Marion County Remembers

SSGT Marion Arlie Tennant (Service #35382677) was born May 23, 1914 in Fairmont, West Virginia to Arlie and Mary (Ammons) Tennant, the younger of two sons. They were married in 1910, but divorced by the 1920 census. In 1920, Mary and the children (Herbert and Marion) were living at 1109 Pennsylvania Avenue in Fairmont. In 1930, they were renting 205 Highland Avenue in Bellview, renting part of the house to Jack and Frances Green and their son Robert. By 1940, Marion was working as a purchasing agent for the Fairmont Hotel. Built in 1916, the Fairmont Hotel stood on the corner of Jefferson and Monroe Streets. It is now home to the East View Apartments. Marion entered the draft on October 16, 1940. He was 5'11" and 155 lbs, with gray eyes, brown hair, and light skin. Military Service: Marion enlisted in the Army and served with the 712th AAF Bomb Squadron, 448th Bomb Group. He was the right-waist gunner aboard the B-24 Liberator "Chubby Champ" when it was hit by Luftwa...

PVT George Odbert "Obbie" Cozard (service #35783751) was born March 8, 1926 in Fairmont (Watson), West Virginia, the son of Walter and Georgia (Arnold) Cozad. He was the younger of two sons, with his brother John Odis Cozad only a year older than him (born March 2, 1925). The Cozad family lived in Watson until sometime in the 1930s, when they moved to Lancaster, Ohio. Walter continued working as a glass factory employee, this time at Anchor Hocking Glass. The 1940 Census for Lancaster indicates that they'd been living in Lancaster at least since 1935. By 1943, the family had returned to Watson, and Walter was working (again) at Owens-Illinois, this time as a mold maker. Time at Fairmont Senior High School: During this time, George was attending Fairmont Senior High School. The 1943 FSHS Maple Leaf says by George's junior year photo: "Obbie' came to us from Lancaster High School. His ambition is to become a book-keeper and we think that he will fit perfectly i...

Remembering 2LT Harold William Hicks (Fairmont) October 29, 1916- April 24, 1945 Typically I write the biographies myself, but today I want to share this one written by the West Virginia Archives and History staff, as it includes a 2021 interview with his daughter, Roberta Hicks Wilson. https://archive.wvculture.org/history/wvmemory/vets/hicksharold/hicksharold.html Note: eventually this will be expanded to include my own biography

Remembering W3C Charles Homer Hustead (Fairmont) February 24, 1921 - April 20, 1944 ---- Water Tender 3rd Class Charles Homer Hustead (Service # 5529424) was born February 24, 1921 to Abe and Bernice (Botts) Hustead in Fairmont, West Virginia. Charles was the middle child of three siblings, two girls (Juanita and Mary) and one boy. Abe Hustead was a tailor by trade, owning his own shop in Fairmont. When Charles was born, his family was renting a house at 224 Washington Street. Unfortunately, Bernice died in 1925 of Scarlet Fever, age 29. At the time of Bernice's death, Charles was three and Juanita was three. Bernice (and later Abe, who lived until 1964) is  buried at Woodlawn Cemetery  in Fairmont. Abe never remarried. From 1930 to at least Abe's death in 1964, the family rented a home at 344 Hamilton Street. Military Service: Charles draft card is undated, but gives his employer as "Simms Recreation," H.M. Simms. At that time Charles lists himself as 5'9" a...

Remembering PFC Glenn Erlin Nichols August 28, 1918 - April 16, 1945 ---- PFC Glenn Erlin Nichols (service # 35082055) was born August 28, 1918 in (North View) Clarksburg, WV, the son of Rev. Ira and Julia (Debroux) Nichols. Ira was born in West Virginia, and Julia was born in Belgium.  In the 1920s, the family was living in North View in Clarksburg at 1216 North 17th Street, while Ira worked as a mold maker at a glass plant. Unfortunately, Julia died in 1929, leaving Ira with five kids under the age of 14 to raise alone, four sons, and one daughter. Ira married Edith Cork on May 31, 1930, in Fairmont. Their home addresses are both listed as Fairmont, WV on the marriage certificate. Unfortunately, Edith died less than 8 years later at age 25, on February 9, 1938. Ira remarried one last time on June 3, 1940, in Virginia. Ira's 1940 address is listed as 1321 Speedway Avenue, Fairmont, and his bride, Ethel Louise Thomas, hailed from Carolina. At that time, Ira was working at Owens Ill...

Tec5 Denzel Odes Hayes was born April 13, 1918 in Curtisville, WV (outside of Mannington) to Charles and Rosa (Williams) Hayes. Denzel had five older sisters (including one who died at birth), four older brothers, and one younger brother. The 1920 census places the family at a farm near Buffalo Creek, and Charles working on a farm as part of a driving team. By 1930, they were living at Glade Fork Road (still in the Curtisville area). Rosa died in 1935. They continued living there through the 1940 census, with Charles working as a farm owner and operator for the duration of the time. During the 1940 census, Denzel's brother Harry was also working as a kiln placer in the Sanitary Pottery business-- likely working for Bower's Pottery. Denzel registered for the draft on October 30, 1940. He listed himself as 6' and 140 lbs, with blue eyes, blonde hair, and a scar on his right knee cap. His employer was listed as the Civilian Conservation Corps, Company 3527 out of Morgantown. C...

Seaman 1st Class George Charles Edward Hanne was born November 4, 1925 in Barrackville, WV to John and Rosanna (Pethal) Hanne. George was the middle child of five siblings, three boys, two girls. John, a Pennsylvania native and WWI veteran, was a mail carrier in Marion County at least through 1930-1950 (census data after 1950 has not yet been released). On November 4, 1943, 18 year old George Hanne registered for the draft. At that time he was 6' and 147 lbs with blue eyes, blonde hair, and a scar across his right eyebrow. He listed himself as a student both on his draft card and during his induction into the US Navy. Military Service: George was inducted into the United States Navy on January 22, 1944 in Clarksburg, WV. He was sent to the Naval Station in Great Lakes, Illinois, for training. For the month ending on April 21, 1944, George was on board the Tank Landing Ship LST-130, as it cruised from San Francisco, but by the end of the next month (ending May 28, 1944) he had been ...

Of all the names I have researched in regards to Marion County and the World Wars, Henry Anglin has been one of the most perplexing, all due to an article in The West Virginian that states "Henry Anglin Not Known Here." Here's what we DO know.  CPL Henry P. Anglin was born August 31, 1894 in Mt. Clare, West Virginia (Harrison County) to Octavius and Catherine (Shockey) Anglin. Henry was born fifth in a family of eight children, with his oldest brother, Grover, being 11 years older than him. The 1900 census for Harrison County listed Octavius as a coal miner, Grover (15) as a mule driver, and another brother, William (10), as a day laborer 2 .  In 1910, Catherine, 47 and by now widowed, was living in Monongalia County with Henry's younger brother, Emmett. No Mention is made of Henry, who would have only been 16 at the time. While he could have been living with an older sibling, I have yet to find 1910 census information for any of the others. Three of Henry's broth...