Pittsburgh Nurse & War Veteran

Ester LeMans, from
The Gazette Times, 1922

In honor of Veterans Day, here's a story that appeared in The Gazette Times (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) on August 13, 1922:

"Hearing Affected by War, Nurse Will Help Disabled

    With the better part of her life already devoted to making others happy, Mrs. Ester LeMans, aged 39, registered nurse and World War nurse, is starting anew and along entirely different lines to radiate sunshine and spread cheer and contentment to the unfortunate.
    Handicapped by the loss of hearing, one of the woman's sacrifices for her country, and realizing she could no longer minister the wants of the sick, Mrs. LeMans decided she would devote her time brightening the lives of crippled and disabled soldiers. She confided her plans to the War Department and was informed that to pursue this work she must have training and a college degree.
    Undaunted by this obstacle, she appealed to the Army Vocational Bureau, after she learned she was entitled to war compensation and asked to be sent to school. This all happened in May, 1920, and now, after two years of intensive study, Mrs. LeMans has completed half of the arts and crafts course at Carnegie Institute of Technology.
    Mrs. LeMans is a native Pittsburgher. She joined the Red Cross in April, 1918, and after a period of training was sent overseas with Base Hospital Unit No. 115. The unit later became known as the President Wilson Unit and was stationed at Vichy, France. She was afterwards reassigned to Base Hospital No. 38, stationed at Nantes.
    In September, 1918, Mrs. LeMans was stricken with influenza and after hovering between life and death for several months recovered and again joined her unit. She was again stricken in January, 1919, and invalided home in April. She was confined in Staten Island Hospital for eight months, having three operations in that time in an attempt to restore her hearing. She is a graduate of Emergency Hospital, Washington."

The Veteran's Compensation Application for Ester Dolores LeMans, which can be found on Ancestry, shows that she was born in Pittsburgh on April 7, 1883. When she submitted the form in 1934, Ester was living in Phoenix, Arizona.

Thank you to all veterans, past and present, for your service and the sacrifices you've made for our country.

Anniversary of a WWI Death

The Pittsburgh Catholic, February 28, 1924

Last week was the anniversary of my great-uncle's death in France during World War I. George J. Stenglein was born to German parents just 1 week after they arrived in New York in 1891. The family soon settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. George served in the Army from September 21, 1917, until his death on September 26, 1918. My grandmother was only 10 years old when her oldest brother was killed in action.

Several years after George's death, The Pittsburgh Catholic listed him among the names of the city's Catholic soldiers who were buried in the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery. Here's part of the newspaper article:

     "Many Catholic graves in the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery, located at Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, (Meuse), France, have been recently blessed. The graves of American heroes from the Diocese of Pittsburgh are listed below.
     The location of this cemetery is within the area of the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the greatest engagement in which American troops ever participated. During the forty-seven days' struggle 1,200,000 Americans were engaged, suffering 120,000 casualties.
     Upon completion of concentrations there will be 13,969 interments in the American cemetery. The data on the Catholic heroes has been assembled through cooperation of the pastors, the Catholic press, and the Bureau of Records, N.C.W.C. [National Catholic Welfare Conference]
     The following are grave records of young men of the Pittsburgh diocese who, serving in the World War, made the supreme sacrifice and whose bodies are buried in the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery..."

Each man's military unit, date of death, and grave location in the cemetery were also provided by the newspaper.

• Paul Adamski, Braddock
• Joseph Battaglia, Sharpsburg
• Anthony Broestel, Pittsburgh
• John F. Coakley, Washington
• Dominico Colaizzi, Pittsburgh
• Patrick Paul Collins, McKeesport
• James Connolly, Pittsburgh
• Edward R. Connors, Pittsburgh
• John Patrick Corrigan, McKeesport
• Patrick J. Cronin, Pittsburgh
• Domenico Dimasi, Greensburg
• Andrew Early, Pittsburgh
• Barton W. Elliott, Springdale
• George W. Fleischer, Butler
• Oscar John Gallas, Pittsburgh
• Stephen Gasper, St. Vincent
• Lorenzo Gentile, Jeannette
• Paul Grabowski, Braddock
• Albert Jacob Hohman, Pittsburgh
• John Hutchinson, New Salem
• John P. Jene, Pittsburgh
• Alex Johnston, Turtle Creek
• Walter R. Johnston, Pittsburgh
• William B. Kamer, Ford City
• James M. Keady, Pittsburgh
• Daniel R. Kelley, Mt. Pleasant
• John P. Kirby, Pittsburgh
• Andrew H. Klein, Pittsburgh
• Karl Kleinert, McKees Rocks
• Joseph Kohuth, Glencampbell
• Louis F. Krezanosky, Avella
• Walter Kudzman, Vandergrift
• Andrew Leap, Pittsburgh
• Ellsworth J. Lew, Carrick
• Donato Maesano, Sharpsburg
• Fiore Marchegioni, Bradenville
• Samuel Martello, Braddock
• Marco Mercurio, Greensburg
• Peter J. Och, Pittsburgh
• Vincenzo Piccirillo, Butler
• John Plehta, Uniontown
• Stanley Price, Glassport
• Michael Puskat, Burgettstown
• William A. Reinhardt, Pittsburgh
• Frank J. Rieble, Pittsburgh
• Ludwig Rigotti, Sutterville
• Sylvester Rombach, Pittsburgh
• Anthony Ryder, Braddock
• George A. Schafer, Millvale
• William E. Schaffer, Duquesne
• Alphonse A. Schmidt, Pittsburgh
• George Schmidt, Pittsburgh
• George Joseph Schmitt, Pittsburgh
• Nicola Serago, Jeannette
• Michael Snee, Kittanning
• Christopher A. Steighner, Coylesville
• John Steininger, Blairsville
• George J. Stenglein, Pittsburgh
• John H. Theuret, Freeport
• Bernard W. Travers, Castle Shannon
• Emanuel G. Tschippert, Pittsburgh
• George J. Wintz, Pittsburgh
• Steve Wolf, Connellsville
• William H. Zewe, Duquesne
• Mike Joseph Zoldak, Coral

You can search issues of The Pittsburgh Catholic (1844-2001) in Duquesne University's Gumberg Library Digital Collections. 

Related Post:  Consider Catholic Newspaper Archives

Pittsburgh and the World War, 1914-1918

The souvenir publication, Pittsburgh and the World War 1914-1918, can be viewed in the HathiTrust Digital Library and contains many photographs of Pittsburgh soldiers. Here are a couple of paragraphs from the booklet:

"From the high up places of Pittsburgh's loftiest skyscrapers a ton or more of confetti, small bits of paper and streamers of paper floated and fluttered to the streets below. A snowstorm of the white and red and blue fragments filled the air. The streets began to fill with merrymakers as the news was flashed about the city and its environs by newspapers, by word of mouth, by telephone and all other means of communication. Like wildfire the word spread that the armistice had been signed and the Huns had, in effect, laid down down their arms in ignominious recognition that to struggle further world be useless.

Parades formed as offices, stores, shops and mills were abandoned. Bells clanged loudly and to the din, which almost drowned the shouts of the populace were added the sound of many bands playing, the measured tolling of the bell on old City Hall, pounded in turns by men with a sledgehammer; the shrieking of sirens and mill whistles, the deep screeching of steamboat whistles and the booming and cracking of guns and other weapons in the air."

My great-uncle, George Stenglein, is one Pittsburgh soldier who didn't return, didn't see the parade, and didn't hear the cheers. As I looked at some of the photos in this book, I wondered if my grandmother and her parents cried when they heard others celebrating, since their hearts had to be breaking that George  wasn't coming home.

Don't Ignore Signs of a Genealogy Mistake

In 1904, a publication about the Cowden and Welch families indicated that a man named David Sloan was the father of Annie Sloan Cowden. David was a Revolutionary soldier who was killed at the Battle of Long Island in 1776. It turns out that David Sloan did have a daughter Annie, but she was not the woman who married John Cowden.

The Canonsburg Daily Notes (Pa.),
November 2, 1925

More than 25 years after that publication was printed, my husband's 2nd cousin three times removed, Lyda J. Cowden, sent a letter to the U.S. government, trying to locate the grave of this assumed Patriot ancestor. She was a member of the Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and even held DAR meetings in her home in the 1920s. I found Lyda's letter dated October 11, 1930, in a bounty-land warrant application record for David Sloan on Ancestry.com:

     "Dear Sir, Is it possible for you to furnish me with the information of the burial place of Lt. David Sloan who was killed in the Battle of Long Island Aug 27, 1776.
      Left a widow Mary Sloan and a daughter Ann. I am a member of D.A.R. through Lt. Sloan, and am seeking the location of his grave. A pension was granted to Mary Sloan widow of David Sloan Feb. 8, 1785 but I can not find any record of his burial place. Sloan served under the command of Colonel Miles First Penn Regiment.
      If you do not know or have records of his burial place please tell me if the bodies at that time were returned to their respective homes or buried on the battlefield."

The response she received is also part of this Ancestry record and makes it clear that Annie Sloan Cowden's father was not the Patriot David Sloan:

     "Dear Madam, You are advised that the Revolutionary War records of this bureau show that the widow of Lieutenant David Sloan was Mary and that his daughter Ann married Robert Hunter. In 1806, said Robert and Ann were of Salem Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.       
     The location of the burial place of the soldier is not shown and the bureau is unable to advise you further in regard to same."

Did Lyda choose to ignore what the letter was saying about her DAR connection? Or did she skim over that part and just take away from the response that David's grave location was unknown? Hmm. I do know from a newspaper article that Lyda continued to meet with her fellow DAR members for at least five years after learning that David Sloan was not her ancestor.

The mistake was still circulating in 1935 when a Welch cousin contacted the government to request the pension file of David Sloan. Like Lyda, she had submitted a DAR application and became a member through her connection to Lt. David Sloan. There are more than a dozen DAR members who claimed this inaccurate connection between Annie Sloan Cowden and David Sloan.

Fortunately, the DAR eventually caught this mistake, and all of these incorrect applications are now flagged with this message on its website: "Problems have been discovered with at least one previously verified paper." The explanation given is that "Annie who married John Cowden is not the dau of this man."

This is a good reminder to read everything carefully and to correct genealogy mistakes even if it's painful to remove a high-profile person from your family tree. Accuracy is more important than bragging rights.

Was Boy Missing in 1911 Ever Found?

I'm currently reading a fictional story by Kate Morton that involves the disappearance of a toddler in 1933. (If you love suspense, family secrets, and a touch of history, I highly recommend all of Kate's books. They're fabulous.)

The Pittsburgh Gazette Times,
November 5, 1911

The book got me thinking about real cases of missing children and how devastating that would be for a family. After searching historic newspapers, I found the following article from a 1911 Pittsburgh newspaper with the headline "Butler Boy Missing":

"Raymond, the 13-year-old son of William C. Cooper, a merchant tailor living at 519 West Clay Street, Butler, Pa., has been missing from his home since October 27. On that morning his father had taken him to school and at the morning recess Raymond disappeared from the institution. He left a note on his desk saying he was going to Pittsburgh to look for work.
...
As a result of Raymond's disappearance, his mother has become ill. Mr. Cooper has conducted a thorough search for the boy and the police of Pittsburgh and neighboring cities have been asked to keep a lookout for him. Mr. Cooper has appealed to The Gazette Times to assist in the search for the missing boy. If the lad sees this article he is requested to communicate with his father at once. The latter will extend his forgiveness, as Raymond's mother wants her son badly."

I couldn't find any news updates to see if he had been found, and I just had to know what happened to him or if his family was left guessing for decades. My son will be turning 13 soon, so the story touched a nerve.

Fortunately, a WWI Compensation Application on Ancestry provided the answer. I don't know how long Raymond was gone or when he returned, but it looks like he came back to his family...before leaving them again. The document says that he enlisted in the Army in 1914 (when he was 16 but apparently claimed to be 19), and he served until 1920.

Inventory of Pittsburgh's War Monuments

Civil War Monument,
Pittsburgh's Calvary Cemetery

I'm late posting this but, for those of you with Pittsburgh roots, I wanted to share a link that appeared in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article over the Memorial Day weekend. The article itself is worth reading and gives the background story on the effort to itemize all of the city's memorials: "War memorials, monuments abound in Pittsburgh, but some in danger of being forgotten."

Of particular interest is one of the links at the end of the article that takes you to the "City of Pittsburgh Preliminary War Monument Inventory", which provides a look at over 100 photographs of memorials, many with the date and artist. They are grouped by neighborhood.

The name of my great-uncle, George J. Stenglein, appears on a World War I memorial on the South Side of Pittsburgh. He died in France at the age of 27, when my grandmother was only 10. This memorial in St. Michael's Cemetery on 18th Street doesn't appear in the City's inventory, but perhaps that's because it was placed there by the parish. Or maybe it was just missed.

The list isn't complete, but it's interesting to peruse those that have been included. I highly recommend it!

Related Post:  WWI Death: Remembering George J. Stenglein

Spanish-American War Veterans from Pennsylvania

Ancestry has a database related to the Spanish-American War that can give you some great details about relatives. It's called "Pennsylvania, Spanish War Compensation, 1898-1934," and it contains veteran applicants who enlisted while living in Pennsylvania, even if they later moved to another state.

The database description explains that the "Pennsylvania Veterans’ Compensation Act of 1934 authorized payments to veterans who had given Pennsylvania or anyplace in the Commonwealth as their place of residence at the time they entered the service and who had served in at least one of the following conflicts: World War I, Spanish-American War, China Relief Expedition or the occupation of the Philippines or Guam from 1898 to 1902. Veterans’ widows or children were also eligible to receive the benefit."

I had a 2nd-great uncle who served during the Spanish-American War and I even have a photo of him wearing his uniform, but he's not in this database. He did not apply for compensation because both he and his wife had died by the time this Act had passed, and they had no children.

However, Paul Edgar Kiebler has an application in this database. He was the stepson of my husband's 3rd-great aunt, Fannie Gamble Kiebler. Here are some of the details provided about Paul:

1. Place and date of birth - Paul was born in Saltsburg, Indiana County, Pa., on January 2, 1879
2. Legal residence at entry into service - Saltsburg, Pa.
3. Residence when application was submitted - Clayton, St. Louis County, Missouri
4. Name of father - Samuel M. Kiebler
5. Name of mother - Ellen Grey Kiebler
6. Names of wife and children - Frances Sargent Kiebler (wife) and Helen Grey Kiebler (daughter)
7. Details of service, including wounds - His service included time at camps in Mt. Gretna, Pa., Chickamauga, Ga., and Lexington, Ky.
8. Actual signature of applicant (shown above)

If you have members of your family tree who may having been living in Pennsylvania when they would have been old enough to enlist during the Spanish-American War, you may want to search this database.

January Death Instead of a Homecoming

When I first started to research my 1st cousin twice removed, I assumed his death was related to World War I. I'm now learning that his story is different than I expected.

Norbert Frederick Henkel, the second of nine children, was born in 1894, six months after his older brother died of convulsions at the age of 1. A funeral prayer card shows that Norbert died on January 29, 1919. His youngest sister was only 7 years old when his family received the news.

I found Norbert's obituary in a Pittsburgh newspaper, but the only thing it said was that he died in Cape May, New Jersey. Some military records online recently helped fill in a little more detail.

In Ancestry's Pennsylvania WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, a record shows that the month before his 24th birthday, Norbert was called to report for active duty. While he was at training camp in Camp May, New Jersey, the war ended. Oh, the relief his parents must have felt. Their son would be coming home!

Unfortunately, just a couple of days before he was supposed to leave Cape May, Norbert died. In the U.S. Navy Burial Records on Ancestry, on a page where most of the men are listed as having died of influenza, the cause of death for Norbert is "Fracture cervical." A broken neck? How could that have happened? I was a little shocked to see that detail next to his name.

His death was confirmed in the Veterans Service and Compensation File. Norbert's father indicated on a Veteran's Compensation Application: "Killed Jan. 29, 1919 - Wissahickon Barracks Cape May, N.J." A couple of pages later in the file (be sure to read beyond the first image that pops up!), there's a copy of a 1934 typed letter from the Pennsylvania Department of Military Affairs to the Navy Department in Washington DC: "It is requested this office be informed the active duty date, the inactive duty date together with character and date of discharge; also under what condition Veteran died."

The Gazette Times (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania),
February 1, 1919

The response dated a month later was typed at the bottom of the page: "The above named man reported for active duty 25 Jul 1918 and served on active duty from that date until 29 January 1919 when he died at the Naval Hospital, Cape May, N.J., as a result of having been struck by a motor truck; otherwise entitled to an honorable discharge."

The Pittsburgh newspaper article shown here doesn't give any more details but does point out that the train Norbert was expected to take home on January 31 was instead carrying his body to be buried. His parents were so close to welcoming their son home, when this terrible accident took him from them forever.

Hotel Image Preserved in Military Records

Years ago when I ordered my 2nd great-grandfather's Civil War records, I received an added bonus. Not only did I learn that he had moved from Pittsburgh to Toledo to live in the hotel owned by his daughter and her husband Charles Prill, but he signed a notarized letter on the hotel's letterhead. This simple letter about his address change allowed me to see how the building looked. Fabulous!

"This House is Specially Adapted to Accommodate the Traveling Trade"
Letterhead from Prill's Hotel, Toledo, Ohio, 1890
(CLICK TO VIEW LARGER)

This is just another example of interesting details or special items you might stumble upon while researching your ancestors.

Use Veteran Burial Cards to Locate Graves

Overall, I haven't had much luck getting responses from cemetery offices with respect to the location of my ancestors' graves. Whether I use mail, telephone, or email, I rarely hear back from them. And, unfortunately, the relatives I wanted to locate weren't on FindAGrave.com.

I should point out that I've had a couple of positive experiences. I wrote a letter to two separate offices, which were not located on the cemetery properties, and received handwritten responses. One even provided a handmade map showing the specific location of my great-grandfather's grave, including the surnames of dozens of graves surrounding his.

Other than that, I've been disappointed with the lack of responses. I've called and was told someone would call me back. Nothing. I've emailed others. No responses. Perhaps they get inundated with requests for this type of information, but it can be pretty frustrating. So in many cases, I have just gone to the cemetery and started walking.

One I visited was Birmingham Cemetery a.k.a. Zimmerman Cemetery in the Carrick area of Pittsburgh. The death registration of my 2nd great-uncle, Jacob Nehren, indicated that he was one of my family members buried there. My sister and I didn't have any luck finding his grave, although we did find a cousin and his wife. It could be that Jacob didn't have a headstone, or that his stone from 1887 had been damaged or deteriorated after all of these years.

However, while reviewing some of the records I had gathered for Jacob, I noticed that his Pennsylvania veteran burial card on Ancestry.com provides details I wish I had seen before. It says his grave location is in Section D and Lot No. 17, and he has a marble G.A.R. headstone.

Time for another cemetery trip!

Note: Digital records for this cemetery, as well as the church records, can be found in the University of Pittsburgh's Library System. Included in this collection are PDFs of "ten reels of microfilm containing a constitution and journal, history, minute books, lists of members, memorial publications, baptismal, marriage, burial, and financial records from 1843-1977."

Related Posts:

• Research: Take Time to Help Others
• Don't Be Afraid of Cemeteries

WWI Death: Remembering George J. Stenglein

On this Memorial Day, I would like to take time to remember my great-uncle George J. Stenglein who was killed in action during World War I. He was only 27 years old.

George's mother, Kunigunda Boser Stenglein, was pregnant with him when she and her husband John left Germany and arrived in New York on May 6, 1891. George was born eight days later in Newburgh, Orange County, New York. It was a temporary stop since the family settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the following year.

In 1910, at the age of 19, George was a laborer at a Pittsburgh bottle factory. His 1917 draft registration card shows his employer was Johnson-Peter Co., which was a boiler, tube and pipe dealer. George is described as being of medium height and medium build, with brown eyes and light hair. He stated that he had one sister who was "solely dependent on [him] for support," which would have been my grandmother. (His father was living but did not have a job in the 1920 census, so perhaps this was also true in 1917.)

His military records show that he was drafted into the U.S. Army in January 1918. On September 26, 1918, he was killed in action in France. My grandmother was only 10 years old when the family received the tragic news.

George J. Stenglein is buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in France. You can see his headstone on Find A Grave.

Genealogy & "Finding Elizabeth's Soldiers" Documentary

Last week, my local PBS television station WQED aired an interesting documentary called Finding Elizabeth's Soldiers:

"Elizabeth Black left a promising Pittsburgh art career to join American Red Cross efforts during World War II. She proposed a unique project to sketch hundreds of soldiers, sailors and airmen throughout Europe and send the treasured portraits to worried families back home - all across America."

"This sequel explores efforts to find homes for dozens of soldiers' sketches found among the Pittsburgh artist's memorabilia. Through detailed research, detective work and the kindness of volunteer genealogists, producer David Solomon tracks down soldiers or their survivors."

You can watch both the original documentary, Portraits for the Home Front: The Story of Elizabeth Black, and the sequel online, as well as view the gallery of these amazing sketches.

Ancestor Birth: Henry Stewart in 1831

On this day in 1831, my husband's 3rd great-uncle was born in McKeesport, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Henry Stewart was the son of Hamilton and Nancy Scott Dinsmore Stewart and stayed in the McKeesport/Versailles area his entire life. He served in the Civil War and then married his wife, Mary Hammond. After Mary and their seven children all died between 1873 and 1875, Henry lived another 30 years on his own. His occupations included farmer, teacher, store clerk, salesman, and shipping clerk.

This is his obituary from The Gazette Times in Pittsburgh on December 25, 1908:

"Henry Stewart, 77 years old, a veteran of the civil war and one of the best known men of McKeesport, died yesterday at his home, 2004 East Tenth avenue, of heart failure and general debility. He was born in McKeesport and was injured at the battle of Wilderness in 1862, after which he returned to McKeesport and married Mary Hammond. He was a member of the First Presbyterian church and the Grand Army of the Republic, having been a past commander and quartermaster of Sam Black post No. 59. But one member of the family survives, a sister, Mrs. Martha Scott of Cedar avenue, North Side. The funeral will take place tomorrow afternoon."

A monument stands in The McKeesport and Versailles Cemetery that lists Henry Stewart, his wife Mary, and the names of all seven children.

German Obituary: November 6, 1887

My great-great uncle, Jacob Nehren, died today more than 125 years ago. I know from his death registration and his veteran burial card that he was 44 years old. He died of cirrhosis of the liver, which I assume was a hazard of being a tavern owner.

Jacob served in the Civil War, apparently under the alias William Cline, before he married my great-grandfather's sister. When he was 19, he first enlisted in the Maryland Infantry and was shot in his left forearm 18 months later. After he mustered out, Jacob then enlisted in the Navy. He was honorably discharged almost 4 years later in 1869.

Although Jacob spent time in Maryland both before and after his military service, he ended up in Pittsburgh sometime between the 1870 census and his marriage in 1872. He ran the bar that was previously owned by his father-in-law and was the father of 2 boys who both died before they reached their fourth birthdays.

Jacob's obituary appeared in a German newspaper, Pittsburger Volksblatt, on November 7, 1887. Unfortunately, I don't know what it says. I can make out bits and pieces but am curious as to whether it may contain any clues about him that I don't already know. I see that it says something about Baltimore near the end, which is where his brother Frank Nehren lived.

If you can translate any of this obituary, please leave me a comment. Thank you!