Last Men Standing: World War I Veterans

Above: Canadian soldiers following tank at Vimy Ridge. 

There are now just two North American veterans of “The Great War” or World War I left alive. Both live in the United States, but one is a veteran of the Canadian Army and the other the United States Army. There are 14 surviving veterans worldwide from The Great War.

Jack Babcock, age 107, is the last survivor of 619,636 men who served in Canada’s military during World War I. He enlisted in the Canadian Army at age 15 in 1914. Like many others he lied about his age in order to serve. The military found out about his real age and held him in reserve in England until he was old enough for battle. The war ended though before that could happen. Jack returned to Canada after the war, but within two years moved to the United States where he still lives. Canada’s Veteran Affairs Department only found out about him a few years ago when his wife made inquiries about veteran’s benefits that might help her care for him.

Frank Buckles, also age 107, is the last living U.S. soldier who served in World War I. Frank lives in Charles Town, West Virginia and remains in good health. Mr. Buckles also lied about his age and joined in 1917, shortly after he turned 16. Frank saw combat in France and Germany. Later in the Second World War he became a POW for 39 months after Japan invaded the Phillippines.

Remarkable men both of these survivors, but no more remarkable than any of those who answered the call and served their countries in this terrible “war to end all wars”. As their countries last surviving veterans they have become symbols for all ofthose who served. When they pass into the ages, Canada and the United States will hold services to honor and remember all.

One of the others who served was my grandfather, Cuthbert “Bert” Sendell from Toronto, Ontario. Bert enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1915 and served in France driving munition trucks up to the frontlines many times under enemy fire. He returned home to Toronto in 1919. Bert died in 1983. He left behind children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Canadian Political Assassination: Thomas D’Arcy McGee, 1868

Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Member of the Canadian Parliament, was attending a late night session of the House of Commons on April 7, 1868. D’Arcy, as he was more commonly known, had just finished delivering a passionate speech to the House on national unity.

McGee was walking home to his rooming house on Sparks Street in the capital, Ottawa, after his speech. His thoughts were on leaving politics and returning to public life. He had told his friends of his plans. Tired, McGee was looking forward to turning in for the night. It had been a long day. (Above: Thomas D’Arcy McGee)

He put his hand on the doorknob and was just entering his refuge, when someone shot him point-blank from behind. Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Canadian patriot, died instantly. He became the victim of the first Canadian political assassination.

(Above, right: The murder weapon)

Thomas was born April 13, 1825 in Carlingford, Ireland. In 1842 the family left Ireland and arrived in Boston where he joined the staff of the Boston Pilot. Within two years he was the editor and began supporting Irish independence from Britain. He worked to protect the rights of Irish immigrants to America., and also supported American annexation of the British Colony of Canada.

After a stint back in Ireland, he moved to Montreal, Canada in 1857 at the request of the large Irish community in that city. There he became the editor of the New Era which promoted independence for Canada from Britain. He no longer supported American annexation of Canada.

He became one of the father’s of Canada’s Conferation and a hated enemy of the Fenian’s. This was a group of radical Irish republicans who were against an independent Canada. With his strong support of Canadian nationalism he alienated large sections of the Irish community in Canada and elsewhere.

Patrick James Whelan was arrested for McGee’s murder and it was widely believed that McGee was killed as part of a Fenian plot. Whelan was convicted and hanged for McGee’s assassination. However, during the trial the prosecution never accused Whelan of being a Fenian, nor did Whelan acknowledge being connected to the group. (Right: The accused assassin Whelan)

Today many historians believe Whelan was wrongfully convicted. The government needed a scapegoat and Whelan fit the bill. The evidence against him was sketchy and he denied his guilt all the way to the gallows.

Further Reading:
“The Trial of Patrick J. Whelan for the Murder of Thomas McGee.” reported by George Spaight for the Ottawa Times, 1868.

“The Honorable Thos. D’Arcy McGee: a sketch of his life and death.” by Fennings Taylor, Montreal, John Lovell, 1868

Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online (http://biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?Biold=38705)

A History of the Irish Settlers in North American from the Earliest Period to the Census of 1850 (http://libraryireland.com/IrishSettlers/Contents.php/)

James Dean: Shooting Star of the Movies

The recent tragic death of up-and-coming movie star Heath Ledger reminded all of us how mortal we are. Over the years many actors have died before their time. The most notable to my memory being the death of James Dean, an immense talent, who’s life was like a shooting star, brilliant but short

James Dean starred in only three feature films:

East of Eden, 1955: played Cal Trask and film was based on the John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel of the same name. The book has recently been on Oprah’s book club list and is experiencing a revival.

Rebel Without a Cause, 1955: played a rebellious teenager. This film defined him. His co-star was Natalie Wood who also died before her time in later years.

Giant, 1956: played Jett and had to age himself for the role. Co-stars were Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor.

Dean was killed in a car accident on September 30, 1955 while driving his Porsche at high speed. Alcohol and drugs were not factors, speed was. He was 25 years old.

He was the first person to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. This was for East of Eden. He received his second Academy Award nomination for Giant, also posthumously. He did not win on either occasion, but to be nominated two out of three starring roles is incredible.

James Dean because of the rebellious characters he played in these films and his death in a fast car at a young age, has become a cult figure. At right is the postage stamp issued by the United States Postal Service in 1996 to honor Dean.

Like the song says, “only the good die young”, or so it seems at times.

Presidential Election of 1876 – Rutherford B. Hayes

The other combatant in the 1876 election was Republican candidate Rutherford Birchard Hayes. He was born in Delaware, Ohio on October 4, 1822. His father died before he was born. An uncle, Sardis Birchard, lived with the family and became his guardian and lifelong father-figure. He was the youngest of four children. Two of his siblings died young. He remained close to his sister, the surviving one. (left: Rutherford and his wife Lucy shortly after their marriage)

Hayes graduated from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio in 1842 at the top of his class. Then he graduated in 2 years from Harvard Law School in 1845. He was admitted to the bar in 1845 and moved to Cincinnati where he practiced law.

On December 30, 1852 he married Lucy Ware Webb. They had eight children, three of which predeceased him.

He had a distinguished military career during the Civil War. Hayes was the only president who was wounded in the war. He was wounded four times. He was promoted to Brigidier General in 1864.

Hayes started his political career as a Whig, but in 1853 joined the Free Soil party as a delegate. While serving in the war he received the Republican nomination to Congress from Cincinnati. He refused all requests to leave the military and actively campaign. Hayes was elected and served from March 4, 1865 to July 20, 1867 when he resigned because his party nominated him for Governor of Ohio. Hayes won the election and served from 1868 to 1872. In 1872 he was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress. He was going to retire from public life, but was drafted by the Republicans in 1875 to run for governor again. He served from January 1876 to March 2, 1877. He received national attention for leading a Republican sweep of an incumbant Democratic Ohio government.

At the Republican national convention in 1876 he was a dark-horse nominee for president. The favorite and front-runner, James Blaine had led the previous six ballots. Hayes was selected as a compromise candidate in order to break the deadlock.

Then came the controversial election where he apparently lost on Election Day to Samuel Tilden. After the disputed Electoral Votes were awarded, Rutherford B. Hayes was named president. It took until a few days before the end of his predecessor’s term on March 3, 1877 for this to be resolved. He was inaugurated publicly on March 5, 1877. Hayes had secretly taken the oath of office on March 3, 1877 in the White House. This was done out of fear that disgruntled Democrats and voters might disrupt the public inauguration. (below: The public inauguration with Hayes on right taking the oath of office)

He served as the 19th President of the United States from March 3, 1877 to March 4, 1881. Hayes did not seek re-election in 1880. When he accepted his party’s nomination he had pledged to serve only one term. In his inaugural address he proposed the Constitution be amended to have a one-term limit for the presidency combined with an increase in the term to six years. This proposal never went anywhere. His most famous saying was from his inaugural address:

“He serves his party best who serves his country best”

After his presidency he served on the Board of Trustees of Ohio State University. Hayes died of a heart attack in Freemont, Ohio on January 17, 1893.

 This concludes my examination of the election of 1876.

Presidential Election of 1876 – Samuel J. Tilden

The main characters involved in the controversial election of 1876 were Samuel Tilden from the Democrats and Rutherford Hayes of the Republicans.

Samuel Tilden and the Democrats won the election on Election Day, but the Electoral Votes from several states were in disute. A one-time Electoral Commission was formed to sort it out. In the end the election was awarded to the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes who became the 19th President of the United States. See my previous posting “Presidential Election of 1876 – The Deal” for the details.

Samuel Jones Tilden (photo to the right) was born at Lebanon, New York on February 9, 1814. He attended Yale University in 1834, but had to quite because of illness. Later he went to the University of the City of New York. He was admitted to the bar in 1841. He became a skilled corporate lawyer. His legal practice, combined with shrewd investments, made him rich. Tilden was a life-long bachelor.

Tilden had an interest in politics  and served in the State Assembly in 1846. In 1848 he participated in the revolt of the “Barnburner” or free-soil faction of the New York Democrats. He was the candidate of the “softshell”, or anti-slavery faction for attorney-general of the State of New York.

During the Civil War, he opposed several of Lincoln’s war measures, but he still gave the Union his strongest support.

Tilden became the chairman of the Democratic state committee in 1866 and soon began a conflict with the notorious “Tweed ring” of New York City. This group of corrupt city officials and politicians was led by William Tweed. (photo to the right) 

They had all the judges in their pocket and were gouging taxpayers and the city administration for goods and services. Tilden entered the Assembly in 1872 on a reform platform to clean up the mess. He managed to obtain legal proof of the corrupt practices and had the judges impeached, thus effectively destroying the Tweed ring. William Tweed was charged and eventually was sent to jail. Tilden won national fame for these actions against corruption.

The Democrats nominated him as their candidate for president in 1876. By all appearances he and his party won the Presidency on election day. Disputed electoral votes and procedures effectively robbed him of the Presidency and his political career ended.

In 1878 the New York Tribune newspaper in 1878 published articles accusing him of attempting to purchase the disputed Electoral Votes in the 1876 election. Tilden emphatically denied this charge and appeared voluntarily before a Congressional sub-committee to clear his name. The charges were unsuccessful and proven false.

Samuel J. Tilden lived out the rest of his life at his home, Greystone, near Yonkers, New York. He died a bachelor on August 4, 1886. He once told a close a friend that he had never slept with a woman in his life. His fortune of about $5 million dollars was left to establish and maintain a free public library in New York City. In 1895 the Tilden Trust was combined with the Astor and Lenox libraries to form the present day New York Public Library.

Home Child – My Grandfather’s Story (extract)

Chapter One – England and the Voyage

George could feel the ship gently rock as he lay in his berth. He was lonely and scared. Just a few months ago his father put him into the care of the home and then just left. Even though his father was drunk a lot and spent little time with George or his sisters, George still missed him. When George’s mother died, his father started to spend more and more time away from them and when he did return he was usually drunk. That was his family, such as it was, but he still missed them.

So now here he was at age twelve in June 1900, on his own crossing the vast Atlantic Ocean in a ship for a new home in Canada. Granted there were other children with him. They were traveling as an escorted group. He had been told that he would be going to a farm in a place called Dumfries, New Brunswick. There he was to work on a farm. He was a city boy and didn’t know anything about farming, although he was sure he would soon learn. Hopefully the farmer would treat him alright.

The group consisted of ninety-four children including himself, and two adult escorts. The adults tolerated no tomfoolery and enforced discipline strictly. They had no sense of fun or humor at all. George was not enjoying his journey at all. Back home in West Bromwich he knew the routine, here he was lost and confused most of the time. The fear of the unknown ate away at him. He was trying to think good thoughts about his future. It had to be better than his life in dirty, sooty West Bromwich among all the smelters and coal mines. At least that’s what he told himself. There was a reason his home in England was referred to as the “Black County”. The adults told them that the air was clean in Canada and everything was green, except for the winter when it was cold and white, covered with snow.

The ship S.S. Siberian of the Allan Lines left Liverpool on June 7, 1900 and was scheduled to dock at Halifax, Nova Scotia June 18, 1900 with a short stop in St. John’s, Newfoundland along the way.

George had been taken to Middlemore Homes by his father when he found that he couldn’t look after him or his sisters any longer. He was separated from his sisters. His older step-sisters, Edith and Mabel Harvey, had been taken in by another family. Sara (Sadie), his youngest sister, had been sent to another place to become a domestic. He was sure he would never see them again and tears welled in his eyes thinking of them. Perhaps someday he could return and find them again.

They had shown him his birth certificate where his parents were listed as Alfred Davis, father and Tryphena Harvey, mother. The names meant little to him, but he had called them father and mother with much affection. His mother had been a gentle soul and his father a gruff man with no tolerance for boyish games or misbehavior from his children. His mother had been more patient with time for all. She was not a hardy woman though and seemed sickly most of the time. Tryphena had died from an infection as a result of a miscarriage, whatever that meant. George didn’t understand that, only the sober fact his mother was never coming back.

The Presbyterian Church in New Brunswick received a request for a farm laborer from a James F. Miller of Dumfries, New Brunswick. They in turn forwarded the request to Middlemore Homes in Birmingham. George was a tall and stocky boy for his age. He was selected for his physical prowess and sent as the requested laborer.

So here he was anxiously awaiting his fate, but hopeful and confident that things would get better.

Author’s Note: This is an extract from what I hope will eventually be a book. I have written this using the “creative nonfiction” approach to add reader interest. As I outlined in my previous posting “Home Children”, this is a factual account with historical background woven in. Dates, places and names are fully researched.