USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > District No. 15 of Allegheny County Pennsylvania in the Great War : a history of activities at home and abroad from the declaration of war in 1917 to the home-comings in 1919 > Part 15
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If the passenger had scanned the shores of the old canal closely as the boat glided along, he would have noticed sooner or later this strange substance running into the stream from a well close to the banks of the canal, near Tarentum.
The well was in reality a salt well, but was the very first oil well in the history of the country- not because the owner was thinking of oil when he had it drilled-but by accident.
It is doubtful if more than a score of Tarentum people know that the very first oil well in the United States was located on the Kier farm, at what is now Kier's crossing, from which it derives its name, and that the very first oil lamps to be used in the world were burned in some of the humble homes that clustered together on the banks of the canal there, then known as Tarentum.
This very interesting phase of the history of Tarentum is recalled by J. W. Hemphill, who at that time was a mere boy. He recalls very vividly the day when candles passed out of the Hemp- hill home as a means of lighting forever and the smoky tin lamp replaced them.
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It is known that the first "industries, " if such they could be called, to be located in this vicinity were salt wells. There were numbers of them scattered along the canal from what is now Peterson past Creighton and at Valley Camp on the opposite side of the river.
These salt wells as a rule were not deep. They were pumped by much the same method that wells are pumped to-day.
The historic salt well on the Kier place was owned by a man named Thomas Kier. He had pumped the salt brine from his well for years without incident when one day a strange new sub- stance appeared in the liquid that came from the depths of the shaft. It seemed to have some effect on the vats in which the brine was boiled. It puzzled him greatly for a long time.
At length he hit upon a plan. It was only at times that the flow of the new matter was in great quantities, so when a very noticeable flow was encountered, the pumpings were sent into the canal basin, thus solving a problem that had bothered him greatly.
In the meanwhile, Mr. Kier had learned in some manner, it is not known how, that this strange new mineral was inflammable. He was of an experimental turn of mind and started in to find out something of its nature.
He found that it could be burned in a lamp and produced illumination of a much better nature than was offered by smoky, troublesome tallow candles. He found that it was very useful in starting fires and that it had medicinal value-was excellent for coughs and colds.
So he set to work and made a lamp which was used around the Kier home for some time. The crude oil as it came from the well was burned. Some of his neighbors were so pleased with the light the lamp made, for it was very dazzling compared to the dim flickering of the candle, that they too adopted the lamp and used the petroleum as a medicine.
Mr. Kier had two sons, Samuel and James. Samuel was in business in Pittsburgh, while James worked with his father. Though the Kier family made extensive use of the petroleum it was Samuel Kier who first started to commercialize it.
It was in a startling way that Samuel became acquainted with the qualities of petroleum. He had come from Pittsburgh one day to visit his parents and was standing on the banks of the canal when suddenly the water seemed to burst into flame. Such an apparent phenomenon sur- prised him beyond measure and for a moment he was utterly lost. The smoke and flame rolled up from the surface of the canal and as he watched more closely he saw that it was not the water that was afire as he at first thought but in reality the filmy substance on the surface was ablaze. The fire stretched for a considerable distance along the canal. It flared up high for a while, then gradu- ally burned down.
Samuel Kier was a business man, a man of affairs, but he was also visionary. After the fire he stood upon the banks of the canal gazing into its muddy waters. He did not see the ripples upon the surface of the stream or note the ill smelling smoke that arose from the water. His thoughts were far away. He was thinking and wondering if that substance could not be sold-he was a business man. The thought was father to the deed, and that evening when he went back to Pittsburgh he took a vial of the petroleum with him.
He examined the petroleum, inquired into its properties and then refined it. So the first refined oil was carried in a crude state in a vial from Tarentum.
Samuel Kier did not lose much time in getting the oil into the market. He sold it for illumi- nation and for medicinal purposes-in bottles.
Not long after this the Drake well was put down in Venango County. It was a remarkable
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success and soon the attention of the people was riveted on the "oil regions" and thither they flocked, in their excitement forgetting all about the little salt well at Tarentum that was producing oil. They hurried across Butler County, over oil fields just as productive as those in Venango County, and began to put down wells around Oil City.
Soon after the Kier well "came in" so unauspiciously and so unofficially, the well of Thomas Doneley, located where the Greco junk yard now stands, began to produce petroleum. Then other salt wells of their own accord became oil wells.
Strangely enough, the oil was never developed and the old wells dried up and were for- gotten.
The first refinery was not located in Tarentum, though years after one was put up where the No. I works of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Plant now stands. Louis Peterson had a salt oil well at this spot at the same time the Kier well began to produce.
It may be interesting at this point to tell something of the old salt wells. The wells were pumped and the brine put into large receptacles measuring about 18 feet in width and about 18 inches in depth. A wood fire was built under them and the substances boiled. It was stirred as it boiled and when the liquid disappeared a salt deposit several inches in thickness appeared on the bottom of the container.
In the case of the Doneley well, the well was located on the banks of the canal, with the ware- house nearby so that canal boats might haul up alongside and receive their cargoes of salt. The liquid was boiled at a spot which is on the opposite side of the railroad of to-day.
Thomas Kier was one of the best known men of the valley in those long-gone-by times. He operated a store near his well, the only store in the vicinity.
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XIX
1. John Paul Kratzer 2. Henry W. Kratzer 3. George Edgar Kuhn 4. Herman F. Kummer
5. Paul Gunia
6. George H. Lamborn 7. Alexander Langiewicz 8. Carl W. Lardin 9. Harry Latimer 10. John Leroy Latimer
11. Jules Laurent
12. Edward L. Leamon 13. Homer Ledoux 14. William Henry Lefever 15. Gust Adolph Lehman
16. Walter C. Wallace 17. Louis Lendenski 18. Raymond W. Leslie 19. Kenneth L. Leydic 20. Dr. C. L. Leydic
21. Robert Williams 22. Stephen Lichok 23. Harold Ralph Linden 24. William Benjamin Long 25. Frank M. Love
26. William A. Love 27. Preston A. Love 28. Glenn H. Lindquist 29. John G. Lipp 30. George D. Loynd
PLATE XIX
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TO THE READER
On the following pages will be found a short biographical history of the men who entered the service from District No. 15. This record is as nearly complete as it has been possible to make it. The biographies are short but if the key is consulted the reader will find that there are considerable data regarding each man. The information has been secured in several ways, but chiefly through personal solicitations by representatives of the Historical Society. Where possible the record given here was made from a copy of the discharge, but when the discharge was not available the biography is given as it was secured from the person himself or from rela- tives or acquaintances. The representative of the Historical Society had to visit a very large majority of the service men and in many cases had to make repeated calls before the desired information could be procured. In some instances the man had left the District and his where- abouts was unknown. In such cases where possible the record was secured from relatives if they could be located or from associates. In some few cases, particularly among selected men, it has been impossible to find anyone who knows the man or has ever heard of him. Many foreign boys came to this District in search of employment and enlisted or were selected soon after- wards so that while the names appear on our roll they had never actually gained residence here and when the war was over they either secured their discharge "over there" and returned to their native land or having been discharged in America made application for employment in the first likely-looking city they entered. As Government records are not yet available no data can be given for these absent ones.
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BOOK TWO
DIVISIONS OF ARMY
The group plates in this volume are made from photographs taken at the time of induc- tion. The other plates are assembled from such photographs as could be procured. When the photograph was good the reproduction is good, but when the picture was a snapshot and perhaps not properly focused the results are not always what one could wish for in a volume such as this. The plates are somewhat irregular too because of the difference in dress. A particular type of picture could not be demanded and the staff was obliged to accept what it could get, for while the boys as a rule showed a cooperative spirit, there was a little tendency to hesitate when a picture was mentioned.
The biographical sketches attempt to name the principal engagements in which each man took part. However, a little fuller explanation is given for some of the divisions in which large numbers of our men were registered. This was impossible for all as the boys were so scat- tered that some one was to be found in almost every unit of service, whether Army, Navy, or Marines.
It has been the purpose to have no man's picture appear twice in this volume. Where he appears in a group his photograph was not used in making up the plates unless it was placed there through error, except where a man made the supreme sacrifice; in that case his picture was secured if possible for the memorial plate, even though he may have appeared in one of the groups. A few men who were chosen as alternates for entrainment and who were not needed to fill the quota appear not only in the group of that particular date but in the group next fol- lowing.
DIVISIONS OF THE ARMY AS ORGANIZED FOR THE GREAT WAR
A division is the largest fighting unit in an army. Three divisions usually make up a Corps, and two or more Corps make an army. The divisions in the army of the United States are larger than those of the European armies. Each one contains about 1,000 officers and 27,000 men. Our divisions were of two types, combat and replacement, the latter having, as its name implies, the function of training men for the fighting divisions. But it must not be thought that the men of the replacement or depot divisions did not see battle service, for nearly every one in the replacement divisions did eventually join combat divisions. Drafts of new men were placed at once into these skeletonized replacement divisions for training.
The divisions of the army were numbered as follows:
Nos. I- 7: Regular Army Division in which all the units were from the Regular Army.
Nos. 26-42: National Guard Divisions in which all the units were from the National Guard.
Nos. 76-92: National Army Divisions in which most of the men were drafted under the selective service law and regulations.
No. 93: National Guard Division (colored troops).
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80TH DIVISION
The composition of the different divisions was much the same, each division being made up of various sub-units. As an example we give here the composition of the Both Division or the Division in which the largest number of boys from this District served.
Troops:
Infantry Regiments: 317th, 318th, 319th, 320th
Military Police: 305th Company
Artillery Regiments: 313th, 314th, 315th
Divisional Trains:
305th Supply Train
Machine-gun Battalions: 313th, 314th, 315th
305th Ammunition Train
305th Sanitary Train
Trench Mortar Battery: 305th Field Signal Battalion: 305th
Medical Troops: 317th, 318th, 319th, 320th Ambulance companies and Field Hospitals.
Engineer Troops:
305th Regiment 305th Train
In addition to the regular divisions were a number of Engineer Corps which were unat- tached and whose business it was to repair roads, bridges, etc., and be prepared to defend them- selves as occasion demanded. These troops were usually the first on the field and the last to leave.
THE 80TH DIVISION
The Both Division, commonly known as the Blue Ridge Division, was composed of the National Army Troops from Virginia, West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania. They were organized and trained at Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va., and arrived in France during May and June of 1918. The Infantry received their overseas training at Samur in Flanders with the British. The Artillery was trained at Meucon.
From July 28-Aug. 18 the Division was stationed in the Artois Sector near Arras in train- ing with the British. This was officially known as a quiet sector, but during their stay the Divi- sion suffered over three hundred casualties. From Sept. 13-15 they participated in the St. Mihiel Battle as a Corps Reserve. Only one regiment of infantry and one machine-gun bat- talion took active part in this battle and these were attached to the French. From Sept. 26-29 they participated in the Argonne-Meuse Battle in the Bethincourt Sector, capturing Bethin- court and Dannevoux. In two days the Division advanced 55/8 miles. The last day of this ad- vance was against the most stubborn kind of resistance. From Oct. 4-II they participated again in the Argonne-Meuse Battle. They entered the line north of Nantillois, where the ad- vance had previously been stopped by stiff resistance from the highly organized Brieulles, Ogons and Fays woods. The Both Division entered the lines for the second time at this point and after nine days of incessant fighting over an advance of 272 miles, they were relieved. The Ameri- can Cemetery at Romagne is located near the scene of this fighting where so many of the Ameri- cans were killed. From Oct. 31-Nov. 4 they participated in the Battle of the Argonne-Meuse
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28TH AND 37TH DIVISIONS
for the third time in which they captured Immecourt, Sivry-les-Buzancy, Buzancy, Sommauthe, Beaumont and Yoncq. In this drive they smashed the third and last German lines, advancing fifteen miles in five days. The Both Division was the only division that was at the front three times in this battle.
The 155th Brigade Artillery of this Division was not relieved with the Division on Oct. 12th but remained in action in this vicinity for forty-eight consecutive fighting days.
THE 28TH DIVISION
The 28th Division, commonly known as the Keystone Division, was made up of the National Guard of Pennsylvania.
This division was organized and trained at Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga., and arrived in France during May of 1918. The Infantry of this division was trained overseas at Nielles in Les Belquin with the British and the Artillery at Meucon.
On July I, after only one month's overseas training, the Division got into activities on the Marne Sector, serving as the Corps Reserve, and on July 8 the Infantry, operating under French Battalion Commanders, entered the line along the Marne River and further to the west. On July 15-18 they participated in the Champagne-Marne Battle, again operating with the French. This was the last German push. From July 19-30 they participated in the Battle of the Aisne-Marne. On July 28 the Division took over a sector of the Ourcq, where it cap- tured Fresnes, Courmont and Grimpette Woods. These woods had been well fortified by the Germans and the attack was very stubbornly resisted by the Prussian Guard for three days. Six attacks, however, cleared the woods of the enemy.
The 28th Division was assisted on the right by the 32d Division and on the left by the 42d Division.
On August 6-September 7 they participated in the Oisne-Aisne Battle, capturing Fismette and Baslieux. Crossing the Vesle they captured the heights south of the Aisne. For these oper- ations the Division was complimented by the French Corps and Army Commanders. It was also cited together with the Ist, 2d, 3d, 4th, 26th, 32d, and 42d Divisions in our General Orders. From Sept. 20-Oct. 8 they participated in the battle of the Argonne-Meuse in the Boureilles Sector, capturing Boureilles, Varennes, Mont Blainville, Apremont and Chatel Chehery. The hardest fighting in this attack occurred in the Aire Valley from Boureilles to Chatel Chehery. Through four years of German occupation this territory had been skillfully fortified and com- fortable barracks and dug-outs had been constructed for living quarters. The Division resisted two well-planned counter-attacks in their fourteen days in this sector.
THE 37TH DIVISION
The 37th Division, commonly known as the Buckeye Division, was made up chiefly of the National Guards of Ohio, but a large number of boys from this District found their way into the Division through the Replacement Corps.
The Division was organized and trained at Camp Sheridan, Montgomery, Alabama, and arrived in France during June and July of 1918. Their overseas training was received-the In- fantry at Bourmont-the Artillery at Souge. Their activities were as follows:
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37th DIVISION
Aug. 4-Sept. 15-Baccarat Sector (Vosges Mountains).
Sept. 25-Oct. I-Argonne-Meuse Battle, capturing Ivoiry and the west half of Mont- faucon.
Oct. 7-16 -Pannes Sector southwest of Metz.
Oct. 30-Nov. 4-Lys Sector, Belgium, capturing Olsene, Cruyshauten, Waereghem, Mullem, Huysse and Eyne.
Nov. IO-II -Syngem Sector, capturing Nederzwalm, Maylegem, Laethem, Dickele and Hundelgem.
The Division suffered its first casualties on the way over when the S.S. Victoria, carrying the 136th Field Artillery, rammed and sunk a German submarine.
In the Meuse-Argonne Battle the 37th Division entered the line north of Avocourt with Montfaucon to the right in front. Montfaucon had been occupied for three years by the enemy, whose skilled army had done everything possible to make it impregnable; from here the Crown Prince, protected by a cement tower which is still intact, had directed the stupendous attacks on Verdun. The western part of this stronghold was captured by the 37th Division and the eastern part by the 79th Division. The 37th Division was also sent into Belgium with the 9Ist Division and entered the line at Olsene south of the Lys River, where they advanced to and crossed the Escault River west of Welden, a distance of 612 miles. The Division again en- tered the line on November 10 near Syngem of the side west of the Escault River. A bridge was thrown across the Escault at Heuvel during the night of November 10 and part of the troops crossed to the east bank to make an attack at daylight. The attack was carried on until II A.M. Scarcely had the noise ceased until somebody threw out a baseball and the game was on at a place where an hour before no living thing could have been exposed.
WILLIAM LESTER WALKER
W. Lester Walker, the first secretary of Local Board No. 15 of Allegheny County, died November 7, 1917 at the Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburg, Pa., while in the service of his country.
He was born in Shelocta, Indiana County, Pennsylvania, May 9, 1872, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Walker. During his boyhood the family moved to Oliver, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. After finishing the public schools, he was graduated at Elders Ridge Academy. He taught in the Armstrong County Schools for five years and then became Assistant Principal at the Elders Ridge Academy. In 1898 he took a position with the Hyde Park Steel Company. In 1900 he became one of the organizers of the Pittsburg Shovel Company at Leechburg, Pa., and was made director and general manager. In 1903 he accepted the office of secretary and treasurer of the Muskingum Steel Company at Zanesville, Ohio, where he remained for one year, then returned again to the Pittsburg Shovel Company, with which he was connected until 1909, when he accepted a position with the Allegheny Steel Company as head of the Order Depart- ment. While in this company his rise was rapid. He advanced steadily step by step until on Jan. 1, 1912 he was made General Manager. This position he continued to occupy until the time of his death.
Mr. Walker was ever active in the affairs of the community. He was one of the organizers of the Allegheny Valley Chamber of Commerce and was its first president. The Allegheny Val- ley General Hospital remains a monument to his memory, for he was chairman of the Hospital Campaign Fund Committee and also chairman of the Building Committee. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Tarentum, a Past Exalted Ruler of the B. P. O. E., one of the organizers of the Brackenridge Heights Country Club, and a member of several of the larger clubs of the Pittsburg District.
On July 3, 1917, Mr. Walker received and accepted appointment to the Local Board and in the organization of July 5 was made secretary; hence on him fell the task of organizing the im- mense amount of detail work that was made necessary in the systematic selection of men for the United States Army. His deep sense of patriotism compelled him to accept this appointment against his better judgment, for the new conditions brought about by the war's demands of the Allegheny Steel Company, of which he was the general manager, made his duties there unusually exacting; so that with this additional burden he was continually at his desk from early morning until far into the night.
An injury received from a fall nearly two years previous was continually sapping his vitality, so that before the end of the short period of about six weeks following his appointment he found himself a complete physical wreck. He twice requested his release from this work, but it was not granted. A two-weeks trip to Atlantic City and a week or ten days' rest at home seemed to refresh him so that he was able to be present at the entertainment of one hundred and forty- five men on September 19, 1917. Mr. Walker's experience as a member of the National Guards, his commanding personal appearance, and his buoyant optimistic spirit made his presence on that occasion invaluable. Indeed, the influence of his personality was a large factor in smoothing out the way of the Local Board. Those who had been accustomed to following his unerring leader- ship in times past did not question his judgment in the selection of men. This was one of the prime factors that contributed to establishing among the people of the District the high degree of confidence that the Local Board enjoyed throughout its work.
William Lester Walker's influence left its permanent impress upon the people and the activ- ities with which he was associated. His sudden death almost at the very beginning of this patri- otic service was a great blow to the District, as it was a great shock to the community. It is not too much to say that his devotion and fidelity to duty so controlled his energies and forced his strength that he fell in the service of his country as truly as one who fell upon the field of battle.
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WILLIAM LESTER WALKER
BIOGRAPHIES OF SERVICE MEN (INCLUDING ALSO SEVEN ENLISTED WOMEN NURSES)
KEY TO BIOGRAPHIES: (E)-Enlisted. (S)-Selected. (RE)-Registered Enlisted Men. (e)-Date of entrance into service. (a)-Age at date of entrance. (b)-Branch of Service. (c)-Company, Regiment, Division, etc. (I)-Where located while in service. (r)-Rank when discharged. (d) --- Date of discharge. (+) --- Died in service. (n)-Notations. Roman numerals-half-tone plate.
ABRAMCO, FRANK (S), HARWICK.
(e) May 27, 1918; (a) 27; (b) Engineers; (c) Co. B, 124th Engineers; (1) Camp Humphreys and France; (r) Pri- vate; (d) July 6, 1919; (n) Overseas June, 1918-June, I9I9.
ACRE, FRANCIS M. (S), BRACKENRIDGE.
(e) Nov. 17, 1917; (a) 25; (b) Infantry; (c) Co. H, 319th Reg., Both Div .; (1) Camp Lee and France; (r) Private First Class and Sharp Shooter; (d) June 12, 1919; (n) Overseas May 18, 1918-June 2, 1919. Participated in the activities of the Artois Sector, St. Mihiel Offensive and Meuse-Argonne Offensive. XII-15.
ACRE, GERALD IVIN (S), NATRONA.
(e) April 4, 1918; (a) 30; (b) Infantry; (c) Unassigned; (1) Camp Lee; (r) Private; (d) April 4, 1919; (n) VII-B-4
ADAMS, JOSEPH CLYDE (S), GLASSMERE.
(e) Oct. 2, 1917; (a) 28; (b) Infantry; (c) Co. F, 319th Reg., 80th Div .; (1) Camp Lee and France; (r) Private; (d) June 12, 1919; (n) . Par-
ticipated in the activities of Meuse-Argonne and St. Mihiel. V-A-15.
ADAMS, KENNETH ROY (S), NATRONA.
(e) May 27, 1918; (a) 30; (b) Engineers; (c) Co. C, 212th Engineers; (1) Camp Humphreys; (r) Private; (d) Jan. 30, 1919; (n) IX-74.
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