Marion County Remembers

Remembering S1C William Emmett "Bill" Buckey, Jr. (Fairmont) September 15, 1923 - October 24, 1944 ---- Early Life: S1C William Emmett Buckey, Jr. (Service #7004347) was born in Fairmont, West Virginia on September 15, 1923, the son of Emmett (Sr.) and Ada (Talkington) Buckey. Willian Sr. and Ada met while they were both students at Fairmont State Normal School (now Fairmont State University) and married in 1915. The 1912 FSNS yearbook, The Mound, says of William: "His future--ask Ada." The 1920 census lists the duo as residing in Morgantown, with William's occupation as "student." In 1923, William became the principal of Fairmont Senior High School, after graduating from WVU with a Master's degree in 1922. Their family lived at 804 Locust Avenue when William Jr. was born and throughout his whole life (1923 City Directory-1945 City Directory). Education and Enlistment: William, Jr, known in his high school yearbooks as "Bill," graduated f...

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 PFC Harry Millard Kuhn, Jr (Metz/Mannington)  August 25, 1917 - July 6, 1944 ---- PFC Harry Millard Kuhn, Jr (service # 15072213) was born on August 25, 1917 in the Lincoln District of Marion County, the son of Harry Sr. and Lucy (Davis) Kuhn.  Harry Sr. was a laborer in the gas field industry (1920 census), an occupation he continued through the rest of his life. The 1930 census shows the family living in the "Farmington Suburbs," but by 1940 they were living near Flat Run Road in Mannington (closer to Metz) on a farm, working as farmers. By then Harry, Jr. had dropped out of school and was also working on the farm. The 1940 census lists his highest level of education as 7th grade. (Note: Harry, Sr.'s 1967 obituary lists him as a "retired oil driller.") ---- Military Service: Harry registered for the draft on October 16, 1940. He was 5'8" and 140 lbs, with brown hair, brown eyes, and light skin. At the time of registration, he was working...

Remembering 2LT Louise Grumbach (Barrackville) July 7, 1917 - May 24, 1944 ---- Note: Louise is one of two WACs that I've found so far from Marion County who died during their time of service. It's also unclear whether her name was Ann(a) Louise or Louise Ann, it's printed either way in multiple locations.  ---- Anna Louise Cestaric was born July 7, 1917 in Grant Town, WV, the daughter of Joseph and Marie (Dreskovich) Cestaric. Her parents were both from Yugoslavia, but immigrated to the United States around 1909. When she was born, her family was living at the Jamison Coal Company Settlement and her father was a coal miner (1920 census).  Anna was the middle child of five siblings, with two older brothers-- Joe, Jr. and John-- and two younger sisters -- Julia and Elizabeth. Her family later moved to Green Township in Harrison County, Ohio (1930 census), where Joseph operated a grocery store. By 1935, they were back in Barrackville, with their address listed as "13 Bar...