WWI Photo Discovery – Norton-Harjes Ambulance Drivers w/ Richard Norton!

September 29, 2013February 7, 2015 / portraitsofwar / 2 Comments

I often check eBay listings for groups of assorted black and white photos in the hopes of discovering some exciting WWI material hidden in the mix. In this case, I was lucky enough to recognize the uniforms and insignia of the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps amidst the piles of junk photos. An astoundingly cheap $20.00 Buy-it-Now option was on the photos, so I purchased them without haste. What a rare treat! Scroll down for cropped versions of the photo.

US Ambulance Drivers in France

This is possibly one of the clearest shots of Richard Norton I’ve seen in a digital form on the internet. Norton was the son of an influential Harvard archaeologist named Charles Norton who bankrolled a group of well-to-do American men to travel to France to assist in the movement of wounded soldiers from the battlefields. In this photo we see Norton posed with his fur overcoat, swagger stick and uniform. I’m guessing this photo was taken to depict a certain group of men overseas at the time. My best educated guess is that it was a photo taken of all the Harvard men in the Ambulance Corps at the time. Who knows?

Richard Norton

E.E. Cummings?

Edward Estlin Cummings
1917 Passport Application for travel to join the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps

WWI Portrait Photo – Italian Born US Soldier 1st Mobile Veterinary Hospital Farrier

September 7, 2013September 7, 2013 / portraitsofwar / 1 Comment

John Belli in WWI

John Belli was born in Italy in 1895 and traveled to the United States during a big wave of Italian immigration in the early 1900s. I was lucky enough to purchase a superlative WWI German-shot studio portrait of a helmeted US soldier wearing his gas mask with patches attached to his jacket. To sweeten the deal, the photo came identified to a John Belli. A few John Belli’s appeared on ancestry.com, but only one was associated with a veterinarian unit as evidenced by the veterinarian corps collar disc visible in the photo. A great shot with an interesting back story!

John Belli Service Card

John Belli Draft Card

WWI Middlebury, Vermont Soldier Photo – 102nd Field Artillery – Curtis J. Sawyer

August 27, 2013August 27, 2013 / portraitsofwar / 1 Comment

My passion for WWI Vermont material is endless and I make every effort to track down unique, original photos and objects related to Vermonters in the Great War. It’s not easy to find and often comes at a price; 26th Division material is popular with French collectors and fetches a high price when purchased on eBay. In this case, I was able to purchase a studio photo of a 102nd Field Artillery Vermonter of Battery A . Curtis J. Sawyer was born in Middlebury, VT on September 13th, 1893 – nearly 120 years ago!

He worked at hotels most of his life, having worked at Clark’s Hotel in Boston in 1917 when he registered for the draft. Previously he served as a clerk for City Hall in Barre, VT – not far from where I work! He started his career early at the age of 17 (at least) and worked as a clerk and hotel man unit his death. He is listed as being tall with a slender complextion with blue eyes and brown hair. He lived nearly 90 years and died in 1980 in Arlington, MA – not far from Boston.

WWI Vermont Roster Entry

1910 Barre, Vermont Directory

Sawyer in Burlington, VT 1910

Middlebury News Reference

WWI Vermont National Guard Photo – 1st VT Infantry Captain Portrait Mystery

August 22, 2013August 22, 2013 / portraitsofwar / 2 Comments

This portrait photo recently arrived from an eBay dealer in New Hampshire and my research bug is in full throttle. The photo was taken at the Burnham Photo Studio in Burlington, VT in 1917 and depicts a 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment Captain posing for the camera. I’ve seen similar shots of other officers taken at the same studio. Not much to go on in terms of an identification, but I feel that a little hard work will pay off. I should be able to narrow down all the captains in the 1st VT and work from there. Most officers would have their portraits listed in unit histories, so my journey may take me in search of obscure tomes. All the more fun!

Here’s the breakdown of the distribution from the 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment:

101st Ammunition Train, 26th Division

1 Major, 6 Captains, 3 First Lieutenants, 3 Second Lieutenants, 700 Enlisted Men

101st Machine Gun Battalion, 26th Division

2 First Lieutenants, 2 Second Lieutenants, 197 Enlisted Men

102nd Machine Gun Battalion, 26th Division

1 First Lieutenant, 2 Second Lieutenants, 212 Enlisted Men

103rd Machine Gun Battalion, 26th Division

2 First Lieutenants, 1 Second Lieutenant, 229 Enlisted Men

With this info in hand, I’ve been able to narrow down our sitter as a Captain who is most likely an officer with the 101st Ammunition Train of the 26th Division. I’ve located a list of the captains of the 1st VT who were transferred to the 101st Ammo Train:

Captain Charles E. Pell, Co. B, St.Albans

Captain Haroll M. Howe, Co.F, Northfield

Captain Dowe E. McMath, Co.H, Montpelier

Captain William N. Hudson, Co.M, Burlington

Captain Richard T. Corey, Co.L, Newport

Captain John L. Shanley, Co.G, Winooski

Our sitter is one of the above-listed men. Now to get down to some ancestry.com research……………..

I started with Captain Pell and quickly found a portrait of him. His long ear lobes are quite distinct and are not a match for our sitter.

Captain Pell

Captain Howe was next and I was able to find a shot from his 1911 Norwich University year book. Not sure on the ID, so I will continue to search……..

Captain Howe

Next step – locate a copy of the 101st Ammunition Train unit history. Hopefully officer photos are listed!

WWI Vermont RPPC Photo – Herbert L. French of Stratton/Lononderry, VT 1918 France 78th Div.

July 31, 2013July 31, 2013 / portraitsofwar / 3 Comments

WWI Photos of Vermonters are hard to find and I continually search for superlative examples at flea markets and yard sales. This past May I was lucky enough to encounter a Vermonter dealer at a Massachusetts flea market. Low and behold, the seller had a fantastic image of a WWI Vermonter for sale! Herbert L. French is identified as being from Stratton, VT and as being a member of the 307th Field Artillery of the 78th Division.

Herbert L. French

WWI Vermont Roster Entry

Misidentified WWI Veteran Grave Card

WWI Draft Card

WWII Draft Card

WWI Photo Identification: Mortimer G. Thompson of Knoxville, TN 117th Infantry, 30th Division

July 10, 2013 / portraitsofwar / 5 Comments

Another incredible set of portrait photos arrived on my doorstep today by way of a close friend and fellow collector. Two portrait photos with incredible detail showing a clear 30th Division patch as well as a very uncommon 30th Division helmet. Shots of WWI soldiers wearing their service helmets in a portrait studio are especially prized amongst collectors. A big thanks to Chuck for parting with this set! As always, I will delve into the genealogy of this soldier and hopefully find some interesting material using web-based resources.

Mortimer G. Thompson

Mortimer Grinnell Thompson was born on December 29th, 1897 (other sources say 1887) to C. Mortimer and Hattie C. Thompson in Knoxville, Tennessee. He entered Federal service on May 21st, 1917 and eventually ended up as Sgt. with the 117th Infantry Regiment of the 30th Division. At this time, I can’t find much about his military service other than the basic facts. With some more in-depth searching I may be able to elucidate some aspects of his service that have been all but forgotten over the past (nearly) 100 years. He married after the war to a Celeste P. Condon and had at least two children named Mortimer G. Thompson Jr. and Harriet A. Thompson in the late 1920s. Mort is listed as a painting contractor.

Incredibly I was able to find Mort Jr. on facebook! A friend request is pending. He appears to be quite active on facebook and I hope he responds.

“Mort” passed away at a young age in 1935 and is buried in Knoxville National Cemetery in Knoxville, TN. His plot number is B,0,3993.

Mortimer Thompson’s Headstone
Source

Mortimer was the son of Charles Mortimer Thompson, better known as C. Mortimer Thompson, progenitor of Thompson Photo Products of Knoxville, TN. The Thompson family have been THE go-to family for photography needs in Knoxville for over 100 years. It’s no wonder the portrait shots of Mort are so detailed and well colored. Charles was an architect, draftsman and photographer who had an eye for detail and a solid business plan. His son Jim eventually became one of the best known Tennessee photographers of the early 1900s, capturing the rich visual heritage of the state in the first half of the century. His works are held in collections across the country and are regarded as some of the best examples of Tennessee industrial photography. A website of his work can be found here: http://cmdc.knoxlib.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p265301coll7

WWI 29th Division 115th Infantry Regiment Panoramic Yardlong Photo – Amazing Details!

June 17, 2013June 21, 2016 / portraitsofwar / 31 Comments

WARNING Large File Size

One of the hardest parts of collecting WWI panoramic photography is presenting it in a manner that allows for many people to view it. Each of my scanned examples takes at least an hour to scan in sections, and then digitally splice together. Here is a particularly good example from H Company of the 115th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Division. Note the Native American soldier as well as two soldiers wearing the ribbon for the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). Sorry about the large file size.

Click HERE for the H Company, 115th Roster!

This photo was made into a giant panoramic painting!

I actually was able to do some research on Company H of the 115th and found some info on a few members that I was able to identify in the photo.

Robert S. Landstreet

Place of Birth: Maryland, Baltimore
Home of record: Baltimore Maryland

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Robert S. Landstreet, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division, A.E.F., near Bois-de-Consenvoye and Bois-de-la Grande Montague, France, October 8 – 16, 1918. On October 8 First Lieutenant Landstreet led his platoon through machine-gun and rifle fire in an advance which resulted in the capture of 300 prisoners and 12 machine-guns. On the morning of October 16 lie volunteered, with one sergeant, and straightened out the line of an adjacent unit. His movements were under constant machine-gun fire, and so close to the enemy that he, with his sergeant, captured two prisoners while accomplishing their mission.

Hugh P. McGainey

Place of Birth: Maryland, Baltimore
Home of record: Baltimore Maryland

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Sergeant Hugh P. McGainey (ASN: 1285511), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division, A.E.F., near Verdun, France, October 8 – 15, 1918. In the Bois-de-Consenvoye, east of the Meuse, Sergeant McGainey, in command of his platoon, led his men, under heavy machine-gun fire, and captured approximately 500 prisoners, three fieldpieces, and many machine-guns. On October 15 he voluntarily exposed himself to warn his men against gas, and was wounded by shrapnel. He refused to go to the hospital until ordered to do so by the medical officer.

General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 3 (1919)

Action Date: October 8 – 15, 1918

Pietro De Berardinis

Pietro De Bernardinis

Company H, 115th Infantry. For extraordinary heroism in action near Verdun, France, October 17th, 1918. In the Bose de Consenvoye, east of the Meuse, Pvt. De Berdaninis, acting in the capacity of a runner, carried three successive messages through heavy barrage of both own own and the enemy’s artillery, traversing a patch where two men had previously been killed by the same barrage.

Home address: Louis Brino, 3921 Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD.

George Anibal

A June 20th, 2016 post from a direct relative:

“Looking at the Robert lands tree photo.
Over his right shoulder, our left. Is George Anible of Michigan.”

Corporal George William Anible of Midland, Michigan

George William Anible of Midland, Michigan

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WWI Photo – 13th Marine Regiment MP Studio Photo Identified – Evald A. Johnson

June 1, 2013 / portraitsofwar / 6 Comments

Evald A. Johnson in France 1918

Followers of this blog know that I love to identify WWI photographs using obscure bits of information to track down census and military records. In this case, I purchased a series of three postcards on eBay with no solid identification in hand. When the postcards arrived, I realized that I had a slight chance to identifying the Marine. His hat is sporting a Marine Corps EGA insignia as well as some unit designation. 13 M identifies him as being in Company M of the 13th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Division. Included with the photo was a postcard note sent to a loved one when he returned from overseas service.

The unknown Marine scribbled his first name and middle and last initials. Evald A J. He also sent the postcard to a Mrs. C F Poulson of Idaho Falls, Idaho. A quick census search for a C Poulson of Idaho Falls brought up a record for a Mr. Christian Poulson and a Esther A. Poulson. My gut instinct told me that he was likely sending the card to his sister to announce his arrival back home in the states, so I did a series of census searches to find some clues………

Sister-in-Law

The 1910 US Census record for Esther and Christian Poulson show a mystery resident. Ms. Ebba Johnson is listed as being a sister-in-law who happened to be living with the couple in 1910. Bingo! Now I have a last name to research for Esther. I quickly found the 1900 census record for Esther and Ebba………..

Bingo! Evald Johnson is listed as a brother to both Esther and Ebba. The mystery is solved! Now to confirm his service with the 13th Marine Regiment.

I easily tracked down his WWI draft card and matched up the signature with the postcard. A perfect match.

WWI Draft Card
Evald A. Johnson

From here I had a hunch to track down the Marine Corps muster role for Company M of the 13th Marine Regiment. Another solid hit.

Marine Register

And to top it all off, I did a newspaper search for the Idaho area in 1919. With some luck I found a brief article mentioning his return and his service with the Marines.

“They have come back bigger and better men than when they went away and have taken up their work with the Register and filling their places with credit. The three men are Evald A. Johnson, who has been with the Register for some fifteen years, and who resigned the position of foreman to enter the service, enlisting in the marines, going to France, where he put in abmout one years of service.”

Vol 40, No 29 Idaho Register 1919

WWI Photo: Research Uncovers 33rd Division Veteran’s Identification! 130th Infantry Regiment Wounded!

June 1, 2013 / portraitsofwar / 11 Comments

Sometimes it takes a good bit of time to lock down the identity of the sitter in a photograph. I wouldn’t be able to do it without the help of dozens of research friends and an equal number of archive websites. With that said, I was able to purchase, research and identify and post a positive identification of a recent eBay purchase! It’s not an easy endeavor, but it’s something that will be worthwhile at some point in the future.

Russell Studio Portrait

Backside of the RPPC

What are we working with for an identification? The soldier has a definite first name of Russell and is cousins with a male named Forrest Martin of Watson, Illionois in 1919. Given the intro and body wording, he’s likely to be close to the recipient.

I started by researching the recipient, Forrest Martin, and found his 1900 census entry:

1910 Census Forrest Martin

From here I decided to research his mother and father in search of a series of siblings to track down as aunts and uncles to Russell. An aunt or uncle would produce a cousin which should provide me with the proper identification for the 33rd Division soldier!

After over an hour of searching (tiring for sure) I was able to identify his mother’s sister as a Laura A. Humes. Laura had a son named Russell in 1897! When I clicked on his military burial record it all came together. Please keep in mind that this took hours of research!

Forrest’s Aunt Laura

Russell Humes’ Burial Card

Russell Humes, first cousin of Forrest Humes (recipient of the postcard), was in Company G of the 130th Infantry Regiment of the 33rd Division in WWI. He achieved the rank of Corporal and was wounded in action at some point during his service. His portrait photo was taken in 1919 long after his wounding. He passed away on 11-5-1957 at the age of 61.

WWI Vermont Veteran Photo – John J. Corcoran, 101st Machine Gun Battalion Wounded in Action

May 7, 2013January 27, 2014 / portraitsofwar / 2 Comments

My continued obsession with WWI Vermont material has landed me a new WWI photo taken in France in June of 1918. I literally stumbled across this listing; the seller didn’t mention the fact that the soldier was a Vermonter. Luckily I checked out the back of the photo before moving on to the next auction listing.

The photo was addressed to a Mrs. George Bolduc of Fitzdale, Vermont dated June 25th, 1918. The writer added the following info:

“June 25th, 1918

Dear Sister,

Am well and happy and hope you and children are well. Will write you a letter later, am pretty busy just now so am sending this in place of a letter. This is not very good but will have to pass some love to you all. From bro-

John Corcoran

101st MG BN, AEF”

John J. Corcoran(R)

John poses in the above photo with an unnamed friend of his from the 101st MG Bn. sporting a beautiful example of a woolen M1911 sweater. I’ve attached below a period advertisement showing two versions of the service sweater. These were either hand-knit from patterns or could be privately purchased through various supply and retail companies.

Knit Service Sweater (Source: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=39625)

I am fortunate enough to own a copy of the hard-to-find 101st Machine Gun Battalion unit history. Wagoner John J. Corcoran is listed with a frontal snapshot beside his biography. He was born on May 29th, 1890 in Maine and eventually made his way over to Vermont where he lived in Lunenburg, VT working as a paper maker with the Gilman Paper Company. He enlisted at Fort Ethan Allen on June 29th, 1917 with the 1st Vermont Infantry, where he was later transferred into the 103rd MG of the 26th Division. His WWI and WWII draft cards were both listed on ancestry.com and I’ve included them below along with a copy of his death record. He passed away in 1947 and is buried in Lunenburg. I hope to travel there soon to take a photo of his grave!

101st MG Bn. Unit History Roster Entry

WWI Draft Card

WWII Draft Card

John was badly wounded on July 22nd, 1918 during an attack on the French town of Epieds. I’ve included a period map of the battle as well as an image of the location today. Not much has changed! This attack was coordinated only a few days after the Battle of Chateau Thierry. Luckily, John’s encounter with the Germans was noted in the 101st MG unit history diary section. I’ve transcribed the section:

“At daybreak both companies were sent into some woods overlooking Trugny to assist the attack of Major Rau’s battalion against the town. We could not locate any enemy to fire at, and the best we could do was wait to protect Rau’s left against possible counterattack. We were shelled and M.G. bullets flew pretty thick. Bristol of C Co. was wounded. After awhile(sic) the attack crumbled in spite of Rau’s gallant efforts against impossible odds, and the troops were withdrawn to the old positions. A little later C Co. was sent over to the right to join Rau. There they found him with only a few of his men left. The guns were set up on the edge of the woods in a defensive position. B Co. got orders to support an attack of the 102nd Infantry Regiment on the town of Epieds over on the left flank. The company formed a fourth wave behind the infantry, and spread out into a long skirmish line. The advance started over the open wheat field at a slow walk, with frequent halts during which each man flattened out so that no moving thing was visible in the field. M.G. bullets began to kick up little puffs of dust all around us, and the enemy artillery barrage came down fiercely just ahead. We knew we would have to go through this, and every nerve was tense. We soon found ourselves in the midst of it – direct fire at that, mostly from one pounders, and 105’s and Austrian 88’s which come with the shriek of a thousand devils. The fumes choked us and the concussion half stunned us. it was here that Hez Porter, following his platoon leader, was instantly killed. Corcoran, Dick and Wendt were wounded…………………………….”