Died of Wounds in France: Raymond Lord Boone (1895-1918)

I was contacted by a gentleman who had inherited World War I dog tags which belonged to Raymond Lord Boone of New York State. He wanted my help in finding a descendant so that he could return the dog tags to a family member. Since a close relative was not found, the dog tags may be donated to the New York State Military Museum.

Raymond Lord Boone was born on 9 April 1895 to Edward and Edith (Earles) Boone. Records conflict about his place of birth. Federal census records indicate Raymond was born in New York. His military records created after his death, list New Port Richey, Florida, as his place of birth. However, his draft registration card, which was completed by a Schenectady County draft board official while meeting with Raymond, lists his place of birth as Preston Hollow, New York. I tend to think New York was his place of birth as his parents lived in Florida in the 1930s before returning to New York, according to his mother's obituary.

From at least 1900 to 1915, Raymond lived in Duanesburg, New York, with his parents and older brother Weller Earl. His father was a blacksmith.

Rt. 7 and Rt. 20 crossroads in downtown Duanesburg; courtesy of eBay 

On 27 June 1917 Raymond traveled to Schenectady to enlist in the New York National Guard. At the time he enlisted, he lived in the village of Delanson in Schenectady County, which is situated west-southwest of Duanesburg. He was assigned to the Machine Gun (MG) Company of 2nd Infantry. On 1 October 1917 the 2nd New York Infantry became the 105th New York Infantry. The regiment was strengthened by men from the 71st Regiment. It was paired with the 106th Regiment and attached to the 53rd Brigade of the 27th Division. They traveled to Camp Wadsworth near Spartanburg, South Carolina, for extensive training.

The 105th Infantry embarked for Europe from Newport News, Virginia, on 17 May 1918; and sailed aboard the Army Transport Steamer, President Grant. The last elements of the division arrived in France by late June.

Army Transport Steamer President Grant; courtesy of the Naval History and
Heritage Command

According to the New York State Museum website the, "27th division was slowly rotated into the front line in relief of the British 6th Division" on 25 July 1918. "German offensives during late March and April had driven deep salients into the allied lines near Amiens and Hazebrouck. On 31 August 1918, operations of the Ypres-Lys Offensive began in an attempt to remove the Germans from the Dickebusch/Scherpenberg area, and thus reduce the Amiens salient. This would free the Amiens-Paris railroad and safeguard allied communications. The responsibility for the assault on the 31st fell to the 53rd Brigade with the 105th regiment attacking on the left, abreast of the 106th Regiment. Over the next couple of days the 105th Regiment advanced against moderate German resistance until the entire 27th Division was relieved by the British 41st Division.

The 27th Division was transferred to the British 3rd Army on 4 September and was stationed near Doullens in a reserve position. By mid-September, the German salients had been reduced and the allied armies were finally in a position to launch their own offensive. The Somme offensive was organized and launched from 24 September to 21 October 1918 with the express purpose of piercing the Hindenburg line, a complex system of German defenses with an average depth of six to eight kilometers. On September 27th, elements of the 105th moved forward in support of an attack by the 106th Regiment. Modest gains were made, initially near Quennemont Ferme, Guillemont Ferme, and a fortified hill creatively labeled 'The Knoll,' but German counterattacks threw the two regiments back to their starting place. On 29 September, the 105th, which had been sent to the rear as a reserve advanced on The Knoll, but was checked by savage amounts of machine gun fire that rained down from the elevated German positions. On 1 October, the whole of the 27th Division was moved again, they time to Premont, where it would serve with the American 2nd Corps.

27th Infantry Division war dead on 29 Sep 1918 near Gillemont Farm; courtesy
of the Australian War Memorial

On October 17th the 105th helped spearhead an assault against the German defenses, and rapidly took a portion of the line at L'Arbe de Guise, holding it against vigorous counterattacks. The following day, the 105th attacked again, advancing to one of the main north-south German lines, which ran through Jonc de Mer Ferme before being halted by strong resistance. On 19 October the 105th advanced from their forward positions in the face of slight opposition, and easily took the main German works. The Germans, placed in an untenable position by the 105th the previous day, had been forced to withdraw. The 105th Regiment held the line until 21 October when the entire division was relieved." This series of engagements became known as the Battle of the Selle.

Raymond Lord Boone died from wounds received in action during the battle on 20 October 1918. His body was interred at the Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension in Nord, France. Busigny had been liberated by the allies in early October and over the next two months the 12th, 37th and 48th Casualty Clearing Stations operated in town. The cemetery extension was begun October until February 1919. After the armistice, the cemetery extension was enlarged when Plots II-VII were used for graves of soldiers killed in a wide area between Cambrai and Guise. Boone was interred in Grave No. 6, Plot 2, No. 623. His remains were eventually moved to Arlington National Cemetery.

Private Raymond Lord Boone's headstone at
Arlington National Cemetery; courtesy of Find A
Grave volunteer Doc Wilson

A memorial plaque mounted on a stone honoring the ultimate sacrifice made by Raymond L. Boone and four other men was erected in the Mariaville, New York, Cemetery where Raymond's brother, Weller Earl, and his wife, Janet S. (Gahagan) Boone, were interred. Mariaville is a hamlet in Schenetady County and was named after a small, nearby lake.

Memorial stone honoring Raymond Lord Boone at the
Mariaville Cemetery; courtesy of Find A Grave volunteer
Thomas Dunne

In Honor of
1st Class Private
Raymond L. Boone
Machine Gun Co., 105th Infantry
27th Division, U.S.A.

Killed at the
Battle of Laselle River
St. Souplet, France
October 20th 1918, Aged 23 Years

Erected by the Citizens of
Mariaville
In Grateful Recognition
Of His Services
To His Country and to Humanity

Honor Roll

Robert L. Gullings
Stephen Brown
Orson J. Smith
Frank Jeffers

Fortress Metz and the 5th Infantry Division

Haskins Thomas Farrar was my third cousin once removed and the grandson of Alexander Miller and Ann Marie Jennings. He was born on 4 Nov 1924 in Chesterfield County, Virginia, to Thomas Dyson Farrar and Eva O'Lillian Miller. Haskins grew up in Midlothian, Virginia, until he was drafted into the U.S. Army on 2 July 1943. After basic training he was assigned to the 10th Infantry, 5th Infantry Division. My father-in-law, Peter Charles Dagutis, fought in the same division but in the 2nd Infantry Regiment. The 5th Infantry Division was part of General George S. Patton's Third Army and their exploits in France were the stuff of legend until they literally ran out of gas.[1]

Kevin M. Hymel described this time in France in his book, Patton's Photographs: The War As He Saw It: "....Patton put his tanks to work. His armored divisions smashed through the front lines and rolled through the countryside, splitting into three directions. Patton's amazing advance surprised friend and foe alike and he cheered every time he ran off one map and had to use another."

Because of an acute shortage of gasoline, Eisenhower suspended Third Army operations on 22 September 1944. The moratorium lasted six weeks. Instead of rapid advance, Patton would be required to capture Metz. The fortifications of Metz consisted of several forts and observation posts all connected by tunnels. General Patton, said this about Metz: "Fixed fortifications are monuments to the stupidity of man. " But the job was very difficult indeed.

Map of Metz fortifications; image courtesy of eBay

The attack on the first Metz fortress, Fort Driant, began on 27 September 1944; it was repulsed. After several more failures, the attack was called off on 9 October and the last U.S. soldiers withdrew during the night of 12-13 October. The second attempt to capture Metz was called Operation Madison, which began in the General Walton Walker's XX Corps sector on 9 November. (5th Infantry Division was assigned to XX Corps.) Hitler declared Metz would fight to the last bullet two days later.

5th Infantry soldiers clearing houses in Metz on 19 November 1944; image
courtesy of Wikipedia

On 14 November three of the "Seven Dwarves" forts were captured -- Jussy Nord, Jussy Sud, and Saint-Hubert. The 5th Infantry Division was responsible for a close-in envelopment of the city, attacking to the east and making contact with the 90th Infantry Division as it circled around Metz from the north. Men of the 5th entered Metz on the night of 18 November. On 13 December the last fort, Fort Jeanne d'Arc surrendered. The battle for Metz was over.

My father-in-law survived the battle, the war and went on to marry and have three children. Haskins Thomas Farrar was not so lucky. He died on 19 November 1944. I do not yet know if he died of wounds sustained earlier in the campaign or was killed that day as his regiment cleared houses inside the city limits. Haskins was buried at the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Saint-Avold, France.

Lorraine American Cemetery; image courtesy of Tourism Saint-Avold

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[1]For more information about the 5th Infantry Division's fighting in France, read When Pursuit Comes to an End

For more context about the battle for Metz, read my brother's guest blog, Long, Bloody Battle for Metz.

Cole, Hugh M. Lorraine Campaign (Washington, DC: Center for Military History, U.S. Army, 1993), pages  372-446

Guest Blog: Long, Bloody Battle for Metz

I recently discovered a third cousin once removed in my Jennings line served in the 5th Infantry Division during World War II as did my father-in-law, Peter Charles Dagutis. Sadly, my cousin Haskins Thomas Farrar, died near Metz. So I asked my brother, amateur World War II historian, to write a post about the battle for Metz, providing context for my father-in-law's wartime experience and the death of my cousin.

Over to John.....

As Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Western Euorpe General Dwight D. Eisenhower's mission was to "undertake operations aimed at the heart of Germany and the destruction of her armed forces.”  He intended to approach Germany along a broad front, taking advantage of all of the historic invasion routes between France and Germany.  One of those invasion routes was the swath of open terrain between the Ardennes and Vosges Mountains.  Situated along the northern edge of the invasion route the city of Metz had been a kind of gatekeeper since ancient times and was unsurprisingly one of the most heavily fortified cities in Europe.  In all its long history Metz had never fallen to direct assault.  Its fortifications included a line of eleven forts constructed by the French prior to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 that lay in a ring approximately 2½ miles outside the city.  The German defenders of World War II used this “inner ring” as infantry strongpoints.  An outer ring of eight, more modern forts—built by the Germans before the First World War—formed a line some six miles from the city.  Among the fortications was the impressive Fort Driant, which housed five 150mm guns and was protected by a deep, dry moat and covered by infantry trenches, machine gun nests and barbed wire fences.  The guns of the fort commanded a large sector of the Moselle Valley.

Eisenhower entrusted the advance past Metz and into Germany to Lieutenant-General George S. Patton, Jr.’s US Third Army.  The difficulty of Patton’s mission was three-fold:  his army had to cross the Upper Moselle River, reduce or bypass the forts and finally capture the city of Metz.  The American effort to take Metz began on 6 September, 1944 with the unconventional tactic of using 7^th Armored Division as a kind of reconnaissance-in-force to probe for crossing sites over the Moselle both north and south of Metz.  They reached the Moselle the next day and were soon followed by two infantry divisions, the 90^th being directed toward Thionville north of Metz and the 5^th toward Metz itself.  Despite turning back a German counter-attack the Americans could not get across the Moselle in the Thionville sector due to deadly shellfire from several German forts.  Closer to Metz 5^th Infantry Division, along with elements of 7^th Armored Division, managed to establish a bridgehead at Dornot, but the guns of Forts Driant and Blaise prevented the building of a bridge so the crossing had to be abandoned.  Another bridgehead was achieved on 6 September farther north at Amanvillers and a bridge was successfully erected that night.  A breakout was not to be, however; gunfire from Fort Driant destroyed both the treadway and pontoon bridges and determined resistance from German panzers denied all attempts by American armored units to breakout of the bridgehead.  Although Patton felt the German reserves were thin and a breakthrough imminent if he could just keep the pressure on, by mid-September it was obvious a set piece battle would be required to defeat the defenses of Metz.

Soldiers of Third Army crossing the Moselle River; courtesy of a United States
Army in World War II, Pictorial Record: The War Against Germany: Europe
and Adjacent Areas

Another major effort against Metz would have to wait until supplies could be stockpiled.  In the meantime, Patton initiated what he called a “pecking campaign” to reduce several forts southwest of Metz, particularly the troublesome Fort Driant, whose guns had been so effective in turning back the attempt to cross the Upper Moselle in early September.  Taking the fort would unlock an avenue directly into Metz via the valley of the Moselle.  The task of taking Fort Driant fell to 5^th Infantry Division, which launched its attack on 3 October behind one of the most concentrated artillery bombardments of the war.  For all of its intensity the shelling proved ineffective, for nearby German forts returned the fire, catching American infantry in their assembly areas.  Although the Americans reached the fort and gained entry the following day via a ventilator shaft, the fort’s defenders fought back skillfully in savage subterranean gun duels.  The underground battle raged for several days but the Americans failed to breach any of the fortified casemates.  By sweeping the exterior of the fort with artillery and machine gun fire the Germans denied American reinforcements from entering the battle and eventually gained the upper hand.  Patton finally decided the fort could not be defeated and called off the operation; the last American troops withdrew the night of 12-13 October.

The final battle for Metz began on 8 November.    Patton prepared an envelopment of Metz by concentric attacks from north and south.  90^th Infantry Division crossed the Moselle just north of Thionville.  The combination of German artillery and rising flood waters frustrated all attempts to erect bridges until the second night, but the defending Germans could not take advantage of the precarious American situation because they were not expecting an attack so soon after the torrential downpours of the previous few days.  By the time panzers were able to mount a counter-attack the Americans were secure enough in their bridgehead to turn the enemy tanks back just short of the bridge.  After Forts Koenigsmacker and Metrich had been reduced 10^th Armored Division was committed as the northern encircling pincer and from 15 November they began picking their way carefully over muddy roads to the southeast toward the Nied river.  Meanwhile, 5^th Infantry Division had crossed the Seille southwest of Metz and skirted round the city to cut its eastern approaches.  They met troops from 90^th Infantry Division at Pont Marais on 19 November to encircle Metz.

Third Army Soldiers entering the outskirts of Metz; courtesy of the United
States Army In Europe, Pictorial Record: The War Against Germany: Europe
and Adjacent Areas

Despite Hitler’s decree to hold Metz until the last, the Germans withdrew most of their forces out of the closing jaws of Patton’s pincers, leaving only a volksgrenadier division to garrison Metz.  95^th Infantry Division closed on Metz proper from Maizieres-les-Metz while 5^th Infantry Division invested the city from the southeast.  American troops entered the city on 11/18/44 after Nazi officials and many German civilians had been evacuated.  Firefights erupted throughout the city as the American infantry rooted out the last pockets of German resistance.  The garrison commander gave himself up on 21 November, thus ending the struggle for the city proper.  The outlying forts, which had been contained but not assaulted, were gradually smoked out over the next several weeks; Fort Jeanne d’Arc was the last to capitulate on 13 December.

Some historians have made much of the fact that Patton was perhaps too keen to capture Metz, that the lure of going down in history as the city’s first captor led him to direct too much attention upon the city.  Was it even necessary to capture Metz or could Patton have ensured the security of his northern flank by merely masking the city?  Patton believed it was necessary, thinking it unwise to leave the dangerous enemy concentration around Metz on his flank while transiting the invasion route into Germany.  An interesting opinion was offered by the Germans themselves in their post-war appreciation of the campaign in Europe.  Although they respected Patton as the Allies’ most aggressive general, they criticize his handling of the Lorraine campaign, particularly noting the failure of American forces to concentrate at a single point.  Patton directed his two corps toward separate objectives (Metz and Nancy), preventing them from gaining overwhelming superiority at any one sector.  Had Patton concentrated his corps for a single thrust at either Metz or Nancy, the Germans believed he would have easily broken through.  The fact that Patton did not concentrate everything on Metz (when his enemy expected him to) would tend to discount the theory the city held a kind of vainglorious attraction for him.  Those that fell in the long, bloody battle for Metz gave their lives for a legitimate and necessary military objective, one of many such objectives on the road to ridding the world of Hitler’s evil regime.

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For other World War II guest posts written by my brother, visit War Stories.

Greenfield, Kent Roberts (General Editor). United States Army in World War II, Pictorial Record: The War Against Germany: Europe and Adjacent Areas, (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1951), pages 147-260.

An American's Experience During World War I

Alexander Hutchison was my first cousin twice removed and served as a private with the 314th Engineers Regiment, which was attached to the 89th Division during World War I. Among the Missouri State Archives holdings is a pamphlet entitled, From Camp Funston to the Rhineland with the 314 Engineers, 89th Division, Army of the United States, 1917-1918.

After reading this pamphlet, I learned the 89th Division was organized in 1917 and most of the men were drawn from Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Arizona, and New Mexico. Specifically, the men of the 314th Regiment came principally from Missouri. Alexander was inducted into the Army on 2 April 1918, left camp and traveled to Europe via Hoboken, New Jersey, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, for England aboard the S/S Carpathia. They arrived in Liverpool on 24 June and went by train the same day to Winchester Rest Camp. Four days later they entrained for Cherbourg, disembarking on 29 June and marched to an American rest camp in the vicinity of Cherbourg. On 30 June they entrained for the Training Area, arriving 2 July at Humberville and marched to quarters.

A vigorous course of training was undertaken. The 89th Division was the first American division to move up to the line by truck transportation. They relieved the 82nd American Division in the Lucey Sector northwest of Toul. During their relief of the 82nd, central parts of the sector were subjected to a severe bombardment of mustard gas by the Germans. It was the 89th's baptism of fire.

The Engineers regiment was stationed at Lagney, near division headquarters, and spent most of its time working on construction of a second position, or main line of resistance, constructing strong points, building concrete pillboxes, dugouts, putting up entanglements and in gas-proofing dugouts and doing other engineer work in the front line position.

On the morning of 12 September 1918, the 89th Division commenced its first offensive, in company with three other divisions, they began the St. Mihiel Offensive. The division captured all of its objectives and established its record as a reliable fighting division. The Engineers were assigned to each infantry brigade for wire cutting, demolition, forward road work.

314th Engineers Regiment stringing barbed wire during the St. Mihiel
Offensive; photograph courtesy of Pinterest.com (original source unknown)

The general situation on 1 November 1918 was the the enemy was endeavoring to withdraw from France and Belgium and was using desperate efforts to stop the pressure coming up from the south and applied by the American Army. If the Americans were permitted to get to the Meuse, it was clear they could cut important southern railways the Germans needed for their retreat. The 89th Division jumped over the top of the trenches that morning; by afternoon the Heights of Barricourt were in their possession. It is said that Marshall Foch stated, when he received this news, "the war is over." The fighting continued day and night but the Germans were pushed across the Meuse.

During the battle the Engineers were on road construction and maintenance, doing emergency work necessary to ensure the advance of artillery and ammunition and rationing of the troops. Bridges were rebuilt, old roads repaired, new ones made and information secured in regard to Meuse river crossings. Foot bridges for the passage of the infantry were built at Stenay and near Pouilly, two pontoon rafts were constructed, ferrying two infantry regiments across the the Meuse the night of November 10-11. A floating balk and chess bridge was also built.

After Armistice Day, the 89th Division entered Germany on 4 December and became an occupation army stationed neard Kyllburg. The Engineers' work involved building construction, supervision of public utilities and repair and maintenance of roads.

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From Camp Funston to the Rhineland with the 314th ENgineers,: 89th Division, Army of the United States, 1917-1919, (Trier, Germany, 89th Division, 1919), 8 pages

Wordless Wednesday: Argonne Cross

The Argonne Cross is located in Arlington National Cemetery and commemorates the memories "of our men in France."

The Argonne Cross at Arlington National Cemetery; from my personal collection

My great great grandmother's step-son, Julius Franklin Collins was killed on 30 September 1918 in Argonne, France.

The grave marker of Julius Franklin Collins at the cemetery in Europe where
he was originally buried. He was latter disinterred and returned home to be
buried at Troy City Cemetery in Troy, Illinois, beside his father; photograph
courtesy of Mark H. Collins

The idea for this post came from Geneabloggers.com.

52 Ancestors #47: Killed in Action During the Spring Offensive

Ancestor Name: William LIVELY (1899-1918)

William Lively was the fourth child of James and Elizabeth Muir (Brodie) Lively. He was born on 24 March 1899 at 30 Park Street, Blantyre. When the 1901 census was enumerated, he and his brother, James, were living with their parents at 16 Park Street. After his father was killed in 1906, he, his mother, and brother lived with William's aunt, Martha (Brodie) Moore. After his mother died in 1910, he and his brother went to live with his maternal grandfather and step-grandmother, William and Mary (Campbell) Brodie.

By 1916 he was living in Darwen, Lancashire, England. We do not know why he moved there.

William was conscripted into the British Army and sent to the Infantry Base Depot camps on the French coast on 31 March 1918, likely the 40th Infantry Base Depot at the great complex of camps at Etaples as William's draft was penciled in to go to the 18th (Service) Battalion of the Welsh Regiment. That unit was decimated on 9 April 1918 during the early days of the German spring offensive. Instead, William's draft was transferred into the 1/4 Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment on 19 April 1918 as replacements. Little more than a month later, he was dead at the age of 19.

Craonne after the fighting; image courtesy of 1/4 Battalion, Alexandra,
Princess of Wales, Own Yorkshire Regiment website

The Third Battle Aisne began with a German attack on Allied positions at Chemin des Dames ridge. It was a surprise attack that started with an artillery bombardment, which inflicted heavy losses. The Germans followed with a poison gas drop. Caught completely off-guard and with their lines spread thin, the British did not stop the advance until the Germans were well across the Aisne river. They had smashed through eight Allied divisions and captured 50,000 soldiers.

William Lively's regiment had been moved into the battle line during the night of 26 May from reserve area at Beaurieux. They faced the German Seventh Army just north of Craonne. British officers protested this move, but were assured by the French, it was a quiet area.

From a report by the British Commander, Sir Douglas Haig:

"These divisions had been heavily engaged during the past month, three having been twice and one three times withdrawn from the battle line and again engaged after being reformed. They, therefore, had few experienced officers and men when they arrived in Champagne, and were again filled up by immature and half-trained lads fresh from home whose training had to be completed. In these circumstances the division could not be considered fit for heavy fighting for some time to come. Notwithstanding this they were ordered into the front line almost at once by the French Commander, who countered British objections by declaring that as the front was a quiet one, and as no attack was to be expected, it would be possible to continue the training of the troops, while in the line and that the French Divisions, urgently required elsewhere could thus be relieved."

Beginning at 1:00 a.m. the next morning, the regiment was heavily shelled and outflanked on both sides and by the end of the day's fighting had been decimated. William Lively was one of many soldiers killed in action that day. His body was never recovered but his name is inscribed on the War Memorial at Soissons in the Picard region of France. Posthumously, William was awarded the British War and Victory medals.

William Lively's named as engraved on the War Memorial in Soissons;
photograph courtesy of Find A Grave member Misty & Company

Unfortunately, most of William Lively's war records were lost in September 1940 when a German Luftwaffe bombing raid struck the War Office Repository in London. However, unit war diaries still exist. The 50th Division's war diary, which described the fighting the day William died is poignant:

"No less than 227 officers and 4,879 other ranks were killed, wounded or captured during the battle. Practically all those casualties occurring on the 27th, for after that date, the 50th Division became intermingled with other divisions, which were in a like condition; only a mere handful of the infantry remained."

His hometown of Blantyre, Scotland, has a war memorial with its World War I dead inscribed on it, but William's name is not among them.

*NOTE: The 150th Brigade of the 50th Division was comprised of three battalions: 1/4 Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment, 1/4 Battalion of Yorkshire Regiment, and the 1/5 Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment. All of the battalions were positioned near Craonne above the Aisne river on 27 May 1918 and suffered the same fate. So the battle photo of Craonne after the fighting is relevant to this post even though William Lively did not serve in that battalion.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge.

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William Lively was born on 24 Mar 1899 at 20 Park Street, which was in Dixon's Rows, miners housing in Blantyre, to James and Elizabeth Muir (Brodie) Lively. He was their youngest child. In 1901 his older sister, Henrietta Cassels Lively, was a patient at the Middle Ward Hospital in Dalziel Parish. When William was seven years old his father was killed when he was knocked down and run over by two horses attached to a lorry. The family was promptly evicted from from Dixon's Row's. Four years later, William's mother died of tuberculosis. She was listed as a pauper when she died. William and his brother, James, went to live with their maternal grandfather and step-grandmother at 3 Dixon Street, which was in Dixon's Rows. They were living there when the 1911 census was enumerated on 2 April. He was conscripted, likely in 1916, in the East Yorkshire Regiment at Blackburn, Lancashire, England. It is a mystery how he came to be there. He was listed as living in Darwen, England, but born in Blantyre. He served with the 1/4 Battalion of the regiment, which was assigned to the 150th Brigade, 50th Division. They landed in France in April 1915 and participated in most of the major battles on the Western Front. He was killed in action on 27 May 1918 during the Third Battle of Aisne. His body was never recovered. His name is engraved on the Soissons Memorial in Soisson, Picard, France. His life and that of his family was so filled with tragedy, I was saddened to discover that his name is not listed on the Blantyre War Memorial. At least he was remembered somewhere. I will be adding details about his life to the Lives of the First World One website.

Family History Writing Challenge Week #2 Recap: Places
Dixon's Rows: "A Miserable Type of House"

To read other posts about World War I, click here.

Honoring those Who Died in the Service of Their Countries

In observance of Memorial Day and the centenary of World War I, I would like to honor my ancestors who died in the service of their countries during the Great War or the War to End All Wars. I have several more ancestors who served in the war, but at this time I know two of them died on foreign soil.

Collins, Julius Franklin: born 1 Aug 1888, died 30 Sep 1918, Argonne, France. Served in Co M, 39 Infantry, 4th Division.

Julius was the step-son of my great great grandmother Clementine Wells. He was born on 1 August 1888 in Troy, Illinois to William and Ida May (McMakin) Collins. His father had immigrated to the U.S. from England with his parents as a young boy. When Julius registered for the draft in 1917 he was 28 years old, lived in St. Louis and owned a gift and art shop. He married Edith Audrey Wolf in July 1918. Three months later, he was dead in the forests of Argonne, France. Before he left to fight in Europe, he wrote A Soldier Boy's Creed, which was published in several newspapers in the midwest, including his hometown paper, the Troy Call.

A Soldier Boy's Creed by Julius Franklin Collins

Julius' remains were buried in the Troy City Cemetery. His father had been killed by a fall of slate in a coal mine just the year before. To date, I have been unable to trace Julius' wife, Edith Audrey Wolf.

Semple, William: born 10 Apr 1896, died 8 May 1915, Gallipoli, Turkey. Served with the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces, Canterbury Infantry Regiment.

William Semple

William was my second cousin three times removed. He was born on 10 Apr 1896 in New Zealand to Alexander and Alice (Thompson) Semple. He was the grandson of Scottish immigrants. At the age of  19, he was killed in Gallipoli, Turkey, on 8 May 1915. Only two weeks earlier, thousands of young men stormed the beaches on the Gallipoli peninsula. At the end of the eight-month campaign 2,779 New Zealanders had been killed, about a fifth of the total who fought on Gallipoli. Australians and New Zealanders celebrated ANZAC Day last month. One of my Worldwide Genealogy -- A Genealogical Collaboration bloggers wrote a wonderful post (Australian perspective) commemorating the day.

William was buried in Turkey at the Twelve Tree Copse Cemetery. The cemetery was created after the armistice when graves were brought to the site from isolated sites and small burial grounds on the battlefields. The cemetery also contains the Twelve Tree Copse (New Zealand Memorial), one of four memorials erected to commemorate unknown New Zealand soldiers. In 2000 my Semple research collaborator, and fourth cousin once removed was privileged to attend a sunrise service at the memorial in honor of her grand uncle, William.

Twelve Tree Copse (New Zealand Memorial), Gallipoli, Canakkale, Turkey

Trip Around the World: New York to Egypt

In 1920 the William Judkins Bailey family traveled to British East Africa, now Kenya, to be missionaries there for the Church of God.  This post is from Aunt Joan's brother, Homer's, journal and is his description of the first leg of their trip from New York to Kenya. Homer was 13 years old when the family made the trip.

From Anderson, Indiana, to Kijabe, Kenya

Following World War I, before the dust was settled in certain areas, such as the near East, my folks packed up what to them seemed the necessary belongings and left for Africa. We sailed away from these shores on board the RMS Aquitania out of New York one midnight in June 1920.

RMS Aquitania

The decks of the Aquitania were really roomy. There was something of wonder every place you looked; each stairway led to a new discovery on that magnificent city of the seas. It was like three hotels at least but floating along at considerable speed.

Southampton, England, was our first real stop. That was where our knee-buckled 1918 breeches were labeled "girl garments" by the local boys. We stayed just a day or two and then embarked on the Channel ferry late one evening. When morning dawned we were at the docks in Le Harve, France.

Getting the suitcases off the ferry and to the train station took some doing, but soon we were chugging our way to Paris. I found myself gawking at the sidewalk urinals.

Paris urinals

We didn't stay in Paris long as we had a ship to catch in Marseilles. This ship was old and tired; it's very name eludes me. The name painted on all the usual places was Greek. I will never forget the giant sized cockroaches jumping about among the pots and pans in the kitchen.

Marsailles, France

When we arrived in Egypt, two mules towed the tram car which whisked us along in Cairo. What a city; what a ride! Palm trees were quite new to us. Local people, dressed in flowing robes and turbans, were sitting on the sand by show cases or large trays of dried figs, dates and cakes or coffee. Along some of the streets there were continuous awnings for blocks on end. Men would sit at tables under these awnings and have coffee or play dominos or checkers. Life seemed sort of leisurely.

After leaving Egypt, we sailed to Jaffa, Palestine, and then journeyed to Jerusalem, riding our first narrow-gauge rail train. It was also our first experience with the class system -- first, second and third class coaches. A large crowd gathered to get on the train. There were turbaned gentlemen, veiled ladies, robed Arabs, as well as an assortment of other nationals. Ragged folks, well dressed folks, some ancient and some very young were all eager to be on the train. When it came some people hoisted luggage and friends through windows, they guarded doors to keep out the invasion, saving space for themselves. Conditions were not at all orderly. What a scramble!

Volumes could still be written about Jerusalem that ancient, historical, political, religious, old yet new city. A city destroyed, rebuilt, burned to the ground, resurrected, broken to rubble and still it stands on those memorable hills -- the city of David, the city of Solomon. Oh what a city!

Jerusalem wheat market, 1920

In Jerusalem we engaged a vehicle resembling an old Western stage coach for the run down to the Dead Sea. By the shore we saw a number of excavated squares some two or three feet deep. A small ditch connected each square to the sea. By this method each square was filled with salt water, sealed off, and evaporation left a cake of salt.

Auto on the Dead Sea beach circa 1925. Photo courtesy of ynetnews.com

The present Jericho contains but a few buildings. One of the more outstanding was the Hotel Jericho. The walls are painted white and the roof was made of vivid red tile. Mosquitoes were numerous and we slept under netting for the first time.

We walked many miles the day we went to Nazareth. There was war then. Heavy gun fire could be heard in the distance. Traffic was almost non-existent. A military truck came along and gave us a lift. We were taken across the Sea of Galilee in the commander's motor launch. Due to the general unrest in the area, he urged us to spend the night in his military camp. So we had a tent, camp beds, and all the comforts of home.

Syrian soldiers during the Franco-Syrian War

Our wandering from place to place in the Holy Land was halted by the war action between Galilee and Damascus.(1) We saw many large shells along the roads. The three weeks allocated for our visit to the Middle East seemed all too soon gone. There was so much more to see and a lot we would have to remember.

Next for our family was to return to Port Said and our ship.

This leg of the journey will be continued in a future post.
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(1) This was the Franco-Syrian war which took place between the Arab Kingdom of Syria and France in 1920.

A Surprise in My Inbox: Ternes Family Photograph

I've written about Edith Mary Madeline Ternes before (here, here and here). Edith communicated via voice tapes to a relative named Sofee, who is also interested in researching the Ternes family. They traded information about themselves and photos.

After reading the following section of the transcript last November, I scoured the Internet, looking for the photograph of the Anthony Ternes family Edith described in the transcript.  No luck.  Yesterday morning, I woke up and read a new email in my inbox from one of my Ternes family connections.(1)  Attached was the very photograph for which I had been looking for months. It made my day!

I have also included some photographs of other family members mentioned in Edith Mary Madeline Ternes' transcript that are not in the subject photograph.

Here's what Edith Mary Madeline Ternes had to say about the Anthony and Mary Ann (Horger) Ternes family, which were her adopted grandparents:

The Ternes family was German. Mother Ternes was part French. She lived in a French community, Newport, Michigan, and spoke French. During the first war this led to some rather lively discussions at the dinner table. I have often wondered what Mother would have said had she found out, as I have since I have been researching family trees, that her family could well have been more Spanish than French. Dr. Valade, mother's grandfather traveled from Spain to Canada to Newport, Michigan. That Dr. Valade was your great, great, great grandfather.

Mother's father was August Loranger and her mother was Mary Valade. Mary died and August Loranger married again. His second wife had children of her own and was not too happy to have little Madeline Laura at all. She reportedly treated her so badly that her Grandmother Valade took your Great grandmother to live with her. Thus she was raised with aunts and uncles. This was the reason Mother always felt so close to Clara Valade Beckham. They are aunt and niece but raised as sisters.

Now, if you take the large family picture I will tell you about the people in it. There are three men and a woman in the back row. They are George Ternes, William Ternes, Theresa Ternes and Albert Peter Ternes.

Anthony Ternes Family

In the middle row are Maggie, Anthony, the father of the group, Mary Horger Ternes, the mother of the group and Francis "Frank" Anthony Ternes, my foster father and your great grandfather. Seated on the floor are Della and Frederick.

Let's start with Anthony, the father of the family. He is the son of Christian Ternes and Anna M (Schiller) Ternes. (Note: The patriarch of the family, Christian Ternes, was brutally murdered in the streets of Detroit.) Anthony was born on Feb. 22, 1843 and died on Feb. 28, 1904. Mary Ann (Horger) Ternes was the daughter of John Horger and Margaret Meisel Horger. Mary Ann was born in 1847 and died Jan 21, 1904. The church records show that Anthony Ternes and Mary Ann Horger were married June 1868. Anthony's father Christian Ternes was born in 1807 and died in 1881. His mother Anna Marie Schiller was born in 1808 and died on Dec. 25 1884.

The first boy in the last row is George Ternes. George married May Connolly. They had four children, Edna who became a nun, George Junior was in the war and I believe was at Pearl Harbor. The experience left him sort of at loose ends but he finally married a beautiful young lady (I am still trying to find out her name) They were married just 30 days and she died with spinal meningitis. George was devastated by this tragedy and it was quite a while before he married again but he never could come to terms with the disasters in his life and he finally decided it wasn't worth trying to cope with it any longer so he chose his own time to die. Claire married James Martin and lives here in Dearborn. I do not have her children's names. And then there was Lloyd the youngest. I see him at church sometimes. He is a fine young man with a family and he runs the Ternes Paint Store right here in town.

Hannah May (Connelly) Ternes and her children, George Anthony, Claire and Edna

After May died Lucille Carlen kept home for George and his four children until George married again. He had four children and he married a widow, Marguerite Emback Schroeder, who also had four children. They evened things up but made for quite a household.

Marguerite (Embach) Schroeder/Ternes

The second young man in the family picture is William Peter Ternes who married Elsie Gerstner and they had six children as near as I can find out. (Note: You may remember from an earlier blog post, they eloped.) They were Evelyn who married a Monaghan boy, William who married Madeline Maillue whose father was a lawyer and her mother was an opera singer, Ruth, Joy Marion,(2) Jack and Donald.(3) Ruth was drowned out at the cottage on Hickory Island. She was about three years old. After William died Elsie married a Mr. Deacon and they had one more child called John P. Deacon.

Donald Joseph Ternes

The lady is the back row is my favorite Aunt, Theresa, whom we called Aunt Trace. She married Albert Bernard Carlen a musician and piano and organ tuner and repairer. They had four children, Lucille, Eugene, Dorothy and Bernard. Lucille married William McCleer, Eugene became a priest, Dorothy became a Monroe nun with the name of Sr. Claudia. Bernard married Frances Shulte, a nurse. They had four children, Marie Therese, Dorothy, Kathleen known as Kitty and James. Then they called the whole thing off and were divorced and Bernard married Rose somebody or other. I'm still working on that name too. Marie Therese married William D. Hopkinson and they had six children, Elizabeth Ann, Donald, Ann, Kathy, Amy and Patty. Dorothy married William Beers and moved to California. They have three children, William, Mark and Shawn. Kitty works for the social services in Detroit and has never married. James lives in California and his aunt doesn't know if he is married or not.

The other man in the last row is Albert. Albert was a handsome confident man who was a very successful business man. He and his three younger brothers, Frank, your great grandfather, William and George were in the coal and lumber business for a number of years. The company was called The Ternes Coal and Lumber Company which was quite normal. Albert married Maude Burke and had three sons. Arthur, Howard and Paul. Arthur married Laree but I do not know her last name yet. They were divorced and I believe he married again a girl by the name of Esper, another good old Dearborn name. I believe he had two children Dale and Donald but I do not know by which wife. Howard married a lovely girl with an odd first name. She was Steve Rooney. They had a daughter Burke. I think there were other children but I have not been able to track them down yet. Paul married Patricia O'Reille and they had three children, Paul, Patricia and Michael. About 1918 Aunt Maude died. I remember that very well because the boys stayed with us for a few days. Al later married Helen Reber and had one more daughter Alberta Ternes who married Bill Bent.

The young woman sitting in the middle row is Margaret or Maggie as she was called. Maggie married Peter Neckel and this seems to have been a mis-mating if ever there was one. Margaret and Peter had three children, only one of whom Alice lived to grow up. The other two, Madeline and Alfred, died as children. Alice married Joseph Hammel and had six children Joseph, Robert, Margaret Kohlmeier La Salle Renelda Bonefant and Mary Alice Best.

Neckel brothers, Peter is on the far right

Next in line is Grandpa Ternes, your great great grandfather Anthony who, I understand was especially posed with his knees covered by hands to cover a hole in his pants. When he went into the photographer's studio he tripped and fell, tearing both his pant legs. Next to him sits Grandma Ternes who, by the looks of her must have been the authority figure in the family. I never knew her but Mother spoke highly of her and grandpa too, so there must have been some good to her. Then there is Frank, your great grandfather. He was a handsome man, good, kind, and with a terrific sense of humor. We loved the stunts and tricks he used to pull on us.

I hope you've enjoyed how so many pieces of the Ternes family history are coming together. I am thoroughly enjoying getting to learn about this history and meeting Ternes family members.

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(1) My connection is the granddaughter of Christian Ternes, who moved to Panama and changed his name to Charles Ternes De Reuter. His very interesting story may be found here.

(2) William Peter Ternes' daughter, Marion, married Harold Muir, my first cousin, twice removed. They moved to California and had four children.

(3) I have also been in contact with Donald Ternes' daughter on Facebook.

The Frustrations of Specificity...Looking for Details

One of the wonderful relatives I've met on Ancestry.com is my third cousin once removed. My great great grandmother and her great grand aunt is Clementine Wells. The Wells family has been tough to track down. We can find out a lot of information about people all around the family, but very little specifically about the Wells. One of my recent book acquisitions provides a great example.

The Troy, Illinois History and Families, published in 2003 by the Troy Historical Society has this to say about the William Collins family:

"William and Mary (Lang) Collins were born and married in Devonshire, England, and came to the United States with their year old son, William in 1850. After settling in Troy, they had three more sons -- James, John and Franklin. James moved to St Louis; John, to St Jacob; and Franklin spent most of his adult life working for local Troy banker, W W Jarvis, and his family as groundskeeper and handyman.

The eldest son, William Collins, worked in the Troy coal mines and married a local girl, Ida McMakin. To this union were born two sons, John Henry and Julius Franklin. Ida died at 29, leaving a 5-year-old and an infant. Needing mother's milk, the baby was sent to nurse with Mrs William Gebauer, who's son Teddy, was the same age. This was a common practice in those days and was called wet nursing.

William later married a widow, Caroline Riggin, who had four adult sons -- Lawrence, John, Bert and Henry. (Note: William's second wife was named Clementine, not Caroline, and Clementine had six children, not four.) In 1917 Mr. Collins was killed in an accident at Donk Brothers mine in Troy."

Here what we know to be true:

Clementine's first husband was John Wesley Riggin. He and Clementine had six children. John died in 1881. Several years later Clementine married William Collins, a widower with two sons. Tragically, William was killed in a 1917 mining accident at Donk Brothers Coal and Coke Company when a slab of slate fell on him, killing him instantly.

Underground hospital at the Donk Brothers mine

Clementine died in 1932; both are buried in the Troy City Cemetery.

Headstone for William and Clementine (Wells) Riggin/Collins

William's son Julius moved to St Louis where he met and married Audrey Wolf. He was killed in action during World War I in Argonne, France. William's other son, John, enlisted in the Navy and served in China, Hawaii, South and Central America. He suffered a slight leg wound in Nicaragua when his unit was putting down an uprising. In 1913 he married Ethel Morriss.

Veteran marker for Julius Franklin Collins

The Collins family biography for the book published by the Troy Historical Society was written by one of John's descendants. My new-found relative and genealogy collaborator and I learned a lot about the Collins family, but nothing about the Wells. So frustrating! But always interesting.

A Soldier Boy's Creed

My great grandmother, Clementine Wells Riggin/Collins', step-son served in World War I. Before he went overseas to join the fighting, Julius Franklin Collins wrote "A Soldier Boy's Creed," which was published nationally.

To believe absolutely in my country and her unselfish devotion to the right.

To be confident that those higher up are utilizing every power in their cause.

To realize that the draft is but an urgent call to a higher duty or those found able to serve.

To conduct myself at all times as the trusted representative of a free and great people.

To protect little children and respect all womankind in every thought and action.

To honor my fellow soldier and by loyal to him in every way.

To be a man among men; to shrink from no task assigned to me; and to be in the right place at the right time.

To remember that living nobly for one's country, enduring silently, achieving quietly may equal the supreme sacrifice.

To know that right is might; that truth will win; and that the true God will surely favor and protect those who deserve it and trust in him.

As published in the Troy Call on July 12, 1918

Julius was killed in action on 30 Sep 1918 in Argonne, France during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. He was the first casualty from Troy, Illinois, in World War I.

Collins' veteran's grave marker. His remains are buried in the Troy City Cemetery.

A Trip to Paris

I've written about Edith Mary Madeline Ternes before: here and here. Edith is communicating via voice tapes to a relative named Sofee, who is also interested in researching the Ternes family. They trade information and photos and, as you can see, information about themselves:

What a delightful dream you have of Paris. When I read that I was reminded of Henry Van Dyke's poem, "America for Me." In describing London and Paris about half way through the poem he said, "Oh, London is a man's town, there's power in the air and Paris is a woman's town with flowers in her hair."

Henry Van Dyke. Photo courtesy of RightWords.com

Yes, I went to Paris. It was one of the stops of a 49-day tour of the continent. We visited 7 countries and found them all fascinating. No doubt there have been many changes since that summer of 1954 but I still remember the highlights. It was like walking in a dream through places I never expected to see. I seemed always on the alert for fear I would waken in my bed at home. There were Montmartre, Maxim’s, Folies Bergere, Bois de Bologna, Sainte Chapelle, the Left Bank, Notre Dame Cathedral, the palace of Versailles and the Louvre with its haunting Mona Lisa. These things I remember vividly and would like to see again.

Maybe I had better make another promise to myself. One of our assignments when I was in the eighth grade was to make a promise and write about it. Our teacher was way ahead of her time and a wonderfully imaginative person. She said, "A promise made is a debt unpaid so make a promise to yourself and you will surely keep it." Along with my classmates I very solemnly made twin promises to myself - first that I would be a school teacher and second that I would go to Paris someday. My teacher was right. I did keep my promises to myself. Seven years later I began a teaching career which lasted for 47-1/2 years but it took me 36 years to get to Paris.

Paris Metro -- Ternes Station. Photo courtesy of  www.cparama.com 

I made it and loved it just as I had expected I would. I stood on the sidewalk in Montmartre and hugged myself I was so delighted to be there. It was on the way back from the Bois de Boulogne that I saw the street sign with Pont de Ternes on it. It is pronounced Tern but spelled Ternes. The people are French. The next day I passed up a luncheon at the Eiffel Tower to walk back toward the Coq Hardee restaurant where we had lunch the day before in hope of finding that sign and taking a picture of it. I did find it. I hunted up a policeman or gendarme and asked him about it. My inexcusable French forced me to write my questions which he answered for me. He told me the area and the street were named for a very old family who lived there. I should have tried to locate someone named Ternes in the phone book or through the gendarmes. When I came home I learned from a cousin that some researcher had found out that one of the Ternes men, who fought in the German army during the Franco Prussian War, fell in love with a French girl, married her and settled down in France. You see there is some romance in our history.

Avenue des Ternes, Paris, France. Image courtesy of www.notrefamilies.com

In a later tape:

I think I am on the trail of something now. Louise, my cleaning lady, has a brother living in a suburb of Paris and she has written asking him to try and get me the pages of the Paris telephone book with the name Ternes on it. If I get them I shall try to communicate with some of them and see if they know where their family began. My French is inadequate but I am sure someone will help me out. How is your  French? Maybe you would like to write too.

And still later...

Louise just called and gave me three addresses for people who are named Ternes and live in Paris. One is a corsetier, one a furniture mover and one an automobile dealer I think.

And, again in a later tape...

Louise called and gave me four Ternes businesses listed in the Paris telephone book. One is Ternes Immobiliers or furniture movers at 1 Rue Ne'va in the 8th district. Ternes Tapis Maquettes (Textiles) 4 Rue Ville Bois 17th District Ternes neg a cious cions d'automobile 71 Boulevard Gouvion St Cyr; 7th District and Les Ternes Corsetts at 37 Avenue McMahon 17th District. I think I will try a little strategy on them all. I will send them pictures of their name on the street signs of Dearborn and possibly one of the large grave marker in the cemetery. This may arouse a little curiosity in them and they may respond.

It was obviously much harder to research your genealogy without the Internet!