By: Calvin Evans

Thomas Merritt Simmons was born on March 4^th 1893 in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1900 he was the adopted child of Nathaniel and Elsie Riley. Simmons was a colored man and he was also a Protestant, before the war he worked as a porter. He was also a part of a fraternal order called the White Lily Club.

Simmons enlisted in the Regular Navy and went through his training on the USS St. Helena, Norfolk, VA, where he was stationed for three months. He was then transferred to the USS New Jersey where he was stationed for fifteen months, and then the USS Jenkins where he was stationed for eighteen months. Simmons earned the enlisted rank of 3rd class mess attendant. His original assignment was on board the USS Allen (nine months) in Boston, MA. Simmons embarked from New York on the USS Allen on June 14th, 1917 and arrived in St. Nazair, France on June 28, 1917. He then traveled to Queenstown, Ireland on July 4th, 1917, and then to Brest, France, on February 18th, 1918. Simmons ended his tour back in the U.S. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 18th, 1919. Simmons was then transferred between the USS Melleville (one month), USS Jarvis (fourteen months), and USS Edellyn (two months). During his time in the Navy, Simmons also earned a couple of promotions. He would be promoted to Ward Room Steward then to Cabin Steward.

After the war, Simmons would find himself happiness but would sadly have a tragic end to his life. Simmons married Lonnie Mae Midget in 1923. However, by 1940 he was in jail. Referring to the records of the California State Senate, he would be convicted of second degree murder in 1938 and spent nine years in jail for killing his wife with an axe.

Sources:

Legislature of the State of California, The Journal of the Senate. Vol. 1, 1959, 85.

United States Census, 1900, 1910, 1940.

Thomas Merritt Simmons, World War I Questionnaire, Library of Virginia.

Louis Cook Austen was born March 5, 1888 in Mecklenburg, Virginia to Mollie Bowling and Jon Austin. Records show that Louis’ had no educational background throughout his life span. During World War I colored people were more likely to fight behind enemy lines. Fortunately for Louis, he was one of the few workers to work for the government as a longshoreman. Being that he worked as a longshoreman before and after the war, Louis had no assigned branch of service besides working for the government. During his mid years of his life records show that Louis was married. As time started to trickling down for Louis in his late years he was divorced. On February 28, 1942 Louis passed away. His cause of death was pulmonary infraction, caused by having diabetes mellitus, syphilis, and a damaged central nervous system. Today we thank Louis for his honorable service that he contributed to World War I.

Sources

https://fromthepage.com/lva/wwi-va-questionnaires/austin-louis-cook/display/644964

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PY-BSXL-Y?i=219&cc=2377565

by Georgina Taylor

James Henry Baskerville was born to Egbert and Nannie Baskerville on June 24, 1894. Baskerville had 6 sisters, 3 older and 3 younger. Their names were Matilda, Alice, Lilly, Emma, Hattie, and Virginia. His paternal grandmother’s name was Mary and according to the 1900 census, she lived with them. Their family lived in Norfolk, VA, was Methodist, and was able to provide James with a 4^th grade education. Prior to service, Baskerville lived at 820 Charlotte St., Norfolk, VA. In July of 1917 James Baskerville was married to Cora Lee Beasley and worked as a Laborer for Lambert’s Point Coal Pier, N. & W. R’wy Co. The two had no children together and it is unclear how long they remained married. However, on July 13, 1918 Baskerville enlisted at the age of 24 into the National Army and served 5 months before being discharged at the end of the war. 

While active, James held the rank of Private in the 9^th Training Battalion section of the U.S. National Army; 45^thcompany, 14^th Development Battalion regiment at Camp Meade, Maryland. Due to the short period of time served in the National Army, Baskerville’s job in the Military is unclear and it is unknown if he saw battle due to his discharge order. He was recorded in the Veterans Administration master index in 1918 as well. After the war, he remained in Norfolk residing at 1556 45^th St. Norfolk, VA and returned at his pre-war job as a Laborer for Lambert’s Point Coal Pier, N. & W. R’wy Co. James Baskerville married Mary Harris on October 7, 1923. The couple divorced in 1928 due to cruelty and desertion. In 1940, James was working as a longshoreman on the shipping piers, working 40 hours per week making $500 per year. Baskerville also rented a home located at 721 Mariner Ave., Norfolk, VA for $1 per month.

On June 10, 1966, Baskerville remarried. His new wife, Mary Etta Jones Magett was thirteen years his junior. His marriage license indicates that he was widowed.

He died on November 6, 1969 at Peidmont State Hospital of cerebrovascular disease caused by tuberculosis and is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Norfolk, VA.

by Micah Ricks

James Bailey was born on 25 December 1894 in Blue Field, WV. When registering for the draft, he lived in Norfolk VA at 1216 Smith St. with his mother Annie Darden who also was known as Mrs. Fannie. He also worked for Mr. Young at the naval operating base in Norfolk VA as a naval yard machinist on 7^th Nov 1917. He married Anice “Annie” Fields at Oceans, Virginia in 1917. His wife was born in 1894, in Princess Anne, VA. They did not have any children.

During the war he was assigned to the USS Wilhelmina, a steel hulled passenger and cargo steamer built in Newport News Virginia at the Newport News ship building co. On this ship he was a mess attendant. Some of the services that Bailey provided as a mess attendant are; serving food to officers and crew aboard the ship, preparing hot and cold drinks, serving fruits, setting tables for meals, and providing janitorial services like cleaning bedrooms and bathrooms assigned to the ship’s officers.

After serving on USS Wilhelmina, he was transferred to serve in USS De Kalb on 20^th August, 1918.

After the war, Annie and James lives on Dunbar Street in Norfolk. By 1944, the couple divorced due to desertion. Annie had moved to Brooklyn, New York while James remained in Norfolk. James Bailey died in December 1980 in Norfolk, Virginia.

By: Treyvon Darby

Jose or Joe Phillip McKinnon was born 27 August 1896 to Josephine Reeves McKinnon and Philip McKinnon. Jose was a religious Baptist man. He had two sisters, Rosalie and Mary.

Before joining the military, Jose worked at the Norfolk Navy Yard. Once he enlisted, he was sent to an Army training station located at Camp Lee, Va. While in the military Jose highest promoted pay-grade was a corporal in the U.S. Army. While in the military Jose was able to travel from Newport News Va, Brest France, and Marseilles, France. While serving in the U.S. Army it was recorded that Jose was treated in a hospital in Marseilles, France.

His life after he returned to the United States is undocumented. He died July 17, 1970, his place of burial is unknown.

Sources:

Norfolk WWI Serviceman Collection at SMC 4-8-21

Familysearch.org

by Symone Thomas

Clarence Bray was born Vincent Clarence Bray on December 26, 1894 in Portsmouth, Virginia. He was the only son of his parents Abraham Bray and Elizabeth Bray.

Clarence had seven siblings: Ellen Bray, Tennie Bray, Jellentina Bray, Mary Ann Bray plus 3 other siblings listed under the 1900 census. Ellen and Mary Ann did not live past infancy.

The highest level of education Bray had was Grammar school. Before the war he worked as a laborer for the Colonial Marine Railway Company and lived on Chapel Street in Norfolk.

He enlisted as a high class private into the regular army as a stationary engineer. He belonged to the Company 35, 22nd Division. As a Stationary Engineer, Bray’s responsibilities included operating engines, boilers, and auxiliary equipment, read gauges, meters, and charts to track boiler operations. Monitor boiler water, chemical, and fuel levels. Bray got out of the military April 23, 1919 at Camp Lee now known as Fort Lee, Virginia as a private.

Bray married Cozy McDowell on July 18, 1917 in Norfolk. After the war, they lived on Henry Street in Norfolk with their adopted son, Eddie Benns. Both Cozy and Clarence worked in a tailor’s shop. They also occasionally took in lodgers. Clarence Bray died on October 5, 1931 of pneumonia, and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Norfolk.

Sources:

“Virginia Births and Christenings, 1584-1917”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X529-X3B : 28 January 2020), Va. E. Bray in entry for Jelletina Bray, 1889.

“Virginia Births and Christenings, 1584-1917”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X52S-V47 : 28 January 2020), Elizabeth Bray in entry for Vincent Clarence Bray, 1893.

“Virginia Births and Christenings, 1584-1917”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X52S-8LC : 28 January 2020), Elizabeth Bray in entry for Ellen Bray, 1896.

“United States Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMNV-5V9 : accessed 30 April 2021), Elizebeth Bray in household of Abraham Bray, Deep Creek District, Norfolk, Virginia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 35, sheet 1B, family 13, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,719.

“Virginia Deaths and Burials, 1853-1912”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XR9R-9YM : 29 January 2020), Va. E. Bray in entry for Mary Ann Bray, 1889.

by Nikita Philbrick

Hillery (Hillary) Atkins was born September 10^th between 1888 and 1892 in Norfolk, Virginia to William Henry Atkins and Elizabeth Randolph. William was a laborer for an oil company and Elizabeth (or Lizzie) was local launderer. In 1900, they lived in public housing on Princess Anne Avenue with William’s parents Richard and Henrietta, his niece Rosa and nephew John, along with Hillery’s two younger sisters, Viola, and Blanche. By the Spring of 1910, the Atkins family had moved into their new residence on Wilson Avenue in Norfolk. Hillery helped sustain the family income with his work as a stemmer in the industrial tobacco factory operated by The American Cigar Company Complex. It is not conclusive of what existed during his employment with the company, but between 1910 and 1917, he soon found work away from home for David M. Lee, at a box factory in Henrico, Virginia. Hillery Atkins was living on E 3^rd Street in Richmond and was twenty-eight years of age at the time he was drafted into the First World War. He was not an educated man, but he according to Census records, he could read and write; however, his registration documents were filled out for him by administrative personnel and many pages were left blank. His registration dated September 17, 1917.  According to the Veterans Administration master index, Atkins was employed from October 26, 1917 until June 18, 1919. He served as a Private First Class at the Central State Hospital in Petersburg, VA. This was a mental asylum for African Americans who were deserters, suicidal, criminal, or suffering from psychosis or other chronic illnesses.

Following his return home for service, Hillery Atkins became a resident of Goff Street in Norfolk, Virginia. There he resided as a boarder with his sister Viola, her husband William, their children Cecil and Annie, William’s sister Beulah Elliot, and two other boarders in the housing unit. He worked as a wage launderer at the fire station.  Due to reason that is not transcribed, Hillery Atkins later became incarcerated, in accordance with the United States Census of 1930, and was located at a prison in Dinwiddie county of Richmond, Virginia. It is interesting to note that the prison recorded that his birth year as 1893, different from his actual age and year of birth, which can be due to the misrepresentation of age in census reports and lack of records available for the family. His death is recorded to be November 16, 1930, in which he was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Norfolk, Virginia. This grave site honors Norfolk’s African American citizens who made important contributions to the city’s history.

Sources:
Atkins, Hillery. United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

United States Census, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930.

Atkins, Hillery. “Draft Record Index”, United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940. (St. Louis: National Archives and Records Administration, 1985).

“Hillery Atkins”, Find A Grave.com. Available Online: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/102578947/hillery-atkins

by Thomas Cerja

Guss Boone was born on March 9th 1890 in Deep Creek, Norfolk County, Virginia to his mother Mary Cuffee and his father Guss Boone, Sr. Guss was raised Baptist and also received a preparatory school education. He married Bessie James on January 9, 1918 and they had two children: Evelyn, and Leon. Guss Boone worked as both a longshoreman and a pile driver. This was before he chose to enlist in the Army in a Norfolk and was sent to Camp Humphreys in Virginia to train for his enlistment assignment as an engineer in the 540th, B Company, for the 2nd Division.

Following his training at Camp Humphreys, Boone departed from New York in 1918 and headed to France. Boone’s service was short lived due to a tragic injury he received. He was honored for his sacrifice and unfortunately had to head home shortly after. Boone suffered severe damage to his eyesight and was discharged at Camp Lee, VA in 1919. Although he suffered from injuries, Boone noted that he was anxious to do his part to help win the war and that his military service made him stronger.

Upon return to civilian life he returned to work as a Pile Driver. He and Bessie lived at 961 Hanson Ave., in Norfolk. He died on July 4, 1926 of gangrene in his leg. He is buried in Deep Creek, Virginia. His wife Bessie died in 1952.

By: Kelly Johnson

Floyd Anthony Born August 25 between the years 1895 and 98 in Scotland Neck, North Carolina to Ervan Ashberry Anthony and Nan Anthony. As a boy, Anthony never received even an elementary education let alone a college education. As a man, Anthony was employed at the Southern Railway Co. in Norfolk, and it was in Norfolk where he met his wife, Mary, who he married in 1917.  At age 21, Anthony was required to register for the draft, doing so on June 5, 1917.

This is likely how he entered the service as no enlistment records can be found. Upon entering, Anthony was sent to Camp Lee, known today as Fort Lee, Virginia, to receive training in 88^th Co., 10^th Training Battalion. Following this, Anthony was assigned to Camp Dix, New Jersey. Anthony never went abroad or saw action, while at Camp Dix he underwent care in the base hospital for stiff joints and an inability to use his fingers. Because of this, Anthony was determined to be unqualified for going abroad, and discharged from the Army.

Anthony lived a varied life following the war. Immediately after his discharge, Anthony returned to Norfolk and the Southern Railway Co and in 1920 worked as a longshoreman for Southern Pier. At some point over the next decade, Anthony moved to New York City and worked for a private family. His wife also worked as a maid, so it is possible that they worked for the same household. Around 1940, he began to work for the Works Progress Administration as part of the New Deal. Together with his wife, they had 3 children: Helen, Joseph, and Wilson. Floyd Anthony died January 3, 1961.

Sources:

1920 Census https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJJW-YPV

Virginia bureau of vital statistics https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:83V8-B82M

Draft registration https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBS-96YH?i=154&cc=1968530&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AK6ZQ-LHP

Service Questionnaire https://fromthepage.com/lva/wwi-va-questionnaires/anthony-floyd

1930 Census https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRC6-PVV?i=13&cc=1810731&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AX4LW-1RM

1940 Census https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9MB-M3F4?i=31&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AK3YK-6WJ

VA Record

by Nathaniel J. Piser

Ealey Earnest Aulstin was an African American solider who served in the Depot Brigade during World War I. Ealey was born December 9th 1888. Ealey was born in Henderson, North Carolina and raised by his Mother. His mother was Levain and his Father Charlie Aulston who were both born in Henderson North Carolina. Ealey had only preparatory education, so he worked as a cook on the S.S. Gratitude before joining the U.S Army in 1918.

Ealey married Texas Green in 1908. The couple had a daughter, Lucille, born in Berkley, Norfolk County, Virginia in 1914. Ealey enlisted in the Army April 27th 1918 in Norfolk, VA as a Private. Ealey served in Company 13, 155 Depot Brigade in Camp Lee, VA. Ealey earned the rank of Corporal before leaving the U.S Army.

He passed away in the veteran’s hospital with his brother at his side on February 24, 1934. He is buried in Mt. Olive Cemetery in Norfolk, Virginia.