Marion County Remembers

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...

Quartermaster First Class James Gilbert Arnett was born November 10, 1894, in Fairmont, West Virginia to Luther "Luke" and Sarah (Swindler) Arnett. In 1900, Luther (then 31) was working as a mail carrier. I wasn't able to obtain 1910 census data for the family, but by 1920 Luther was working as the City Clerk at the Marion County Courthouse, Sarah worked at a local department store, and James' older brother "Junior" worked as a painter. James' WWI draft card, dated June 5, 1917, lists James as having brown hair, brown eyes, and being of medium height and build. The Thursday, January 31, 1918 issue of The West Virginian featured him in a list entitled "More Final Draft Classifications." His draft lottery number, as listed there, was 1414. He was living at 400 Spring Street in Fairmont, WV, and working as a levelman with engineers with the Monongahela Valley Traction Company, a passenger and freight railroad service. James enlisted in the United ...

PFC Mac C. Merrifield (service # 2715610 )  was born September 16, 1891 in Smithfield (Wetzel County), WV to Elery Newton Merrifield and Minerva Ellen (Flowers) Merrifield. Out of the 10 Merrifield children, Mac was born 5th.  One May 27, 1917, Mac married Fara Gladys Martin in Marion County, WV, near Bringamon Church in Marion County, when he was 25 years old and she was 18. Mac registered for the draft on June 5, 1917. He listed himself as tall and slender with blue eyes and brown hair. At the time, he was working as a farmer in Worthington, WV.  On July 8, 1918, Mac departed Hoboken, NJ on the U.S.S. Leviathan as part of the 79th Division's 314th Infantry machine gun company.  There are lots of sources on this, but weirdly enough this random wiki had the best summary of what happened. Check out the reference list for more detailed accounts. "Upon arrival at Brest, France, they continued training until September 1918, then took part in the Meuse Argonne Offensive....

In Memory of Pvt. James H. ("Harry") Shuttlesworth, who died in France merely one day before the end of WWI (November 10, 1918). Harry Shuttlesworth was born July 29, 1895 in Ohio (though his gravestone reads 1896). He gave "mine laborer" as his occupation on his draft card, and listed his town of residence as Worthington, WV when he enlisted in the military on June 5, 1917.  His card also lists that he was of medium height with a slender build, gray eyes, and brown hair. At his time of death, he was a member of Company B of the 128th Infantry Regiment, assigned to the 32nd Division. "In the closing months of the war, the 128th Infantry participated in several major campaigns including Alsace, Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne and Meuse-Argonne. For their fury in combat, the nickname "Les Terribles" or "The Terrible Ones" was given to them by the French. As they pierced the famed Hindenburg Line, the 32nd became known as the "Red Arrow" Divi...

 World War I Deaths Thomas R. Atha (USMC)* Thomas Bennett (Army)* Buie W. Boydoh (Army)* Lloyd E. Brown (Army)* Abie L Burke (Army)* Charles E. Cartright (Army)* Thomas M. Conner (Army)* Gerardo Dapruzzo (Army)* Harold Davis (Army)* William W. Elder (Army)* Albert Gerkin (Army) Arlie Haught (USMC)* Carley R. Hawkins (Army)* Fred R. Heintzelman (Army)* Bert H. Humphrey (Army)* Earl W. Kiger (Army)* Lonnie W. Lawrence (Army)* Mac C. Merrifield (Army)* Fred C. Miller (Army) Karl H. Miller (Army) Nick Monell (Army)* James H. Shuttlesworth (Army)* Zarah West (Army)* James Worman (Army)* Raymond Wright (Army)* * Listed on the Veterans' Memorial in Veterans' Square, Fairmont, WV NOT a complete list -- it turns out that the plaque on the Jefferson Street Bridge has a large number of additional names