Twelve Men Survived the Horrors of the Great War

[ph0ebus]

Hi all,

As the topic indicates, I am researching the Great War veterans who were killed by the anarchist's bombing on Wall Street, NYC on September 16, 1920. Having read Beverly Gage's new book, 'The Day Wall Street Exploded', where she mentions six of the bomb's victims were Great War veterans, I did a little supplimental reading and found a New York Times article which claimed that twelve bomb victims were ex-servicemen. A little research later, and I was able to identify the following chaps:

Kennedy Jr., Bernard F. –Age 30 –He served 11 months as a private in the 77th Division during the Great War; during that time he was gassed and wounded by shrapnel in the knee. His last known address was 443 Tenth Street, Brooklyn, NY. At the time of his death he was employed as a clerk in the Brokerage Firm of Johnson & Wood, located at115 Broadway. Bernard was killed by a metal slug strike to the head. Born October 4, 1890.

Neville, Charles – Age 42 – Charles served throughout the Great War in the Quartermasters Corps, attaining the rank of Brigadier general. He was stationed on Governor’s Island at the time of his death.

Joyce, William A. – Age 29 – William was an Officer, United States Signal Corps, and he served in a ‘Western Division’ during the Great War. He entered the service on March 8, 1918. After the war he was employed as a clerk at J.P. Morgan & Co. William’s last known address was 1806 Ditmas Avenue, Brooklyn, NY. William was engaged to be married within two weeks of his death.

Lindroth, Charles A. – Age 25 – Charles was a Private, Machine Gun Company, 106th Infantry of the 27th Division. He was invalidated home after a gas attack in the Great War. His last known address was 546 East Fifth Street, Brooklyn, NY. Charles had just been married two months earlier to Adeline Dennick. At the time of his death he was employed by National City Bank

Portong, Ludolph F. – Age 29 – US Army – Ludolph was wounded twice while overseas during the Great War. At the time of his death, he was employed as a teller at National City Bank. Last known address was 25 McCauley Avenue, Jamaica, NY. His wife was Edna Portong, whose own health at the time of her husband’s death was described as ‘delicate’.

Hutchinson, William Fulton. –Age 43- Insurance Clerk for the Equitable Assurance Company. Member of the 7th Regiment, served during the Spanish-American War.

Thus, I have identified 5 Great War veterans killed in the bombing, and one Spanish-American War veteran. Anyone care to help me to either locate the other six men or disprove the Times' account? I hope to commemorate them on a web page which looks at the bombing with a focus on these veterans lost in this horrific attack.

Thanks,

-Daniel

[Ken S.]

Could you post a link to the NYT article or provide a reference?

[phil@basildon]

I can't remember the name but I am sure there was a senior British army officer assassinated during the 1920's by terrorists.

[AlanCurragh]

I can't remember the name but I am sure there was a senior British army officer assassinated during the 1920's by terrorists.

Phil - a little off topic, but I think you are talking about Field Marshall Henry Wilson, killed by the IRA in 1922

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Hughes_Wilson

Alan

[Kath]

Re. Bomb.

"HOLD FUNERAL RITES FOR 6 BOMB VICTIMS; Crowds on City Streets Pay Moment's Tribute as Corteges Pass. FOUR WERE WAR VETERANS More Than 1,000 Attend Services for William F. Hutchinson and Harold L. Gillies.

September 20, 1920, Monday

Page 3, 756 words"

AND:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html...96F9C946195D6CF

"FLYNN ENCOURAGED IN HIS BOMB HUNT; Convinced Disaster Was No Accident, He Says Government "Never Sleeps or Quits." CONFERS WITH HIS AGENTS Fire Marshal Brophy Denies Report of Misdelivery ofExplosives.

E-MAIL

September 23, 1920, Thursday

Page 1, 1908 words"

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/...96F9C946195D6CF

Kath.

[ph0ebus]

Hi Ken, all...

The Times article that indicates twelve ex-service men died can be viewed here:

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/...96F9C946195D6CF

The article which contains much of my initial info on the men is here:

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/...96F9C946195D6CF

-Daniel

[ph0ebus]

Hi all,

So, we now can add the following new info to my original post, per the article "Hold Funeral Rites for Six Bomb Victims":

Joyce, William A. – was a member of the 14th Service Company, Signal Corps

Hutchinson, William Fulton - Fought in the Great War as well as the Spanish-American War. Member of Captain John Drum Post 273, VFW. Buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Hempstead, Long Island, NY.

Lindroth, Charles - Buried in Flatbush Hills Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY

Portong, Ludolph F. – Ludolph was with the 102nd Ammunition Train, 27th Division. Member of Captain John Drum Post 273, VFW.

These two chaps are new to the list:

Elsworthy, Reginald - Age 23 - Served with B Company, 114th Infantry, 29th Division in the Great War, and fought overseas. Last known address was 64 Liberty Street, West Orange, New Jersey. Employed as a clerk at the time of his death.

Osprey, Thomas Montgomery - Age 24 - Served with the 27th Division overseas in the Great War, was wounded and was invalidated home. Lived at 136 Chestnut Street, Flatbush, New York. Employed as a clerk. Body was so badly mutilated that it took two days to identify his remains.

So, we're up to eight.

There were only a few other men who were killed in the bombing who may have been the other four ex-service men (the rest were either too young or too old for military service); I will begin trying to vet each out to see what information may be available:

1. Joseph Arambarry, 29

2. John A. Donohue, 38

3. Worth Bagley Ellsworth, 20

4. Harold I Gillis, 27

5. Elmer Kehrer, 21

6. Alfred G Mayer, 23

7. Colin Barr McClure, 24

8. Jerome H. McKean, 33

9. Franklin G. Miller, 21

10. Theodore Peck, 36

11. William Ernst Peterson, 29

12. Alfred G. Phillips, 28

13. Joseph Schmitt, 30

14. Lewis K. Smith, 34

15. Francis B. Stoba, 34

16. Irving Tannenwald, 38

17. John Weir, 27

A brief addendum:

Approximately 500 ex-service men who happened to be in the area at the time of the blast, including members of the Army and Navy who served in the A.E.F., spontaneously organized and kept the crowds of 40,000 onlookers at bay until Colonel William Weigel arrived with 100 men from Company M, 22nd Infantry, US Army. Once on the scene they were ordered to keep the peace; they did so with loaded rifles and with fixed bayonets. One of the men who were involved in the impromptu peacekeeping mission was Michael Kerwin, who fought overseas with the 79th Division.

-Daniel

[ph0ebus]

Hi all,

Incredibly, I found three more ex-service men on the roll of the dead, via WWI Draft Registration Cards on Ancestry:

1. Colin Barr McClure - Age 25 – Have draft registration card (registered May 30, 1917) – Born December 28, 1894. Employed by the US Government, Student – Officers Reserve Training Camp (?). Formerly in the Aviation Corps (Per Chicago Tribune). Last known address was Park Hill, Yonkers, NY. Born in London, England. – No other hits in Ancestry. Also found where he is buried:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?p...d=12823449&

2. Jerome H. McKean, Age 33. Born September 30, 1887. Private, Reserve Hospital Corps, 69th Regiment – Last known employer was Sorrells & Co., 66 Beaver Street, NYC. Have draft registration card (registered June 5, 1917). Married and had 1 child. Address was 2099 ???? (card unreadable)

3. John W. Weir, Age 27. Born June 11, 1893. – Employed as a clerk at J.S. Burke, 42 Broadway. Served with 9th Medical, National Guard. Have draft registration card (Registered June 5, 1917). Last known address was 414 West 41st Street, NYC.

I was able to pull up details of the other chaps on the previous list from their Draft Registration Cards but nothing as clear as the above. Anyone want to help me identify number 12?

-Daniel

[phil@basildon]

Daniel. I am looking at records for Colin McClure. Have you found any mention of him in the Ellis Island records? I have found the registration of his birth, he was born in 1895 not 1894!

I have now found him on the 1901 census. Here is the following details:-

Father, Robert McClure 36 Book Publisher b. Ireland

Mother, Mabel 35 b. Middlesex

Brother, Bruce 8 b. Twickenham

Brother, Kenneth 6 b. Twickenham

Colin B 5 b. Chiswick

The address is given as Station Road, Teddington, Middlesex. No number is given for the address but the family is the first one listed on the street so it is 99% certain it is the first house or shop on either side of the street, and it follows on from High Street which adjoins the street.

I have looked the address up on Google Earth, one side of the road has newish buildings on it but the other side has the buildings that were there in 1901.

There is no record on the 1911 census.

[ph0ebus]

Hi Phil, all...

Finding Colin's draft card was made more difficult by an Ancestry transcription error...they have him as Comin Bam McClure.

I was also hoping someone who has free access to the Chicago Tribune could vet out the mention of Colin being an aviator. The little snippet I get for free via google says "Colin Barr McClure, 25, for- merly in the aviation corps, was a nephew of S. S. Mc- Clure, the publisher. He is survived by a widow and two brothers". That ties in nicely with the bit you found...the article is dated Oct 3, 1920, and is named in Google as 'Display Ad 33 - No Title'

Oh, but then have a look at this I just found:

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/...9609C946996D6CF

So, Colin was a Lieutenant and was "formerly stationed at Gerstner Field, Lake Charles, LA. He was invalided home about a month ago after an airplane accident". The family details match up with your census findings, so we've got our man (and his wife!).

I found him via Ellis too. On May 08, 1903, he and his two brothers arrived from Plymouth on the 'Graf Waldersee' (departed April 27, 1903) and the manifest lists them as American Citizens. Literally, the manifest says nothing else about him or his brothers.

-Daniel

[Tinhat47]

Some great research you guys are doing here. I admit I'd never heard of the Wall Street bombing before this thread.

[phil@basildon]

Daniel. This is interesting about Colin and his brothers being listed as American citizens. They were obviously British at the time of the 1901 census and as you made no reference to their parents it suggests that the parents had preceded them and obtained citizenship for the entire family.

[ph0ebus]

Some great research you guys are doing here. I admit I'd never heard of the Wall Street bombing before this thread.

Hi Matt,

Thanks. There are people who work on Wall Street and know nothing about it! There is no memorial for these men.

-Dan

[phil@basildon]

Daniel. I have found that the McClure papers are held by the University of Delaware and contains a sizeable amount of correspondance.

http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/findaids/mcclure.htm

Click on scope and contents note.

[ph0ebus]

Hi all,

Here's my first go at the website. Feedback would be appreciated (keep in mind it is a work in progress!).

http://ph0ebus13.googlepages.com/thewallst...tember16%2C1920

-Daniel

[phil@basildon]

Daniel, Was anybody arrested and bought to trial over this outrage?

[ph0ebus]

Arrested? Certainly. Brought to trial? Sort of. Convicted? Nope. The perpetrator(s) got away with it. The investigation was bungled from start to finish.

Theories abound as to who may have been responsible, but in the end, one can only speculate. The prevailing theory was Mario Buda orchestrated the attack. Others have different theories. I would recommend Beverly Gage's book if you want to cover all the angles. Or, if you're interested in the Reader's Digest version, see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_bombing

-Dan

[ph0ebus]

Hi all,

Bumping this up in the hopes someone more savvy about research into the US military in WWI can shed some light into ways to identify candidate number 12. I know all the US Army records from just before WWI all through WWII were all burnt, and I have had no luck running the remaining candidated through the US Marines muster rolls. Any ideas where to look next?

-Daniel

[jasw]

Lindroth, Charles A. – Age 25 – Charles was a Private, Machine Gun Company, 106th Infantry of the 27th Division. He was invalidated home after a gas attack in the Great War. His last known address was 546 East Fifth Street, Brooklyn, NY. Charles had just been married two months earlier to Adeline Dennick. At the time of his death he was employed by National City Bank.

I just emailed you, Daniel, regarding your other page with this info, but I wanted to clear it up here. Charles Lindroth was my grandfather. His wife's (my grandmother's) name was Madeline Denig, not Adeline Dennick. A particularly poignant note (and one absolutely critical to me) is that she was two months pregnant with my mother, Marjory, at the time my grandfather was killed. My mother was born 7 months later, in April 1921.

I have a photo portrait of him in uniform that I should scan and post here.

[Kath]

Thanks for posting and welcome to the Forum, jasw.

Always heart-warming when descendants get in touch.

Kath.

[ph0ebus]

I just emailed you, Daniel, regarding your other page with this info, but I wanted to clear it up here. Charles Lindroth was my grandfather. His wife's (my grandmother's) name was Madeline Denig, not Adeline Dennick. A particularly poignant note (and one absolutely critical to me) is that she was two months pregnant with my mother, Marjory, at the time my grandfather was killed. My mother was born 7 months later, in April 1921.

I have a photo portrait of him in uniform that I should scan and post here.

Hello and welcome!

Thanks so much for the correction. As you can imagine, newspapers back then often contained errors, especially where names were concerned, and that has made it challenging to some aspects of my research into this (and other) topics.

I will make the corrections to my web page and hope you would be interested in sharing the photo here on GWF and if you like, I can add it to the memorial page as well.

Anyone want to help me identify the Twelfth Man? I will dig up and post the list of all the other bomb victims and perhaps we can divvy them up and see if we can make headway. Some are easy rule-outs (too young or too old) and the rest will need vetting out.

Take care,

-Daniel

[jdajd]

I just emailed you, Daniel, regarding your other page with this info, but I wanted to clear it up here. Charles Lindroth was my grandfather. His wife's (my grandmother's) name was Madeline Denig, not Adeline Dennick. A particularly poignant note (and one absolutely critical to me) is that she was two months pregnant with my mother, Marjory, at the time my grandfather was killed. My mother was born 7 months later, in April 1921.

I have a photo portrait of him in uniform that I should scan and post here.

Jasw: Just found this post and I would direct your attention to: ORyans Roughnecks its a site dedicated to the 107th Infantry Regiment 27 Div. that is an absolute font of information regarding the division and its role in and before the Great War. There is a historic photo section and I know the site admin. would love any pictures or information you could provide.

Daniel: the site may alos provide information regarding the Spanish American veteran as the 7th Regiment would become the 107th in WWI. As a side note he probably worked in the Equitable building, where I currently work, located a stones throw from the site of the bombing. I'd also recommend this site : American Expeditionary Forces Memorial Project for help with additional research into the 12th man. Hope this helps.

Jon

[jasw]

Hello and welcome!

Thanks so much for the correction. As you can imagine, newspapers back then often contained errors, especially where names were concerned, and that has made it challenging to some aspects of my research into this (and other) topics.

I will make the corrections to my web page and hope you would be interested in sharing the photo here on GWF and if you like, I can add it to the memorial page as well.

Anyone want to help me identify the Twelfth Man? I will dig up and post the list of all the other bomb victims and perhaps we can divvy them up and see if we can make headway. Some are easy rule-outs (too young or too old) and the rest will need vetting out.

Take care,

-Daniel

Daniel, thank you.

Yes, I have heard that newspaper reports of names from back then can be unreliable because of dictating over phone connections, etc., which would explain how my grandmother's name was mangled.

I will certainly share his pic here, and please do feel free to add it to the memorial page.

I also discovered the same error re: my grandmother on findagrave.com, as well as one indicating that he was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn. As the Times article you mentioned indicates, he was buried in "Flatbush Hills Cemetery." My understanding is that this is what Cypress Hills National Cemetery used to be called. (Holy Cross is a Roman Catholic cemetery, which would have been a strange place for a Swedish Lutheran vet to be buried!)

James

[jasw]

Jasw: Just found this post and I would direct your attention to: ORyans Roughnecks its a site dedicated to the 107th Infantry Regiment 27 Div. that is an absolute font of information regarding the division and its role in and before the Great War. There is a historic photo section and I know the site admin. would love any pictures or information you could provide.

Jon, that's a great site and how wonderful it is to be able to learn in more detail what part my grandfather's division played in WWI. I will certainly offer the photo to the admin.

James

[ph0ebus]

Hi James,

I had a look through my files and I have not located a Draft Registration Card for Charles yet via Ancestry. Will have another look around and see what I can find.

Take care,

-Daniel