Grandpa John Kilgariff in WWI

 

John Francis Kilgariff

14 August 1890 – 25 July 1955

My maternal grandfather enlisted and served in WW1 with the Royal Irish Rifles and Royal Irish Fusiliers as part of the UK military, 7 August 1914 to 1 August 1919. He was an Irish citizen at the time, living in Belfast with his parents and siblings.

John Francis Kilgariff, Royal Irish Fusiliers (the emblem on his cap).

The chevrons on his right sleeve indicate this photo was probably taken in Egypt towards the end of his service since one chevron = one year of service overseas.

Photo from the private collection of granddaughter Carol McLaughlin Neilson

He served in the War in the Balkans, including service in Gallipoli, and later in Palestine.

                    http://digitalcollections.trentu.ca/exhibits/fowlds/fnum1cdnhosp.htm                           https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/egypt-and-palestine-campaign

My grandfather’s military papers say he volunteered early in the war, with the Irish Rifles. According to my cousin Chris King, they would have been part of the 6th (Service) Battalion which was formed in Dublin in August 1914, and went through these evolutions and battles:

-Unit attached to 29^th Brigade in the 10^th (Irish) Division

-February 1914: moved to the Curragh (a flat, open plain in County Kildare used by the military as a training camp)

-May 1915: moved to Hackwood Park (Basingstoke) in Hampshire, UK, to continue military training

-7 July 1915: embarked at Liverpool and sailed to Gallipoli via Mudros. Mudros was on the island of Lemnos in the Aegean Sea (see above).

-29 September 1915: moved to Salonika, arriving 4-5 October.

[-31 October 1916: My grandfather was wounded; recuperated through at least December 1916; perhaps longer.]

-September 1917: moved to Egypt for service in Palestine

-15 May 1918: unit disbanded at Deir-el-Nidham, Palestine

-1 August 1919: Demobilized, transferred to Reserve 

Info from:  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_(Irish)_Division#:~:text=It%20included%20battalions%20from%20the,travelled%20of%20the%20Irish%20formations

According to his Casualty Card extract [Fig 1] he was wounded 31 October 1916. No full casualty record is available due to WWII bombings of London. But the casualty card extract does tell the places he went when wounded. I put the events in chronological order and added additional information here to make it more understandable.

31 Oct 1916 - Wounded 31 October Reported by ob Battalion

2 Nov 1916 - Sto abdomen admitted 1^st Canadian Stationary Hospital [on Lemnos, Greece]

(I don’t know why the 2 Nov incident appears before the 31 Oct incident on the card?)

6 Nov 1916 - Transferred to Hospital Ship Braemar Castle 6 November 1916 [Fig 2]                                                        a week later the ship struck a mine in the Aegean Sea  

11 Nov 1916 - Sto R Thigh Admitted Admiral Baviere Military Hospital, Malta [Fig 3]

18 Dec 1916 - G Sto R Thigh transferred to Convalescent Camp Ghain Tuffieha, Malta [Fig 4]

Fig 1 - John Kilgariff's Casualty Card. From Ancestry.com

This First Aid wagon is the type of vehicle my grandfather would have been placed in to be transported               from the battlefield to the field hospital, then to the ship that took him to Malta.

This photo of my grandfather (x) and his fellow soldiers would have been taken 

when he was convalescing on Malta. 

Photo in the private collection of Carol McLaughlin Neilson, granddaughter. 

Fig 2 – the Braemar Castle as a hospital ship - https://bandcstaffregister.com/page197.html - accessed 16Mar2023

This is the ship that transported my wounded grandfather to the island of Malta, to recuperate. A week later this ship struck a mine and exploded.

Fig 3 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auberge_de_Bavi%C3%A8re accessed 16Mar2023

The hospital where he recuperated, on the east side of Malta (blue pinpoint).

                                 FIG 5­­­4- http://www.maltaramc.com/imgmaps/mltahosp1915.jpg accessed 17Mar2023

Convalescent Camp Ghain Tuffieha on Malta, location circled in yellow, where he went to convalesce.

In 1917 his unit moved to Palestine for service in that region. At one point during his time in Palestine, he participated in celebrating the Feast Assumption of Our Lady on 15 August 1918. He saved a pamphlet of it, below.

     ~~~   ~~~   ~~~   ~~~   ~~~   ~~~   ~~~   ~~~

Release from the military 1 August 1919. Certificate from ancestry.com

As a result of his service in the military he was awarded three medals, shown on the next page.

 British War Medal -for all who served overseas

Front: shows the King George V, bareheaded coinage effigy, facing left, with the legend: 

GEORGIVS V BRITT : OMN : REX ET IND : IMP :

Reverse: there is a horseman, St. George, armed with a short sword (an allegory of the physical and mental strength which achieves victory over Prussianism). The horse tramples on the Prussian shield and the skull and cross-bones. Off-center, near the right upper rim, is the sun of Victory. The dates 1914 and 1918 appear in the left and right fields respectively. 

        

    

        British Victory Medal                                                                             British 1915 Star                                                                                                                              For all who served in a theater of war                                                                                                                            before 1914

For further information on the Irish in WW1 in the Balkans: 

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-irishman-s-diary-on-the-10th-irish-division-and-salonika-1.2457673

For further information on the 6^th (Service) Battalion:

https://www.nickmetcalfe.co.uk/the-evolution-of-the-regular-and-service-battalions-of-princess-victorias-royal-irish-fusiliers-1914-1918-part-4-the-5th-6th-5th6th-11th-service-battalions/ 

For further information on the 10th (Irish) Division in WWI: 

https://archive.org/details/tenthirishdivisi00cooprich

for further information on experiences of British soldiers in Egypt and Palestine:
http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/68411/1/23.pdf.pdf

Great Great Aunt Mary McGuinn

The life of my great great Aunt Mary McGuinn seems a bit tragic. Not everyone who came to America did well. But who can say how they would have fared back home?

Mary is the sister of my dad's mother's mother. Her parents were John McGuinn and Mary Kelly of County Mayo, Ireland. She was their third child, and the second girl. She is the sister of another entry I did on my great great Uncle Thomas McGuinn. She was born in June 1866. She was baptized on 24 June 1866 in the Catholic Diocese of Curina. Here's a snip from the baptismal registry of the local Catholic church.

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61039/images/04223_05_0087?pId=607264 

Her sponsors, James & Bridget Kelly were most likely relatives on her mother's side.

She doesn't appear in any of the Irish censuses because she left Ireland before 1901, so other than being a farm child, I don't know anything of her life. 

She emigrated to the USA in 1892. She left from Queenstown, Ireland on the Germanic and arrived in NYC on 29 April 1892. The ship manifest says she was 18 at the time, but by her baptismal date she would've been 26. Her occupation was servant, on the manifest. Not knowing her story, I don't know if she came to stay with relations? Friends? Did she have the promise of a job somewhere? Here's the clip of her name on the ship's log. 

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7488/images/NYM237_586-0697?pId=4002144954 

Next in Mary's life, I found her marriage record; 2 February 1898. She married Frederick Miller, of Glen Cove, NY. He was a painter (house? art?). She was living at 128 Gates Avenue, Brooklyn. It says her age is 21 but she actually would've been about 32? His age says 21 as well, but he was born in 1873, so he actually would have been 25. I think the ages "21" on the marriage certificate signify that they were "of age," meaning legally allowed to wed. 

The church where she married might possibly have been St. John's Chapel on Greene St., in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn. Here is an image of it I found online:

https://www.bklynlibrary.org/digitalcollections/item/3d9f7846-3671-4d58-8d52-cf174e0b208f

This church no longer exists. It was on Vanderbilt between Greene and Lafayette in Brooklyn. The marriage certificate was signed by Rev. John A. Ferry and I found that name connected with a Catholic church out on Long Island the following year. So since she was most likely married in a Catholic church, I researched and found online that this was the closest church to both her address and the reverend's address at the time of her marriage. 

Here is her marriage certificate which I got from New York City. 

I can't find a 1900 US Census for Mary. I did find one for her husband with his family in Glen Cove, Nassau County. It does say he is married, and a painter. It's odd that they're not together.

In 1901 or 1902 their son Frederick K. Miller was born and 1902 or 1903 their son John Miller was born. I'm assuming both were born in Brooklyn, but there's a chance they were born in Glen Cove where they father was from. I can't find birth certificates for either of them. Of course, if they were born at home without a doctor's care there's a chance no birth certificate was filed.

The next time I find the family is in the 1905 NY State Census. Mary is living with her two sons and her brother Thomas McGuinn, who had immigrated from Ireland earlier in 1905, at 41 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. Her sons are are 3 and 2. She is doing housework. But her husband is not with the family. I can only assume she is relying on her brother for support?

Lucky for her she has him to rely on.

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7364/images/004296307_00216?pId=54672

I did find a man with the name Fred Miller, age 33, married, who is a painter, in the Kings County Penitentiary at Crown Street & Nostrand Avenue. It seems like it could be him. If he's in jail, that would explain why he's not with the family. The jail had two sections. One for felons, and a workhouse for those convicted of petty crimes and misdemeanors who worked in a shoe factory. This Fred Miller entered the jail on May 31, 1905. But I don't know which part of the jail he was in. 

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7364/images/004296336_00406?pId=1345304

An image of the penitentiary:

Image of the prison from: https://www.cardcow.com/512535/kings-county-penitentiary-entrance-brooklyn-new-york/

Information on the prison obtained from: https://www.brownstoner.com/history/past-and-present-the-brooklyn-penitentiary/ 

I find the name Frederick Miller in various logs in the NY prison system off and on from 1882 through 1915. Some are overlapping, so obviously there's more than one Fred Miller in the system at this time. I have no way of verifying that any is Mary's husband. 

I don't find any family member in the 1910 U.S. Census. 

In the 1915 NY State Census the family is in Manhattan at 441 W. 28th St., including her brother Thomas McGuinn. Son Fred is 14, John is 12, and she now has two other children, Thomas and Marion, twins, aged 9. All the children are attending school. Mary's occupation is dressmaker, so she is earning some income that way.

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2703/images/32848_B094061-00143?pId=4742758

In 1918 her husband's draft registration card says he is in Glen Cove and the nearest relative name he gives is his mother, not his wife. So he is still not with the family.

In the 1920 census the family (minus husband/father Frederick) is living at 456 W. 18th Street, Manhattan. Mary says she works for a wage in the perfume business but I don't know if she's in a factory or sales. Son Fred, now 18, is a horse and wagon driver. Son John, 16, is a helper in a machine shop. The twins Tom & Marion are 14 and have attended school since September 1919. Her brother Thomas McGuinn is no longer with them. 

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4313912-00643?pId=87473047 

The next moment in Mary's timeline I have information on is the June 1925 NY State census. Mary is a 54 year old housewife. Son Fred, 23, is a chauffer. Son Tom, 19, is a candy-maker. Daughter Marion, 19, is doing 'fancy work.'  Son John is not with the family on this census. Since she is not out in the workforce, she depends on her children's income to run the household. Her grown children are supporting her.

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2704/images/32849_b094274-00212?pId=17410043

On 19 October 1925, Mary's niece Mary Ellen McDonagh (20), and nephew John Harrington (24), both arrived together in America from County Mayo, Ireland, to stay with the family. Mary Ellen was the daughter of her sister Bridget McGuinn McDonagh. John was the son of her sister Hanoria McGuinn Harrington. John had intended to stay with his older sister Mary Ann Harrington, who was a recent immigrant to America herself, having come a few years before, but apparently, the authorities did not allow that. I don't know which relative he really did stay with, but his sister's name was crossed out and Mary Miller's name was written on the entry manifest. And her address on the manifest was 640 10th Avenue, NYC. It would've been quite the full house with the two cousins staying with them.

In 1930 the family is recorded in the U.S. Census as living at 68 W. 102nd St., Manhattan. Mary is 58 and says she is a housewife and that she is a widow. The family had a radio; that was one of the questions on the 1930 census. Sons Fred and John were both chauffeurs. Daughter Marion was not working, but her twin Thomas was an elevator operator. Again Mary was relying on her children's income.

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4638843_01057?pId=42503906

In 1935 the family was living in Queens, NY, according to the answer to the question on the 1940 census asking where they were living in 1935.

In 1940 the US Census said the family was living at 3239 48th St., Queens, which is the Long Island City~Woodside area. Mary was now 64. Only her children Marion and Thomas were living with her. They were 34. Marion was a library book mender, working for the government. Neither Mary nor Thomas were working, so the whole family was relying on Marion's income. In 1939 Marion only worked 26 weeks, according to the census. Marion and Thomas's highest education was 8th grade. Marion was listed as single, but that is crossed out and the number 7 is penciled in the same box. I don't know what that means. She also now had the last name Sweeney, plus a daughter, Eileen, aged 5. 

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/m-t0627-02721-00989?pId=9555557

In early 1944, and perhaps in 1943(?), Mary was hospitalized in the Goldwater Hospital on Welfare Island. The name Welfare Island paints a bleak picture but Goldwater Hospital was actually a modern hospital for its time with forward-looking ideas. Here are some descriptions of the hospital from the website "New York Almanack, Remembering Goldwater Hospital in NYC" 

(https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2014/12/remembering-goldwater-hospital-in-nyc/)

 

"The Goldwater Hospital was a monument to the golden years of public health in New York City, designed in distinctive chevrons to offer light and air to all its patients. The rooms had terraces to allow patients direct access to fresh air, and each ward featured a solarium. The hospital had 2,700 windows."  

From the website, "Urban Omnibus" 

(https://urbanomnibus.net/2014/04/autopsy-of-a-hospital-a-photographic-record-of-coler-goldwater-on-roosevelt-island/)

"Before penicillin, sunlight was part of the cure as much as any medication, so an almost obsessive attention was paid by Rosenfield to the path of light through his buildings. The buildings were placed so that they wouldn’t cast shadows on one another. The chevron shape yielded more hours of exposure and views of the river. Wards were designed to encourage the use of the outdoor space with every bedroom opening onto a wide balcony or terrace. Even the roofs of the main gallery were meant to be used as circulation and terraces by the patients during the sunny months. In fact, almost every single space in the facility receives natural daylight. Corridors set deep in the building are lined by glass partitions or doors with transoms. The dumbwaiter lobby in the laboratory building gets its light from a window set high above the sink of a bathroom that has its own six-foot-high window to the outside." 

It was at this hospital that Mary died on 16 February 1944. She had been living at 3228 48th St., Astoria, Queens. Her death certificate is number 4244. According to her death certificate she is buried at St. John's Cemetery, in Queens, NY.

I created a Find a Grave memorial for her on that website. 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/235976487/mary-miller

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What happened to Mary's family in America?

I wasn't able to find much. I am pretty sure son John married, and possibly Frederick, too, but I can't determine which records with their names are them, as there are a few Frederick and John Millers in NYC at this time. All I found on son Thomas was a cancelled WWII draft registration card showing he was unemployed, then his name in a death index for February 1974. Daughter Marion passed away in November 1978. The obituary I found for her said her husband was Arthur, and her daughter's name was Ellen, not Eileen. 

NYC addresses associated with Mary:

1898 - 128 Gates Avenue, Brooklyn

1905 - 41 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn

1915 - 441 W. 28th Street, Manhattan

1920 - 456 W. 18th Street, Manhattan

1925 - 640 10th Avenue, Manhattan

1930 - 68 W. 102nd Street, Manhattan

1940 - 3239 48th Street, Astoria, Queens

1944 - 3228 48th Street, Astoria, Queens

FAVORITE PHOTO

 

 The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge by Amy Johnson Crowe for January 18 is

"Favorite Photo"

This is my favorite. Isn't it neat? Don't you love the clothing? On the right a bit of the Gibson Girl look with the large hat; a leg o' mutton sleeve on the left, and in the center the gentleman's straw boater? The photo is from 1910. It was taken in Brooklyn, at Coney Island. 

On the right is my mother's mother. Her name at the time was Margaret Charles McCann, but her nickname was Pearl. She was 24 in this photo. It's her handwriting on the right side of the photo.

The woman on the left is her Aunt Mary "Minnie" Sherlock McCann, who was her mom's sister. She was about 34 years old.

In the center is Minnie's husband, Michael James "Jim" McCann, who I believe, was Pearl's dad's nephew. If he wasn't a nephew, he was related to her dad. He would've been 41 here.

Minnie and Jim were on an extended visit from Belfast, Ireland. Pearl's parents had emigrated from there a few years before Pearl was born.

Here's the back of the post card. The card was addressed to Minnie's mother:

The description printed on the card says it's from Somach's Studios, Loop the Loop, Surf Avenue, Balmer's Walk, Coney Island, N.Y.  I have a feeling they weren't really at the Loop the Loop ride at Coney Island, maybe just at a photo studio with a backdrop or mock up of a car from the Loop the Loop? The Loop the Loop itself was taken down in 1910 so it may already have been gone when this photo was taken? 

The address on the postcard is the one my grandmother's grandfather's (Minnie's dad) was living at when he passed away in 1941. How my grandmother got the postcard, I don't know. I do know she visited her grandfather with her parents and my mom in 1935. Perhaps he gave it to her then?

Here is a photo of Surf Avenue with the Loop the Loop.  

Link to the site online where the photo is from:  

https://d1lfxha3ugu3d4.cloudfront.net/images/opencollection/objects/size4/1996.164.8-B10221_glass_SL1.jpg

Here is a closer photo and of the ride. 

Link: https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/blog/today-history-national-roller-coaster-day

Great Great Uncle Tom McGuinn

When my paternal grandmother, Brigid ("Bea") Harrington emigrated from County Mayo, Ireland, to New York City in 1922, she was supposed to stay with her older sister, Mary Anne. But Mary Anne's name was crossed out on the ship's document in NYC, and her maternal uncle's name was written in. I don't know what happened, but I wonder was it because it was unsuitable (in those times) for a newly arrived single woman to stay with another single woman? The uncle she went to stay with was her maternal Uncle Thomas (Tom) McGuinn, in New York City. His address was 450 W. 18th Street, Manhattan, NY.

My Aunt Bea, Grandma Bea's daughter, told me that Grandma said Uncle Tom didn't like city life; he wanted to go back to farming. Grandma's daughter also told me that my Grandma always wondered what happened to Uncle Tom. She knew he'd bought a farm in Pennsylvania, but nothing else. Even though neither Grandma nor her daughter are around for me to tell them what happened to Uncle Tom, I wanted to find out. 

In collaboration with a cousin in the UK, Chris King, we found out lots online about Uncle Tom: his birth, censuses in the UK, his emigration to the US, living with his sister in NYC, his purchase of land in Pennsylvania, and his death there. Since Uncle Tom never married, I wondered who the land had gone to. In September 2021 my sister, Joan McLaughlin and I took a cross country trip from Virginia to California. One of the stops we made was to the county where he lived in Pennsylvania, Crawford County, to find out more.

But first, some facts and images about Uncle Tom. He was born some time in November 1873, and baptized on 30 November 1873. The family's last name was spelled various ways, and one way it was spelled is as you see it here: McGuin. He was most likely baptized in St. James Catholic Church in Lowpark Court, an area outside Charlestown, County Mayo. The family lived in Glann, in the Catholic parish of Curina. His parents were John McGuinn and Mary Kelly. His sponsor Bridget Kelly was most likely a relative:

From Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915, via Ancestry.com

In 1901 this might be him was working on a farm in Flintshire, Hawarden, Wales. He's renting a portion of Thotton Hall Farm; a sharecropper in American English:

From 1901 Wales Census via Ancestry.com

In 1905 he emigrated to New York City. He arrived on Feb 9. His name was written as McQuinn; he was 28; he was going to stay with his sister Mary [McGuinn] Miller on Harrison Street in Brooklyn. His occupation is laborer:

From N.Y. Passenger Lists via Ancestry.com

He immigrated to the US in time to make the 1905 NY State Census on June 1, 1905. They are no longer on Harrison Street in Brooklyn, they're at 44 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn:

From the 1905 N.Y. State Census via Ancestry.com

In 1915 he was still living with his sister, Mary and her children. One is named Thomas! They're at 441 W. 28th Street in Manhattan. That's the Chelsea area of Manhattan. His occupation is laborer:

From 1915 N.Y. State Census via Ancestry.com

In 1918 he had to register for the draft for WWI. He was 45 years old. He was a checker for the Lehigh Valley RR at Pier 66 in Manhattan. He was of medium height, stout, with blue eyes and gray hair. He was still not a citizen, and hadn't even declared his intention to become one. He's living at 433 W. 24th St, Manhattan: 

WWI Draft Registration Card via Ancestry.com

Finally, in 1925, Uncle Tom declared his intention to become a citizen. He was 49, a delivery clerk, 5 feet 5 inches, 195 lbs, grey-brown hair, blue eyes, and living at 442 9th Avenue. I have not yet found his final citizenship papers.

New York, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1943 from Ancestry.com

Then, in 1928 he bought a farm in Athens Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. It was located on what is now Schauberger Road, between Centerville Rd., and Jones Rd:

Titusville Herald from Newspapers.com via Ancestry.com

Crawford County, PA, assessor's office record accessed September 2021

I have no idea what the area looked like when Uncle Tom bought it, but when we visited in September 2021, the area was very pretty. It was on a dirt road. The road was a hill. Here are some photos from our trip:

Photo by Carol Neilson

Just past the deck and fenceline would've been his property.

                               Photo by Carol Neilson                                                                                        Photo by Joan McLaughlin

Just past the fenceline would've been his property.                On the left side would've been his property.

Of course it does not go all the way into the distance.

In the 1930 U.S. census he was 53 and still living at his farm:

U.S. Census of 1930 from Ancestry.com

NOW! Here's what we found out about his land and who it went to:  In 1931 Thomas deeded/sold his land to his nephew, Patrick McDonagh, for "$1 and more." However, the deed wasn't filed until 1936. I have not found evidence that Patrick ever lived at the farm. As part of the sale, Patrick had to let Uncle Tom live there until he died and bury him nearby. Patrick roomed at 451 First St., Brooklyn, NY. 

Crawford County PA assessor's office record accessed Sept 2021

In 1935 and 1940 Uncle Tom is still living on the farm in Athens Township. He indicates he is Naturalized, so he did become a citizen! I haven't found that information, yet. But according to his answer in column 25, he is unable to work by 1940. I have no idea how he was able to buy food to eat because in columns 32 & 33 where it's asked the amount of income made/received in 1939, Thomas answered zero.

U.S. Census of 1940 accessed from Ancestry.com

Then on 15 August 1951, Thomas passed away. According to his death certificate, he died at the Crawford County Home and had been there for two months and 14 days. I haven't been able to find out if this was an old folks home or a hospital? He died of general edema as a result of organic heart disease. 

PA archives record accessed via Ancestry.com

He was buried on 20 August 1951 in the McGee Town  (also Mageetown) Cemetery in Crawford County. Now the cemetery is Immaculate Conception Cemetery. It's located in Crawford County. It's about 6 miles from where his farm was.

Image from Google maps

Here's a photo of the cemetery taken in Sept. 2021. It was in a pretty setting surrounded by farms on two sides and woods on two sides. We found no headstone for Uncle Tom.  :(  

Photo by Carol Neilson

This was the closest Catholic church to his farm, so he most likely went to Mass here, and where his funeral mass would have been said. Immaculate Conception Church, Mageetown, founded 1822.  

Photo by Carol Neilson

Patrick McDonagh, the nephew to whom he had sold his farm, then sold the land in 1952. As I said earlier, I haven't found evidence that Patrick ever lived at the farm. However, I did find that his brother, John, stayed with Uncle Tom for a time. Both Patrick and John are sons of Thomas's sister, Bridget "Beezie," who was married to Thomas McDonagh. Both Patrick and John immigrated to NYC. Patrick in 1926 and John in 1928. John spend enough time with Uncle Tom such that the local newspapers in Uncle Tom's area reported on John's time in the U.S. Army during the war. For instance, this piece from the Titusville Herald, May 1942: 

Titusville Herald via Newspapers.com from Ancestry.com

My sister and I had a successful mission: we found out what happened to Uncle Tom's land. He seems to have lived a solitary existence in Pennsylvania, except for the time when his nephew lived with him. I'm glad he at least had that.

(Note: two records I have not been able to find him in, yet: the 1920 U.S. Census, and the 1925 N.Y. State Census. If and when I do find those records, I will add them here.)