Treasure Chest Thursday: Dad's military personnel file, part four

I'm sharing the recently-acquired military personnel file for my dad, a WWII U.S. Naval aviator in the Pacific, a few pages at a time.  Click here to see what I've posted so far, and click on any image to enlarge it.

Although a copy of my dad's military separation document is one of the last items in his OMPF (Official Military Personnel File), I'm posting the scanned original as part four of this series.  Curiously, the file doesn't contain documents detailing his training as an aviator cadet, but this form lists the types of instruction he received with the location and duration of each, along with a wealth of other info. (Have you neglected military records in your own 20th-century research?  You might be surprised at how much info they contain.)  It seemed a logical next post as I discuss Dad's military career chronologically.

Notice of Separation from U.S. Naval Service (Form NAVPERS 553) for George Constant Hall, 21 Dec. 1945, New Orleans, Louisiana.  Digital scan of original privately held by the Hall family, La.  

A military separation document can provide a lot of genealogical information.  This one form contains: 

• my father's full name
• birth date and place
• residence
• date of enlistment
• date of entry into active duty
• date of commission
• date of separation, and
• place of separation.  

It also details the places Dad received specialized training and the length of each course:

• "PrepFlight," Natchitoches, La., 13 weeks
• "WTS," Lafayette, La., 14 weeks
• "PreFlight," Athens, Ga., 12 weeks
• "Primary, St. Louis, 12 weeks
• "Basic," "Instruments," and "Advanced," Pensacola, Fla., 27 weeks.

The form states that he served in Fighting Squadron Six (also known as VF-6).  Dad was a fighter pilot, and the form tells us that he served aboard the USS Hancock, an aircraft carrier stationed out of NAS Hilo, Hawaii.

Also given are dates and details of his previous employment, as a "derrickman (oil)" for the Union Sulphur Co. in Sulphur, La., and his preference (at the time) to work in aviation after leaving the Navy.  The form also lists his formal education (high school) and vocational training (3 months of machinist instruction) as of December, 1945.

Oh, and it tells me that Dad's draft board was in Sulphur, La., where the Hall family had lived since the 1930s.  For World War II draft records, only the Fourth Registration ("the old man's draft") is currently open to the public due to privacy laws.  I can wait for Dad's registration record--I don't expect to find any info I don't already know--but this is a great clue for my "mystery grandpa" Robert Bunyan Hall, who may have qualified for that registration (men who born on or between 28 April 1877 and 16 February 1897 who were not already in the military -- Grandpa's birth year is listed as 1875, 1877 and 1878 on various forms).  Currently, Ancestry.com does not have the Louisiana records (some records are online there), but they are available on microfilm.  Woo hoo!

While today's military separation forms (detailing release or discharge from active duty) are referred to as "DD Form 214" or "DD-214," the forms had other designations in the past.  The National Archives website states: "Before January 1, 1950, several similar forms were used by the military services, including the WD AGO 53, WD AGO 55, WD AGO 53-55, NAVPERS 553, NAVMC 78PD, and the NAVCG 553."  Find out more about requesting military personnel files here.

Copyright 2010 by Liz Hall Morgan.  All rights reserved.

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday: Déjà vu edition

Tsunami evacuation route sign, Hermosa Beach, California, 25 July 2010.

Hmmm... where have I seen this before?  Oh, yeah, my blog post from last summer.  Once a Cajun who loves living near the coast but could have to flee its tempests, always blah blah blah ... :)

Surname Saturday: McBRIDE from Eastern USA to Louisiana

Today we have my McBRIDE line, originating from my paternal great-grandmother. Corrections, additions, and questions welcomed; this is a work in progress. Numbers refer to ahnentafel (pedigree chart) numbering. Sources below; see my blog ("about me" on the right sidebar) to contact me for more info or to share info.

L to R: Siblings Marie McBride Dupre, Clothilde McBride Devillier, Joseph "Joe" McBride and Octavie "Tavie" McBride Legere on the day of brother Felix McBride's funeral, 10 Dec. 1941, Port Arthur, TX.  Photographer unknown; copy of original privately held by Hall family of La. and edited by Liz Hall Morgan.

(The direct line is in bold; spouses in italic. Bracketed numbers refer to footnotes below.)

1. Liz HALL MORGAN - me
2 & 3. Dad HALL & Mom STEVENSON
4 & 5. Robert Bunyan HALL & Elia LEGERE

11. Marie Octavie "Tavie" McBRIDE. Born on 31 Jan 1859 in St. Landry Parish, LA. [1], [2] Marie Octavie "Tavie" died in Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, on 29 Mar 1946. [3], [2], [4] Buried in Carencro, Lafayette, LA. [2]
On 23 Feb 1889, she married her 2nd husband Constant Legere. (Her first husband was Cyprien STEMMANN a.k.a. STEMMANS.  Children: Joseph Henri ("Henry" or "Pete") Stemmans, Joseph Ulysse Stemmans, Philomene Stemmans Weber, Ludovic Stemmans)
10. Constant LEGERE [5], [6] in Carencro, Lafayette, LA. [7], [8]  Constant was born 26 Oct 1837 in Opelousas, St. Landry, LA to Hypolite Paul LEGERE and Marcellite LEBERT [5], died in Rayne, Acadia, LA [5a], and is buried in Carencro, Lafayette, LA. [5b] [Constant had 3 previous wives; click his name above for more info.]
(Children: Elia Legere Hall, Mary "Evia" Legere Hardy, Marie Anita "Nita" Legere O'Toole, Fabien Legere, Claude Legere.)

22. William McBRIDE. [9] Born abt 1822 in St. Landry Parish, LA. [10], [11] William died on 3 Jan 13 Jan. 1875 in Port Barre, St. Landry, LA?  [Everyone & his dog has this date; what is the source? v. 12 of SWLR? Please e-mail me if you know.] Possibly served in the Confederacy in the Civil War.
UPDATE: Southwest Louisiana Records by Hebert, v. 12, p. 345 has: "McBRYE [sic], William d. 13 Jan 1875 at age 45 yrs [sic]. (PB Ch: v. 1, p. 95)."  This is Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Port Barre, LA.  The Confederate soldier is another William McBride.

On 20 Jan 1852 William married:
23. Melasie HOLLIER [9] in Opelousas, St. Landry, LA. [12], [13] Born on 11 Dec 1830 in Opelousas?, St. Landry, LA to Isidore HOLLIER and Arthémise TRAHAN. [14] Melasie died in Scott, Lafayette, LA, on 19 Aug 1925; she was 94. [4] Buried in Scott, Lafayette, LA. [15]
(Children: William McBride, Thomas Jean McBride, Marie Arthémise McBride Duhon Dupre, Marie Octavie McBride Stemmann or Stemmans Legere, Joseph Octave "Joe" McBride, Felix McBride, François Ignace McBride, Mathilde McBride, Marie Clothilde McBride Devillier, Cecile McBride Devillier)

44. Thomas Walter McBRIDE. [16], [17] Born in Virginia. [18] Thomas Walter died on 12 Oct 1824 in New Orleans, Orleans,  LA. [19], [20], [21]  He was a blacksmith.
UPDATE: Probate records are now available at familysearch.org in the collection "Louisiana, Orleans Parish Estate Files (under "Walter McBride").  He lived on Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans.  Five enslaved persons are named in the probate: Adam, Babe [spelling?], James, Mary and Mary's daughter Maria.
In St. Martinville, St. Martin, LA? [16], [23], Thomas Walter married:
45. Julienne BOGARD a.k.a. BAUGARD, BOGART. [22] Born on 25 Aug 1793 in Opelousas, St. Landry Parish, LA to Jacob BOGARD and Margaret/Marguerite RITTER. [24]
(Children: Thomas Jefferson McBride, Mary Margaret McBride, Robert McBride, David McBride, Walter Scott McBride, Charles McBride, Mary Anna McBride, William McBride, Mathilda McBride)
After Thomas Walter's death, Julienne married Joseph W. TINSLEY and then Jean Frederick GABEREL.

88. Thomas McBRIDE. [16]
Thomas married:
89. Marie SCOTT. [16]
POSSIBLY, but it has not been proven, they married 28 Nov 1769 in Joppa, Baltimore, MD [27], [28].  More research needs to be done; this record, from an index, may be available on microfilm.

Sources

1. Rev. Donald J. Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records, 41 volumes, Rayne, LA: Hebert Publications, 1974-1998, v. 6, p. 451, citing Opel. Ch. [St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, LA], v. 6, p. 103: "McBRIDE, Marie Octavie (William & Melasie HOLLIER) b. 31 Jan 1859."
2. Octavie McBride Legere tombstone, St. Peter Catholic Church cemetery, Carencro, LA, photographed by M. Hall, 1995, "Mrs. Constant Legere, 1859-1946."
3. Ancestry.com, "Louisiana Statewide Death Index, 1900-1949 [database on-line]." Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2002, Lafayette Parish, LA, vol. 5, certificate #839.
4. FamilySearch, "Louisiana Deaths, 1850-75; 1894-1954." http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.h-tml#c=1609793;p=collectionDetails;t=searchable.
5. "Transcript of Baptismal Record of Constant Legere," St. Landry Catholic Church, 17 Nov. 1961, Opelousas, LA, Baptism Book VII, p. 64, #47, photocopy of official transcript recorded by Rev. Alcide Sonnier, owned by Liz Hall Morgan.
5a.  FamilySearch, “Louisiana Deaths, 1850-75; 1894-1954.,” http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.h-tml#c=1609793;p=collectionDetails;t=searchable.
5b. “Constant Legere tombstone (shared with daughter Odette),” St. Peter Catholic Church cemetery, Carencro, LA, photographed by M. Hall, 1995.
6. Research of K. LeDoux and M. Hall.
7. Rev. Donald J. Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records, 41 volumes, Rayne, LA: Hebert Publications, 1974-1998, v. 20, p. 250, citing Carencro Ch. [St. Peter Catholic Church, Carencro, LA], v. 2, p. 74, 23 Feb 1889.
8. Ibid. v. 20, p. 250, citing Laf. Ct. Hse. [Lafayette Parish Courthouse, Lafayette, LA], mar. #4319, 20 Feb. 1889.
9. Ibid. v. 5, p. 421, citing Opel. Ch. [St. Landry Catholic Church records], v. A, #17, marriage of Wm.
10. "1860 U.S. Census," Opelousas, St. Landry, LA, p. 187, lines 14-20, 26 Sept 1860, digital image of Nat'l Archives microfilm, www.ancestry.com, b. abt 1825, LA.
11. Rev. Donald J. Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records, 41 volumes, Rayne, LA: Hebert Publications, 1974-1998, from CD via David Leleux's Rootsweb tree:  "McBRIDE, Guillaume [William] (dec. Walter McBRAID & Pouponne BAUGARD) bt. 1 Feb. 1834 at age about 12 yrs. Spons: Christophe STEEL & Anastasie LEGER, wife of Christophe STEEL. Fr. Flavius Henri ROSSI (Opel. Ch.: v.3, p.267)
12. Rev. Donald J. Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records, 41 volumes, Rayne, LA: Hebert Publications, 1974-1998, v. 5, p. 421, citing Opel. Ch. [St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, LA], v. A, #17: "McBRIDE, William (Walter & Julie BAUGARD [sic]) m. 20 Jan. 1852 Melasie HOLLIER."
13. Ibid. v. 5, p. 421, citing Opel. Ct. Hse. [St. Landry Parish Courthouse, Opelousas, LA], mar. #931: "MCBRIDE, William m. 22 Jan. 1852 Melasie HOLLIER" [civil ceremony following church?].
14. Ibid. from CD, via Denise Talbot's Rootsweb tree: "HOLLIER, Melasie (Isidore & Artemise TRAHAN) b. 11 Dec. 1830, Pats: Isidor HOLLIER & Sophie LANGLOIS; Mats: Pierre TRAHAN & Elene DUPLECHAIN (Opel. Ch.: v.3, p.149)."
15. Headstone of Melasie Hollier McBride, Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church Cemetery, Scott, LA, digital photograph by Liz Hall Morgan, Feb. 2009, "McBRIDE/Mrs. Wm. McBride/née/Melasie Hollier/Dec. 11, 1825 [sic - should be 1830]/Aug. 19, 1925/In loving memory/by grandchildren."
16. Rev. Donald J. Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records, 41 volumes, Rayne, LA: Hebert Publications, 1974-1998, v. 1, p. 423, citing SM Ch. [St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, St. Martinville, LA], [n.v., n.p.]: "McBRIDE, Thomas Walter (Thomas & Marie SCOTT) m. Julienne BONGER [sic]."
17. Ibid. v. 5, p. 421, citing St. Landry Catholic Church records, v. A, #17 (m. rec. of son Wm.).
18. "1880 U.S. Census," St. Landry Parish, LA, daughter Mary "Feuta" [sic] Futhy‚ father's place of birth = VA.
19. Rev. Donald J. Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records, 41 volumes, Rayne, LA: Hebert Publications, 1974-1998, from CD via David Leleux's Rootsweb tree: (d. bef 1 Feb. 1834) "McBRIDE, Guillaume [William] (dec. Walter McBRAID & Pouponne BAUGARD) bt. 1 Feb. 1834 at age about 12 yrs. Spons: Christophe STEEL & Anastasie LEGER, wife of Christophe STEEL. Fr. Flavius Henri ROSSI (Opel. Ch.: v.3, p.267)"
20. "Southwest Louisiana Records CD 101," Rev. Donald J. Hebert, Hebert Publications (now pub. by Claitor's Publishing, Baton Rouge, LA), via Denise Talbot's Rootsweb tree: "McBRIDE, Walter m. Julienne BOGARD died in New Orleans Children: Thomas; Mary; David; Walter; Charles; William; Anna; Malelda [sic-Mathilda]. Succ. dated Feb. 1825 (Opel. Ct.Hse.: Succ.#349)."
21. Louisiana Gazette, New Orleans, Orleans, LA?, 14 Oct 1824, p. 2, col. 2, via G. Bonnet's Rootsweb tree, died of gangrene.
22. Rev. Donald J. Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records, 41 volumes, Rayne, LA: Hebert Publications, 1974-1998, v. 5, p. 421, citing St. Landry Catholic Church records, v. A, #17 (m. rec. of son Wm.) -- "Julie BAUGARD."
23. Ibid. v. 1, p. 56, citing SM. Ch. [St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, St. Martinville, LA], n.v. (prob. vol. 1), "BONGER, Julienne (Jacob & Peggy RIDER) m. Thomas Walter [MCBRIDE]."
24. Ibid. v. 1, p. 54, citing Opel. Ch. [St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, LA], v. 1, p. 120: "BOGUEN [sic], Julie (Jacques & Marguerite RAITER), b. 25 Aug. 1793."
[footnotes 25-26 deleted as they don't pertain to this direct line]
27. Rev. Donald J. Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records, 41 volumes, Rayne, LA: Hebert Publications, 1974-1998, v. 1, p. 423, citing SM Ch. [St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, St. Martinville, LA], [n.v., n.p.]: "McBRIDE, Thomas m. Marie SCOTT."
28. Ancestry.com, "Maryland Marriages, 1655-1850," www.ancestry.com, Aug. 2009, Name:  Thomas McBride-Spouse:  Mary Scotty-Marriage:  28 Nov 1769 [St. John's Parish (Joppa)?? - see database notes], Baltimore County, Maryland. Original record may be on microfilm; I need to check.

Text copyright 2010 by Liz Hall Morgan.  All rights reserved.

Follow Friday: "Southwest Louisiana Records" online tools

Note: "Follow Friday" is a theme used by some geneabloggers to recommend other bloggers, websites or genealogy resources of interest.

Marriage records of my great-grandparents Constant Légère and Marie Octavie McBride (top) and birth record of my grandma Elia Légère (bottom) from Southwest Louisiana Records, v. 20, p. 250.  Parents and sources are in parentheses.  And oh. my. ... Grandma was born um, seven months after her parents married?!!  Hmm... blogger beware, you never know what you're going to notice while writing about genealogy!

If you've done any genealogy research on Louisiana Cajuns, even if only via the Internet, you have undoubtedly come across Rev. Donald J. Hébert's Southwest Louisiana Records (SWLR) volumes.  You know, those "Laf. Ch." or "Opel. Ct. Hse." abbreviations seen in many sources on online family trees?

(You DO know you shouldn't trust trees without sources, don't you?  And that even with well-sourced trees, you should "trust but verify"? As they say in journalism school, "If your mama says she loves you, check it out.")

Well, whether you have seen SWLR referenced online or used the volumes or CD yourself, you may find yourself stuck on some of the abbreviations later--especially if you didn't copy the abbreviations list in the front of the volume.  (Doh!) No worries, just check out this wonderful abbreviations list from Stanley LeBlanc at his website The Cajuns.  (Thanks, Stanley!)

Marriage recorded in St. Landry Parish Courthouse, Opelousas, La., for my third-great-grandparents, Paul Légère and Marcellite Lebert, from Southwest Louisiana Records, v. 2, p. 954.

Now maybe you're a beginner and need a little more help deciphering the format of Hébert's entries.  Or maybe you've used the volumes a bit, but you want to explore some of the extras.  Can't remember which volume contained a large amount of corrections, or slave records, or a St. Landry Courthouse marriage register copy, or perhaps cattle brands?  Houston's Clayton Library website has an article on using SWLR, its extra features, and the differing editions.  Though slightly out of date, the article is very informative.  (There are now 47 volumes covering records through 1915, and the CD covers vols. 1-31.)

Once you find the correct volume, try WorldCat to see if a local library has the volume you need, or if you feel like splurging, visit Claitor's Publishing to purchase a volume of SWLR or other Hébert titles.  Bonne chasse!