My Trails into the Past

From Souvenir Folder Showing Views of U.S. Army I am studying family members who served during World War I. I began the study with my great-uncle, Jack C. Sullivan, who served with Co. E of the 4 th Engineers. I have written often about his service. Search on “4 th Engineers” to find the posts. Since that time, I have discovered many more who also served. Here are some of them: Charles Robert Coor Dempsey Bryan Coor Oran Franklin Coor Patrick Henry Coor Sandy Alfred Coor George Thomas Davey Cyril W. Hork Luther Enel Hutson Charles P Naber Carl Dave Nilsen Joseph Walter Nilsen John Vir Quigley Frank August Sievert Frank Joseph Soares William Wesley Waldron These men all have Veteran’s Administration Master Index cards that give information about their service with enlistment and discharge dates, and unit served and their rank. There is also birth, death, and address at one time in their life. It is a great source to jumpstart your research into other records documenting WWI service. V...

My paternal great-uncle, Jack C. Sullivan, left for France aboard the Martha Washington from Hoboken, New Jersey. He held the rank of sergeant in the 4 th Engineers, Co. E of the Fourth Division (Regular). [1]  Now I have a new question. When was he promoted? He had to have been promoted while still in the United States. Unfortunately, his service record was part of those records destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. [2] When I requested his file, I was offered a copy of the final pay voucher for his unit. I learned he enlisted on 4 June 1917. [3] The 4 th Engineers were formed at Camp Lewis in Washington. Jack sent home a letter to his sister reporting he had enlisted. [4] FamilySearch has a wonderful database, “United States, World War I, military muster rolls and rosters, 1916-1939.” They are not indexed but each regiment is listed in a pseudo-alphabetical order, starting with the 101 st Ammunition Tr. 26 Div, 5 th Compa...

This is my third year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. I have written previously several blog posts about my paternal grandmother’s brother, John Cyril “Jack” Sullivan’s service during WWI. A veteran’s Service and Gravesite Finding Uncle Jack’s WWI Unit & Service No. John Cyril “Jack” Sullivan The Day U.S. Declared War on Germany and Entered WWI Veteran’s Day – John Cyril Sullivan, Veteran of WWI Today’s topic is scary stuff, and I don’t know what would have been scarier than trying to build a bridge over a river with the German army not far on the other side sending bullets and artillery over your head. Jack was in Company E, a part of the six companies in 4 th Engineers of the 4 th Division.   A book was written by members of the 4 th Engineers ...

Today, April 6, is the 103rd anniversary of the United States declaring war on Germany and the beginning of our involvement in the “War to end all wars” (i.e. World War I). In the beginning, President Woodrow Wilson hoped that there would be enough volunteers to support the U.S. army, but by six weeks later, only 73,000 men had volunteered. [1] Congress enacted the Selective Service Act of 1917. The first of four registrations was conducted on June 5, 1917 and all males between the ages of 21 and 30 were to register. [2] My great-uncle, John Cyril “Jack” Sullivan, is not listed in this draft. [3] There may be two reasons. First, he enlisted in the army on 4 June 1917. [4]  Second, he had already turned 30. [5] It wasn’t until the third registration on 12 Sep 1918 that men 18 to 45 had to register. [6] It is important to understand why someone is not in a record when one expects them to be there. One way is to understand why the record was created. Usually there is...