A Thief, in a Manner of Speaking

When I was a child I knew my grand-uncle Daniel Bickerstaff, but I didn't know much about him.  When I began working on family history I learned that, in a manner of speaking, he was a thief.

Daniel was the son of Edward Jesse and Mary (Thompson) Bickerstaff.  His Jefferson County, Ohio, birth record gives his date of birth as April 9, 1897.  Other records state that date or suggest the year as correct.

• He is shown as age 3, born Apr 1897 in the 1900 U.S. Census, Steubenville Township, Jefferson County, Ohio.
• He is recorded as 12 years of age in the 1910 U.S. Census, Steubenville Township, Jefferson County, Ohio.
• He is 23 in the 1920 U.S. Census, Mineral Ridge, Austintown Township, Mineral Ridge, Ohio.
• His World War II enlistment record gives his birth year as 1897.
• And his death certificate gives his birth date as April 9, 1897.

But then!  Then his marriage record to Mary Luretta Sanford proclaims a different birth date!  (Click open image in a new tab where you can see it more clearly.)

Daniel indicates that he was 21 years old on April 9, 1916.  In fact, on the date of his marriage to Mary Luretta Sanford, on October 28, 1915, he was 19 years, 6 months, and 20 days old.  I've been unable to find the legal age for marriage in 1916 in Ohio.  If it were 21 years, then yes, he would have needed to change his age to marry (or possibly seek parental consent).

His World War I Draft Registration Card also gives his birth date as April 9, 1895.

World War I begin in 1914 when Daniel was 17.  At the time he enlisted, on May 10, 1918, he was already 21, so there should have been no need to fudge his birth year.  On the other hand, it's possible that his age when he enlisted needed to match his age on his draft registration card, which he'd already changed by two years.

It is difficult to determine the motives of people who are no longer alive.  The family "legend," told by my aunt and Daniel's niece, Doris (Meinzen) Dray, is that Dan was so eager to serve his country in World War I that he changed his age (specifically his birth year) so he could enlist.  I do not know the truth of this legend.

Whatever the circumstances surrounding his change of birth year, Daniel was, in a manner of speaking, a thief.  He stole two years from his life -- at least until he enlisted in the Army in 1942 and reclaimed them by stating his real birth date of April 9, 1897.

You can read more about Daniel F. Bickerstaff at Twice a Veteran and A Soldier in My Family.

This post was written for Amy Johnson Crow's 2019 version of 52 Ancestors.  The post topic for the week was "Thief."

--Nancy.

Copyright ©2019, Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner.
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A Soldier in My Family

My family does not have a strong military tradition, but several ancestors and extended family served in the U.S. Army.  My grandmother's brother, Daniel F. Bickerstaff, was one who served.

Daniel's World War I Enrollment Card, transcribed here at FamilySearch, gives this information:

Name:  Daniel F Bickerstaff
Event Type:  Military Service
Event Date:  10 May 1918
Event Place:  Niles, Trumbull, Ohio, United States
Residence Place:  Miner[al] Ridge, Trumbull, Ohio
Birth Date:  9 Apr 1895
Birthplace:  Mingo Junction, Ohio





I do not know what prompted him to do it but twenty-four years later Daniel enlisted to serve in the Army during World War II.

A transcription of his WWII enlistment record is available here at Ancestry.  This is some of the information it contains.

Name:  Daniel Bickerstaff
Birth Year:  1897
Race:  White, citizen
Nativity State:  Ohio
County or City:  Trumbull
Enlistment Date:  1 Oct 1942
Enlistment City:  Cleveland
Grade:  Private


He returned home from both wars without permanent physical harm.

Uncle Dan was a good man and one who served his country during its times of need and I thank him for it.  Uncle Dan was also a thief (in a manner of speaking).  More to come on that topic soon.

This post was written for Amy Johnson Crow's 2019 version of 52 Ancestors.  The post topic for the week was "Soldier."

--Nancy.

Copyright ©2019, Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 
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Jacob Meinzen's WWI Draft Registration Card

My grand-uncle, Jacob I. Meinzen, and my grandfather, Robert Meinzen, both filed World War I Registration Cards in two different cities in Ohio on the same day, though possibly not in the same year.  The year is not noted on Jacob's card.  I probably shouldn't assume it was filed in 1917 but I believe it was based on the fact that the other cards in the "34-4-7 A" group in Steubenville were dated 1917.

Less than a year before he filed this draft registration, Jacob married Sudie Coss, and less than four months after this registration he died in an accident at work.

The image of this document comes from FamilySearch's collection of World War I Draft Registration Cards.  Below the image is a transcription.

[Illegible words]  [Handwritten] 240     REGISTRATION CARD     No. 1509
 1  Name in Full   Jacob I. Meinzen      Age, in yrs.   23
 2  Home address   312 S. Lake Erie Ave  Steubenville  Ohio
 3  Date of Birth   Dec 15 1893
 4  Are you (1) a natural-born citizen   Natural born
 5  Where were you born?   Steubenville, Ohio  U.S.A.
 6  If not a citizen...
 7  What is your present trade, occupation, or office?   Pipe Fitter
 8  By whom employed?   La Belle Iron Works      Where employed?   Steubenville Ohio
 9 Have you a father, mother, wife, child under 12, or a sister or brother under 12, solely dependent on you for support? (specify which)?    Wife and Child
10  Married or single (which)?   Married    Race (specify which)   [blank]
11  What military service have you had?   none
12  Do you claim exemption from draft (specify grounds)?   [blank]
I affirm that I have verified above answers and that they are true.
[Signature]   Jacob I. Meinzen

REGISTRAR'S REPORT        34-4-7 A  [stamped at top]
1  Tall, medium, or short (specify which)?   Medium      Slender, medium, or stout (which)?   Medium
2  Color of eyes?   Blue      Color of hair?   Brown      Bald?  No
3  Has person lost arm, leg, hand, foot, or both eyes, or is he otherwise disabled (specify)?   No
I certify that my answers are true, that the person registered has read his own answers, that I have witnessed his signature, and that all of his answers of which I have knowledge are true, except as follows:  [blank]

Fred R Shuratt  (Signature of registrar)
Precinct   1st A. [?]
City or County   Steubenville
State   Ohio.      (Date of registration)   June 5 [1917?]

This document came to my attention as the result of a FamilySearch campaign for World War I draft registrants.  They suggested another dozen or so, some not as closely related as my grandfather and his brother.  Thank you, FamilySearch, for helping me find more low-hanging fruit on the family history tree. 

–Nancy.

Copyright ©2019, Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved.
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner.
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Low-Hanging Genealogy "Fruit"

I've picked a little low-hanging genealogy fruit this week.  World War I draft registration cards were not available online when I was searching for information about my grandfather and his siblings 10 or 12 years ago and I hadn't thought of looking for them until FamilySearch sent me an email with hints.  This record turned up in one of the hints and I was pleased to see it. 

The card gives Grampa's name as Robert Meinzen, the name he most commonly used during his lifetime, but his full name is William Carl Robert Meinzen.  As a child I remember thinking Grampa was tall -- he was probably one of the taller men I knew when I was little at perhaps 6' tall.  I don't believe I ever noticed that his eyes were grey.  The only other information that's new to me is his address and the name of his employer.  June 5th, the day he registered, happens to be his oldest daughter Audrey's birthday.  Grampa did not serve in World War I.

This is his draft registration card with a transcription below.

Form 1   [Stamped] 2531     REGISTRATION CARD     No. 141    1663 [circled at top of card]
 1  Name in Full   Robert Meinzen      Age, in yrs.   25
 2  Home address   123 E. Mkt  Warren  Ohio
 3  Date of Birth   Feb. 8 1892
 4  Are you (1) a natural-born citizen   Natural born
 5  Where were you born?   Steubenville, Ohio  U.S.A.
 6  If not a citizen...   Citizen
 7  What is your present trade, occupation, or office?   Barber
 8  By whom employed?   David Herlinger      Where employed?   31 Main Street  Warren  O
 9  Have you a father, mother, wife, child under 12, or a sister or brother under 12, solely dependent on you for support? (specify which)?    Wife & Child
10  Married or single (which)?   Married    Race (specify which)   Caucasian
11  What military service have you had?   None
12  Do you claim exemption from draft (specify grounds)?   Yes  Married Have Children
I affirm that I have verified above answers and that they are true.
[Signature]   Robert Meinzen

REGISTRAR'S REPORT        34-1-17-A  [stamped at top]
1  Tall, medium, or short (specify which)?   Tall      Slender, medium, or stout (which)?   Medium
2  Color of eyes?   Grey      Color of hair?   Lt Brown      Bald?  No
3  Has person lost arm, leg, hand, foot, or both eyes, or is he otherwise disabled (specify)?   No
I certify that my answers are true, that the person registered has read his own answers, that I have witnessed his signature, and that all of his answers of which I have knowledge are true, except as follows: 
[rubber stamped] 37-3-27 A
S. H. Perkins (Signature of registrar)
Precinct   4A
City or County   Warren
State   Ohio      (Date of registration)   6 / 5 –1917
[Typed or Rubber Stamped:] 
Local Board for Div.
No. 1 for the
County of Trumbull
State of Ohio
Warren, Ohio

The only uncertainty about this record is whether the address shown in #2 is "123," "423," or "923."   There's a shadow on the left of the 1 which  makes me wonder.  (If you want to look closely, click the photo to enlarge it.)

Though the information on this card isn't critical to my family history research I'm pleased to add it to my grandfather's other records to make a more complete picture of him.  Low-hanging fruit is such fun to find now, after having researched for a decade. 

–Nancy.

Copyright ©2019, Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 
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Pvt. William Dray Seriously Wounded - Military Monday

Doris Jean Meinzen was known to her parents and her sisters as Dot, and to her nieces and nephews as Aunt Dot, a childhood nickname used by family but later discarded when she moved away from her childhood hometown of Mineral Ridge, Ohio.

The last time we visited with Aunt Dot last fall, she briefly told us about her and her husband.  She and Bill Dray had dated through high school and wanted to marry soon after high school graduation.  Her parents, however, disapproved of Bill and refused to let her marry until she was 21.  Aunt Dot turned 21 on July 19, 1941, and she and Bill married on Wednesday, February 18, 1942.  She remembered that they had a variety of weather on their wedding day.  It was dry when they went to the church to be married, rained while they were in the church, and they came outside to find it snowing.

Doris and Bill married during the United States' involvement in World War II and after the draft had begun in September, 1940.  I think it would have been a fearful time to marry and begin a family, not knowing what the future might be like.  And yet who would want to miss the opportunity to marry the one they loved just because there was a war?  Transcribed records on FamilySearch tell me that Bill enlisted in the Air Corps branch of the United States Army on May 5, 1942.  His commitment to serve in the military was "for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law."  He went to Patterson Field, as it was known then, near Dayton, Ohio.  I don't know the sequence of his military service, nor when he left the United States or from where, to fight in the war overseas. 

One of Aunt Dot's sisters, Polly, once told me that Uncle Bill had been wounded in the war and taken for dead.  He was on a truck with other soldiers who hadn't survived, about to be transported, when someone noticed that he moved.  He was removed from the truck and taken to a hospital.  Aunt Polly also said that a metal plate had been placed in his head due to a wound and that he was very protective of that side of his head.  I never asked anyone about this and I don't think Aunt Dot never mentioned it to me.

Not long ago I was searching newspapers local to Mineral Ridge and found an article about Uncle Bill in The Niles Standard, published on Thursday, March 16, 1944. 

PVT. WILLIAM DRAY
SERIOUSLY WOUNDED
-----------
     Pvt. William Dray, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lee Dray, 25 Wood, Niles, was seriously wounded in Italy on Feb. 13, according to a War Department telegram received Sunday.  Details are unknown as yet.
     Pvt. Dray took part in the early invasion operations in Africa and had been in action continuously since that time [and] although his parents had been receiving frequent letters from him, they were unaware of his direct participation in battle.
     Dray, 23, had been in service two years.  He took basic training as a member of the Air Force ground crew, at Patterson Field, Dayton, O.  He graduated from Mineral Ridge High School in 1938 and was employed at the Ravenna Arsenal before induction.
     His wife, the former Doris Meinzen, of Mineral Ridge, is in California.

Aunt Dot and Uncle Bill had been married just over two years.  Imagine her alarm and concern at learning the news that he'd been seriously wounded.  And then it must have been astonishing to see that it took a month to receive the news, from the day of his injury on Sunday, February 13, to the arrival of the telegram on Sunday, March 12.  I don't know if Aunt Dot was in California to be with Uncle Bill or for some other reason but I have a vague memory that she went to him as soon as he was in the U.S. again.

Uncle Bill survived, of course.  I remember him from my childhood through young adulthood.  He died of a heart attack on January 28, 1974.  I am aware that there are many World War II veterans who have lived long lives but I continue to believe that military service during war time takes a toll on an individual and soldiers return home different people than they were when they left.  I believe it was so with Uncle Bill, too.

--Nancy.

Copyright ©2017 Nancy Messier. All Rights Reserved.
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Thanking Veterans

With a grateful heart I thank not only the veterans in my family but all veterans.  Without their service our lives would be much different.

I sometimes wonder if the burden of soldiers in and returning from active duty is greater than we realize.  They sacrifice time away from family, friends, and regular civilian life.  They return with images of war and loss burned into memory.  And sometimes they live the rest of their lives with mental and physical losses and/or medical challenges.  The words "thank you" seem so little for the gifts and sacrifices our veterans give us.

In past years I've highlighted the very few direct ancestors who served and returned from wars.  Today I was thinking more broadly and realized that many family members have served in the armed forces.  In no particular order, they are

• Ellis Bickerstaff
• Augustine Bickerstaff
• Enos Bickerstaff
• Andrew Bickerstaff
• Edward Bickerstaff
• Richard E. Davis
• William Dray
• Darlene Todd
• David Dray

Thank you to these family members and to all who serve now and have served.

--Nancy.

Copyright ©2016 Nancy Messier. All Rights Reserved.
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Alonzo J. Gerner, WW I Draft Registration Card - Military Monday

Alonzo J. Gerner is my paternal grandmother Beulah Mae (Gerner) Doyle's brother.

On the World War I Draft Registration Cards, the question is not "Wife's Name" or "Mother's Name" or Father's Name" but "Nearest Relative." If this were the first document a researcher saw, s/he should not assume which relationship exists between the registrant and the nearest relative.  Further research will help determine the relationship.

Registration Card
Serial Number 2061
Order Number A1286
1 (First, Middle, Last Name) Alonzo J. Gerner
2 Permanent Home Address  Baldwin Butler Pa
3 Age in Years 44
4 Date of Birth  July 25 1874
5 Race White
6 through 9 [blank]
10  Native Born
11 through 15 [blank]
16 Present Occupation  Coal Miner
17 Employer's Name  [blank]
18 Place of Employment or Business:  Baldwin Butler Pa
Nearest Relative
19 Name  Aline Gerner
20 Address  Baldwin, Butler Pa
I affirm that I have verified above answers and that they are true
Alonzo J Gerner [signature]

Registrar's Report 37-2-7. C
Description of Registrant
Height
21 [blank]
22 Medium
23 [blank]
Build
24 Slender
25 [blank]
26 [blank]
Color of Eyes
27 Brown
Color of Hair
28 Dark Brown
29 [blank]
30 [blank]
(Signature of Registrar) Nannie McGarvey [signature]
Date of Registration  September 12, 1918

[Rubber Stamp]:
Local Board for Division No. 2
County of Butler, State of Pa.,
Butler, Pa
(Stamp of Local Board)

Note:
Based on other research, Aline is Alonzo's first wife.

--Nancy.
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Her Name Is . . . ? - Military Monday

Below is Alfonzo F. Gerner's World War I Draft Registration card.  I'm trying to decide whether his wife's name is Geta or not.  What do you think?  Could it be something else?

Here's the transcription.

Registration Card
Serial Number 582
Order Number 2249
First Name Alfonzo   Middle Name  [blank]   Last Name Gerner
Permanent Home Address (City or Town) Baldwin  (State) Pa.
Age in Years  44  
Date of Birth  July 25, 1874
Race  White ✓
U. S. Citizen  Native Born ✓
Present Occupation  Oil Driller
Employer's Name  Waldo & Bucklin
Place of Employment or Business  (City)  Ponca City (County) Kay  (State) Okla
Nearest Relative  Name Geta Gerner (wife)   Address  Baldwin, Pa.
Signature   Alfonzo Gerner

35-3-20-C
Description of Registrant
Height  Medium ✓
Build  Medium ✓
Color of Eyes  Brown
Color of Hair  Brown
Signature of Registrar  R. Martin
Date of Registration  Sept 12 1918
A True Copy
Local Board  Kay County  Newkirk, Okla.

Yesterday I was checking my tree on FamilySearch to see which children of direct ancestors still needed to be added.  I was stopped with the first family.  I found that four of Fred and Elvira (Bartley) Gerner's 16 children were missing -- all sons.  Alfonzo and his twin Alonzo, their oldest children, were missing.  I added Alfonzo and then noticed a problem with the wife's information which didn't match the information I have.  It's created enough uncertainty that I need to search deeper to see if I can sort out the wife problem.

Sometimes records leave such unlikely messes:  names confused, mis-recorded, not recorded, typos or print errors, etc.  Of course the individuals may have left messes, too.  I hope records can help me sort out Alfonzo's wives (but this record adds to the confusion rather than clarifying).

Thanks if you can read Alfonzo's wife's name and leave a comment. 

--Nancy.

Copyright © 2009-2015 Nancy Messier. All Rights Reserved.

The Hundred-Days Men of the Civil War - Military Monday

My great-grandfather, Ellis Bickerstaff, served in the Civil War from May 2 to September 2, 1864, in the 157th Ohio Company D.  I wondered at his short service and decided to learn more.  It turns out that he was one of the Hundred-days Men. 

Ohio Governor John Brough

As the Civil War continued to rage during the early months of 1864, there was no clear victory for either side.  And yet victory seemed within reach of the Northern armies:  there had been some encouraging successes.  With this view, Ohio governor John Brough (pronounced Bruff) proposed to President Abraham Lincoln that regiments be formed with men who would serve for 100 days.  Short-term enlistments were not uncommon at the beginning of the war and during special emergencies.  Men enlisted for three months might be just what the Union needed to overcome the last hurdles to victory.

Brough proposed that members of the state militia, which had recently become known as the National Guard, would guard Northern bridges, railroads, and forts, thereby relieving the trained soldiers from those duties and allowing them to fight at the front and finish the war in 100 days' time.  Brough visited Pres. Lincoln in Washington, D.C., and offered 30,000 or 40,000 Ohio men.  He also proposed that the states of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin join him and offer men for 100 days of service.  Jointly, those states committed to send 85,000 men:  Ohio, 30,000; Indiana and Illinois each 20,000; Iowa 10,000; and Wisconsin 5,000.    

Ohio had already sent 10 percent of its entire population to the war.  The men who enlisted for these 100 days were

• boys too young to serve at the beginning of the war
• men who had previously paid others to serve in their places
• men who had already served and come home, either injured or because their time commitment had ended; and 
• older men 

The call came on April 25.  Men were to report for active duty on May 2, prepared to serve for 100 days.  Nearly 36,000 Ohio men reported ready for duty but only about 25,000 of them served.  They came from all walks of life:  farmers, business men, tradesmen, factory workers, etc.

For my farmer grandfather May was an awful time to leave.  Spring and summer are a farmer's busiest time.  He was undoubtedly in the throes of spring planting on either his own or his father's farm.  He left behind a wife, whom he'd married just three years earlier, and one, possibly two, young children.  And yet he answered the call along with several of his brothers.

In the introduction to A Hundred Days to Richmond:  Ohio's "Hundred Days" Men in the Civil War, Jim Leeke wrote, "The Buckeyes knew what might await them.  Few answered the call with blind enthusiasm or innocent patriotism...."  As I've learned more about where my Ellis served, I've wondered if he really knew what would await him.  More on that to follow.

Other posts in this series
Ellis and the 157th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
Fort Delaware Prison and the 157th Regiment OVI in the Civil War
Coming to Terms with History - Musings on Ellis's Service in the Civil War


Sources:
A Hundred Days To Richmond:  Ohio's "Hundred Days" Men in the Civil War, Jim Leeke, ed.
"Hundred-days men left checkered Civil War legacy"
Hundred Days' Men at Ohio Civil War 150
Hundred Days Men at Wikipedia

The Romance of War, a brief remembrance/journal written by one who served from Beloit, Wisconsin

--Nancy.
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Gust Doyle's World War I Draft Registration Card - Military Monday

On this document (and several others) my paternal grandfather signed his name "Gus."

Form 1           REGISTRATION CARD          No. 5

1     Name in full    Gus Doyle       Age in Years    28
2     Home Address     Rural Route #1    Stoneboro    Pa
3     Date of birth     Nov  17  1888
4     Are you (1) a natural-born citizen...      Natural Born
5     Where were you born?     Stoneboro     Penna     USA
6     If not a citizen....
7     What is your present trade, occupation, or office?     Farming      1
8     By whom employed?     Myself
       Where employed?     Stoneboro
9     Have you a [family member]... solely dependent on you for support..."
       Wife & 1 Child
10   Married or single (which)?   Married       Race (specify which)?   Caucasian
11   What military service have you had?  Rank     None
12   Do you claim exemption from draft (specify grounds)?
       Occupation & Family support

I affirm that I have verified above answers and that they are true.
Gus Doyle [signature]

                      REGISTRAR'S REPORT
1   Tall, medium, or short...?    short       Slender, medium, or stout...?    medium
2    Color of eyes    light Blue      Color of hair    Brown       Bald    no
3    Has person lost arm, leg, hand... otherwise disabled...?     no

I certify that my answers are true, that the person registered has read his own answers, that I have witnessed his signature, and that all of his answers of which I have knowledge are true, except as follow    [blank]

37-2-27.  A    [rubber stamped]

H. H. McClearn [signature] (Signature of Registrar)
Precinct   Stoneboro
City or County   Mercer
State   Penna
June 5/17   (Date of Registration)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Blank transcription forms for World War I Draft Registration Card A are available from Ancestry.com as pdf documents.
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