John Wilson Jr.

John Wilson Jr.

*No soldier photograph found in the following book: Doyle, A. C., Haulsee, W. M., Howe, F. G. Soldiers of the Great War. Washington, DC: Soldiers Record Publishing Company, 1920.

Birth: 10/17/1889, Ironwood, Michigan 

Address: Settlement Rd., West Park, Ohio

Demographics: age 27 at draft registration; single; Caucasian; natural-born citizen; occupation at the time of draft registration Foreman Swift and Company [the leading meat packer in Cleveland, the largest of 2 dozen local packinghouses, originally the Cleveland Provision Co., incorporated 1876], West Park, OH

Appearance: Height short, Build medium, Eyes brown, Hair black 

Draft Registration Date/Enlistment Date/Rank: 6/5/1917; 10/3/1917; Corporal

Service Number: 737092

Deployment:  4/24/1918 from Hoboken, New Jersey aboard SS Leviathan

Action: Co L 331 Infantry to 22 Feb 1918; Co L Infantry to death. Private; Corporal 20 Aug 1918; St. Mihiel; Defensive Sector. American Expeditionary Forces 24 April 1918 to death. Killed in Action 12 Sept 1918. Notified Mrs. Laura Lucas, friend, 15514 Puritas Ave. 

Death: September 12, 1918 at age 28; cause of death Killed in Action

Burial: buried locally in France then disinterred and reburied at St. Mihiel American Cemetery, Thiaucourt, France on 6/18/1919; remains disinterred 1/23/1922 for return home to U.S.; 2/19/1922 remains shipped from Antwerp, Belgium aboard SS Cambria to Hoboken, NJ with arrival 3/29/1922; remains shipped from Hoboken on 4/11/1922 arriving Cleveland 4/14/1922 to the care of McGorray Brothers Funeral Home [a prominent Irish Catholic funeral home founded 1873], 3040 Lorain Ave., Cleveland, OH [No burial information was found.]

Next of Kin: Mrs. Laura Lucas, friend, Box 131 or 173, Settlement Rd., West Park, OH; alternate address for Laura Lucas 15514 Puritas Ave., Cleveland, OH 

Additional Information: Research was impeded by the prevalence of the first and last names John and Wilson. The 1910 Census showed the family living in Detroit, MI. Father: John Wilson Sr. (1856-?), born New York of Scottish ancestry, occupation Engineer Stone Works; Mother: Minnie Phillips Wilson (1859-1942), born Germany; 1900 Census shows 3 older Siblings: Mattie, Minnie and Lizzie; 1910 Census shows John Wilson Jr. working as Machinist in machine shop; no additional information found for Mrs. Laura Lucas, his friend who was also listed as next of kin [above)]. Sibling list may be incomplete.

References