Waters Men in the Navy

With a name like 'Waters,' when it's time to join the military, you'd go with the obvious: the Navy. And that's what my Great-Uncles did. Milton, Lewis (LC), and Jack Waters all enlisted in the Navy and, I believe, served throughout World War II.

I don't have much to go on aside from family stories, photographs, and grave markers. Unlike army records, which seem to abound on sites such as Footnote and Ancestry, Navy records are relatively scarce. Ancestry has been working to expand its collection of Navy Cruise Books, but so far I haven't found my Great-Uncles. Also, information seems a little hard to request without information on the sailor's service details. Because of this, and because these men aren't on my direct line, I haven't been able to find much information on them.

Here's what I do know:

Milton Waters (1916, GA -1966, FL) served in both the Marines and the Navy (this based on photos). I believe that he enlisted before the war. His grave lists his rank as AOM3 in the Navy for WWII (I don't know what that means and I'm having trouble finding information on Navy Ranks and Rates).

Lewis Cranford (LC) Waters (1920 - 1978, GA) served in the Navy. I can't find his tombstone and don't have any information on his rate. I do have photos of him from his ship. It seems that he served on the USS Barney, which at one time was docked in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There, the crew took a bunch of photos. An arm patch in one photo, indicates that he was a Petty Officer 3rd Class.

Jack Franklin Waters (1924 - 1961, GA) also served in the Navy for WWII. According to his gravestone, he was a S2 in the Navy Reserves for South Carolina. Aside from his grave, I only have one photo to give hint to his service.

I'd like to find more information on my Great-Uncles and their, but I don't have information such as service numbers and dates of service, which appear to be required to obtain information from the National Archives. I'm hoping that as online databases expand their records, they will put more emphasis on military branches besides the army.

If anyone has advice on researching Navy veterans, I'd love to hear it.

Wordless Wednesday

Surname Saturday - Barfield

One of my brickwall families is the Barfield family of Glascock County and Emanuel County, Georgia.

The family line can be traced to Sarah, the mother of my Great-Great Grandfather, William L. Barfield. According to her death certificate, Sarah was born 27 Aug 1851 in Glascock County, GA and died on 22 Dec 1936 in Emanuel County, Georgia. On census records, her name is often spelled as Barefield. Through 1900 to 1930, she is found living with her daughter, Susan Emma Barfield Wells. In 1900, she is also living with another daughter, Amanda.

I cannot find reference to Sarah before 1900. I do not know her parents' names and her death certificate lists her parents as "unknown." I do not know her husband's name.

This photo of Sarah was sent to me by a distant cousin, Mitch Keown, who is also a descendent of William L. Barfield.

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In summery:

Sarah Barfield

- Birth: 27 Aug 1851 , Glascock, GA

- Census: 1900 Sheet 24, District 9, Militia District 1168, Glascock, GA

- Census: 1910 Sheet 14 B, District 10, Militia District 1168, Glascock, Georgia

- Census: 1920 Sheet 3 A, District 23, Militia District 1168, Glascock, GA

- Census: 1930 District 8, Militia District 57, Emanuel, GA

- Death: 22 Dec 1936 , Emanuel, GA

- Children: William "Bill" L (1872-1924)

Emma Susen (~1876-)

Amanda C. (~1888-)

More Music in the Family

In a previous post, I wrote about the musical instruments on my ancestors, which are in the possession of my cousins. In the post, I mentioned that the family was related by marriage to two early country music recording artists.

One of those musicians was Christopher Allen Bouchillon. Chris was born in Oconee County, SC on 21 Aug 1893 and is credited with originating the "talking blues" style. He recorded a number of songs with his brothers as "The Bouchillon Trio" and as a solo artist. Chris married my Great-Great Aunt Ethel Waters, sometime after 1920. It was the second marriage for both of them.

I had no idea until I started researching Chris, but it turned out that Ethel's entire family was musical. Her father's and siblings sang and played musical instruments. The cousins who have their instruments say that the family played at barn dances. It's probably how Ethel and Chris met: mingling in local Atlanta musical circles.

In 1928, "Mr. and Mrs. Bouchillon" recorded a series of comedic talking songs.¹ You can hear a 30 second clip here. Ethel was about 25 years old when this album was recorded. It's very strange to hear a recording this old and knowing that you are listening to the voices of your ancestors!

It is interesting to note, however, that music was not Chris' main profession. In the 1930 census he's listed as a sewing machine salesman.

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Sources:

1. Tony Russell and Bob Pinson, Country Music Records: A Discography, 1921-1942 (Oxford University Press, 2004), 119-120.