Military Monday - Clues From WWI Discharge Certificates

        On the 10th of December 1917 , Frank E. Sullivan, Sr.(1880-1925). enlisted in the Army in Cleveland, Ohio.

       

Ohio Soldiers in WWI, 1917-1918  Ancestsy.com pg 16982

Frank is listed on the top of the page in this image. It gives his address in Cleveland, Ohio and his birth information. According to this, Frank E. Sullivan was 36 1/2 years old when he enlisted in Dec. of 1917 and  was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
His military service for WWI is recorded as-

302 Repair Unit Motor Transport Corps to Discharge Sergeant 1 Feb 1918; Private 3 Sept 1918. American Expeditionary Forces 11 Jan 1918 to 8 July 1919. Honorable discharge 10 July 1919.

 Frank's original Discharge Certificates were discovered and are now in my possession. A request for service records was made, but none were found due to the fire at National Archives at St. Louis in 1973.
                 

Frank E. Sullivan, Sr. Discharge Certificate 1- Front
© Cheri Hudson Passey

Frank E. Sullivan, Sr. Discharge Certificate 1-Back
© Cheri Hudson Passey

Frank E. Sullivan, Sr. Discharge Certificate 2-Front
© Cheri Hudson Passey

Frank E. Sullivan, Sr . Discharge Certificate 2-Back
© Cheri Hudson Passey

 After WWI Frank re-enlisted and served at Camp Jackson, SC until he was discharged in 1922. He married Mary Christine Williams (1896-1930) in Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina on June 11, 1921 and had one son, my maternal step grandfather, Francis "Frank" Emerson Sullivan, Jr. (1923-2004) 

Francis "Frank" Emerson Sullivan Sr. was killed in 1925 when the inn where he was living was hit by a tornado. To read about that tragedy see my previous post: 
      http://carolinagirlgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/11/cause-of-death-tornado.html     

Headstone of Frank Emerson Sullivan, Sr.
Quaker Cemetery, Camden, Kershaw, SC
© Cheri Hudson Passey

  Nothing is known at this point about Frank Sullivan Sr.'s parents. His death certificate has no information other than his death date, age, cause of death and burial place. Since both of his parents died when he was young, Frank, Jr. had no information about his father's family. 

These military records hold clues that may lead to the discovery of Frank, Sr.'s people.
His reported age and birth place are a starting point. Looking in Ohio where he enlisted may lead to what he was doing there. Perhaps other family members can be found as well.
 I am hoping that this post will reach someone who can help me either with his WWI Military Records or with Sullivan research in Pennsylvania or Ohio.
In addition, there is some oral history saying the family could have come from Indiana. 
Where will these clues lead? I am excited to find out!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,

Love

John Allen Hudson and Brenda Roberts Hudson
Wedding Day 2 July 1959

William T. Roberts and Beulah Mae Price Roberts
Wedding Day 28 June 1914

Azile Daughrity Roberts Sullivan and Frank E. Sullivan  Jr.
Honeymoon May 1952
Married 18 Mary 1952 in Camden, SC

Benjamin Allen Hudson and Mary Baker Hudson
Married  6 Feb. 1938 in Turbeville,SC

Azile Daughrity Roberts and Gilbert Ernest Roberts
Married  6 Oct. 1940 in Lancaster, SC

George Phillip Roberts and  Hattie Brazell Roberts
Married  Abt. 1884 in Columbia,SC

Extreme Makeover-Source Citation Edition

                                                   

One of my goals this year is to complete the NGS Home Study Class. The first assignment- send in a sourced Family Group Sheet. “No prob!” was my first reaction. After all I have been filling these out for years and I thought all I had to do was pick a family and hit print. Boy was I wrong!!

 For this assignment I decided to choose the William A. McManus family of Sumter, SC since I had recently been working on this line. I figured I could complete the homework for the class and research my family at the same time.

 When I printed out the Family Group sheet I noticed that my sources, especially those that I had added as long as 15 years ago, were not very good. They were put into my data base long before I understood the importance of documentation and before the source templates were added to my genealogy program. It’s not that they weren't sourced, it s just that several were not complete. I needed an “Extreme Source Citation Makeover”  -does Ty do genealogy?!?

Ty Pennington- Picture Courtesy Wikipedia

   I pulled out my handy copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills and went to work. I checked each piece of information for all of William McManus’ family members. From Census Records, Directories, Cemeteries and Family Bibles I double checked and made sure each was cited in a way that would help anyone, including me, find the record again if needed.   

 Now, a week later I feel that I have a well sourced Family Group Sheet. My first assignment is ready to turn in! 

Did I learn anything from this experience?  A lot! Not only did I get a crash course in citing sources, but I saw how far I have come from those early days of just adding to my data base whatever I found on my ancestors. Today I try to analyze each piece of information and cite sources as correctly as I can.  With the help of technology it is now so much easier to do.

 I am sure there are still sources recorded in my data base that need an “Extreme Makeover”.I will work on them one family at a time.

 As for my William McManus family, there's one more thing to say - “Welcome Home Source Citations, Welcome Home!”