General

Brothers Meet on WW1 French Battlefield

Brothers Meet on French Battlefield Extracts from a World War 1 letter from Lieut. Charles N. McClendon to his father in which he tells of meeting his brother, Lieut. S. S. McClendon, Jr., on the Western Battle front in France: Oct. 23rd, 1918 “Dear Father: “I received your “beaucoup letters from home.  You can imagine how greatly I appreciated them.  The letters from you I carried to Sidney as he ...[Read More]

Charles Newcomb McClendon – WW1 Servicemen Sponsorship 2018

Charles Newcomb McClendon – WW1 Servicemen Sponsorship 2018 Sponsored by Daye Collins Life Before WW1 When Charles Newcomb McClendon was born on September 2, 1892, in Tyler, Texas, his father, Sidney Smith McClendon, was 27 and his mother, Annie Rebecca (Bonner) McClendon, was 24.  He was the second child born of nine children.  He married Norma McClendon on December 12, 1916, in Morris Coun ...[Read More]

Joseph Favre Baldwin – WW1 Servicemen Sponsorships 2018

      Joseph Favre Baldwin (1892–1918) Sponsored by Wanda Barber and Tiffany Wright     Life Before WW1 Joseph Favre Baldwin was born on August 3, 1892, in Tyler, Texas. His father, Aaron, a doctor and his mother, Clara, a concert pianist.  He had one brother, Fredrick.  He attended Tyler High School.  He was a senior Medical School student in 1915, attending Tulane Univer ...[Read More]

How far would a dollar stretch in 1860 Tyler?

How far would a dollar stretch in 1860 Tyler? First of all, did they have a dollar as we know it?  Before the Civil War the only money used was gold and silver coins referred to as specie.  In 1862 president Lincoln authorized congress to print currency.  Foreign coins were widely circulated in the colonies.  One of those was the Spanish dollar also known as pieces of eight.  Silver and gold coins ...[Read More]

Joseph J “Holland” McKay – WW1 Servicemen Sponsorship 2018

Joseph J McKay (1886-1918) Sponsored by Wanda Barber Life Before WW1 When Joseph J “Holland” McKay was born in April 1886, his father, Samuel F. McKay, was 31 and his mother, Cordelia (Holland) McKay, was 24. He had two brothers and one sister. At the time of Joe’s enlistment in the Army in 1917, he was living in Goose Creek, Texas, which is in present day Baytown.  Prior to enli ...[Read More]

Andrew Smith – WW1 Soldier

Andrew Smith – World War 1 Soldier Andrew Smith was born on October 4, 1894, in Linden, Texas. He registered for the draft on June 5, 1917 at Dangerfield, Texas.  At that time, he was a Hotel porter in Omaha, Texas.  He served overseas from August 22, 1918 through July 17, 1919 with Company C, 322nd Service Battalion.  He was discharged on August 2, 1919. Andrew remained behind the lines most of t ...[Read More]

Jesse Elmer Shelton – WW1 Servicemen Sponsorship 2018

Jesse Elmer Shelton – WW1 Servicemen Sponsorship 2018 Sponsored by Wanda Barber Life Before the War When Jesse Elmer Shelton was born on February 24, 1896, in Richland, Navarro County, Texas, his father, Joshua F Shelton, was 35 and his mother, Laura Elizabeth (Dunn), was 20. He had one brother and three sisters. At the time of Elmer’s enlistment in Army in 1916, the family is living in Troup. Wor ...[Read More]

Roseland Plantation

Did you know that an antebellum plantation is located just two miles from the Smith County line in Van Zandt County on Highway 64?  The Roseland Plantation was built by B. H. Hambrick in 1854 on a thousand acres of land purchased in 1852. Be sure to visit the Roseland Plantation website here. Burwell Hampton Hambrick (1811 – 1868) B. H. Hambrick along with business partners George W Humphrey and J ...[Read More]

Is in the Army Nurse Corps – Gertrude Brogan – WW1

Le Mans, France, Dec. 1, 1918 Dear Sister:  As you see Uncle Sam is letting me tour France at his expense, that is, I am about ten hours ride from Brest, where I was first located.  I like here much better as we are located right in the city where there are paved streets and sidewalks, so of course I do not have the mud to contend with.  The nurses’ quarters is a chateau, the furniture havin ...[Read More]

Spending Leave – Gertrude Brogan – WW1

Nice, France, March 10, 1919 Dear Sister, I am sure you will be surprised to get a letter from this place. I am spending a seven day leave of absence at this place, a pleasure resort, on the southern coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea.  This part of the coast of France is called the Rivera Country.  I know you have read of it in books.  It includes this place, Cannes, Monte Carlo and several ...[Read More]