 7 May 2008, Susan Donaldson James
*[http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4873347&page=1 "Raised by a Tyrant, Suffering a Sibling's Abuse"], ABCnews, 19 May 2008, Susan Donaldson James.  Thanks to site reader Jan H. Jørgensen for alerting me to this news story.

===Further reading===
*[http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=30+North+golden+west+avenue,+temple+city,+ca&daddr=Temple+City,+CA&sll=34.120616,-118.056679&sspn=0.04846,0.106945&ie=UTF8&ll=34.123884,-118.056335&spn=0.096916,0.21389&z=12 Google Maps showing Golden West Avenue, Temple City]
*Two books were pointed out to me by a page reader in 2008 :
**"Genie: A scientific tragedy", by Russ Rymer
**A paragraph on Genie appears in the book: "Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children", by Michael Newton

*Susan Curtiss is currently at UCLA in Los Angeles. [http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/curtiss/index.htm Her contact info is here]

*At the time of her parents arrest, their story was widely publicized, naming them as Clark Wiley, Irene, and Susan Wiley and her brother John.  I've provided five full transcripts at the bottom of this paragraph.  Here are just a few of the papers in which her name was reported as "Susan Wiley" : Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, New Mexico); Bennington Banner (Bennington, Vermont); Holland Evening Sentinel (Holland, Michigan); Iowa City Press Citizen (Iowa City, Iowa); Kingsport News (Kingsport, Tennessee); Lima News (Lima, Ohio); News Journal (Mansfield, Ohio); Post Crescent (Appleton, Wisconsin); Yuma Daily Sun (Yuma, Arizona); Bucks County Courier Times (Levittown, Pennsylvania); Chronicle Telegram, The (Elyria, Ohio); Coshocton Tribune (Coshocton, Ohio); Derrick (Oil City, Pennsylvania); El Paso Herald-Post (El Paso, Texas); Florence Morning News (Florence, South Carolina); Fond Du Lac Commonwealth Reporter (Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin); Manitowoc Herald Times (Manitowoc, Wisconsin); Morning Herald (Uniontown, Pennsylvania); Nevada State Journal (Reno, Nevada); Red Bluff Daily News (Red Bluff, California); San Antonio Express (San Antonio, Texas); Sheboygan Press (Sheboygan, Wisconsin); Stevens Point Daily Journal (Stevens Point, Wisconsin); The Advocate (Newark, Ohio); The Capital (Annapolis, Maryland); The Chillicothe Constitution Tribune (Chillicothe, Missouri); The Daily Courier (Connellsville, Pennsylvania); The Daily Report (Ontario, California); The Daily Times News (Burlington, North Carolina); The Daily Tribune (Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin); The Gettysburg Times (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania); The Progress (Clearfield, Pennsylvania); The Times Recorder (Zanesville, Ohio); The Zanesville Signal (Zanesville, Ohio); Valley News (Van Nuys, California)
**[http://content.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=7044&iid=NEWS-WI-OS_DA_NO.1970_11_17_0001&rc=3545,362,3675,416;941,3983,1045,4025;1066,3983,1190,4025&pid=508937217&ssrc=&fn=&ln=Record+Clark+Wiley+from+1970-1970&st=g ''Oshkosh Daily Northwestern'' (Oshkosh, Wisconsin)] 17 Nov 1970, page 1
***"Parents Are Arrested for Retarding Child" transcribed [[Susan_Wiley/Oshkosh_Article|here]]
**[http://content.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=7044&iid=NEWS-WI-OS_DA_NO.1970_11_20_0001&rc=3460,371,3579,421;2547,2983,2623,3025;2665,3404,2748,3446;3571,2587,3650,2629;3777,3017,3879,3059;3092,3596,3193,3638;3213,3596,3334,3638;3729,3546,3839,3588;3860,3546,3970,3588;179,6850,262,6892&pid=508940289&ssrc=&fn=&ln=Record+Clark+Wiley+from+1970-1970&st=g ''Oshkosh Daily Northwestern'' (Oshkosh, Wisconsin)] 20 Nov 1970, page 1
***"Man Who Kept Daughter in Diapers is Shot" transcribed [[Susan_Wiley/Oshkosh_Article_2|here]]
**[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=view&dbid=6169&iid=newsrenoeg.1970_11_18_0023&rc=229,2200,331,2242;351,2200,473,2242;4343,183,4449,229&fn=&ln=Record+Clark+Wiley+from+1970-1970&st=d&ssrc=&pid=508938263 ''Reno Evening Gazette'' (Reno, Nevada)] 18 Nov 1970
***"Doctors claim girl isolated since birth" transcribed [[Susan_Wiley/Reno_Article|here]]
**[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=view&dbid=6169&iid=newsrenoeg.1970_11_20_0001&rc=3111,467,3240,513;2108,2567,2218,2609;2239,2567,2370,2609&fn=&ln=Record+Clark+Wiley+from+1970-1970&st=d&ssrc=&pid=508940289 ''Reno Evening Gazette'' (Reno, Nevada)] 20 Nov 1970
***"Child isolation father commits suicide &mdash; police" transcribed [[Susan_Wiley/Reno_Article_2|here]]
**[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=view&dbid=6169&iid=newsrenoeg.1970_11_21_0012&rc=4130,33,4235,83;273,2233,354,2258;440,2596,512,2621;278,3217,360,3242;417,3579,497,3604;335,3867,414,3892;542,4279,602,4304;336,5550,414,5575;1449,1863,1521,1905;1059,3217,1138,3242;1046,3421,1126,3446;847,4538,926,4563;1217,4642,1300,4667;1062,5783,1110,5808;2380,4612,2483,4654;1846,4658,1963,4700&fn=&ln=Record+Clark+Wiley+from+1970-1970&st=d&ssrc=&pid=508941324 ''Reno Evening Gazette'' (Reno, Nevada)] 21 Nov 1970
***"Curiosity seekers drive accused man to suicide" transcribed [[Susan_Wiley/Reno_Article_3|here]]

*Thread on [http://genforum.genealogy.com/wiley/messages/3162.html Genforum]
*Thread on [http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.wiley/2152/mb.ashx Boards.Ancestry]
*Thread on [http://www.cousinconnect.com/d/a/173202 Cousin Connect]

==Clark G Wiley==
<table><tr><td>http://www.homeworking.ws/children/clark-wiley.jpg</td><td>Clark G Wiley was born as "Pearl Wiley" on 29 Mar 1901 in Oregon.  (see [http://abcnews.go.com/US/popup?id=4870528&contentIndex=1&page=10&start=false here] for his name) He was teased for this girl's name, and later changed it to Clark.  His still-living son John Wiley states that Clark was "raised by a bar-girl in a bordello". (See [http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4804490&page=1 here])

Clark Wiley married Dorothy Irene Oglesby sometime before 1948 and probably in California, possibly in Los Angeles County where her parents were living at that time.  Clark and Irene had four children, all born in Los Angeles County, California but two died young.  The eldest child has been reported to have died due to Clark's neglect and the second child's death "choking on his own mucus" is considered by some suspicious.
</td></tr></table>

Clark and Irene's children were:
#Dorothy Irene Wiley born 2 Jun 1948, died 19 Aug 1948
#Robert Clark Wiley born 15 Sep 1949, died 17 Sep 1949
#John Gray Wiley born 11 Mar 1952
#Susan M Wiley born 18 Apr 1957

Clark's middle name could possibly be "Gray" as his second son carries that middle name.  The third son John is yet living, in Ohio.  When John was age four he was taken to live with his grandmother "Mrs Pearl Martin", Clark's mother.  He lived with her about two years, up to the time, when he saw he get struck by an out-of-control pickup truck when he was six.  John then went back to live with his parents.  His father Clark blamed John for the death of "Clark's beloved mother" (John's grandmother).

ABCnews has just reported that "Clark Wiley was devasted by the death of his mother in a hit-and-run accident in 1958.  Within months of her death, he moved in to her two-bedroom house on Golden West Road in Temple City, Calif." (see [http://abcnews.go.com/US/popup?id=4870528&contentIndex=1&page=7&start=false here]) "He became enraged when the teen arrested for his mother's death was not prosecuted" (see [http://abcnews.go.com/US/popup?id=4870528&contentIndex=1&page=10&start=false here])

Clark Wiley has been described as some sort of recluse.  He was the main power in the home, his wife Dorothy being nearly blind was totally dependent on him, and frightened of him.  Their son John has stated that Clark often sat with a gun in his lap.  Clark and Dorothy were the parents of Susan Wiley called "Genie" in popular books and scientific papers about her case.

Clark and Dorothy were arrested once the authorities found that Susan had been kept virtually isolated from normal human contact her entire life of thirteen years.  Susan still wore diapers, couldn't talk, and was fed a substandard diet which stunted her growth.  It has been reported that when found she weighed 59 pounds and was the size of a 7 to 8 year old.  From years of confinement, her muscles had not developed normally, which caused her to walk in a peculiar way.  The family were described as "strange people who kept to themselves."

Just moments before his scheduled arraignment, with his wife Dorothy, on Felony Child Abuse charges, Clark Wiley shot himself in the head on 20 Nov 1970, using a 38-revolver.  His body was found in their home, by their son John aged 18, who was waiting outside to drive Clark to the courthouse.  Clark's death was handled as a suicide, the revolver and a brief note "John will understand" he had left, were both found nearby.  Another note told his son John what shirt he wanted to wear for his funeral.

Dorothy had entered a plea of "not guilty" just prior to being told, at the arraignment, that Clark was dead.  Charges against Dorothy were subsequently  dropped.

===Primary documentation for 2===
*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=0&f2=&f1=Wiley&sx=&f9=&f5=&f4=&rg_f3__date=&rs_f3__date=0&f6=&f7=Oglesby&gskw=&prox=1&db=cabirth1905&ti=0&ti.si=0&gl=&gss=rfs&gst=&so=3 California Birth Index 1905-1995] showing "Susan M Wiley born 18 Apr 1957 Los Angeles County, California.  Mother's maiden name: Oglesby".  Searching on *any* child born to father Wiley and mother Oglesby we get the whole family: "Dorothy Irene Wiley born 2 Jun 1948, Robert Clark Wiley born 15 Sep 1949, John Gray Wiley born 11 Mar 1952, and Susan [as above].  All born in Los Angeles County."

*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=CAdeath1940%2c&rank=0&gsfn=Clark&gsln=Wiley&sx=&gs1co=2%2cUnited+States+&gs1pl=7%2cCalifornia&year=&yearend=&sbo=0&ufr=0&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&o_iid=21416&o_lid=21416&o_it=21416&fh=0&recid=7913222&recoff=1+2 California Death Index 1940-97] showing "Clark G Wiley born 29 Mar 1901 Oregon, died 20 Nov 1970 Los Angeles County, California

*[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=view&dbid=7683&iid=NEWS-CA-VA_NE.1970_12_17_0114&r=an&rc=3599,308,3847,450;3825,1246,3930,1292;3442,1292,3554,1338;3813,1654,3921,1700;3446,1879,3571,1925;3619,2700,3740,2746;3823,4146,3946,4192;4215,704,4330,750;4013,929,4135,975;4269,1121,4385,1167;4378,2113,4490,2159;4017,2267,4139,2313&fn=&ln=Record+Clark+Wiley+from+1970-1970&st=d&ssrc=&pid=508970098 ''Valley News'' (Van Nuys, CA), Dec 17, 1970, page 23C "Felony Charge Dismissed in Wiley Child Abuse Case"]

*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=0&f1=&f2=&f0=wiley&sx=&f4Day=&f4Month=&f4Year=&f6=&f5Day=&f5Month=&f5Year=&f7=&f10=&f9=Oglesby&f3=&f8=&prox=1&f4=++&f5=++&db=cadeath1940&ti=0&ti.si=0&gl=&gss=rfs&gst=&so=3 California Death Index 1940-1997] showing "Dorothy Irene Wiley born Jun 2, 1948 California, died Aug 19, 1948 Los Angeles County, California.  Mother's maiden name Oglesby" and "Robert Clark Wiley born Sep 15, 1949 California, died Sep 17, 1949 Los Angeles County, California. Mother's maiden name Oglesby"

==Dorothy Irene Oglesby==
<table><tr><td>http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/abc_wiley_080519_mn.jpg</td><td>The picture on the far-left shows Dorothy Irene (Oglesby) Wiley with her two surviving children John and Susan "Genie".  The side-by-side photo is of that son John Wiley today.  The original photo is at the ABCnews article linked below in Sources.


Dorothy Irene Oglesby was born probably about 1920.  She is described as "age 50" in newspaper accounts dated Nov 1970.  She married Clark G Wiley and they had four children, two of whom survived childhood.</td></tr></table>

About 1956, Irene became mentally unstable and was briefly institutionalized.  At this time John, went to live with his grandmother, but on her death in 1958, John returned to the unstable household. (see [http://abcnews.go.com/US/popup?id=4870528&contentIndex=1&page=12&start=false here])

The condition of her daughter Genie was discovered when she left her abusive husband and went to stay with her own parents, while seeking public assistance.  The child was initially made a ward of the state.  Much later Irene regained custody but finding Genie too much to handle, she was placed with a series of foster homes.

Dorothy was still living in 1993/5 when there are some letters from her in the "Finding Aid" file above.  An Oglesby relative informs me that "My Aunt Irene died in 2003 in Los Angeles".

===Secondary sources for 3===
*[http://genforum.genealogy.com/oglesby/messages/1288.html "Any Connections to Oglesby line"], posting by Donna Oglesby 16 July 2007 to the Oglesby forum at genforum.genealogy.com stating that Dorothy parent's were : "Robert Franklin Oglesby ... and his wife Beatrice Palmer. Robert died July 1982 in Ontario California and buried in Ontario Cemetery, California. Beatrice died 24 February 1985 and is buried next to her husband, in Ontario California."
*[http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=:3166627&id=I622739977 "Irene Oglesby"], pedigree view, "Underwood" by Bill Underwood, 22 Apr 2008, hosted in the Rootsweb WorldConnect Project showing her mother as "Beatrice Palmer" and Beatrice' parents as "Thomas Jefferson Palmer and Teresa M Thomas"
*[http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4804490&page=1 "Wild Child Speechless After Tortured Life"], ABCnews, 7 May 2008, Susan Donaldson James.
*[http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4873347&page=1 "Raised by a Tyrant, Suffering a Sibling's Abuse"], ABCnews, 19 May 2008, Susan Donaldson James. Thanks to site reader Jan H. Jørgensen for alerting me to this news story.

==Mr Wiley==
ABCnews has reported that "Clark Wiley's father died when he was struck by lightning". (see [http://abcnews.go.com/US/popup?id=4870528&contentIndex=1&page=7&start=false here])

==Mrs Pearl Wiley Martin==
<table><tr><td>http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/ht_wiley9_080515_ssv.jpg</td><td>The picture at the right is Pearl Martin with her grandson John.  Original photo at ABCnews.<br><br>She is named as "Pearl Martin, John's paternal grandmother" [http://abcnews.go.com/US/popup?id=4870528&contentIndex=1&page=8&start=false here].  She is reported to have "run a bordello" (see [http://abcnews.go.com/US/popup?id=4870528&contentIndex=1&page=7&start=false here]).  She took John Wiley when he was 4 to raise him herself because she thought her son Clark was unstable.  John only lived with his grandmother was 2 years as she was killed in a hit-and-run accident by an "out-of-control pickup trunk" which "slammed into [her] and dragged her mangled body down the street" in California when "John Wiley was 6 years old". (see [http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4873347&page=1 ABCnews "Raised by a Tyrant..."])  John was born in 1952 so this would have happened in 1958/9.</td></tr></table>

ABCnews has just reported that "Clark Wiley was devasted by the death of his mother in a hit-and-run accident in 1958.  Within months of her death, he moved in to her two-bedroom house on Golden West Road in Temple City, Calif." (see [http://abcnews.go.com/US/popup?id=4870528&contentIndex=1&page=7&start=false here]) "He became enraged when the teen arrested for his mother's death was not prosecuted" (see [http://abcnews.go.com/US/popup?id=4870528&contentIndex=1&page=10&start=false here])

===Primary sources===
*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=0&f1=pearl&f2=&f0=martin&sx=&f4Day=&f4Month=&f4Year=&f6=&f5Day=&f5Month=&f5Year=1958&f7=&f10=&f9=&f3=&f8=&prox=1&f4=++&f5=++1958&db=cadeath1940&ti=0&ti.si=0&gl=&gss=rfs&gst=&so=3 California Death Index], "Pearl Martin" deaths in 1958 :
**Pearl Henrietta (Schwindt) Martin; Born 21 Jul 1888 Wisconsin; Died 25 Feb 1958 Orange [County]; Mother's Maiden Name: Kimball
**Pearl Viola (Grandfield) Martin; born 30 Jan 1891 Kansas; Died 26 Nov 1958 Los Angeles [County]; Mother's Maiden Name: Peterson


*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=0&f1=pearl&f2=&f0=martin&sx=&f4Day=&f4Month=&f4Year=&f6=&f5Day=&f5Month=&f5Year=1959&f7=&f10=&f9=&f3=&f8=&prox=1&f4=++&f5=++1959&db=cadeath1940&ti=0&ti.si=0&gl=&gss=rfs&gst=&so=3 California Death Index], "Pearl Martin" deaths in 1959

===Secondary Sources===
*[http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4873347&page=1 "Raised by a Tyrant, Suffering a Sibling's Abuse"], ABCnews, 19 May 2008, Susan Donaldson James. Thanks to site reader Jan H. Jørgensen for alerting me to this news story.

==Robert Franklin Oglesby==
<table><tr><td>http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/ht_wiley8_080515_ssv.jpg</td><td>The photo at left is Robert Franklin Oglesby and his grandson John Wiley. Originally found at ABCnews.<br><br>Robert Franklin Oglesby was born 29 Dec 1898 in either Tennessee or Texas and died 2 Jul 1982 in Los Angeles County, California.</td></tr></table>

===Primary documents for 6===
*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&gsfn=Robert&gsln=Oglesby&sx=&f1=&f2=&f3=&f20=&f16=&f15=&rg_f14__date=&rs_f14__date=0&f18=&gskw=&prox=1&db=ww1draft&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&pcat=39&fh=24&recid=17283580&recoff=1+3 World War I Draft Registration] : "Robert Franklin Oglesby, born 29 Dec 1898, Farmer, working for W H Oglesby, nearest relative W H Oglesby, registered in Jackson County, Oklahoma

*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&gsfn=beatris&gsln=Oglesby&sx=&f12=&f4=&f7=&f15=&rg_81004011__date=&rs_81004011__date=0&f18=&f14__n=&_8000C002=&_80008002=&_80018002=&f10=&f16=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1930usfedcen&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&pcat=35&fh=0&recid=88961764&recoff=1+2 1930 Altus, Jackson County, Oklahoma]: "Franklin R Oglesby 32 OK/TX/TX, Superintendent, Oil Mill; Beatris 27, Irene 9, Doile 7"

*California Voter Registration, Los Angeles County, Belvedere Precinct:
**[http://content.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=1249&iid=losangelescounty_41-0227&rc=1799,2091,1866,2107;1924,2092,1990,2105&pid=1343442371&ssrc=&fn=Beatrice&ln=Oglesby&st=g 1938] : "Mrs Beatrice Oglesby, 3971 Snow dr, housewife, did not state [party affiliation]; Robert F Oglesby, 3971 Snow dr, service station, Democrat"
**[http://content.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=1249&iid=losangelescounty_46-0262&rc=1759,1378,1825,1394;1883,1378,1949,1391;1758,1402,1826,1419&pid=1661427886&ssrc=&fn=Beatrice&ln=Oglesby&st=g 1940] same as 1938
**[http://content.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=1249&iid=losangelescounty_58-0291&rc=1766,1822,1833,1839;1893,1821,1958,1835&pid=2368441024&ssrc=&fn=Beatrice&ln=Oglesby&st=g 1942] : "Mrs Beatrice Oglesby, 1035 N Hazard Av, housewife, Democrat; Robert F Oglesby, 1035 N Hazard av, drill operator, Democrat"
**[http://content.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=1249&iid=losangelescounty_64-0304&rc=1110,934,1176,949;1237,933,1303,946&pid=2842666746&ssrc=&fn=Beatrice&ln=Oglesby&st=g 1946] name and address the same, no occupations listed for anyone on the page
**[http://content.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=1249&iid=losangelescounty_90-0558&rc=1094,1115,1162,1131;1217,1114,1283,1127&pid=455547003&ssrc=&fn=Beatrice&ln=Oglesby&st=g 1954] same as above

*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=CAdeath1940%2c&rank=0&gsfn=Robert&gsln=Oglesby&sx=&gs1co=1%2cAll+Countries&gs1pl=1%2c+&year=&yearend=&sbo=0&sbor=&ufr=0&wp=4%3b_80000002%3b_80000003&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&o_iid=21416&o_lid=21416&pcat=34&fh=2&recid=5454212&recoff=1+2 Social Security Death Index] : "Robert Franklin Oglesby, born 29 Dec 1898 Tennessee, Died 2 Jul 1982 Los Angeles [County]"

===Secondary sources for 6===
*[http://genforum.genealogy.com/oglesby/messages/1288.html "Any Connections to Oglesby line"], posting by Donna Oglesby 16 July 2007 to the Oglesby forum at genforum.genealogy.com stating that Dorothy parent's were : "Robert Franklin Oglesby ... and his wife Beatrice Palmer. Robert died July 1982 in Ontario California and buried in Ontario Cemetery, California. Beatrice died 24 February 1985 and is buried next to her husband, in Ontario California."

==Beatrice Palmer==
Beatrice Palmer was born 2 Nov 1902 in Oklahoma, the daughter of Thomas J Palmer and his wife Theresa.

Beatrice married Robert Franklin Oglesby about 1920, probably at Altus, Jackson County, Oklahoma where they were both living at the time.  They had four children, at least the first two in Oklahoma.  By 1938 the family had moved to Los Angeles County where they lived until at least 1956.

Beatrice died 24 February 1985 and is buried next to her husband, in Ontario, San Bernardino County, California.

===Primary sources for 7===
*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=1910USCenIndex%2c&rank=0&gsfn=Beatrice&gsln=Palmer&sx=&gs1co=1%2cAll+Countries&gs1pl=1%2c+&year=&yearend=&sbo=0&sbor=&ufr=0&wp=4%3b_80000002%3b_80000003&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&o_iid=21416&o_lid=21416&pcat=35&fh=48&recid=66218035&recoff=1+2 1910 Census of Altus, Jackson County, Oklahoma] : "Thomas J Palmer, 44, AR/GA/MS; Theresa 35 AR/AR/AR; Virgie L 13; Elmore T 9; Beatrice 7; Harrison S 6; Hurston H 3; Not Named 1/12" 

*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&db=1920usfedcen%2c&gsfn=Beatrice&gsln=Palmer&sx=&gs1co=1%2cAll+Countries&gs1pl=1%2c+&year=&yearend=&sbo=0&sbor=&ufr=0&wp=4%3b_80000002%3b_80000003&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=0&ti.si=0&o_iid=21416&o_lid=21416&gss=angs-d&pcat=35&fh=64&recid=75756742&recoff=1+2&fsk=CIAAF60DfLkm&bsk=&pgoff= 1920 Census of Altus, Jackson County, Oklahoma] : "T J Palmer, 60, Kansas; Thanasi 40 AR; Beatrice 17 OK; Ceymore 15 OK; Hastin 12 OK"

*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&gsfn=beatris&gsln=Oglesby&sx=&f12=&f4=&f7=&f15=&rg_81004011__date=&rs_81004011__date=0&f18=&f14__n=&_8000C002=&_80008002=&_80018002=&f10=&f16=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1930usfedcen&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&pcat=35&fh=0&recid=88961764&recoff=1+2 1930 Altus, Jackson County, Oklahoma]: "Franklin R Oglesby 32, Beatris 27, Irene 9, Doile 7"

*California Voter Registration, Los Angeles County, Belvedere Precinct:
**[http://content.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=1249&iid=losangelescounty_41-0227&rc=1799,2091,1866,2107;1924,2092,1990,2105&pid=1343442371&ssrc=&fn=Beatrice&ln=Oglesby&st=g 1938] : "Mrs Beatrice Oglesby, 3971 Snow dr, housewife, did not state [party affiliation]; Robert F Oglesby, 3971 Snow dr, service station, Democrat"
**[http://content.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=1249&iid=losangelescounty_46-0262&rc=1759,1378,1825,1394;1883,1378,1949,1391;1758,1402,1826,1419&pid=1661427886&ssrc=&fn=Beatrice&ln=Oglesby&st=g 1940] same as 1938
**[http://content.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=1249&iid=losangelescounty_58-0291&rc=1766,1822,1833,1839;1893,1821,1958,1835&pid=2368441024&ssrc=&fn=Beatrice&ln=Oglesby&st=g 1942] : "Mrs Beatrice Oglesby, 1035 N Hazard Av, housewife, Democrat; Robert F Oglesby, 1035 N Hazard av, drill operator, Democrat"
**[http://content.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=1249&iid=losangelescounty_64-0304&rc=1110,934,1176,949;1237,933,1303,946&pid=2842666746&ssrc=&fn=Beatrice&ln=Oglesby&st=g 1946] name and address the same, no occupations listed for anyone on the page
**[http://content.ancestry.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=1249&iid=losangelescounty_90-0558&rc=1094,1115,1162,1131;1217,1114,1283,1127&pid=455547003&ssrc=&fn=Beatrice&ln=Oglesby&st=g 1954] same as above

*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=ssdi%2c&rank=0&gsfn=Beatrice&gsln=Oglesby&sx=&gs1co=1%2cAll+Countries&gs1pl=1%2c+&year=&yearend=&sbo=0&sbor=&ufr=0&wp=4%3b_80000002%3b_80000003&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&o_iid=21416&o_lid=21416&pcat=34&fh=4&recid=53929541&recoff=1+2 Social Security Death Index] : "Beatrice Oglesby, born 2 Nov 1902, died Feb 1985, last residence Ontario, San Bernardino County, California"

===Secondary sources for 7===
*[http://genforum.genealogy.com/oglesby/messages/1288.html "Any Connections to Oglesby line"], posting by Donna Oglesby 16 July 2007 to the Oglesby forum at genforum.genealogy.com stating that Dorothy parent's were : "Robert Franklin Oglesby ... and his wife Beatrice Palmer. Robert died July 1982 in Ontario California and buried in Ontario Cemetery, California. Beatrice died 24 February 1985 and is buried next to her husband, in Ontario California."

[[Category:True crime]]
[[Category:California]]
[[Category:Tennessee]]
[[Category:Abused children]]
[[Category:Los Angeles County, California]]
[[Category:Oregon]]