Monday, December 31, 2012

Pearl Harbor Survivor: Lualualei Naval Ammunition Depot

Theodore B. "Ted" Roosvall, Jr. was a U.S. Marine Corps Corporal serving Quartermaster duty at the Lualualei Naval Ammunition Depot on Oahu at the time of the Pearl Harbor Attack on December 7, 1941.  He joined the Marine Corps in January 1939 and served for 22 years.  He was a member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, Chapter 31, and served as their chaplain for many years.  He was instrumental in lobbying for the construction of Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego and his was one of the first interments there.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Pearl Harbor Survivor: USCGC Kukui

Warren Harding Kimzey, a Coast Guardsman, was stationed aboard the USCGC Kukui at the time of the Pearl Harbor Attack on December 7, 1941.  The Kukui (WAGL-225), unarmed, was a 190-foot buoy tender.  Warren Kimzey was a member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, Chapter 31.  He was the last surviving member of the Kukui's crew that was on board during the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Pearl Harbor Survivor: USS Maryland

James F. Hughes was a Hospital Apprentice First Class (HA1c) assigned to the USS Maryland at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  The USS Maryland (BB-46) was a Colorado-class Battleship.  The USS Maryland was on Battleship Row at the time of the attack but sustained only light damage by torpedoes.


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Pearl Harbor Survivor: USS Raleigh

Robert E. Hatcher, Sr.
Born:  November 15, 1913, Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota
Died:  November 19, 2007
CWO US NAVY WWII

Robert E. Hatcher was a Yeoman First Class assigned to the USS Raleigh at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack.  The USS Raleigh (CL-7) was an Omaha-class light cruiser.  Moored on the east side of the north channel at Pearl Harbor, the USS Raleigh was hit by a torpedo during the first wave of the attack.  Although listing heavily, the crew was able to save the ship.


Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Civil War Veteran: Peter McDonald

Peter McDonald
Born:  Abt. September, 1836, Edinburgh, Scotland
Died:  April 11, 1933, Murrieta, Riverside County, California
QR  MA US NAVY

Peter McDonald emigrated to the United States at the age of 27.  He joined the United States Navy shortly after arriving and served with the Union forces for three years.  In later life he lived in Murrieta, California.  He served for many years as the pastor of the Holiness Church in nearby Menifee.


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Civil War Veteran: William Mallory Lancaster

William Mallory Lancaster
Born:  August 16, 1842. Switzerland County, Indiana
Died:  December 16, 1923. Hemet, Riverside County, California
PVT CO A 3 IND CAV

William Mallory joined the Union Army at the age of 20.  Originally a farmer, he returned to that occupation after the Civil War.  He also spent three years as a pilot on the Ohio River.  After marrying in 1873 he and the family lived in Kansas where he continued to farm, as well as serving a four year term as the Sheriff of Hodgeman County.  The family moved to Portland, Oregon where they spent eight years before finally moving to Southern California.  William Lancaster had been a resident of Hemet for the last three years of his life.



Friday, November 16, 2012

Civil War Veteran: Leonard E. Kuykendall

Leonard E. Kuykendall
Born:  Abt. 1839 in Indiana
Died:  September 9, 1896
CO H 1 MO ENGRS (ENGR'S of the WEST)

Enlisted from Paris, Illinois on August 14, 1862 as a PVT in CO H 1 ENGR'S of the WEST MO VOLS.
Discharged with the rank of ARTIFICER on April 11, 1863 in La Grange, Tennessee due to disability.
He was a painter in civillian life.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Civil War Veteran: Urias Kreighbaum

Urias (also known as Uriah) Kreighbaum
Born:  August 1839, Ohio
Died:  February 6, 1915
PVT CO C 20 IND INF
PVT CO D 20 IND INF

Served during the Civil War as a PVT in CO C 20 IND INF from July 23, 1861 until February 1864, and as a PVT in CO D 20 IND INF from April 1, 1864 until July 18, 1865.  He participated in the Battle of Bull Run and Gettysburg.  He suffered a gunshot wound to the right shoulder during the Battle of the Wilderness.
He married in 1868 and during the 1880s made his home in Nebraska.  By 1900 he and his family were living in the Valle Vista area of Riverside County, California where he was a rancher.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Civil War Veteran: Charles A. Harper

Charles A. Harper
Born:  1842 in Massachusetts
Died:  January 4, 1904 in California
PVT CO F 13 VT VOL INF

Enlisted as a PVT in CO F 13 VT INF on September 10, 1862 from Williston, Vermont. Mustered in on October 10, 1862. Mustered out on July 21, 1863 at Brattleboro, Vermont.
He moved to California after the Civil War.  By the late 1800s he was living in San Jacinto, California where he was the City Marshal for a number of years.    In December 1903, while hunting, he fell from the buggy in which he was riding and suffered a serious break to his leg, just above the ankle.  The injury was so serious that his doctor advised amputation but Mr. Harper refused and he died several weeks later from the resulting blood poisoning.


Monday, October 22, 2012

Civil War Veteran: Thomas Hannah

Thomas Hannah
Born:  March 12, 1824, Virginia
Died:  August 15, 1913, Riverside County, California
CO C 70 IND VOL INF

Born in Virginia, Thomas Hannah moved to Indiana when he was a young man and took up farming.  By the time he enlisted in the Union Army in July of 1863 he was a merchant, operating a large general merchandise business.  He served in the military for three years, returning to farming and raising stock after the Civil War.   He and his family moved to the vicinity of Hemet, California in 1899 where he continued farming and ranching.


Sunday, October 14, 2012

Civil War Veteran: Daniel Gebhart

Daniel Gebhart
Born:  April 1835, Pennsylvania
Died:  Probably before 1905, California
CO G 53 IND INF

Married to Emily in 1899, they were both living in Hemet, Riverside County, California on June 1, 1900 where he was a farmer.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Civil War Veteran: Ozias W. Foote

Ozias W. Foote
Born:  July 24, 1836, Corwall, Addison, Ohio
Died:  September 17, 1888, California
SGT MAJ, F&S, CO E 128 OHIO INF

Enlisted in Co. E 128th Ohio Inf. as a Sergeant on January 9, 1864 and was promoted to Full Sergeant Major on May 21, 1865. On July 6, 1865 he was promoted to Full 2nd Lieutenant, mustering out at Camp Chase, Ohio on July 13, 1865.
He served in the Guard Garrison at Ohio's Johnson's Island guarding Confederate prisoners.

Still living in Ohio in 1880, by 1888 he had moved to San Jacinto, California where he was a farmer.



Monday, September 24, 2012

Civil War Veteran: George R. Fezler

George R. Fezler
Born:  Abt 1841, Pennsylvania
Died:  December 18, 1911, Riverside County, California
PVT CO B 33 ILL INF
2ND LIEUT CO I 151 ILL INF

Enlisted August 20, 1861 in Peoria, Illinois as a PVT in CO B 33 ILL INF.
Mustered out as a PVT on October 11, 1864 in Springfield, Illinois to accept a promotion.
Commissioned July 7, 1865 in Toulon, Illinois as a 2ND LT in CO I 151 ILL INF.
Mustered out on July 24, 1866 in Columbus, Georgia.
The 151 ILL INF did not participate in any battles, but did take part in guerrilla skirmishes.

George Fezler was a farmer in Murrieta, Riverside County, California.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Civil War Veteran: John R. Fariss

John R. Fariss
Born:  About 1844, son of L. P. Fariss
Died:  Unknown (probably before 1905 in Riverside County, California)
CORPL CO H 45 IA INF

The 45th Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry was one of a number of regiments raised in the summer of 1864 for short-term service.  Known as "Hundred Days Men," these regiments were organized as part of an effort to end the war in 100 days.  They served rear garrison duty enabling veteran troops to take part in Sherman's Atlanta Campaign.
Mustered in at Keokuk, Iowa on May 25, 1864 they moved first to St. Louis, Missouri, then on to Memphis and Moscow, Tennessee.  They were assigned to guard the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.  Mustered out September 16, 1864 at Keokuk.
John R. Fariss was mustered in as a Corporal and mustered out as a First Corporal.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Civil War Veteran: Alexander Edwards

Alexander Edwards
Born:  February 19, 1828, Indiana
Died:  October 27, 1897
LIEUT CO C 52 IND INF

Enlisted in the Union Army from Shelbyville, Indiana on February 1, 1862 as a 1st Sergeant.
Promoted to Full 2nd Lieutenant on May 14, 1862.
Promoted to Full 1st Lieutenant on September 4, 1862.
Resigned March 2, 1865.

His military headstone was supplied by the Stockbridge Marble Co. of Massachusetts.


A second headstone is inscribed "Veteran Of Two Wars."



Based strictly on his year of birth I suspect he was also a veteran of the Mexican-American War

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Civil War Veteran: Lewis Durett

Lewis Durett
Born:  Abt 1831, New York
Died:  July 15, 1916, San Jacinto, Riverside, California
PVT CO F 27 MICH INF

A pioneer of the San Jacinto Valley, he was a rancher and businessman and built the first brick building in San Jacinto.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Civil War Veteran: James Sweatland Deming

James Sweatland Deming
Born:  July 7, 1827, Bloomfield, Hartford County, Connecticut
Died:  April 2, 1890, California
PVT CO H 17 WIS INF

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Civil War Veteran: Collon J. Davidson

Collon J. Davidson
Born:  February 1, 1845, Jersey County, Illinois
Died:  January 27, 1921, Sawtelle, Los Angeles County, California
CO H 133 ILL INF



Monday, August 13, 2012

Civil War Veteran: Joseph Crawford

Joseph Crawford
Born:  March 7, 1832, New York
Died:  December 2, 1911, Riverside County, California
CO F 12 WISC INF

An early settler of the San Jacinto Valley he had lived in the area for most of the last 35 years of his life.  He built and owned the first wagon road into the San Jacinto Mountains.  He was a member of the G.A.R.  With no known relatives at the time of his death he willed his entire estate, reportedly $10,000, to the Methodist and Christian Churches of San Jacinto.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Civil War Veteran: William Cramer

William Cramer
Born:  April 2, 1837, Claremont, Belmont County, Ohio
Died:  March 12, 1922, Hemet, Riverside County, California
PVT CO K 7 ILL CAV

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Civil War Veteran: John E. Cheney

John E. Cheney
Born:  August 4, 1838, New York, USA
Died:  December 31, 1905, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA, USA
CPL 2 CALIF CAV

John E.Cheney was an early settler in the Murrieta area where he farmed.  He was a Judge and had served as Justice of the Peace for most of the 20 years prior to his death.  He was also a Mason.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Civil War Veteran: James S. Chambers

James S. Chambers
Born:  1840, Scotland
Died:  February 4, 1904, San Jacinto, Riverside County, CA, USA
CO C 8 ILL CAV

A pioneer of the San Jacinto Valley, he was a Judge and longtime Justice of the Peace in Hemet.  He was a prominent land owner.  In addition to having served as one of the trustees of Hemet Union High School he had many years involvement with the Florida Water Company and the Lake Hemet Company serving as superintendent of the pipe systems.  He was a member of the G.A.R.


Saturday, July 14, 2012

Civil War Veteran: Edward Carroll

Edward Carroll
Born:  Abt. 1822, Massachusetts, USA
Died:  March 2, 1901, Riverside County, CA, USA
FIFE MAJ CO D 1st MASS INF


Saturday, June 23, 2012

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Civil War Veteran: Leander Bader

Leander Bader
Born:  December 27, 1837, Newport, Vermillion County, Indiana
Died:  December 1, 1921, Los Angeles County, California
1ST SGT CO K 35 IA INF

During the siege of Vicksburg Leander Bader served as one of General Grant's personal bodyguards.