Old Alabama Stuff (15): Pilgrimage for the Mothers & Widows

The full title of this 1930 U.S. Government publication reads Pilgrimage for the Mothers and Widows of Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines of the American Forces Now Interred in the Cemeteries of Europe as provided by the Act of Congress of March 2, 1929. That law of Congress provided funds for widows and mothers to visit the graves of their loved ones in Europe who died in World War I. The "Letter of Transmittal" by Acting Secretary of War Patrick J. Hurley as shown below explains the effort conducted to find these widows and mothers. The book is 339 pages and includes an index of states and counties, and then listings for each state organized by county where the women lived. 

This copy was sent by the office of U.S. Senator from Alabama Hugo L. Black to a library, which at some point discarded this duplicate copy. An embossed stamp on the title page identifies that library as the one at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University. The book is House Document 140 of the 71st Congress, 2nd session. The document is online via the Hathi Trust. 

The vast majority of women listed seem to be mothers, which might indicate how many deceased soldiers and sailors were unmarried. I wonder how many women actually made the trip to Europe. 

To quote from the "Letter of Transmittal":

"In making this investigation an effort was made to locate all of the mothers and widows who are entitled to the benefits of the act and to ascertain their wishes....On November 15, 1929, the investigation showed the following results:

(1) Total number of mothers and widows entitled to make the pilgrimages, 11,440

(2) Number of such mothers and widows who desire to make the pilgrimages, 6,730

(3) Number of such mothers and widows who desire to make the pilgrimages during the calendar year 1930, 5,323

(4) Probable cost of the pilgrimages to be made, $5,653,200"

The entire listing for Alabama can be seen below. 

Alabama Photo of the Day: Hugh Bagley

I recently came across this photograph and decided to investigate a bit. The information I've  found on Bagley came from several sources: U.S. Census records, Alabama marriage records and his World War I registration card at Ancestry.com, and the Gold Star Database maintained by the Alabama Department of Archives and History. That database is derived from a project the Archives undertook in the 1920's to obtain information from relatives about each of Alabama's dead in World War I. Bagley's mother Willis filled out his form. The plan was to publish a book about these men, but that never happened. 

The subject of the photo was born in the small community of Jenifer in Talladega County on September 7 1897. At the time Bagley registered with the military, he was working as a laborer at a furnace in Ironaton in Talladega County. He arrived at Camp Dodge, Iowa, for training on October 28, 1917. You can see a number of postcards of buildings and activities at the camp here. More information on Camp Dodge is here. As a member of the quartermaster corps he departed Hoboken, N.J., for France on February 9, 1918. Like most African-American soldiers in World War I, he served in a supportive, non-combatant role. He died of unknown illness on November 11, 1918, which happened to be Armistice Day. Perhaps he died in the 1918 influenza pandemic. 

Bagley's parents were married on January 9, 1892, in Jenifer, Alabama. I found the Bagley family in the 1910 U.S. Census. The father is listed as Guss Bagley, age 36, the mother is Willis Bagley, 25. They lived in Ironaton on Virginia Street with their six sons ranging in age from 1 to 16. Apparently three other children had not survived. Hugh was the second oldest at 13; he could both read and write. 

Hugh's mother Willis filled out the Gold Star form on November 3, 1921. On the line for "Father" she wrote, "Know nothing of Gus Bagley". Had her husband and Hugh's father abandoned  her at an earlier point? She notes that her son went to school in Ironaton and that a "Prof. Barnhill" was one of his teachers. Willis declared that Hugh was a Republican, a Steward in the Methodist church and "Died without going into an engagement."

or 

Bagley is buried in the Jenifer Cemetery in Talladega County 

Source: Find-A-Grave

Old Alabama Stuff (2): Alabama's Own in France

In April 1917 Alabama National Guard units returned from duty in Mexico; since October 1916 they had been involved in the U.S. effort to put down the rebellion led by Pancho Villa. In that same month the United States entered World War I and the 4th Alabama Infantry became the 167th Regiment of the 42nd or "Rainbow" Division. The unit participated in the Second Battle of the Marne in July and August 1918. The German defeat there resulted in the Allied forces' advance and further victories leading to the Armistice.

The book Alabama's Own in France published in 1919 is the story of the "Rainbow" Division. Not all its soldiers were from Alabama; many other states were represented. Yet for some reason our French allies identified the state with the Division.

An article on "World War I and Alabama" from the Encyclopedia of Alabama can be found here. Below are the title page and table of contents from the book which can be found on the Internet Archive. Last is a photograph of the 167th's victory parade in Montgomery.

Author William Henry Amerine was an Alabama native who served in Europe with the Red Cross in World War I. He died in 1964.

A recent history of the 167th is Nimrod Frazier's Send the Alabamians. 

Victory parade for the 167th Infantry regiment on Commerce Street at the intersection with Tallapoosa Street in Montgomery

Source: Ala. Dept. of Archives and History