Sunday Search: Piercing Through The Foliage

Caleb Pierce, Margaret Hughes, Isabella Pierce, and Noah Pierce -
Census - 1870 

If you are researching your family tree to try and find a connection to a celebrity or a historical figure, you are most likely going to be very disappointed. This is not the reality for many of us and while I have been lucky enough to uncover some fascinating lives and those who participated in different events throughout the history of the United States, this is far from discovering a celebrity (historic or otherwise) as is commonly defined these days. However, this is my family and they are historical figures for me as they are my direct connection to history.

John Hallman - Death Certificate - 1957

However, not only family lines have led me to historic events. In fact, I have recently been researching a line on my father’s side that is simply a common story of much of the families in this county. Starting with my great grandfather, John Lewis Hallman (1894-1957), I have traced back an additional four generations. While I have written about my great grandfather before, I hadn’t researched much beyond that generation especially on his mother’s side.

Margaret Hughes - Death Certificate - 1919

My second great grandmother, Isabella Pierce (1869-1901), was born in Delaware County, Pennsylvania to Caleb Pierce (1840-1912) and his Irish bride Margaret Hughes (1842-1919). While the family didn’t have much money they seemed to have enough as Caleb left a modest estate to his widow upon his death. What was particularly interesting about this generation is that I was completely unaware of the Irish roots on my father’s side until this discovery.

Caleb Pierce - Death Certificate - 1912

Caleb Pierce, my third great grandfather, on the other hand, was not as fortunate as his daughter. Growing up the son of a laborer, he aspired to step up a rung (a common thread throughout much of my family, and apprenticed to become a Blacksmith which provided for his family but almost certainly contributed to his early demise as well. However, it was his father, Noah Pierce, my fourth great grandfather, who seemed to not be able to catch a break.

Noah Pierce - Census - 1880

Noah Pierce (1805-1880) was raised with next to nothing to the point that he is listed with his siblings in the “Poor School Children Records” of Chester County as needing assistance to pay for basic school supplies (his father, my fifth great grandfather, Caleb Pierce is also listed). He spent his life as a laborer doing what he could to support his family. By the 1870 census he is listed as living with his son. By the 1880 census (where he is classified as “Defective, Dependent, or Delinquent”) he is listed among those residing at the Chester County Almshouse.

So, as you can see, this is not a lineage filled with heroes and people of note. This is my family, these are the people that worked hard and did what they could to support their family. Every generation trying to move forward a little bit at a time. And this is what genealogy is all about… it is our jobs as family historians, to remember our past no matter how fascinating or mundane it may seem to others. All of these ancestors make up who we are and each play a role in making us who we are. Sometimes we find stories of heroic actions while other times we find the facts about a family struggling to find a way to get by. The common thread is that each succeeded in bringing about the next generation and keeping the family tree alive. Without them, all of them, there wouldn’t be a family to research.

Sunday Search: Translation Please!

While conducting searches on different family members there is a variety of information that comes up usually requiring a lot of sorting, deciphering of handwriting, and frustration when the document that really piques my interest is in another language. More often than not I am at least able to figure things out not because I am fluent in multiple languages (I haven’t even mastered one) but because I know the basic format of what I am looking at. This hasn’t always been the case but after you have been doing the same kind of research for a while you generally know what information goes where largely based on where you find the name you are looking for in the document.

Early on in my research, these were pure moments of frustration that usually had me clicking on the ignore button before giving the document half of a chance to reveal itself. Now I find myself revisiting the branches on my tree and sorting through those forgotten hints so that I can again sort through them to see if anything is relevant to my family tree. I guess you could say that this is the curse of the world explorer membership on Ancestry.com.

However, this is only on instance where the language barrier can prove difficult or just flat out frustrating. While Google translate and similar programs are wonderful tools they are generally only reliable when it is strait text on a website. Add in the calligraphy element as well as the fact that most of these documents are in PDF or some other unsearchable file format and there is little that Google can do to assist. And I actually ran into this issue when researching my great grandfathers World War One unit.

When looking for information on the Motor Transportation Corps on the internet there is actually a limited amount of information that can be found as it pertains to the WWI incarnation of those units. When digging even further and specifying Unit 301, there is even less information available. After exhausting the limited resources that populated the first few search pages, I came across a PDF document of an account from one of the locals in France… you guessed it, the document is in French. Unfortunately, I understand very little of this language anymore having forgotten nearly all that I was taught in school and Google translate refused to assist in this matter.

Thankfully it is a typed account and a common language. Older documents found in dusty books are proving to be much more difficult. However, many are in the formats of which I am familiar and have provided me with a wealth of knowledge that has been added to my ever expanding genealogical database. But, and I will leave you with this thought, it would be nice to have the ability to instantly translate the material and I encourage researchers to know at least one other language and have a network of researchers who know a variety of other languages as well. You never know when your knowledge or theirs will benefit your research.

Sunday Search: More Dead Ends

While I have been able to make some progress recently on tracing back along the branches of the family tree (more on that next week), I have also encountered a number of roadblocks. It hasn’t been a matter of being able to find the right person to call, it is largely a matter of records no longer existing. Of course, there are also a few instances where I simply don’t have the access to the records. Really it is the combination of these two situations that has forced me to find other avenues to find the information for which I am searching.

I previously wrote about my numerous interactions with the Philadelphia Police Department and the discovery that most personnel files have long since been destroyed. While I was able to piece together a few aspects of John Uttley’s service, there are still many holes and questions that remain. However, sometimes we have to be satisfied with what we have and take some measure of contentment knowing that we have been able to confirm that he did serve, how long, badge number, and rank. Some people don’t even have that much information.

I ran into a similar situation as this when I called the Narberth Fire Department the last couple of weeks to try and get more information about my grandfather who was a Captain with the volunteer company. As it turns out, after years of renovations, moving buildings, leaks, and other instances, all the records prior to 1970 have been lost. However, I was still able to find out that, late in life, he was on over two dozen calls. Thankfully, there are some photos in the family from this time.

As I waited for Narberth to return my call, I also reached out to the current incarnation of Autocar now located in Indiana to see if they had any of the personnel files from the early days on the Philadelphia Main Line… this is where my great grandfather spend nearly his entire working life. I can’t say I was surprised when the woman on the phone informed me that only the name has been transferred over the years and the whereabouts of the files are unknown. There still is a chance that these records exist but now it is a completely different task trying to figure out where they ended up… I guess it is time to reach out to a variety of historical societies.

Lastly, while conducting the aforementioned outreach, I also looked into trying to secure my grandfather and great grandfather’s service records from WWII and WWI respectively. While these records exist, at least most of them, only next of kin are allowed to order the files. The simple translation is that I have to have my father submit the request in order to get these copies. Sometimes these extra steps seem to add up but at least there is a simply solution.

What I have found throughout the process and the point that has been driven home again and again is the simple fact that we, as a family, must keep our own records. If you want to know the story of your family and you want future generations to know about the family we can’t rely solely on the depositories found in other places. At the same time, make it known that you have certain records and share them with anyone who is interested in learning about the generations that preceded them. In other words, don’t let someone else control your family story… don’t be afraid to be the family historian.

Military Ties Past and Present

Today I am not just thinking about those currently serving in the armed forces but I am also thinking about all those with whom I have crossed paths with in my life, my family members who served, and my ancestors who wore a uniform. When I stop for a moment to reflect on all of these people it is amazing to think about how extensive that list is. And that list only gets longer when I consider those I shared a barracks with in the summer of 2002 and those I only knew in passing while at Norwich prior to my time in basic training.

When I think of my family my thoughts first turn to my father, my grandfather, and my great grandfather. I know a little about each of their times in the military and the rest I have done my best to put the pieces together. My father served in the Army during Vietnam, my grandfather in the Navy during World War II, and my great grandfather served in the Army during The Great War. These are only three men without whom I wouldn’t be the person I am today for a myriad of reasons.

When I look further back in the family and across the many branches, all branches of the military are represented including my uncle on my mom’s side who served in the Coast Guard, my uncle and great uncle on my dad’s side who served in the Air Force, and my great Aunts who enlisted in the Marine Corps during World War II. All branches represented throughout the course of history from the French-Indian Wars to the present day with several cousins still under contract with the government. It really is quite the extensive history.

While the family stories are things which come up on occasion (and there are some good ones), I hear a story or two at least once a month from many of the brothers at the lodge. These men represent over 75 years of military history from both peace time and times of war with many of them sharing vivid accounts of their service when the moment calls for their wisdom. It really is an interesting mix of experiences that have been shared before and after meetings.

Of course, there are the men with whom I attempted to serve. Some I remember vividly while others remain nameless in my memory. I have lost track of nearly all of them with only a single connection remaining to that brief time in Missouri. I regularly wonder about what happened to many and I think about what might have been the result had I completed training along with the rest of the “House of Pain”.

I am grateful to all these men and women that have served as well as those to whom I have no personal connection and I encourage you to think about the connections that you have to the various branches of the military. You may be surprised as well to find so many links to the branches that have safeguarded our country. Not everyone serves but we all benefit from the service of those who have honorably donned the uniform.

Not Just Another Doughboy

 

My great grandfather, John Lewis Hallman, was born on 29 December 1894 to a farmer father in what is now considered the Philadelphia suburbs. By the time he turned seven he was helping his father support the family without a mother in his life. Nearly a decade late, when he was 16, he was employed as a driver for the Hansell family. While he had no idea what he would face later in life, it is clear that this experience would serve as a formidable introduction to the automobile.



The Autocar Logo, 1912.

 

Now in his 20’s, John was working as a machinist at the Autocar Company in Ardmore. For those of you, especially locals, unfamiliar with the manufacturer, despite innovative and commercial success of their cars, Autocar retooled their plant in 1911 to focus exclusively on producing commercial trucks. Most likely, this is when John Hallman joined the company as training and new positions with the company were readily available. The largest employer in the township, he would remain with the company throughout his working life. Of course, there was one 19 month period when he was forced to work elsewhere.

John registered for the draft in June of 1917 and proceeded to wait while the conflict intensified. In December of that year, John Hallman was enlisted as a Private in the United States Army. While in basic training, the government was looking for ways to more efficiently support the new mechanical army. This lead to General Order No. 75 and the formation of the Motor Transport Corps (MTC) out of the Quartermaster Corps on 15 August 1918. At the time of its formation, this new corps recruited from within the existing ranks skilled tradesmen who were previously working in the burgeoning automotive industry. My great grandfather was one of those men recruited to serve in the 301^st MTC.

The 301^st was one of three units of approximately 1,150 men each that worked in the 1,000 acre MTC reconstruction park in Verneuil, Nievre (central France). During the Great War, the reconstruction park was the end of the line for service vehicles. While at the overhaul parks, when the repair of a vehicle exceeded 30% of the initial costs, they were sent to the reconstruction park for salvage. These parks were an essential part of this new kind of warfare as was made clear by the Distinguished Service Medal being awarded to Colonel Harry A. “Bull” Hegeman who was in command of the park during the war. The park was also visited in early 1919 by Generals John J. Pershing and, later, James Harbord. The MTC was dissolved after the war in 1920.

On 18 June 1919, ten days before the signing of the Treaty of Versaille, John Hallman was discharged from the Army and returned home and resumed his employment with Autocar where he would later work with his son-in-law (another story for another day). Later that year he married my great grandmother, Sarah Mabel Ardis, and two years later they welcomed their first child, my grandmother, Isabelle. John Hallman died on 3 January 1957 less than a year after the old Autocar plant in Ardmore was torn down.