John D. Backus, my first cousin, twice removed, was born 12/5/1940 in Corpus Christi, Texas.  He died of natural causes on 12/30/1940 at the age of 25 days.  John is the son of my great grand uncle, Arthur Burgoyne Backus, and his second wife, Anna Marie Flahie.  John is buried in the “Baby Land” section of Rose Hill Cemetery in Corpus Christi.  My wife and I visited the cemetery last August.  Most of the headstones around John’s were either missing or destroyed, but his is still standing.  We were struck by this and the headstone itself, with the inscription of “Gone to be an angel.”

Brian Davis – James Michael Davis – Georgia Lou Davis (Barlow) – Katie Maybelle Barlow (Backus/aunt of John D. Backus)

Mary Louise Waits (Morris) Obituary

This obituary is of my 3rd great grandmother, Mary Louise Waits (Morris), and was featured in the 7/14/1922 edition of the Lancaster Daily Gazette:

Mary Louise, daughter of Henry and Lydia Morris was born Dec. 20, 1851 at West Rushville Ohio. Died at Drinkle July 10, 1922, age 70 years, six months and 21 days. She was uinted (sic) in marriage to Eli Waits October 28, 1869. To this union were born four sons, Perry, Clint, and Clay of Lancaster, William of Columbus and one daughter, Mrs. May Hedges. Four sisters, one brother, thirteen grandchildren, one great grandchild and a host of friends mourn her loss.

During the pastorale of Rev. Montgomery, thirty-eight years ago, she united with the Zion United Brethren Church. Since that time she has been an earnest Christian and a faithful consistent member of the church. She was a good neighbor and a loving mother and her departure saddens many hearts.

The funeral was held from the home and was largely attended, showing the esteem in which she was held. Rev. Chester E. Tulga was in charge of the services. Resolutions of apreciation (sic) and sympathy from the Ladies’ Aid Society were read.

Her body was laid to rest in the Stoutsville cemetery, there to await the morning of the resurrection.

We desire to thank those who so kindly assisted through the illness and death of our dear wife and mother, Rev. Tulga for his words of comfort and Mr. Crite the funeral director for his good service and kindess.

Mr. Eli Waits and children 7-14

Many thanks to Charlotte Dittmar for all of her assistance in locating and mailing all of the Lancaster, Ohio obituaries. She has been an enormous help with my research.

Brian Davis – Christine Davis (Williams) – Ralph Scott Williams Jr. – Nellie Ruth Williams (Waits) – Harmon Clay Waits – Mary Louise Waits (Morris)

Ruth, Florence and May Waits Picture

I have uploaded photographs of the Waits/Williams Family, contributed by Jane Mason (Miller). They are split into two categories: known and unknown. The unknown pictures have at least one individual that has not been identified. If you have any questions, comments or information regarding the photographs, please send me an email. Many thanks to Jane for all of her hard work and assistance with the family tree!

This obituary is of my great grand uncle, Charles Richard “Dick” Waits. At the time, he was the 90th Fairfield County, Ohio serviceman killed in action, and the 109th war death from that county since Pearl Harbor. The article was featured in the 4/20/1945 edition of the Lancaster Eagle Gazette:

Three Lancastrians Lose Lives At War

… T-5 Corporal Charles Richard (Dick) Waits, 25, husband of Mrs. Margaret Ann Waits, 111 North Pearl-av, and only son of Mr. and Mrs. Harmon C. Waits, 702 Eastwood-av. A tank gunner in an armored division of the Seventh Army, Cpl. Waits was reported by the War Department as killed in action April 6 in Germany.

T-5 Corporal Waits, who would have been 26 years old on April 27, has been reported by the War Department as killed in action April 6, somewhere in Germany. His wife is the former Margaret Ann Phillips, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ross Phillips of the Pearl-av address. For the past year, Mrs. Waits has been helping her sister, Mrs. Paul Hang (Betty Phillips) operate the Isaly Company store in Circleville during the absence of Paul Hang, formerly of Lancaster, who has been serving overseas. Twice wounded, Pvt. Hang has been returned to the States and is now visiting his family in Circleville.

Cpl. Waits entered the Army here December 9, 1941, received training at Fort Knox, Ky. and Camp Polk, La., in the Armored Force, then was at Temple, Texas, Camp Hood, Texas, receiving further instruction in tank and tank destroyer operation and maintenance, and also at Camp Pickett, Va. He sailed overseas in April, 1943, two years ago; arriving in North Africa where he served in the North African campaign.

Waits took part in the invasion of Sicily in July, 1943 and also in the invasion of Italy at Salerno in September, 1943, attached to a unit of the 45th Division, then a part of the U.S. 5th Army.

He also saw service at Cassino, Gela, Palermo and during the drive on Rome with the armored force. Last August Waits participated in the invasion of Southern France. He was in maintenance, then a half-track crew member, then a tank driver, and at the time of his death was a tank gunner attached to the 753rd Tank battalion of an armored division in the 7th Army, possibly in the Nuermberg (sic) sector of Germany.

Battalion Honored

Cpl. Waits and other members of the battalion had received the French Croix de Guerre, and the Vermillion Star recently for their outstanding operations with French units during a phase of the Italian campaign last year.

Prior to his induction T/5 Cpl. Waits was employed at the Sohio filling station, corner Broad and Chestnut-sts. He was a graduate of Lancaster High School, where he played football.

In addition to his wife and parents, Cpl. Waits leaves three sisters, Miss May Waits, chief telephone operator here, Mrs. Ernest Miller, Muskegon, Mich., and Mrs. Ralph Williams, Columbus.

The last letter Mrs. Waits received from her husband was dated March 30, from somewhere inside Germany.

I’d also like to mention the other two servicemen mentioned in the article:

First Lieutenant William S. Massey (5/9/1917 – 3/26/1945), 187th Glider Infantry, 11th Airborne, United States Army, died of battle wounds in the Philippines. He is buried in the Manila American Cemetery.

Corporal Kenneth Kinney Metcalf (8/15/1922 – 4/5/1945), 6th Division, United States Marine Corps, was KIA at Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands, 350 miles from Japan. He is buried in Forest Rose Cemetery in Lancaster, Ohio.

Through my many internet wanderings and various Ohio contacts, I had never been able to locate this newspaper article. Many, many thanks to Jane Mason (Miller) for locating and mailing a copy!

Brian Davis – Christine Davis (Williams) – Ralph Scott Williams Jr. – Nellie Ruth Williams (Waits/sister of Charles Richard Waits)

I recently purchased Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 for my iMac.  I’ve been using the program for years on the PC. Now, I’m learning to use it on the new computer.  This was my second project.  The first was the Flickr Repository collage picture in an earlier post.

I really like this portrait of my grandmother, Madrith Jean Williams, but, unfortunately, it had been cut to fit a picture frame.  I copied a small section of the background and repeat pasted it over the gray edges.  After the background was filled-in, I used the bandage tool to smooth it out.  The results are impressive and I’m hoping to retouch more photos in the near future.

Brian Davis – Christine Davis (Williams) – Madrith Jean Williams (Williams)

My grandfather, Ralph Scott Williams Jr.  Photo taken approx. 7/1922 on Walnut Street in Lancaster, Ohio.   My grandmother, Madrith Jean Williams (Williams).  Photo taken approx. 5/1925 in Portsmouth, Ohio.

Brian Davis – Christine Davis (Williams) – Ralph Scott Williams Jr. and Madrith Jean Williams (Williams)

Flickr Repository Collage

I have finally uploaded most of my family tree content to Flickr.  The content is divided into two collections: the family tree repository and the military collection. In each collection, you will find a lot of material, including pictures, records, letters, etc. You can access the collections using the above links or the links in the right-hand menu.  The number next to each link indicates the number of files in each set.

It has taken many years to collect all of these items.  I am still in the process of organizing and renaming most of the files.  I have not included any personal documents from living family members.  If you have any questions or would like to contribute to the repository, please send me an email to davis-brian@att.net.

Purple Heart Hall of Honor Letter

Last week, I received the following letter from the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor regarding the enrollment of my great grand uncle, Charles Richard “Dick” Waits:

Re: Charles R. Waits

Thank you for sending us information for enrollment in the Roll of Honor at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. We truly appreciate your interest and support in helping us further our goal to collect, preserve and share the record of all Purple Heart recipients.

We are pleased and honored to let you know that the enrollment process is completed. The profile will be on both versions of the Roll of Honor. There is an on-line version and a more complete version here in the Hall of Honor. The on-line version will be available on our website within the next few weeks. Please visit our website at www.thepurpleheart.com and search the Roll of Honor database to view the profile. That version is a single page commemoration for each recipient, and includes a photo, (if you have sent one) and basic information about the recipient.

The version viewable here at the Hall of Honor is more comprehensive. It can include additional pictures you have sent, as well as narrative information and a more complete story of the recipient’s experiences. If you would like to send additional material, we will include that in the Hall based Roll of Honor. We can include a maximum of six images or pages in the Hall itself. Please send copies, as we cannot return materials that have been sent to us.

So far, more than 149,000 recipients have been enrolled. While this is a significant number, it is small compared to the estimated 1.7 million Purple Hearts that have been awarded since 1932, so your efforts are all the more appreciated. Again, thank you for helping us honor all Purple Heart recipients.

Sincerely,

Mary C. Presutti
The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor
Enrollment Staff

The on-line version of Dick’s enrollment is available on their website.  I greatly appreciate the efforts of this organization in honoring Purple Heart recipients.

Brian Davis – Christine Davis (Williams) – Ralph Scott Williams Jr. – Nellie Ruth Williams (Waits/sister of Charles Richard Waits)

Bertha Williams (Rowland) and Children Picture

The Williams Family (Left to Right): my great grandfather, Donald Edwin Williams, my great grand uncle, Rowland A. “Bus” Williams, my 2nd great grandmother, Bertha L. Williams (Rowland), and my great grand aunt, Evalyn R. Williams (Gahm). Photo taken approx. 1905 in Jackson, Ohio.

Brian Davis – Christine Davis (Williams) – Madrith Jean Williams (Williams) – Donald Edwin Williams – Bertha Williams (Rowland)

This obituary is of my great grand uncle, Rowland A. “Bus” Williams, and was featured in the 6/22/1981 edition of the Jackson, Ohio Journal-Herald:

Funeral services were held today (Monday) at the Sperry Funeral Home for Rowland A. “Bus” Williams, age 77, of Locust Street, Jackson who died 11:15 p.m. Friday at his home following several years of failing health.

Born in Jackson, he was a lifetime resident of the community and was a retired salesman for Stiffler’s Stores. He also operated the shoe store at the South Street Clinic for many years and was a member of the Jackson Christian Church.

Son of the late William and Bertha Rowland Williams; he is survived by his wife, Lorelle Fite Williams; one son, Dr. Robert Williams of Jackson; one daughter, Mrs. Judy Williams Suarez of Syracuse, New York; brother, Donald of Minford; sister, Mrs. Theodore (Evelyn) Gahm of Jackson; and three grandchildren.

Rev. James Gleaves officiated the last rites. Burial was made in Fairmount Cemetery.

Brian Davis – Christine Davis (Williams) – Madrith Jean Williams (Williams) – Donald Edwin Williams (brother of Rowland Williams)