Montanye - My Huguenot Ancestry

When you start the genealogical journey back in time, you come across some interesting and seemingly far off places.  Our immigrant ancestors came from somewhere and sometime we are lucky to discover some of those interesting places.  My 10^th great grandfather, Dr. Johannes De La Montagne came reportedly  from Saintonge, France on the west coast of France.  I say reportedly because I’ve never heard of any proof or any trace of him during his childhood.  The facts that we know about De La Montagne are in themselves fascinating.

In 1623, Dr. Johannes De La Montagne shoes up with Jesse de Forest during a journey to the Amazon River near the coast of Guiana.  Jesse De Forest was leading a Huguenot expedition in Guiana to find a location for a colony.  Johannes actually ended up being the keeper of the journals during the expedition probably because he was literate.  He returned to Leyden, Holland with the news that Jesse De Forest had died in 1624 in Guiana.  Johannes also courted and married Jesse De Forest’s daughter, Rachel.  They left in 1628 for Tobago but Rachel returned by 1631 possibly because of poor health caused by the climate.  Johannes returned in 1633 to Holland and in 1636 left for America.

When Johannes and Rachel left for America in 1636 they sailed with several of Rachel’s brothers and uncle as well as their 3 children.  Rachel gave birth to a daughter, Maria, on board the ship near the island of Madeira (part of group of islands off of Portugal).  After their arrival in New Amsterdam, now New York, Rachel’s brother Henry, started a tobacco plantation called Vrendahl.   Henry died soon after and Johannes and Rachel took over the plantation.  The plantation was located in the upper half of what is now known as Central Park in Manhattan.  They were driven off of the plantation by some local Indians and the plantation was abandoned.

Johannes became of the official surgeon of New Amsterdam and spent several years working for both Willem Kieft and Peter Stuyvesant – both had the role of the Dutch Director-General in the colony of New Netherland.  Johannes later became the Vice Director of the colony and had special responsibility for Fort Orange (Albany) and the Dutch settlement of Beverwyck.  When the colony was taken over by the British in 1664, Johannes De La Montagne had to resign his position and sign a loyalty oath.  According to records, Johannes returned to Holland with Peter Stuyvesant to defend the turnover of the colony.  He returned to the America and probably died around 1670 in Claverack, NY which is about an hour south of Albany.

My line descends through Johannes and Rachel’s son Jean.  The family had a prominent position within the early history of New York both within the government and founding.  I’ve been told that there is a monument to the Huguenots in Central Park – probably not too far from where Johannes and his wife Rachel De Forest lived.  As a group who were searching for religious freedom they left a significant imprint on one of the most important cities in the world, New York City. 

 One of the interesting problems with the Montagne family is the numerous spellings.  Within my line alone, I find the following spellings:  De La Montagne, Delamontanie, & Montanye.  The family comes from Harlem, New York City, Pluckemin, NJ, and finally ends up in Charleston, Montgomery Co., NY which is where my great great great grandmother’s family lived and near where she married her schoolteacher when she 15 years old.  Phebe Montanye Gallup was born a little over 200 years after her ancestor immigrated.  My grandmother and great uncle both remember Grandma Gallup, as she was called quite well.  I think it is pretty remarkable that we live in 2011 and she was born in 1844 – and she is still well remembered.  

If you are interested in the family of the Montanye's look up Lois Stewart's genealogy on the Montanye's called "The Ancestors and Descendants of James Montaney (1799-1857) of Oppenheim, Fulton County, New York; A Genealogical History...of the Montanye Family"

The Gallup Genealogy

The Gallup name is heard just about every night on the nightly news - usually regarding a poll on the ebb and flows of some politician.  When I found out that I had Gallup ancestry, I was very interested in finding out more information.  I started out my search by trying to go through the DAR books at the local library…they were interesting and rife with possibilities but at the time, I knew little beyond my great great grandmother’s name.   Not too long after my initial search, my great uncle provided me access to a wonderful resource – the 1966 Gallup genealogy.

If you are lucky enough to have a New England family in your background, especially one as prominent as the Gallup family there are usually numerous resources not available for many other researchers.  The Gallup Association was instituted in the late 1800’s primarily with the goal to maintain the family cemetery at Gallup hill in Ledyard, CT.  They were also kind enough to write genealogies in 1893, 1966, 1987, and 2009.  I have copies of the final three genealogies and the original genealogy can be ordered online if so desired. 

Researching a Gallup line can be illuminating in many ways.  There are many family members that demand more attention because of their interesting lives and the times in which they lived.  The first Gallup that immigrated to this country was John Gallop – (the name changed not too long after they arrived).  He arrived in 1630 on the “Mary and John” as part of the Winthrop Fleet.  At first John Gallop came on his own and he settled in Boston, got land and built a wharf and house.  He had a ship and traded up and down the coast.  From all accounts he was an excellent captain and discovered a new channel into the Boston harbor.  Unfortunately for John Gallop – his wife wasn’t too keen to come to the New World.  Governor Winthrop was concerned with the possibility that John Gallop might return back England.  He wrote to the Rev John White in Dorchester the following letter:

I have much difficultye to keep John Gallop here by reason of his wife will not come. 

I marvayle at the woman's weaknesse.  I pray pursuade her and further her coming by all means.  If she will come, let her have the remainder of his wages; if not, let it be bestowed to bring over his childre, if so he desires.  It would be about 40 pounds losse to him to come for her.

                                                Your assured in the Lord's worke,

                                                Massachusetts, July 4, 1632

                                                                J. Winthrop.

Christobel, John’s wife, finally agreed to come and she and her children arrived in 1633 on the Griffin.  Christobel and John had the following children:

• John Gallup b. 1615 Bridport, Dorsetshire, England d. 19 Dec 1675 Narragansett Fort, RI
• Joan Gallop b. 1618 Bridport, Dorsetshire, England d. 20 Mar 1691 Hingham, Plymouth Co., MA m. Thomas Joy
• William Gallop b. 1622 Mostern, Dorset England – returned to England and fought under Cromwell and died.
• Francis Gallop b. abt 1625 Bridport, Dorsetshire, England d. 18 Nov 1625 Bridport, Dorsetshire, England
• Nathaniel Gallop b. 16 Aug 1629 Mosterne, Dorset, England d. 1676
• Samuel Gallop b. 16 Aug 1629 Mosterne, Dorset, England d. bet 1667-1679.
• John Gallop died on 11 Jan 1650 in Boston, MA and his wife died on 27 Sep 1655 in Boston, MA. 

If you are descended from John Gallup b. 1615 – you are very fortunate.  This is the line that has been the best researched and documented of all of the Gallup lines in the United States.  If you are descended from Nathaniel or Samuel – you aren’t quite so lucky.  The information is somewhat sketchy and only someone who is descended from those two individuals is likely to spend much time on their line.  However, if you are descended from John – you are likely to have several intersecting branches with other Gallup’s as well as family names like: Palmer, Denison, Cheseborough, Prentice, Fish, Crary, Wheeler, Stanton, Williams, and Prentice.  Honestly…there are too many to count.  More on my interesting Gallup family later!

Is it Genetic?

I think it is pretty horrifying to most modern women to think of what some of our ancestors did in the realm of childbirth.  You rarely ever see a family with more than 4 children and when you do, it is a bit shocking to our modern sensibilities.  For a wife in the early 20^th century or earlier – large families were common and even necessary.  Every family needed a lot of hands to get the work done.  Everything that I have learned about my great great grandmother has come from other cousins whose family members had knowledge of her.  What I have found out…has raised some interesting questions!

John Ward Kelley & Melvina Robertson

Melvina Robertson was born about 19 July 1849 to Charles Robinson, Jr. and Catherine Shelton.  In all my research of the Robertson/Robinson family, the name changes back and forth quite often –  from census records, marriage records, or birth/death records, the name is never quite the same.  Anyway, Melvina’s father died when she was about 3 years old and her mother remarried to a local widower, L. Julius Spivey.  This widower was actually a cousin to her husband and they probably knew each other when they lived in Washington Co., TN.  In 1867, she marries John Ward Kelley.  Both of them were raised in Sexton’s Creek, Clay Co., KY and their families probably emigrated about the same time from Washington Co., TN.  Clay Co., KY to this day is one of the poorest counties in KY and from what I have learned; Sexton’s Creek wasn’t too prosperous.  Within the first 10 years of her marriage, Melvina had 7 children and by the time they decided to leave KY in 1885 they had 11 children.  They settled in Chautauqua Co., KS and started a new life.  John Ward Kelley had family in the area so it was a logical place for them to go after leaving KY and there was land to be had in the area for a new start.  By late 1890, Melvina was pregnant with her 14^th child and on 21 Dec 1890 – she and the child (a daughter) died during childbirth.  She left behind 13 children with 10 still living at home. (Including my great grandmother Sarah Kelley Tanahill who married John Lyons Tannahill)

During the past 15 years or so, I have corresponded with many descendants of Melvina Robertson and John Ward Kelley.  One of the most interesting things that I have learned about her is that she was said to have something called “Wolf’s Bite.”  Today, we would call it Lupus.  I don’t know how she was diagnosed – I suspect it was the rash that is common with the disease. I have talked to many of her descendants and have found a common theme in many of them with health problems.  Many have auto immune diseases.  Diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes and many others are considered to be auto immune diseases.  I know of two close cousins who have Multiple Sclerosis – my mother had Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Diabetes…and several distant cousins have Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Within the descendants of Melvina Robertson – I know of at least 10 who have at least one of these diseases.  I asked my doctor about it – whether there was a genetic component to a disease like Lupus.  He said that he didn’t know of one – but there is certainly one with Diabetes and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

 

As genealogists, I think that it is an interesting and important to look at diseases or tendencies that run in families.  Just as we can see resemblances in photographs that follow through generations, we should pay attention to health patterns as well.  Who knows what future health professionals will discover about genetic tendencies with diseases…it seems something new is coming out all of the time.  Perhaps we should note these diseases within our genealogy files for future reference.

Frankie - My Pitsenbarger Ancestor

My great grandmother’s mother had one of the most difficult names to research – Pitsenbarger.  One would think with such an unusual name that it would be an easy name to research – not so.  “Why?” you may ask – how do you spell it and how many different ways can you spell it?  I think that I have seen them all!

My great great grandmother’s name was Rebecca Jane Pitsenbarger, but she was known by her family as “Frankie.”  She was born on 28 Jan 1870 near Shawverville, WV by the Kanawha River.  I have heard some locals tell me where Shawverville was, but it is pretty hard to find on a map.  It must be near Nicholas Co., WV – because that is where she is recorded on the census that year.  She was the daughter of William “Billy” Pitsenbarger and Mary “Polly” Amick.  She was the youngest of 8 children.

I have several families in the West Virginia area that I connect to either directly or through my ancestors siblings.  People with names like Shawver, Nutter, Amick, Pitsenbarger, & Legg are direct ancestors.   There are numerous families that have intermarried into these families like O’Dell, Stowers, Bailes, Ramsey, Boley, & Burdette and many many others.  They can be very difficult to track because not only do you have those associated names – they have intermarried so often that you will find some strange relationships if you examine it too closely. (See my Blog – He is his own Grandpa)

The biggest problem with the name Pitsenbarger is the many ways it has been butchered by those spelling it.  The original spelling was probably Pitzenberger and the likelihood is that our ancestor, Abraham Pitzenberger emigrated from Switzerland.  I have seen it spelled Pitsenbarger, Pitsonbarger, Pitsinbarger, Pittsenbarger, Pittsenberger and several other ways that I can’t remember right now.  I think that I have even seen it mixed up with Puffenbarger which is another family entirely.  So when you look the name up in indexes you have to be willing to search several different spellings.  The Soundex system was developed to help index names from the census records – probably because the census takers didn’t spell most of these names correctly.  If you need to check the Soundex code for a name – check out http://resources.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/soundexconverter . 

I was fortunate that I had a piece of paper that had my great grandmother’s family written out.  I knew from the start that her mother was Frankie Pitzenbarger and the rest of the line back to Abraham Pitzenberger – the immigrant ancestor.  One of the most curious things was that Frankie’s mother’s name was Mary “Polly” Amick and her father’s mother’s name was Elizabeth Amick.  I thought that they must be connected somehow.  They lived in the same area and even though there were a lot of Amicks there must be a connection.  It took me about six months but I finally figured out that William Pitsenbarger and Mary “Polly” Amick were 1^st cousins.  Mary Amick’s father,  Jacob Amick and William Pitsenbarger’s mother Elizabeth were siblings.  They were both the children of Henry Amick, Jr. and Elizabeth Barbara Niemand.    Now this might be common in West Virginia in the mid 1800’s – but it still makes me a bit uncomfortable.  I have taken great delight in teasing some of my young cousins about the relationship…because I ‘m not sure they knew how common that situation was.

You might be wondering what happened to Frankie.  She “married” George Christian Shawver about 1890 and had six children.  All but the youngest went on to live long lives well into their 80’s and 90’s.  Frankie, herself, died of Tuberculosis on 10 May 1904.  Her husband went on to remarry and six more children were born.   We are fortunate to have a wonderful picture of Frankie that I estimate was probably taken in the 1880’s sometime.  It is a full figured picture that shows the way a young woman of her time dressed.  

Rebecca Jane "Frankie" Pitsenbarger.

Shirlie Louisa Pope Johnson

One of the first things that I discovered about Shirlie Louisa Pope Johnson, my great grandmother, was that we had been spelling her name incorrectly.  In just about everything that I had read about her had her name spelled Shirley – but her birth record has her name listed as Shirlie.  An odd spelling – but I suppose it was nice to be unique.  She faced many challenges and tragedies in her life. 

Winlsow with Shirlie and younger sister Anna May.

Nancy Ann Marie Lyons Pope - Shirlie's Mother

Shirlie was born in Burke, Caladonia Co., VT on 14 Jul 1881, the eldest daughter of Winslow Lonsdale Pope and Nancy Ann Marie Lyons.  By the time she was four years old, her family had moved to Lake Park, Dickinson Co., IA and they were living in Minnesota by the time the 1900 census.  They then moved to McLean Co., ND sometime after 1900.  Winslow bought some property there and by 11 Nov 1903, Shirlie had married Charles A. White.  Charles & Shirlie had two boys, George b. 1904 and Elmer b. 1906.  Just before the birth of her youngest son, Shirlie’s mother died of Tuberculosis.  When her youngest son was less than a year old, she lost her husband.  He had been out fighting a prairie fire and smoke inhalation killed him less than 6 days after fighting the fire.  It must have been so difficult to be a young 25 year old widow with two children to take care of with probably little money to help her along the way.  About a year later, she married Ulpian Grey Johnson on 27 Apr 1909 in Washburn, McLean Co., NC.  Ulpian or George as he was called had emigrated up to North Dakota from Iowa following the railroad and ended up homesteading in North Dakota in 1908.

Shirlie and her first husband Charles White.

By 1910, Shirlie and Ulpian are living in Dunn Center, Dunn Co., ND and have had their oldest daughter, Mary (b. 27 Jan 1910), and Nancy Mae followed on 9 Mar 1912.  My grandfather, Frank Stewart was b. 10 Oct 1912 and Hazel born/died 9 Mar 1919 and the youngest; Audrey was b. 22 Jan 1923.  I still remember that I was very excited when I got access to the 1920 census, that I would be able to find my grandfather…alas they were not counted.  My father believes that they were on their homestead on the Missouri River breaks.  Not too long after that, I’m sure they were forced to leave their home because of the building of a dam on the Missouri river that flooded their home.

In early spring in 1927, Shirlie died tragically and quickly of pneumonia.  We take for granted today the availability of antibiotics to help combat infections but in the late 1920’s they were not available and pneumonia could quickly lead to death.  Her sister, Verna, traveled across the Missouri river on a horse across the ice to try and help nurse her, but she succumbed much too quickly.  It couldn’t have been an easy situation.  I know that the family had little money and no prospect of much money.  Ulpian and Shirlie’s oldest daughter was handicapped and possibly mentally slow.  As my father has said – he was sure if his Aunt Mary’s mental abilities was a result of her handicap or was just exacerbated by it.  I have heard stories that Shirlie wasn’t that bright…but I find that difficult to believe.   From what I have learned – she was strong one in the family who kept “things” together.  Her husband was handicapped somewhat by a farm accident and had little arm strength.  Shirlie’s husband fell apart and it was up to her my grandfather and his sister Nan to take care of the family.  Nan was 15 years old and my grandfather Frank was 13 – both quit school and went to work to provide for their family.  I know that Shirlie’s sister, Verna, blamed Ulpian for not getting her medical care soon enough – and I don’t think there was much family support from Shirlie’s family after her death.

Taken shortly after Shirlie's death - Back Left to right: Ulpian,
Nan, Mary, Frank - Front - Audrey & Mary

 

There was a reason my grandfather didn’t know anything about his mother’s family.  Other than letters, they had little contact with Shirlie’s family.  Grandpa Frank didn’t know that his mother’s family was amongst the earliest settlers in the United States.  A few years after his mother’s death, they discovered a burning coal mine under the ground at the Old Dunn Center Cemetery and were advised that anyone buried there should be moved to the new cemetery.  When my grandfather moved to Idaho with his family, he made arrangements to have his mother and his baby sister, Hazel, moved.  Unfortunately, it was never done and she remained in a poorly marked grave in the Old Dunn Center cemetery.  We went back to Dunn Co., ND many years ago and attempted to locate her grave.  We think that we know where she is buried – but we can’t be sure.  We can only estimate based on the available records.  A few years ago, my grandmother (Marian) placed a stone at the New Dunn Center cemetery listing Shirley and Hazel as well as Ulpian on the gravestone.  I don’t think that she knew at the time that she had misspelled Shirlie’s name – but then she had already done that once before – when my grandparents named their oldest daughter Shirley. 

I find it difficult to really understand the life that my great grandmother had lived.  I have no basis for comparison to understand what it must have been like to face what she did.  She lost in her lifetime a husband, her mother, and child.  There was nothing easy about where she lived or how she lived.  They had horrible winters and brutal summers and it was even worse in the 1920’s.   Shirlie never lived to see her children grown and married or see any of her grandchildren.  I know that she was a much loved sister, wife and mother and that her death made a profound impact on her husband and children’s lives.  My grandfather didn’t have a lot of things to remember his family by – some pictures and few items from his family - one of my grandfather’s most prized possessions was a button box that is sitting on a shelf in a place of honor at my aunt’s home, it was one of the few things that he had of his mothers.

Our Gage Veterans - Highlighting Orland & Bernard

Every young man who went off to fight for his country has a unique story and family.  Neither one of my grandfathers served in World War II – one because of health reasons and I’m sure the other one was too valuable as a farmer and logger.  Each one of my grandmothers had two brothers who went off to war – I’ve told the story about Jack & Claude…now it’s time for Orland and Bernard!

Orland is the oldest of the 10 children (and six sons) to be born to Ora and Florence Shawver Gage.  Much of his youth was spent working with his father and grandfather farming and doing whatever needed to be done – whether it was building the family cabin with his father and brothers or cutting wood to help bring extra income for his family.  

Orland & Bernard on leave - 1945

Orland volunteered for the Army in the fall of 1943 and was inducted in late December of 1943.  He left at home his wife and newborn son.  Orland was part of the 38^th Bomb Group and fought in the 823^rd Squadron.  He was a tail gunner in B-25. I still find it difficult to believe that my tall uncle fit himself in that tiny spot.  I had watched the movie Memphis Belle and remember watching Henry Connick, Jr.’s character fit himself in that tiny area – Orland told me that he had considerably more room.  Orland went overseas on Easter Sunday of 1945 and flew 18 missions until the end of the war.  He wasn’t able to come home until February 1946...in the interim he showed the skills that made him successful in life.  Orland was sent to Fukuoka, Japan as acting First Sgt with orders to strip a manufacturing plant and build quarters for the Bomb Group that was expected in November. According to Orland, he complained to the Colonel when the mill they were using wasn’t getting lumber to them quickly enough and told them that he knew a little something about mills.  Before they knew it, Orland had that mill running and producing more than enough lumber to get the job done plus a few other important projects like a 32-hole latrine.  After he returned home, Orland began working for Potlatch Corporation.  He joined the Idaho National Guard unit in Lewiston, ID and was in Company A of the 200^th Tank Battalion as First Sergeant. By the time, he was called back up to active duty in 1951, Orland was a 2^nd Lieutenant and the Tank Battalion was now the 148^th Field Artillery Battalion.  He served in Korea as well and continued to serve in the Idaho National Guard until 1979.  

Orland writes “I have always taken pride in the way my brothers all were members of the military. Bernard spent 8 years in the Marines and flew F4U Corsairs as an enlisted pilot and returned home from China as a 2nd Lt. Don served three years as a Marine and was in Korea as a member of the 1^st Marine Division. He returned as a Sergeant from Korea. Byron was a member of the 148^th Field Artillery Battalion when it was recalled for the Korean War. He went to Korea and was assigned to the 196^th Field Battalion Communications section. He became a Tech/Sgt in charge of the section before coming home. He left the Washington National Guard as 1st Lt. My brother Duane was a member of the 148^th Field Artillery Battalion after the war and left the guard as a Tech/Sgt. He was a good soldier in peace time and would have been good at anything he tried in the service. We boys purchased a brick for Dad and each of his sons that will be placed at the “I AM AN AMERICAN” monument that stands in front of the Veteran’s Home on 8^th Street in Lewiston.”

Gage Men - Left to Right - Ora, Orland, Bernard, Don, Byron & Duane

Orland has been a proud Veteran who has worked hard to preserve the history of his bomb group from WW II.  He has worked diligently to maintain contact with the other members, scanned thousands of documents and pictures and worked to get a unit history published for his bomb group.  If you are interested - please check out www.sunsetters38bg.com.

Bernard flying over Emeraru in Corsair

Orland’s little brother, John Bernard Gage, was a pretty unique character himself.  When he passed away a few years ago – our family experienced a military funeral that was especially emotional for most of us.  Most of us knew that Bernard or Uncle Bun as he was called by the family served in WW II and we all knew he was a pilot – but I don’t think we ever really knew the whole story.  One of the cool things in our family is that Orland, Grandma Marian, and Bernard all graduated the same year from high school in 1939.  (Sickness and stubbornness were probably the true causes of Orland and Marian not graduating on time)  Bernard joined up with the Marines in early 1940 – lying about his age by a few months.  He was flying in China before World War II started for most Americans.  He flew a F4U1 – Corsair for over 400 missions from China to the South Pacific.  Part of his job was to photograph missions from up above on some of the bombing missions of the B-25’s below.  He and Orland figured out one time that they were actually flying the same mission at the same time – just in different planes.  The most unique thing was that Bernard flew all those missions and what was probably one of the hottest planes of the war as a Sergeant.  This was almost unheard of – Bernard refused to become an officer if his buddies weren’t being offered the same opportunity.  When he found out that officers were being released early – Bernard became an officer and was soon on his way home. When he arrived home in 1946, he came home with a wife and a new son and settled to farm up on Hatter Creek.  There isn’t one person who knew him well who didn’t marvel at his mechanical knowledge and sharp mind.  During his later years, it became a bit difficult to talk to Bernard because he couldn’t hear.  He had spent too many years working on engines to have much hearing left.

To my knowledge, the Gage and Shawver families have served in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Iraq War and have served their countries in times of peace and of war through both the National Guard and regular military.  I know the hardships that my great grandmother faced when her two oldest sons and her son-in-law were over fighting the war in World War II as well as her three sons in Korea.  She also saw her grandson go off to fight in Vietnam.  It is pretty remarkable that they all returned home safe.  God bless all of those veterans who have served and all of the family who waited and prayed for them to return to them safely.

(Orland took the time to write his life story a few years ago and I have taken some of the detail from that story – he has truly lived a remarkable life and continues to be active to this day)

Claude & Jack - WW II - Veterans

Claude & Jack Friddle - abt 1945

In the fall of 1941, my mother’s family were living in pretty good times.  My mother was born in October of 1941 – ironically while her father was off hunting.  Claude (Capitola’s younger brother) drove his sister to the hospital to have my mother.  He used to tell my mother that he had helped bring her into the world.  Grandma Cappy decided after that experience that if her husband, Richard, couldn’t be there for the birth…then she wasn’t going to have any more children.  They were happy with their two daughters – their lumber lot was doing well, the ranch out in Tammany was also doing well.  Mom & Pop Friddle lived next door (David Carl Friddle & Sophia Dollar Friddle) and Capitola’s younger brother was involved in the waning years of high school and her older brother, Jack was off living in Baker City, OR with his wife Hilda and also working.  However, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, they like everyone else were glued to the radio listening to Roosevelt grimly relating what had happened.  Everything they knew about their life was about to change – as it did for so many families across the United States. Young men joined up and started leaving for faraway places for training and eventually to the battlefield.  Amongst those young men was my great uncle Jack. 

At 34 years old, he wasn’t quite as young as most of those signing up.  He had had some military experience in the army in the early 1930’s.  I’ve never had a specific date – but I have a photo of him in his uniform.  Jack enlisted on 25 Feb 1943 and he became a paratrooper and ended up as a captain.  Jack spent some time training down in North Carolina and got the chance to see some of his mother’s family.  Several of his mother’s siblings made the trip to see him.  Eventually Jack ended heading for the Pacific theater.  As I never heard a lot of specifics, I know that he spent a lot of time like most paratroopers jumping from one island to another.  Not only did you have the danger of the parachute jump, I don’t think they ever knew what they would face when they landed.  When I was around Jack, he didn’t’ talk about his experiences probably because I was little girl and he had much more fun teasing me.  However, he and his brother, Claude used to spend a lot of time telling each other stories.  I do know that he survived several close calls including having an unexploded bomb come down literally right next to him.  Jack also arrived home with a Japanese rifle that was complete with a bayonet.  Jack gave that rifle to my father years ago and my Dad gave the rifle to my brother a few years ago. 

Claude signed up in 1943, just after high school graduation.  He went to his father first to tell him – because he wanted help telling his mother.  He knew that Mom Friddle would be beyond upset that he had signed up.  Her older son was already serving in the war and she didn’t want to chance losing her second son.  Nevertheless, Claude headed off for training and then to the European theater.  He spent a lot of time in England making friends with the other servicemen and then watching a lot of fly off on bombing missions to Germany – knowing the whole time that many of them would never come back.  I only heard him talk about World War II a few times, but that was something that deeply affected him.  Claude was part of the 1^st Army – Tank Division.  His first experience in battle came on D-day as the second wave at Omaha Beach.  Claude spent the next several months battling through the hedgerows and inching towards Germany.  He was in the Battle of the Bulge fighting under Gen. George Patton.  During his time there, he had 5 tanks shot out from under him.  During the Battle of the Bulge, Claude’s legs were severely frozen and during the last years of his life – diabetes and damage from the war made it so that he had little feeling in his legs.

By the late summer of 1945, Jack and Claude were both heading home from war.  My mother remembered them coming home.  As she was quite young, this was a momentous occasion.  Jack and Claude nicknamed their two nieces the “Geisha Girl” (Aunt Joan) and the “Blonde Bomber” (Betty, my mother).  When they entered the house, they were surprised to find a map on the wall with push pins dotting its surface.  Through news reports and Jack & Claude’s letters, Mom Friddle and Grandma Cappy had traced their progress through the war.  Much to Jack & Claude’s surprise, this map was remarkably accurate.

Like so many other servicemen, Jack and Claude came home and took up the business of living a civilian life.  Jack went back to managing a retail store and eventually owned a few stores along the way.  He died in 1987 at the age of 78.  Claude worked several jobs and eventually ended up the irrigation department in Lewiston, ID.  He was married for over 60 years and had three daughters.  Claude recently passed away at the age of 87.  Jack and Claude were always tied together as brothers – I think that their war experiences tied them even more closely together.  They had a shared experience that only another veteran would understand.