Marion County Remembers

Remembering SSGT Kenneth L. Morgan (Fairmont) September 16, 1920 - April 26, 1945 ---- SSGT Kenneth L. Morgan (Service Number 20544885) was born in Fairmont, WV on September 16, 1920, the son of William and Lovie (McShaver) Morgan. MSGT William H. "Curley" Morgan was a veteran of more than 14 years of service, including in France during WWI. At the time of Kenneth's birth, William was working as a policeman, and the family lived at 617 Spring Street. They remained there for a least a decade, before moving slightly further up the mountain to 723 Spring Street, between 1930 and 1935. By 1930, William was working as a fireman for the Fairmont Fire Department, which was his career until he retired as Fire Chief. Education: Kenneth attended Fairmont Senior High School, from which he graduated in 1939. Kenneth was a student at Fairmont State when WWII began overseas. While at Fairmont State, he was a member of the Tau Beta Iota (TBI) fraternity Military Service: He enlisted on ...

Remembering PVT William Melvin Conner (Fairmont/Millersville) November 9, 1906 - November 26, 1944 ---- "Still water runs deep" -1925 East Fairmont High School Orion Yearbook ---- PVT William Melvin Conner (Service #35760940) was born in Fairmont, WV on November 9, 1906, the son of Charles and Anne/Annese (Drake) Conner. City directories show their family living at 418 Diamond Street (1911 City Directory) and 217 Merchant Street (1913 City Directory) while Charles worked as a brakeman, before moving to Millersville to work as a car repairman for the B&O (first noted in the 1917 City Directory). Anna died sometime between 1913 and 1918. On October 14, 1918, when William was close to 12 years old, his uncle PVT Thomas Melvin Conner was killed in service during WWI. Their family remained in Millersville, and 1920 found Charles and William living with Charles' dad and brother (1920 Census).  Education: William attended East Fairmont High School, and graduated in the clas...

Remembering PVT Glenn Elbert Kern (Fairmont) April 30, 1914 - November 19, 1944 ---- "He has a noble, gentle temper." -1932 FSHS Yearbook, Glenn Kern's class quote ---- PVT Glenn Elbert Kern (service #35760006) was born in Fairmont, West Virginia on April 30, 1914, the son of Carl and Violet (Goddard) Kern. When Glenn was born, their family lived at "1234 6th Street," and Carl was a police officer (1915 Fairmont City Directory). By 1917 they had moved to 1106 Field Street, which would be Glenn's home for the rest of his life (1917 Fairmont City Directory). Carl had several theater jobs after 1917, including stage carpenter (1923 City Directory), maintenance man, and stage hand (1930 Census). Unfortunately, Carl's health took a turn for the worse, and by 1940 he was a patient at Saranac Lake in New York, which was well known at the time for their treatment of tuberculosis (based on the 1940 census and 1938 City Directory, this likely happened between 1938...

Remembering PFC Jennings Owen Chriswell (Fairmont) January 12, 1921 - October 8, 1944 ---- PFC Jennings Owen Chriswell  (Service #35386762) was born in Fairmont, WV on January 12, 1921, the son of Jennings (William) and Katherine (Amama) Chriswell.  Jennings W. was an engineer for the Traction Company in Monongah (1920 census). In August of 1920, Jennings W. and Katherine announced that they had married secretly the previous October, before welcoming baby Jennings in January of 1921.  By 1930, their family had moved to Mill Fall, and Jennings W. was serving as a Power Plant Superintendent. Katherine died August 31, 1931 at age 32 of eclampsia, seven months into her last pregnancy. She was preceded in death by one child, one-year-old Paul, and survived by her husband and three kids under the age of 13. Jennings William remarried, adding two more half-siblings to their blended family. Education and Marriage: Jennings Owen graduated from Fairmont Senior High School in 1940. ...

Remembering 2LT William Lavelle Watson (Fairmont) June 6, 1917 - May 24, 1944 ----- 2LT William Lavelle Watson was born June 6, 1917 in Elkins, WV, the son of Roy and Eunice (Kildow) Watson. Roy was a railroad conductor in Elkins, but unfortunately died on December 10, 1922 when he fell under a moving train. Eunice was left alone with their three sons- Robert (7), William (5), and George (2). Eunice married again in 1927, this time to George Raymond Smith. At that time, the family moved to Fairmont. Not much is known about Eunice's youngest son, George, but a family member of theirs on Ancestry speculates that he died around 1927 as well.*  *Note: I haven't been able to find anything corroborating or denying the information about George's death, but he did not appear on any census records after 1920. An article about William does mention that George had died in Elkins ("Lieut. Watson Dies On Raid,"  The Elkins Inter-Mountain). In the 1930 census, the Smith/Watson ...

Remembering 1LT Frank Kinsey Evans (Fairmont) April 28, 1916 to May 13, 1944 "He is a gentleman in whom we place absolute trust." - 1934 FSHS Yearbook ------ 1LT Frank Kinsey Evans was born in Fairmont, WV on April 28, 1916 to William and Ora (Kinsey) Evans. William was the Chief Clerk for a local coal company. The family lived in a variety of locations in Fairmont, all on West Side: 1910 Census: 416 Madison Street 1920 Census: 224 Spring Street 1930 Census: 724 Mt. Vernon Avenue 1940 Census: 414 Gaston Avenue Education Frank graduated from Fairmont Senior High School in 1934. The 1933 yearbook states that Frank's ambition was to become an engineer, while his classmates said of him in the 1934 Maple Leaves "He is a gentleman in whom we place absolute trust." While at Fairmont Senior, he participated in Hi-Y and French Club. Next, Frank enrolled at Fairmont State Teachers College (now Fairmont State University). Frank was the student manager of the Fighting Teach...

  Remembering 2LT John Clark McKinney III (Fairmont) April 12, 1916 - May 9, 1944 --- 2LT John Clark McKinney III  (Service #O-701449) was born April 12, 1916 to John Clark (II) and Eleanor Helena (Rogers) McKinney, in Fairmont. John II was a newspaper reporter with The Fairmont Times.  The family moved fairly often, finally settling on Diamond Street: 1910 Census: 318 Merchant Street 1920 Census: Ferry Street/Columbia Street 1930-1940 Census: 507 Diamond Street In addition to being a newspaper reporter, John II was a Deputy U.S. Marshall. The West Virginian newspaper announced his appointment on May 22, 1918. Education, Draft, and Marriage John III attended East Fairmont High School and graduated in 1933, before moving on to attend Fairmont State Teachers College. He graduated in 1937 with a bachelor's degree in English. While at Fairmont State, he participated in the band, orchestra, and choral club, as well as in the fraternity Omicron Pi. John was the band's stu...

CPL Richard Edgar Shurtleff was born June 6, 1909 in Fairmont, West Virginia, the son of Richard Aaron and Gladys (Kile) Shurtleff. The  youngest of 3 children, Richard lived with his parents on the West Side of Fairmont, first at 608 Sixth Street (1910 Census), then 1124 Field Street (1920 Census). His father, Richard A. Shurtleff was a shoe merchant who owned his own store. Unfortunately, he died at age 42 while in Boston attending the National Shoe Dealers' Convention. This left Gladys alone with their three children, ages 19, 12, and 10.  Gladys remarried a traveling electrical appliance salesman named Richard B. Berry in 1922, and the family moved to 5 Sunset Drive (1930 Census). Gladys and Richard Berry had one daughter together, Barbara, born in 1924 when Richard Edgar Shurtleff was 15. Education: Richard graduated from Fairmont Senior High School in 1927. While there, he performed in "El Bandido," and "The Trysting Place," as part of the Dramatics Club, ...

Staff Sergeant Angelo Henry Crescenzi was born in New York on May 30, 1915, the son of Pietro "Peter" Paul and Katie Dale (Floyd) Crescenzi. Peter, born in Italy, was a railroad employee with the B&O Railroad in Bellview from at least 1920 through his death in 1957. The family lived at 129 Main Street in Rivesville for that span of time, according to census records. Angelo was the oldest son of 9 children, with 7 sisters and 1 brother. Angelo was 18 years older than his youngest sister. Angelo attended Rivesville High School, and went on to attend Fairmont State University (then "Fairmont State Teachers College). Time at Fairmont State: While at Fairmont State, Angelo participated in baseball (1935-1938) and football (1935-1938). During the fall 1938 football season, Angelo was the Captain of the "Fighting Teachers," as Fairmont State was known then.  It is interesting to note that Angelo played football with Fairmont State legend "Deacon" Duvall....