I received an email from one of the genealogical sites that I subscribe to, revealing that my paternal grandfather, Raymond Dellinger has been drafted for WWI. This is his draft paper.
I am not 100% sure but I don’t think that he was actually sent to war. Lucky for him as so many veterans of WWI died of battle wounds and disease. I was intrigued that he was a bank clerk in Nebraska. His older sister had married a doctor from Nebraska but the family had previously lived in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. My grandfather was born on the Chickasaw nation in OK.
I never had the opportunity to meet this Grandpa and he died when I was a child. He was so handsome with gray eyes that I would have loved to have seen him in person. Now I know where the recessive gene for my blue gray eyes comes from. My father had brown eyes and my mum had blue.
Grandpa Dellinger
As I am looking at the WWI drafts I see that 20 more relatives had been drafted into the war. I do not know how many actually fought but my great uncle Earl (grandpa’s brother) was a Marine and fought in the Battle of Managua, 1927. Then an incorrectly spelled name caught my attention, a distant cousin named Tony Ortiga (Ortega). His draft fell into a strange category of Indians, Insane and Prisoners. Well, in my family it could be all three….but what awful world categorizes those groups together? It was Folsom Prison in Tony’s case. I wonder what he did? Be careful when you open the genealogical closet because you never know what skeleton will fall out.
As I was reading this sad draft, I could hear Johnny Cash playing at Folsom prison.
‘When I hear that whistle blowing, I hang my head and cry’
Somehow that is the perfect segue from my last post on trains to this one on Memorial Day.
Lest we forget. Rest in Peace.
Lovely to find this slice of history.
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It was rather surprising but lovely and now I have a link to Nebraska my friend! It is a small world.
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Finding these documents and piecing more together of your family puzzle is wonderful. The lives they lived, the battles they fought in all those things create the fabric that eventually produced you. I did a double take when I read the categorizing of ‘Indians, Insane and Prisoners’ … one does hope that we have progressed somewhat but I find myself wondering 😟
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I also had a double-take, my friend. Perhaps I will query further as my curiosity is piqued. K x
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I’m not at all surprised. Good luck with your hunt and I look forward to hearing more as you uncover it! X
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So true, dear friend. I am thinking of you today.
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Very interesting Kerry! History can really teach us so much!
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Sometimes you learn a little more than you thought you would…LOL!
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yes I am sure!
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A moving tribute.
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Thank you so much. It was a little shocking to read about my imprisoned relative but it helps me understand my family.
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Kerry, interesting to read🙏🏻
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I have some strange relatives. I have 10% Swedish, so trying to find them next…
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Kerry- let me know if I can help you in any way!
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Great post, Kerry. And to end it with the man in black? Outstanding!
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Thank you, Rob! It was serendipity. 😁
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Wow what a find!
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Be careful what you look for…😁
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Oh wow Kerry! This is wild it’s always interesting when you look through family history. I just recently found letters my great grandad game to my grandad from World War 1 my dad gave it to me about a year ago that is awesome.
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That’s fantastic, Dave. I would love to find some letters!
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Oh it was such a gift and a blessing Kerry.
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I love Grandpa Dellinger! Interesting post Kerry x
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He is very handsome, isn’t he?? ❤️
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Really amazing what these researches can reveal, Kerry! And I just love Johnny Cash!! 😄
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The man in black…❤️
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Johnny Cash, always a favorite of mine. My father resembles him quite a bit, a mix of Johnny and Robert Vaughn. (The Man From UNCLE)
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Honestly, I keep hoping to find a relative with a real record… and you would think with the extensive research I’ve done, I’d have found more than one… but that is NOT the case! Is it in poor taste that I am disappointed?? lol
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