HODGES-L Archives

Archiver > HODGES > 1998-07 > 0901715237


From: "Diana Flynn" <>
Subject: [HODGES-L] Ancestry
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 07:27:17 -0500


DATABASE OF THE DAY (Free for 10 Days!)

Men of Vermont

This collection of biographical sketches covers natives of
Vermont from the state's early history through the close of the
19th century. Rich in detail, this database includes information
on prominent Vermonters such as profession, children, and some
genealogies. To any researcher seeking information on ancestors
from Vermont, this can be an invaluable tool.

Bibliography: Ullery, Jacob G., comp. "Men of Vermont: An
Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters and Sons of
Vermont." Brattleboro, VT: Transcript Publishing Co., 1894.

To search this database, go to:
http://www.ancestry.com/ancestry/search/3337.htm

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Country Study of Iran

Originally produced by the Library of Congress, this country
study reveals information about the history, economy, politics,
and society of Iran. Designed as a resource for researchers, both
experienced and novice, into the history and politics of this
Middle Eastern nation, it was completed in 1987. Despite being
somewhat dated, this database contains significant material
useful to the researcher looking into Iranian ancestry. Although
not a database with searchable lists of names, it is nonetheless
an aid to the person trying to understand the broader culture in
which their ancestor lived.

Bibliography: Metz, Helen Chapin, ed. "Iran, A Country Study."
Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1987.

To search this database, go to:
http://www.ancestry.com/ancestry/search/3338.htm

===============================================================

TODAY'S NEW MAP (Free for 10 Days!)

Today's FREE map is:

Conquest of the South 1861-1865

To view this map, go to:
http://www.ancestry.com/whatsnew.htm

===============================================================

VERMONT LINKS & RESOURCES

Vermont General Services Center
Public Records Division
Route 2, Drawer 33
Middlesex, VT 05633-7601
Tel: 802-828-3288
802-828-2794 (Public Records)
802-828-3286 (Reference/Research Center)
Fax: 802-828-3710
http://www.cit.state.vt.us/gsd/pubrec.htm

Vermont State Archives
Location at Redstone:
26 Terrace Street
Montpelier, VT
Mail:
109 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05609-1101
Tel: 802-828-2308
E-mail:
http://www.sec.state.vt.us/archives/archdex.htm

Vermont Department of Libraries
Reference and Law Services
109 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05609
Tel: 802-828-3261
Fax: 802-828-2199
http://dol.state.vt.us/
http://www.uvm.edu/~histpres/vtiana/vtlib.html

Genealogical Society of Vermont
P.O. Box 1553
St. Albans, VT 05478-1006
E-mail:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/induni_n_J/

New England Historical and Genealogical Society (NEHGS)
101 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116-3007
Tel: 617-836-5740
888-AT-NEHGS (Membership & Education)
888-BY-NEHGS (Sales)
888-90-NEHGS (Library Circulation)
Fax: 617-536-7307
E-mail:
http://www.nehgs.org/

Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society Library
St. John's Club
9 Central Avenue
Burlington, VT
Mail:
P.O. Box 65128
Burlington, VT 05406-5128
E-mail:
http://members.aol.com/vtfcgs/genealogy/index.html

Vermont Historical Society
Pavilion Office Building
109 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05602
Tel: 802-828-2291
E-mail:
or
http://www.state.vt.us/vhs/

Bennington Museum/Genealogical Library
West Main Street
Bennington, VT 05201
Tel: 802-447-1571
Fax: 802-447-8305
http://www.bennington.com/museum/gene.html
http://www.uvm.edu/~histpres/vtiana/benningtonmuseum.html

Vermont in the Civil War
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/1861/vt-cw.htm

Vermont GenWeb Project
http://www.rootsweb.com/~vtgenweb/vtgenweb.htm

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WORLD WAR I - 28 July 1914
Eighty-four years ago today marked the beginning of World War I.

The following is an article reprinted from Ancestry Magazine,
January/February 1997, Vol. 15, No. 1.
The online version is available at:
http://www.ancestry.com/dailynews/wwi.htm

"SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE"
By Juliana S. Smith

"Gas masks were given to some of our troop today and we expect
ours tomorrow or the next day. It's France for us now." So wrote
Edwin Dyer from Camp Wadsworth in South Carolina on 11 December
1917. There's no way of knowing exactly what was going through
the eighteen-year-old's mind as he wrote that in a letter to his
sister almost eighty years ago, but reading the letter with the
knowledge of his fate gives those two lines a particular sadness.
Within a few years, Ed and millions of others like him would be
victims of the slow death wrought by gas warfare which began when
the Germans introduced it against the French and British at
Ypres, Belgium in 1915.

Letters such as this stir up a world of questions about what life
was like for those who fought so gallantly and often gave their
lives for their country in war. Many families include heroes like
Edwin Dyer, and stories about their time in service to their
country can really enrich a family history. Their letters to
family tell much about them personally. For instance, Edwin's
letters reveal a cheerful personality. He was always teasing and
forever begging for letters, photographs, and "eats"(especially
cake). The fact that he wrote almost weekly (sometimes more)
reflects a closeness with his family.

In one letter dated 7 August 1918, postmarked "Somewhere in
France," he writes, "I have received a few Eagles [referring to
the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper] since I sailed but I think the
subscription ran out. I don't think it will pay to renew it, but
you can send one of the old Eagles after you finish reading it at
home, and every once in a while you can wrap an envelope around a
Popular Mechanic or any old magazine, school paper, etc. and we
will enjoy reading them." From Edwin's comment we realize how
desperately the soldiers longed for anything from home to read
while in the trenches.

Although the soldiers wrote home often, they were not allowed to
reveal much about their situation. In one letter to his father,
Edwin tells him, "Well Pop, I think this is the longest letter I
have written since I was in Spartanburg, and I don't think the
censor will spoil it either." He also tells his sister,
"Hereafter, when you write you want to make the letters good &
long and don't forget to write often because you can write and
say all you want to while we can't." There were also long periods
in the trenches when it was hard to write letters, so the
soldiers were issued what Edwin calls "ready-made letters" or
"field postal cards" to send home.

In order to find out more about where the soldiers were and what
they were doing, we have to go to outside sources. It is
essential to know when and where in the armed services a soldier
served, and whether he or she was in the enlisted ranks or an
officer. This information can be found in any number of places.
Stories passed down can be helpful, but their accuracy is
sometimes questionable. These stories can sometimes be verified
by public sources such as local histories (check with the local
library or historical society). Cemeteries often provide vital
clues, as veterans will sometimes have information about military
service on their grave markers (military branch, rank, and/or
unit). Other sources might be scrapbooks, news clippings,
photographs (especially of the person in uniform), medals,
journals or diaries, and memorabilia.

Once the facts have been established, we can move on to military
records. U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State
Sources, by James C. Neagles, is an excellent reference tool to
find out what types of records are available and how to obtain
them. Also, the appendix contains a brief history of America's
military conflicts.

In the case of Edwin Dyer, we discovered from his letters that he
was in the 105th Machine Gun Battalion. We were able to obtain a
record of events for his battalion through the United States Army
Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania
17013-5008 (Upton Hall). The Military History Institute is home
to a plethora of historical military documents, which it makes
available to the public. There is a pamphlet available "A Guide
to the United Stated Army Military Institute," which details what
records are available. The Institute is also online at:
http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi

In response to our inquiry, we received copies from the Order of
Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War,
American Expeditionary Forces, Washington, DC: Government
Printing Office, 1931 pages 130-139.

The record of events give us a chronological timeline for the
105th Machine Gun Battalion, 1st Cavalry, 27th Division,
beginning with "Organization and Training" (15 July 1917 - 27
April 1918). This section detailed the organization of the 27th
Division, and which brigades formed the division. It also tells
us where they were trained and that "2500 recruits and selective
service men fill out the 27th Division." Edwin's letters begin in
August 1917, and are full of humor and the regular requests for
"eats." His roommate Lavin apparently has a voracious appetite
and is mentioned repeatedly. "Lavin is anxious when you are going
to send more eats. The pig!"

In another, more somber letter dated 29 October 1917, he tells
his sister that "...we are quarantined (can't leave the tent
street) as there are 3 men from 1st Cav & 2 from Squadron A who
have 'spinal minegitas' (I can't spell it). I think there might
be an epidemic & they make us gargle our throat & sniff salt
water before every meal & they put some medicine in the drinking
water. You needn't say anything to the rest about this for I am
only telling you because there is talk about holding up our
outgoing mail so then you wouldn't know what happened."

The next section detailed in the record of events is the
"Overseas Movement" (28 April 1918 - 12 July 1918), including the
dates the unit left Camp Wadsworth, sailed from Hoboken or
Newport News, and arrived in Brest or St. Nazaire, France. In
Edwin's letter of 17 May 1918, we get a sense of unease as he
tells his sister, "We leave for the boat at 2:30. Do not wait for
me to write but write often." But he still jokes, "I suppose on
my way over I will lose about 50 pounds (feeding the fishes) and
you know how I like the water."

The records then tell of "Training with the British in Picardy
and Flanders" (28 May 1918 - 24 July 1918). The division arrived
in the Rue-Buigny training area where it was affiliated with the
British 66th Division. On 16 June 1918 the division moved to
Abbeville, southwest of the Somme Canal, in the St.
Valery-Gamanches area. From there, on 2 July 1918, they moved to
the Arques area, and then, on 5 July 1918, to the vicinity of
Cassel and St. Omer. On 9 July 1918, the 27th and 30th Divisions
were assigned to the organization and defense of the East
Poperinghe Line, and elements of the division began front-line
training.

During this time, we have found only one letter from Edwin. This
could be because some letters were lost, but it is more likely
that they were moving around quite a bit and he didn't have time
to write very often. The letter he writes is to his sister and is
very brief. "Just a few lines to let you know I am still alive
and kicking. As usual I have very little to say. Mostly because I
can't. Everything is about the same as ever. Since my last letter
we have moved to a much larger and better place although our
sleeping quarters are not as nice." He goes on to ask for some
addresses and for more long letters, and then, "I think I must
say 'Adieu.' Don't forget to write soon. I remain, Your loving
brother, Edwin."

On 19 August 1918, the sector occupation merged into the
Ypres-Lys Operation. In a letter dated 21 August 1918, Edwin
demonstrates "esprit de corps" as he tells his father, "Well I
guess we got 'Jerry' on the run now and it won't be before long
and he will realize it. I came out of the trenches Sunday night
and during the short time I was in I tried to make it as
uncomfortable for him as I could. I sure will bring home some
sovernirs [sic] as I already have quite a collection."

Between 10 and 25 September 1918, the division participated in
the occupation of the Verdun Fromereville Sector (Lorraine),
where they supported the 33rd Division. We have no correspondence
from Edwin at this time, but in browsing through the Center of
Military History's Web site, I ran across a listing of Medal of
Honor recipients for World War I. I checked for honorees from the
27th Division and found seven men from Edwin's division that were
honored. All seven citations were issued for events that took
place on either 27 September 1918 or 29 September 1918, near
Ronssoy or Le Catelet. It's obvious that Edwin and his comrades
were involved in some serious fighting at that time, and this
probably accounts for the lack of correspondence.

>From 24 September 1918 to 21 October 1918, the division
participated in the Somme Offensive Operation. After a long dry
spell, we hear from Edwin again on 4 October 1918. Though he
tries to keep his tone upbeat, sadness seems to creep into this
letter, and it occurs to me that he must have seen and
experienced some horrible things at this point. "You ask me, how
do I like the French girls? Why I haven't seen one that could
even be compared with an American girl. Of course I haven't
forgotten Kathleen." He signs off the letter with "xxxx Soldier's
kisses (Barbed wire)."

On 23 October 1918, the division moved towards Amiens to the
Corbie training area. Then, from 28 October 1918 to 11 November
1918 (Armistice Day), the division participated in the
Meuse-Argonne
Operation. In a letter written 3 November 1918 (eight days before
the Armistice was signed), he writes that his friend Lavin is
presently in the hospital suffering from gas poisoning. He also
tells of another friend who is wounded.

After the treaty, Edwin's letters are filled with the
anticipation of going home. "I am beginning to go on a diet so
that when I reach home, I can eat 'beaucoup' of your cake, beans,
and spaghetti, so you better prepare now," he warns in a letter
of 18 December 1918 from Le Mans. He also tells his sister that
he expects to be on a boat for home by Christmas. He must have
been very disappointed, because he didn't leave for home until
the middle of February 1919.

Edwin Brough Dyer died 1 December 1926 of the residual effects of
gas poisoning from the war. His letters are a legacy of insight
into the life of a World War I soldier.
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Editor's Note: Edwin Brough Dyer was my great-uncle. After having
lost contact with his family many years ago, we found his
grandson through an online directory and he is now in possession
of his grandfather's letters. We now correspond regularly with
our newfound cousin.

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WWI LINKS AND RESOURCES

Ancestry.com's WWI Civilian Draft Registrations Database
http://www.ancestry.com/ancestry/search/3172a.htm

In 1917 and 1918, approximately 24 million men, (98% of men
present in America), born between 1873 and 1900 completed draft
registration cards. This civilian registration is often confused
with induction into the military; however, a minority of those
civilian men who registered were actually ever called up for
military service. During these two years, three registration days
were held in which the registrants completed a registration card
that generally included, among other information: birth date,
birth location, father's birth location, and the address of next
of kin.

It should be noted that aliens were required to register but were
not subject to induction into the American military. Persons
already in the military did not register. Recent Italian
emigrants wrote their last names first, resulting in some cards
being filed under first names. Cards of Hispanics may be filed
under their mother's maiden name surname if the registrant gave
both parents' surnames. Also, men who resided in British
territories sometimes listed themselves simply as British
citizens without noting their origin in Canada, Australia,
Ireland, Jamaica, etc. Illiterate men were unable to spell their
names and birth location, so researchers should be quite flexible
in searching for the spelling of names of illiterate men.

NOTE: This database represents approximately 8.5% of all counties
nationwide, with complete coverage of Alaska, Delaware, Idaho and
Nevada, and a good representation from California, Colorado,
Florida, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas and
Utah.

Bibliography: Banks, Ray. "World War I Civilian Draft
Registrations," Salt Lake City, UT, 1995-.

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>From "The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy," edited by
Loretto D. Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking

* 1917-1918: World War I
More than 4.6 million men and women served in the regular U.S.
Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. Of them, 53,403 were killed in
action, 77,815 died from disease and other causes, and
approximately 202,000 were wounded. New York, Pennsylvania,
Illinois, and Ohio furnished the most soldiers.

Veterans may obtain complete personnel and health records from
their own files, or their next of kin may do so if the veteran is
deceased or if they have written release-authorization from the
veteran. Records are closed to all other persons for a period of
seventy-five years after they were created.

To order military documents from World War I and later, complete
Standard Form 180, Request Pertaining to Military Records. This
form can be obtained from the National Personnel Records Center
(9700 Page Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63132), any of the National
Archives regional archives, and most veterans organizations or
military installations. State on the form that you are requesting
information under the Freedom of Information Act.

A 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center destroyed
many military personnel files from the twentieth century.
Approximately eighty percent of files of U.S. Army personnel
discharged between 1 November 1912 and 1 January 1960 were lost.
Approximately seventy-five percent of the records for U.S. Air
Force personnel with surnames from Hubbard through Z who were
discharged between 24 September 1947 and 1 January 1964 were
destroyed.

No indexes had been made for the blocks of records that were
destroyed; therefore, if a record is not among extant
collections, it is difficult to determine whether a person's file
was destroyed or whether any such record ever existed. Of
approximately 25 million records affected by the fire, about 5
million were recovered.

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National Personnel Records Center
Military Records Facility
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5100
http://www.nara.gov/regional/mpr.html
This page includes a link to "Download a copy of the Standard
Form 180, Request Pertaining to Military Records"

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The Center of Military History
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/
The Center of Military History has a great Web site, full of
information. Some of the highlights are:
- List of campaigns fought by the service (contains names of
major battles and the dates they took place).
- "Master List of Army Records" (gives a list of records
available and the location of these records).
- Medal of Honor Recipients (lists Medal of Honor recipients
dating from the Civil War to the present and including the
following information: Name, Rank, Organization, Place & Date of
circumstances that earned them the honor, where they entered the
service, date and/or place of birth, and a paragraph describing
how the recipient earned the citation).

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The U.S. Army Military History Institute
http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/
The U.S. Army Military History Institute has several searchable
catalogs:
- American Civil War Biographical Bibliographies
- American Civil War Units Histories
- Archives Database
- Normandy Photos Database
- Photo Collection Database
- Reference Bibliographies
- U.S. Army Unit Histories
There are also several e-mail addresses where researchers can
send inquiries:

Inquiries regarding: Photographs or artifacts:


Inquiries regarding: Archival collections:


Other historical inquiries:


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The Great War Society
P.O. Box 4585
Stanford, CA 94309
E-mail:
http://www.mcs.net/~mikei/tgws/

The Great European and World War
http://www.bright.net/~m4syth/iri/wwi.html

World War I Document Archive
http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/

The Great War: Hellfire Corner, by Tom Morgan
http://www.fylde.demon.co.uk/welcome.htm

Canadian Expeditionary Force - World War I database National
Archives of Canada
http://www.archives.ca/db/cef/index.html

Public Records Office World War I Information
http://www.pro.gov.uk/news/ww1.htm

Images of World War I
http://www.history.sfasu.edu/BaylorExhibit.html

The Great War - 1914-1918
http://www.infosites.net/general/the-great-war/index.htm

NARA's Military Service Records
http://www.nara.gov/publications/microfilm/military/service.html

American Battlefields in France: Chateau-Thierry and Belleau Wood
area
(Aisne-Marne defensive and offensive June 1918 / July 1918 )
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/war_1/

DearMYRTLE's "Army Military History Institute" article of 12 July
1998
http://www.ancestry.com/columns/myrtle/july98/my980712.htm

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