52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 28 - Travel

The 52 Ancestors prompt for this week is "Travel". Travel is a part of many of our ancestors' lives. Traveling across an ocean or a continent for life in a new land. Traveling to a different state to elope. Traveling for work, either as a salesman or working the railroads or canals. Traveling for vacation. What ancestral travel tales have you found?

When I first started researching my 2x great-uncle Edward Creeden, I found military records from several places in the US, Canada, Europe and the Philippines. The records were from the US Army, US Marines, and the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. At first, I didn't think they could all be for the same person, but I was able to find Edward's birthplace of Celina, OH in most of the records. 

I volunteered to do some beta testing for HistoryLines.com when it first came online and I entered Edward's data in their story format to try out their map features.  The map below from HistoryLines indicates Edward's destinations with a red dot and I've bolded each of his destinations in the text that follows.

Edward was thought to have been born in April 1884 in Celina, OH. His military records support this date and place, but I haven't located a birth record for him. Edward joined his sisters Mary Elizabeth and Julia in Pueblo, CO around 1903. In 1904, he enlisted in the US Army in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Edward was discharged from the 12th Infantry Company D in 1907 in Fort Porter, NY with this note in the return from service record: Service honest, faithful Character Excellent. He next enlisted in Columbus, OH on January 18, 1907. His description was given as: Born in Celina, OH, 24yrs, 9mths, Soldier, Blue eyes, Drk Brn hair, Fair complexion. This time he was in the 30th Infantry, Company L.

Edward served as a Corporal in Regiment 30, Company L in the Philippines. His date of arrival at the post was 7/1/1908 and the location was given as Camp Gregg, Pangasinan, Philippine Islands. He was on "topographical duty", and returned to his company on Aug 14, 1908. He was discharged from the Army on 1/17/1910.

After his discharge from the Army, Edward enlisted in the US Marines from San Francisco, CA. His rank was Private and his enlistment date was 1/27/1910. Edward transferred from the Cal Recruiting District to the Navy Yard in Puget Sound, Washington.according to Marine Muster Rolls for 1910.

In October 1911, Edward mysteriously disappeared from his post at the Navy Yard in Puget Sound, Washington. A reward was put out for his return, but no further paperwork was in his file. The next place he shows up is at Vancouver Barracks, Washington where he reenlisted in the Army! He seemed to have an uneventful stint in the Army and was honorably discharged on January 15, 1915.

Edward enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in 1917 and gave his current residence as Minneapolis,MN. In September 1917 he was transferred to the #1 British American Division and traveled via ship from Halifax to Liverpool, England. He arrived in France on February, 8, 1918.

On April 9, 1918, Edward was wounded in battle in Arras, France and spent 10 days in Etaples at a French War Hospital where his right leg was amputated. He spent two months recovering at the Horton War Hospital in Epsom, Surrey, England and was then sent back to the Granville Canadian Special Hospital. He also spent time at the
Whitby Military Hospital in Ontario, Canada. 

A letter to his brother Joshua published in the Celina Democrat on July 26, 1918 says that Edward also was stationed in Honolulu and the Mexican border.

Edward was dismissed from the Canadian Forces in Toronto, Ontario, Canada due to being medically unfit. His proposed residence was St. Louis, MO. I haven't found any definite records for him there, but in 1920, a census record matching Edward shows he was possibly living in Sedgwick, KS. 

A 1930 census record shows that Edward might have been living near Detroit, MI where his brother Joshua was living. Edward died when he was 52 years old in Newport, Campbell, Kentucky, United States. He is by far the most well traveled person I've found in my family tree!

#52Ancestors is a series of weekly family history prompts developed by Amy Johnson Crow.

Military Monday on Memorial Day - Exploring Arlington National Cemetery with the ANC Explorer App

Memorial Day is a day to remember and honor the men and women who gave their lives while serving in the US Armed Forces. In honor of Memorial Day, Family Tree Magazine's genealogy insider blog recently listed 11 free sites that can be used to research Americans who've died in military service.

One of the sites listed is Arlington National Cemetery's ANC Explorer. The website allows you to locate gravesites, view photos of headstones, and take a virtual tour of the cemetery. Both a mobile app and web browser application are provided. This app wasn't available last time I looked at the Arlington website, so I decided to give it a try on my home PC.

My great-uncle Julius Councill was killed in action on August 12, 1918 in a battle in Fismette, France during WWI. Searching for Julius Councill on the ANC Explorer page brought up a display of a map of Arlington with a marker showing the location of Julius' grave site. Selecting the marker brought up details on Julius' grave and a small photo of his headstone.

ANC Explorer details on Julius K. Councill

The Details button brought up larger photos of the front and back of the headstone and the option to download the photos shown below.

The Directions button brought up the path to Julius' grave on the map and a detailed set of directions starting from the Welcome Center. There was a choice between the quickest and easiest route. In this case, both routes were about 1 1/4 miles from the Welcome Center.

Zooming in on the map showed that the Argonne Cross is not too far from Julius' grave.

I went back to the main page, selected "Browse Points of Interest", "Monuments and Memorials", and selected the Argonne Cross. Details about the Argonne Cross were displayed as well as front and back photos.

Argonne Cross Details from ANC Explorer app

This explained why Julius was buried in Arlington three years after his death. His burial case file included several forms filled out by Julius' mother Arianna Councill requesting that his remains be moved from France to Arlington Cemetery. I had no idea so many servicemen were moved to Arlington during that time.

Photo of the Argonne Cross from ANC Explorer app

If you have family buried at Arlington or are planning a visit there, I'd definitely recommend giving the ANC Explorer app a try. One thing to note is that the site says the tool is still under development and not all graves are included yet.

Military Monday - Letter From Soldier Wounded in WWI

I've posted several times about the colorful military career of my great-grandfather's brother Edward Creeden. Edward enlisted in the US Army in 1904 from Salt Lake City, Utah. He listed his residence as Pueblo, CO and birthplace as Celina, OH.

Edward served in the Army until 1910 when he enlisted in the Marines at San Francisco, CA. His paperwork as a sharpshooter was transferred from the Army to the Marines. In October 1911, he mysteriously deserted his post in the Marines and reenlisted in the Army a few weeks later. He was honorably discharged from the Army in January 1915.

In August 1917, Edward joined the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. The Canadian records showed that he was wounded in France in April 1918 and lost his right leg due to a wound from a shell fragment in Arras, France.

An article in the Celina Democrat published on July 26, 1918 details a letter he wrote to his brother Joshua during his recovery. I found the article on the Chronicling America site. 

Edward Creeden, who has been in a war hospital in England as a result of a gunshot wound received April 20, while in service in France, has written an interesting letter to his brother Joshua, in care of his brother Charley in this city. He has been serving with the Canadian expeditionary forces, and is probably now on his way back to Canada minus his right leg. He has seen much army life, having served in the Phillippins, at Honolulu and along the Mexican border-- thirteen years in all. His letter shows he would like to be back in the war game. He has the proverbial American cheerfulness and fighting spirit, and takes his medicine that way. His friends, however, are sorry to hear of his misfortune.

I had wondered if Edward kept in touch with the family at all, so the article at least solves that mystery. It must've been quite a shock for them to get the news of his injury. I have a long list of places where Edward served, but I didn't know he served in Honolulu or the Mexican border.

I don't know if Edward got his wish to continue with his military service, but it seems unlikely. He was discharged from the Canadian forces as being medically unfit for duty in 1919. He listed his proposed next residence as St. Louis, MO, but I haven't found any records for him there so far.

A possible entry in the census places him in Sedgwick, KS in 1920 and from newspaper articles and his death certificate, I know he died in Newport, KY in 1937. I'm still trying to solve the mystery of what happened to Edward between 1919-1937.

Military Monday - WWI Monument Dedication in Centreville, Maryland, October 1918

The Maryland State Archives has digitized copies of many pages of old Maryland newspapers available on its site. The dates are hit and miss since many pages no longer exist, but it's a great resource if you have Maryland ancestors.

The page shown below was published in The Centreville Observer on October 5, 1918. Centreville is in Queen Anne's County, Maryland and was the home to many of my ancestors.

The newspaper must have been in pretty bad shape as the scan isn't too good, but I was able to make out some references to my Councill family. Most of the articles on the front page were about World War One.

One article detailed a dedication ceremony for a monument and flag honoring the soldiers of Queen Anne's County. The ceremony included an address by Senator Harper of Centreville where he mentioned the soldiers that had lost their lives during the war, including my great-uncle Julius Councill.

He very feelingly spoke of the three boys who had already made the supreme sacrifice-- Jeff Davis, Jr. of Centreville, and J. Edgar Potts and Julius K. Council, of Baltimore, but natives of Queen Anne's county.

Another section of the articled talked about a procession of War Mothers where they wore arm bands with a star representing each of their children that were serving in the war. This must have been a very moving part of the ceremony. My great-grandmother Ariana Councill was one of two mothers that had three children in the military and had only learned of the loss of her son Julius a few weeks before the ceremony.

In the War Mothers' procession were nearly a hundred mothers of Soldiers and Sailors, two in the number, Mrs. Councill and Mrs. Joseph Fesnaper?, who have three from their families in the service, led the procession, wearing arm bands with three stars. There were any number who wore two stars and one star, and in most every instance it meant all that a mother had to give.

Liberty Loan Ad from The Centreville Observer, Oct. 5, 1918

The ceremony concluded with a mention of the upcoming Liberty Loan event intended to raise more money for the war efforts. According to the article, $100,650 was already subscribed during the afternoon of the dedication ceremony. Only a few pages were available in the digital collection for The Centreville Observer for October 1918, so I was fortunate that they included the information on the dedication ceremony and the connections to my Councill family.

Military Monday - Charles Creeden WWI Registration Cards

FamilySearch.org recently added indexed records to their collection of US WWI Draft Registration cards for 1917-1918. As of this latest addition, the index is 96% complete. Since they are still adding records for Ohio, I decided to see if there was anything new for my Creedens.

I had seen my great-grandfather Charles Creeden's registration card before, but I was surprised to see another Charles Creeden from Clinton County, Ohio. My Charles was born in Mercer County, Ohio, but his parents lived in Clinton County before he was born.

Charles A. Creeden WWI Draft Registration Card, Celina, Ohio

My great-grandfather's registration card shown above was dated June 5, 1917 and showed that he was working as a Foreman at the Mersman Brothers Brandts factory. This was a large furniture factory in Celina. Charles was 30 years old and was living on S. Fulton in Celina with his wife Anna and children Robert and Mae.

Charles Creedon WWI Draft Registration Card, Wilmington, Ohio

The second Charles Creedon was 21 years old and gave his address as 226 Walnut in Wilmington, Ohio, although he was working as a machinist at the Continental Motor Company in Detroit, Michigan. He was single when the card was signed on June 2, 1917. I noticed that while the name was indexed under Creeden, it looks like this Charles used the more common spelling of Creedon.

Despite what my Charles' brother Edward stated, I don't believe that my great-grandfather ever served in the military. I found a couple of probable matches for the second Charles in the military records on Ancestry.com. He's listed in the Official Roster of Ohio Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the World War, 1917-18 and the Ohio Military Men databases.

Charles Creedon in Ohio Military Men database

To Do:

• Investigate the second Charles and his family in Clinton County to see if there is any connection to my Creedens.
• Search for additional military records for Charles Creedon.

Military Monday - 1883 List of Pensioners

The US 1883 List of Pensioners listed soldiers or their dependents that were on the pension roll as of January 1, 1883. It gives the name of each pensioner or dependent, the cause for which pensioned, the post-office address, the rate of pension per month, and the date of original allowance.  The list covers pensioners from all wars.

The list is available on Ancestry.com, but the searching seems to be hit or miss. I found two of my Matson ancestors by paging through the Mercer County, Ohio sections in the database. I knew John Matson lived in Mercer County, but didn't know about Eliza Matson. I also didn't know that any of the Matsons were in Mercer County this early. I always wondered why my Creeden family chose to relocate from Clinton County to Mercer, so the fact that there was already family there helps to explain the move.



I've been a member of The Ohio Genealogical Society for a little over a year now and was pleased to see them merge their regular and Civil War memberships. Since I was a regular member, this gave me access to years of Civil War newsletters that I hadn't seen before. One of their newsletters had the 1883 List of Pensioners for Mercer County and I was surprised to find an additional Matson listing.

The newsletter article explained that Michael Elliott is creating an updated database which adds the name of the soldier (in cases where a widow or dependent parents were listed), the unit in which the soldier served, years of birth and death, and cemetery. Michael's updated databases are available for sale through the Summit County Genealogy Society. The databases for Northeast and Northwest Ohio are available now. Additional sections of Ohio including coverage of Mercer and Clinton counties will follow.

Michael's database added that Eliza was the widow of Jarez L. Matson, who served in Company G of the 79th OVI, and died in 1863. John Matson also served in the 79th OVI and is buried in Buck Cemetery.

The third Matson in Michael's database didn't show up on Ancestry since it was listed under Mary A. Watson!

Michael's database corrected this to Mary A. Matson and added that she was the widow of Thomas J. Matson who served in Company F of the 60th OVI. Thomas died in 1864 and is buried in Salisbury National Cemetery.

Despite some of the errors, this is a nice resource if you have ancestors who served in the Civil War or earlier wars. If your ancestors were from Ohio, you might also want to check out the additional information compiled by Michael Elliott.

Military Monday - Deserter Becomes WWI Hero

When I ordered Edward Creeden's service records from NARA, I got a few surprises. The paperwork confirmed that he had enlisted in the US Army in 1904 and the US Marines in 1910. He was a sharpshooter and some of the paperwork showed that his marksmanship records from the Army were transferred to the Marines. He seemed to have a good military career going until he mysteriously disappeared from his Marine barracks on October 13, 1911. First a notice was posted on October 16, about a $10 reward for turning in Edward as a "straggler" from his post at the Navy Yard in Puget Sound, Washington.

That was followed by a notice posted on October 23, 1911 offering a $20 reward for turning in Edward as a deserter.

A letter in his file from his commanding officer shows that they were puzzled by Edward's disappearance. The letter stated that they could find no reason for Sergeant Creeden's desertion and that he had been an excellent soldier in every respect.

His service record showed a few prior violations, so there was some history of going AWOL.

On May 10, 1910, he was warned about carelessness in performance of duty. He was absent for 44 hours on May 14, 1910 and served 5 days confinement. He was absent again for 23 hours on May 18, 1910 and given a month's restrictions. It seems like something was going wrong for him.

Details given on his final desertion showed that  he left all clothing in good condition at his post and no reason could be found for his desertion.

There was no followup in the paperwork about what happened. The next record I found for Edward had him enlisting in the Army on January 19, 1912. This was only a few weeks after his desertion and was in Vancouver Barracks, Washington. So, Edward hadn't traveled too far. The records for his second stint in the Army didn't mention his Marines service, so I wonder if they were even aware of it. He was honorably discharged in 1915.

Edward followed up his Army service by enlisting in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in 1917. He served in WWI in England and France until he was wounded on April 9, 1918 in Arras, France. His right leg was amputated below the knee and he was sent back to Canada to recover. He was eventually discharged as medically unfit for duty in 1919.

Edward died alone and seemed to be estranged from his family. I still have a gap to investigate from his discharge in 1919 to his death in 1937.  Whatever happened with the Marines, he sacrificed a lot to fight with the Allied Forces in WWI and served honorably for several years in the US Army. It seems that he redeemed himself after his desertion and can certainly be considered a WWI hero.

Sunday's Obituary - Daniel Matson

 

DANIEL MATSON DIES ON SUNDAY

CIVIL WAR VETERAN, AGED 86,

FOUGHT VALIANTLY—IS

LAST OF FAMILY

   Daniel Matson, 86, died at his home on North Lincoln street, Sunday, at 6 P.M.,
from a two months illness of weakness of the heart. He was confined to his bed during his entire illness.
   Daniel Matson was a member of Co. F,  6Oth O. V. I., in the Civil War. The deceased entered the war with his three brothers, Harrison, John, and Jeff, he being the only one to return. Harrison and John both were killed in action, and Jeff was held prisoner at Andersonville by the Rebels and suffered all its savagery, starving to death while in prison.
   At the close of the war, he settled on a farm on Port William pike and became a prosperous farmer. He was a good soldier, good citizen and a loyal and active member of the Morris McMillan Post, G.A.R. for the last 40 years, becoming a member August 4, 1888.
   He is the last surviving member of a family of 13 children.
   Surviving are the widow, formerly Teresa Ludden, and one daughter, Mrs. Ed. Hackney, of near Wilmington. One daughter, Mrs. William Dabe, died several years ago.
   Funeral services will be held in the Church of Christ, Wednesday at 2 P.M., in charge of Rev. A. H. Wilson and Rev. J. I. McWilliams.
   Burial in charge of B. D. E. Arthur, will be made in Sugar Grove cemetery.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had previously found a short obituary for Daniel in the Mansfield News, but this one from the newspaper in Clinton County, Ohio gives a lot more detail. From my previous post: Daniel Matson was the son of Asa Matson and Dolly Clevenger. He was born on Feb. 13, 1842 in Clinton County, Ohio and was the brother of my 2x grandmother Mary Matson Creeden. The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) mentioned in the obituary was a fraternal organization of Civil War veterans who had served in the Union Army.

I noticed one large error in the obituary and that was the statement that John Matson was killed in action. John was wounded, but survived and relocated to Mercer County, Ohio near his sister Mary Matson Creeden. He is buried next to Mary's son James and was given a Civil War gravestone. The Jeff Matson mentioned in the obituary was probably Thomas Jefferson Matson and the Harrison Matson may have also been known as Jares Matson.

There is an interesting debate about whether or not the Sugar Grove Cemetery can or should sell its Civil War cannons that are part of its veteran's monument. From the Wilmington News Journal article on the cannons, the dedication included a march through the streets of Wilmington to the cemetery, with Dan Matson, an 85-year-old Civil War veteran, as standard bearer.

Military Monday - Documents of the American Revolution

The American Archives site hosted by Northern Illinois University provides free access to documents of the American Revolution covering the years 1774-1776. The site can by searched for documents or keywords and there is a detailed page on how to search.

I came across the site while doing a search for my Godwin surname and found a document listing the Minute Company that marched from Queen Anne's County, Maryland in 1776.

  

Included in the list were three men with my Queen Anne's County surnames: John Godwin, Thomas Meredith, and James Gould Sparks. One of the Corporals was Thomas Meredith Bryon, so there could be a connection there too. Very interesting to see that some of my families may have participated in the American Revolution. Now if I could just make that link back!

Military Monday - Memorial Day

Arlington National Cemetery

Memorial Day is a day to remember the men and women who gave their lives while serving in the US Armed Forces. My great-uncle Julius Councill was killed in action on August 12, 1918 in a battle in Fismette, France during WWI. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Top photo is from Wikipedia. Thanks to Laura for posting the photo of Julius' grave on FindAGrave.

Thrifty Thursday - Free Military Records for Memorial Day Weekend

Several sites are offering free access to their military records over the Memorial Day weekend.

From FindMyPast: With more than 34 million U.S. and International military records available at findmypast.com , we are offering free access to our military records and collection of veteran's gravesites to explore and learn about the heroic efforts in your family tree this Memorial Day weekend. Anyone can access the records by registering for free at findmypast.com.


From World Vital Records: In honor of Memorial Day we are providing free access to all our military records from now until May 28th. See what you can find today.

To commemorate the NARA-Ancestry.com agreement on the eve of Memorial Day, Ancestry.com is making its entire U.S. Military Collection -- the largest online collection of American military records -- available for free to the public. From May 20 through May 31, people can log on to http://www.ancestry.com/military to view more than 100 million names and 700 titles and databases of military records, the majority of which come from NARA, from all 50 U.S. states.

From MyHeritage: Memorial Day in the US  is May 27, and millions of Americans will remember the men and women who died while serving in the US Armed Forces. In honor of this special day, we are proud to provide free access - through May 28 -  to our most popular collections of US military records.

From Fold3: Today marks the 150th anniversary of the USCT, and the National Archives is pleased to announce the completion of the USCT Service Records Digitization Project. In partnership with Fold3, the project provides online access to all service records—more than 3.8 million images—of Union volunteers in USCT units. From May 22 to 31, the digital collection will be free on www.Fold3.com.

Do you know of any other sites offering free access?

Military Monday - James Willis in WWII

My great-uncle James H. Willis enlisted in the US Army from Philadelphia, PA on May 3, 1943. He was a Private and served until September 29, 1944. His enlistment record showed that he had a grammar school education and that his civil occupation was an unskilled worker in the automobile manufacturing industry. His obituary stated that he served in the African-Italian Campaign.

After his service in the Army, James worked as a contract auditor for the Sun Oil Company and he retired from there after 40 years of service.

Sources:

• National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946 [Archival Database]; World War II Army Enlistment Records; Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 64; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.
• Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Delaware County Daily Times Obituary, Apr/30/2010

Military Monday - Ireland Defence Forces Monument

My sister and I were sight-seeing around the Merrion Square area of Dublin when we came upon this interesting looking monument in Merrion Park.

The plaque reads as follows:

National Memorial to members of the Defence Forces 

who died in the service of the State 

"An Dun Cuimhneachain" 

The National Memorial to members of the Defence Forces is a place of contemplation and remembrance, providing a focal point where families, relatives and members of the public can reflect on the contribution and sacrifice made by members of the Defence Forces who died in the service of the State. 

The pyramid shape of the memorial, designed by Brian King, captures historic references to burial and is a standing testament to the dead. It also reflects the shape of a military tent. Within the pyramid, four bronze figures, representing all elements of the Defence Forces, stand guard over the eternal flame that emanates from the Badge of the Defence Forces. The flame burns in perpetual memory of those members of the Defence Forces that have made the ultimate sacrifice.

The four bronze figures inside the pyramid represent the Army, Navy, Air Corps and Reserve forces. Due to the reflective glass on the outside, my pictures of the figures inside mainly show my reflection, but I managed to get a picture of the eternal flame. It's a unique monument and worth a look if you're visiting Merrion Park.

Pennsylvania State Archives - Military Monday

If your family tree includes anyone that served in the military from Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Digital Archives are worth a look. They have index cards available online for soldiers that served in the Revolutionary War through the PA National Guard in 1921.

I knew my great-uncle Julius King Councill had enlisted in WWI from Pennsylvania, but there was additional information on these cards. I found a card for his service in the Mexican Border Campaign in 1916 and a record of his enlistment in the PA National Guard.

The card above shows that Julius was in Company B of the 6th Infantry and had the rank of Private. It lists his occupation as Inspector and gives a physical description and age. Julius was born in September 1899, so he would have only been 16 at the time of his enlistment even though he claims to be 21.

The second card repeats much of the same information, but also lists when he mustered in for WWI on July 15, 1917. Julius was killed in action in Fismette, France in 1918 at the age of 18 and is buried in Arlington Cemetery.

Tombstone Tuesday - Civil War Vet John Matson

JNO. MATSON
CO. C
79TH OHIO INF.

John Matson was born around 1841 in Clinton County, Ohio and died on March 5, 1896 in Mercer County, Ohio. I posted earlier on his Civil War service and how the gravestone was provided by the US government. John was the brother of my great-great-grandmother Mary Ann Matson Creeden and is buried in the Old Buck cemetery in Hopewell Township, Mercer County, Ohio. He is buried next to Mary's son James Creeden. The photo was posted on FindAGrave and is reposted here with permission.

Military Monday - Civil War Veteran John Matson

John Franklin Matson was the brother of my great-great-grandmother Mary Ann Matson and was one of four brothers to go into the Civil War. He was born around 1841 in Clinton County, Ohio. He enlisted in Company G of the 79th Regiment of Ohio Volunteers in 1862 and was wounded in 1864. I have seen several family trees that gave his date of death as 1864, but he survived the war and I was able to find him in several records after that. I was curious about John since he seemed to be close to my Creeden family.

John married Angeline Mason in 1864 in Clinton County, Ohio. In 1870, John, Angeline, and several children were living in Clinton County, Ohio next to John's brother-in-law Timothy Creeden and his sister Mary. By 1880, Angeline and John were divorced. It appears that John moved to Hopewell Township in Mercer County, Ohio along with Timothy Creeden and his family. I found a possible census record for him in Mercer County in 1880 where he was listed as a boarder at a residence in the Hopewell Township. In 1882, John married Lavina Bender in Mercer County, Ohio.

This Civil War pension index shows that John filed for his pension in 1879 and his widow Lavina filed in 1896.

In 1890, John was still living in Mercer County, Ohio and was listed in the Special Schedule for Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the 1890 Census. Under Disability Incurred, it says "wounded hand".

The most interesting record I found was in a listing of headstones provided for Civil War Veterans. In 1879, the US Congress passed an act stating that the government would erect gravestones for Union soldiers buried in private cemeteries and John was one of the recipients of this. John is buried next to Timothy's son James Creeden in row 19 of the Old Buck Cemetery in the Hopewell Township of Mercer County, Ohio. According to a transcription for his grave, it simply states Jno Matson Co C 79 Ohio Inf. Other records indicated that he was in Company G, so I am not sure if that was a typo or perhaps the grave is hard to read. The record gave his date of death as March 5, 1896.

Military Monday - The 28th Division: Pennsylvania's Guard in WWI

I posted earlier about searching for records for my great-uncle Julius Councill. Julius lost his life in WWI and I was able to find some information about him through NARA and his Burial Case Files. I still hadn't been able to find a picture of Julius, but received an email pointing me to The 28th Division: Pennsylvania's Guard in World War 1, available at archives.org. The book contains unit histories and rosters for the 28th Division, including names and pictures. Thanks to the email from Kathy S., I was finally able to find a picture of Julius!

Corporal Julius King Councill

Page listing Julius Councill, 111th Infantry, Company B

Pictures of some of the Company B soldiers

Edward Creeden - Sunday's Obituary

Edward Creeden was born on April 10, 1884 in Celina, OH and was the brother of my great-grandfather Charles Creeden. He had a colorful military career and served in the US Army, Marines, and the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. He was an expert sharpshooter in the Army and Marines. He was wounded in France in WWI and was discharged from the military in 1919. I found a possible census entry for Edward in Wichita, KS in 1920, but his life after that is a mystery. The following articles were published in the Kentucky Post on February 16 and 17, 1937. Edward died on February 14, 1937 in Newport, KY. His death certificate said he was 54 which would have been his correct age. He is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Newport, KY.

PROBE OF VETERAN'S DEATH IS PUSHED

  Charles Creeden, Athens, O. will arrive in Newport today and attempt to identify as a relative Edward Creeden, 60 year old World War veteran found dead yesterday in his room at the Newport Hotel, 17 W. Sixth street.
  Coroner August M. Helmbold said he will continue his investigation. Death was due to apoplexy, he said.
  Attaches of the Muehlenkamp, Costigan & Roll funeral home, where the body of Creeden was taken, said today they had received a long-distance telephone call from Athens last night. Creeden was not known locally, officials said. He was identified tentatively by papers in his possession.
 

WAR VET IDENTIFIED
  Charles Creeden, postmaster at Celina, O., today identified the body of a man found Monday at the Newport Hotel as his brother, Edward Creeden, 60, a Canadian war veteran.
  Mr. Creeden had not seen his brother for 35 years, he said.

Mystery Monday - Probe of Veteran's Death

In my last post on Edward Creeden, I had just received his service records from the Canadian Expeditionary Forces, where he served and was wounded in WWI.

One of the records had  "Deceased - 14 - 2 - 1937" written in red across it, but there was no other information about any records kept on Edward after his discharge in 1919. It didn't appear that he received a pension from the CEF, so it was a mystery to me as to how the CEF was informed of his death.

Proceedings of Discharge

Edward Creedon Death Certificate

This death certificate for an Edward Creedon in Newport, KY doesn't give much identifying information, but the age is correct and the date of death matches the CEF form.

I wasn't 100% sure that this was my Edward until I discovered an index to two articles published in the Kentucky Post shortly after his death:

1. Probe of veteran's death is pushed Subjects:  Veterans (World War, 1914-1918) - Creeden, Edward Creeden, Edward coroners - Campbell County - Helmbold, August M. (Dr.) Newspaper:  Kentucky Post Date:  16 Feb 1937 2. War vet identified Subjects:  Creeden, Edward Veterans (World War, 1914-1918) - Creeden, Edward Newspaper:  Kentucky Post Date:  17 Feb 1937

I found these in an online index of the Northern Kentucky Newspaper Index, made available through the Kenton County Public Library.

So, the plot thickens. What happened to Edward? I have requested copies of the articles from the library and I'm impatiently waiting for the "up to 30 days" to hear a response!

Editing to add that I received the articles in the mail today!  From the articles, Edward was not known locally and was tentatively identified from papers he had on him. The article mentioned that he was a Canadian War Veteran. I'm guessing he had some identification from the CEF and this led them to contact his brother Charles Creeden since he was listed as next of kin on Edward's CEF papers. That would also explain how the CEF got news of his death. The articles stated that Charles Creeden was Postmaster of Celina, OH, so this was definitely my Edward. According to one of the articles, Charles came to Kentucky to identify Edward and said that he hadn't seen him in 35 years. It was confirmed that Edward died of natural causes. There are still some mysteries surrounding Edward, but at least this one is solved!

Military Monday - Edward Creeden in Army, Marines, Canadian Expeditionary Forces, Part IV

When I started researching my great-grandfather's brother Edward Creeden, I found possible records for him in the Army, Marines, and Canadian Expeditionary Forces, but doubted that they were all the same Edward. In my last post on Edward, I detailed the records I received from NARA which showed that it was my Edward in the Army and Marines records. The birth date, next of kin, and physical description in the Canadian records matched, so I decided to go ahead and order them.

The Edward in the Canadian records is definitely my Edward! In addition to his brother Charles, he listed next of kin as his sister Julia Creeden in Pueblo, CO and his brother Joshua in Celina, OH. When he enlisted he gave his birthplace as Erie, Ontario, but on one of the forms in his Canadian service records, he gave Celina, OH as his birthplace. The package I received had 77 pages and a good amount of new information:

• His dates of service were from August 31, 1917 - February  5, 1919.
• He was sent to Liverpool and then France during WWI.
• He was discharged as being medically unfit after being wounded by a shell fragment in Arras, France.
• His right leg was amputated below the knee and he spent two months in a hospital in England and several months in the Granville Canadian Special Hospital.
• He was fitted with an artificial leg.
• There were many pages on his medical records, discharge, and pay statements.
• His address after his discharge was listed as General Delivery, St. Louis, MO.
• The unit he served in was listed as the Manitoba Regt. 44th Bu 18th Res. but there was also a record of his transfer to #1 British American Ov on 9/22/1917. I haven't decoded all of the abbreviations yet!
• The most curious piece of information was handwritten in red across his Proceedings of Discharge paper. It said "Deceased - 14 - 2 - 1937". There was no paperwork showing that he received any kind of payments or benefits after his discharge in 1919, so how was the CEF informed of his death and why was it written on a form from 1919?

Proceedings of Discharge

Edward Creedon Death Certificate

I searched for a match on the date of death and found a death certificate in Newport, Campbell County, KY. The death certificate doesn't give much identifying information, but the age is correct and the date of death matches the CEF form. The death certificate lists the cemetery as Evergreen Cemetery in Newport and I found a listing for him in the cemetery here:

Creedon, Edward city of Newport, section 68, grave 496, Date of Death 2-14-1937, age 54, Undertaker: M C & Roll, Place of Death: Newport Hotel. Ironically, the cemetery has a section for veterans, but Edward is not buried in that section.

So, Edward's life ended on another mystery. What was he doing in Kentucky? I haven't been able to find him in the 1930 census so far. He certainly traveled around the world, so he could have been anywhere then! From Ohio, he went to Pueblo, CO with his sister Julia and then on to Salt Lake City, UT where he enlisted in the US Army. He was in the Philippines for four years and discharged in Porter, NY. Other locations listed were Monterey, CA, San Francisco, and Puget Sound, WA, St. Louis, MO, and Kansas. He went to Minnesota and Canada and then served overseas in England and France in WWI. There are still a few mysteries surrounding Edward, but I knew next to nothing about him before obtaining his military records from NARA and the Library and Archives Canada site. It's been very interesting to see how much information is available in the military records.