Russell Blackwell and Bess Young of Harrison County, Ohio
Introduction
In September 1918, Miss Bess Young of Harrison County, Ohio, received a letter from Private R.E. Blackwell
with the United States Army in Europe. The envelope read:
Private R.E. Blackwell
Co. D. 308 Motor Supply Train
American Ex Forces
A.P.O. 762
postmarked Rec'd From Army, Bordeaux
10 AM Sep 4 1918
marked: Soldiers Mail O.A.S.
to
Miss Bess Young
R.R. #4 Cadiz [scratched out]
Uhrichsville
Harrison Co. Ohio US
Censored by
E Vanderpoel
1st Lieut 2. M.C. U.S.A.
Stamped: Passed As Censored [something] A.E.F.
Can we learn a little more about this couple?
Russell Errett Blackwell
Russell Errett Blackwell was born February 13, 1888, at Station 15, Monroe Township, Harrison County, Ohio, the son of Martin Luther Blackwell and Sarah Frances Miller. In 1900 he was with his parents and siblings in Bowerston Village, Monroe Township. Station 15 was located on the railroad line, just south of where Ohio Route 151 meets U.S Route 250. Bowerston Village is about 5.3 miles north of that. The family was still in Monroe Township in 1910, presumably at the same place. The 1910 census doesn't give any details as to location.
World War I
Russell registered for the draft on June 5, 1917, in Cadiz, Ohio, and enlisted in the United States Army on September 19, 1917. He was assigned to the 332nd Infantry at first, but on May 12, 1918, he was transferred to the 308th Supply Train. Both units were attached to the 83rd Infantry Division, which trained at Camp Sherman, just outside of Chillicothe, Ohio. The Division staged for departure to Europe at Camp Merritt, New Jersey, and Camp Mills, Long Island NY, in late May 1918, before leaving for Europe via various ports. Russell's unit left from Boston on June 12, 1918, and arrived in Le Havre, France, on the 28th. The 83rd was designated as a depot division and assigned to the area of Le Mans.
Depot divisions were located at the French ports. They received newly arriving soldiers and provided six weeks of basic training before they went to the front. And, yes, Le Mans is a port. The river Sarthe is navigable out to the English Channel.
Russell Blackwell returned home to the United States in 1919, leaving Brest, France, on July 1 and arriving in Boston on July 12. [note: his information says June 12, but I am assuming that is a mistake.] He was discharged July 19, 1919.
While at Camp Sherman, Russell survived a serious outbreak of the Spanish Influenza:
"In Chillicothe and at Camp Sherman, the disease spread just as quickly as it did everywhere else. Thousands of residents and soldiers were infected in a very short time. Approximately 5,686 cases of influenza were documented among Camp Sherman soldiers in 1918. 1,777 of them were unable to ward off the disease and died."
Russell's letter to Bess Young was postmarked Bordeaux. That was where the mail from the American troops was gathered and sent to the United States. It was censored by 1st Lt Edwin T Vanderpoel of Metuchen, New Jersey, the commanding officer of the 308th Motor Supply Train.
Bess Dale Young
Bess Dale Young was born March 24, 1889, in Stock Township, Harrison, Ohio, the daughter of John Young and Annie E. Baker. In 1900 she is with her parents and siblings in Stock Township. In 1910 the census page says they were living on the Moravian Road, which runs west from Cadiz to Deersville. Based on the birth dates of his children,
Bess' great grandfather, also named John Young, was born in Ireland about 1789 and arrived in Harrison County between 1829 and 1834. The tree at familysearch has exact dates for his birth and death and that of his wife, but provides no source for the information. John's wife's name is Martha on the censuses but the tree says it was Matilda. They had a daughter named Matilda but not one named Martha, so maybe Matilda is correct. Her daughter Elizabeth (Young) McIlroy's death record says her name was Matilda Goorley. The tree says it was Martha Matilda McDougal. Again, no source at familysearch for her surname.
Russell and Bess (Young) Blackwell
Russell Blackwell was discharged from the Army on July 19, 1919, and on September 3 he and Bess were married in Harrison County by Charles Gilmore, a Presbyterian minister. They lived in a number of places over the years: Uhrichsville in 1920, Monroe Township in Harrison County in 1930, and at 736 Second Street NW in New Philadelphia in 1940 and 1950. They were still at that address on April 9, 1974 when Russell died. They had been married almost 55 years. They had no children.
Russell worked as an oil well pumper until September 1938 at which point he was unable to work, according to his WWII Draft Registration form. He evidently had some kind of pension, since his 1950 census information said he had received $650 in income other than wages and salaries.
Bess Blackwell, still residing in New Philadelphia, died on May 18, 1982. Both died at Union Hospital, Dover, Ohio, and both are buried in Evergreen Burial Park, New Philadelphia.
Obituary of Russell Blackwell
Russell E. Blackwell, 86, of 736 2nd st. NW, New Philadelphia, died following complications Tuesday morning in the extended care unit at Union Hospital. He had been a patient five weeks. Born at Station Fifteen, near Dennison, his parents were the Martin Luther and Sarah Frances Miller Blackwell. He was a retired oil well worker and an Army veteran of World War I. He also was a member of First Presbyterian Church of New Philadelphia, a 32nd Degree Mason of Valley of Columbus and the Blue Lodge of Leesville. Surviving are his widow, Bess Young Blackwell; five sisters, Edna Blackwell and Carolyn Blackwell, both of Columbus, Mrs. Ray (Dorothy) Copeland of Tiro, O., Mrs. Oscar (Ethel) O'Donnell of Dennison and Mrs. Lyda Reaveley of Salinas, Calif. Two brothers and a sister are deceased. Services will be Thursday at 3:30 in Linn-Hert-Geib Funeral Home with Rev. Stuart Barr officiating. Interment will be in Evergreen Burial Park. Friends may call Wednesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 at the funeral home.
Findagrave says this was originally published in The Times-Reporter 10 Apr 1974.
Conclusion
It seems a shame to have all this information on these two people, descendants of some of the earliest families in Harrison County, and have no one to share it with. But, as mentioned, they had no children. It makes me wonder who kept the letter after Bess died and how long the family held on to it before someone sold it off. Hopefully a relative will find this article. You can find Bess Young's page in the familysearch tree here: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/LKVP-ZL7. Clicking on Russell's name will take you to the Blackwells.
Russell wrote Bess another letter, postmarked September 7, 1918, at A.P.O. 762, Le Mans. As of this writing, the envelope is for sale here: https://www.postalhistory.com/results.asp?group=20&sort=2&cs=oh.
When writing the section on WWI, I relied mainly on the article in Thunderbolt. After I had finished I realized that the familysearch site had the original government document on line. You can find that in the last source listed under the WWI section. The Thunderbolt article agrees completely with the original source. Familysearch helpfully tells us that the information about the 83rd division is on images 365 to 372 of the government's document.
I might have gone overboard on sourcing this article. If you would like to understand why see the article Fact Checking a Specific AI Generated Wiki Site.
Sources
The sources for Russell Blackwell and Bess Dale Young and families are mostly the usual birth, marriage, and death records, along with findagrave, draft registrations, and the Philadelphia City Directory. Email me if you need the exact details. Other sources were:
Ohio Railroad Stations, Past and Present, Harrison County at https://www.west2k.com/ohstations/harrison.shtml
Ohio WWI Returning Soldier Index Cards at https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7BNX-4ZT2?lang=en
Thunderbolt, Volume 71, Issue 1, Winter 2017, "Golden Lions–83rd Infantry Division during World War One" at https://www.83rdassociation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ThunderboltWinter_Final_pages_online.pdf
Harbour of Le Mans at https://www.lemans-tourisme.com/en/port-capitainerie-du-mans.html
Mail by Rail: The Story of the Postal Transportation Service, by Bryand Alden Long with William Jefferson Dennis, Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation, New York, 1951, at the website of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign: https://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/OCA/Books2010-10/mailbyrailstoryo00long/mailbyrailstoryo00long.pdf
Thank you to this article at Roads to the Great War for pointing to that book. https://roadstothegreatwar-ww1.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-railway-mail-service-goes-to-war.html
"The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 at Camp Sherman" at the website of the National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/articles/influenza-at-camp-sherman.htm
familysearch.org "American Expeditionary Forces, Infantry, 83rd Division" at https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/American_Expeditionary_Forces,_Infantry,_83rd_Division
Click on FamilySearch Digital Library, https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/idurl/1/244497, and it will take you to
Order of battle of the United States land forces in the World War : American expeditionary forces. Divisions, by Army War College (U.S.). Historical Section, US Government Printing Office, Washington:1931. images 365 to 372, at https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/244497-order-of-battle-of-the-united-states-land-forces-in-the-world-war-american-expeditionary-forces-divisions
Enlisted and Officer Muster Rolls and Rosters, 1916-1939, Muster Roll of Company "D" of the 308th Motor Supply Train at https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:662H-K6KB?lang=en
U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910-1939, at https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/61174/records/4176607