William Montford, a forgotten African American U.S. Army WW I Veteran?

 

Hello, thank you for stopping by. . .


Montford . . . Monford . . . or, is it . . . Munford?

Being a genealogist is a challenge. Family Bible entries, church records and official government records often provide misspelling of surnames. Neighbors and friends furnish incorrect spelling of names. Elders often confuse given, surname and dates.

On occasion poor penmanship, "guessing" contribute to errors. A researcher can find numerous examples within National Census reports. A single wrong letter added, guessed or removed, will send a genealogist on a path to grow an incorrect family tree.

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One of my research projects (first started in 2008) involved a burial site and a unique headstone. Over three feet tall; two feet wide and deep. This grave marker is the tallest headstone within the abandoned "Diggs" cemetery, located in Onslow County, North Carolina.

The Diggs Cemetery is an all-African American cemetery. Developed on private land, comprised of numerous older cemeteries which had been relocated due to local urban sprawl. For example, improved highway construction or subdivision housing development.


Official death records when researched indicate an individual original burial location, "Buried in Smith Cemetery." Hundreds of death records, however, were not updated to reflect when a grave was relocated to the Diggs cemetery. Attempts to identify grave sites of Ancestors disappear from family records.


Excessive Brier bush and wild foliage overgrowth blanket the entire Diggs cemetery. Reports suggest forty to fifty graves were relocated to the Diggs cemetery. Elders of the community (a vital source of information for genealogists) indicate one hundred or more.

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My first attempt to conduct a research project on -- William Montford -- began in 2008. I wanted to confirm he was a "forgotten World War One African American U.S. Army Veteran."


William's headstone, stood out from nearby grave markers. It reads in part, ". . . William/Son of Handy/Dilcy Montford. . . . His birth and death dates are noted.


Near the bottom of William's stone reads, "Died in France."


I came in contact with a "brick wall" in regard to finding William's family history. All genealogists tell brick wall stories dealing with genealogy investigation. A solid wall: parchment, stone or hard concrete, are part of the challenge (and fun) of research. Especially, if you can tear down even a small fragment of the wall to find the "missing piece of the puzzle."


(Feel free to post your genealogy brick wall stories in the comment section listed below.)


I wrote a piece on William Montford and my research in 2014. I will not repeat my earlier post but, at your leisure, scroll down this site to {Thursday, May 08, 2014} and you will find my original post.

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I discovered a few more "pieces of the puzzle," in the summer of 2023. I believe, as the new material shows, misspelling of surnames was the key that knocked down my brick wall.

To add . . . correct birth and death dates played vital roles. William's headstone when compared to his official death record indicate incorrect dates.

I can now confirm military service of William Montford. He served less than three months from enlistment to death. Pneumonia was the official cause of death in France on September 26, 1918.

 

William "Montford" Headstone

 1) Notice spelling of surname of parents.

        2) Notice Willaim's birth and death dates.

3) Engraved, "Died in France."

                                                                    

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Report confirming "William Munford" of Jacksonville {North Carolina} died in France.

Home Made Headstone

Handy & Dilcy Montford

{Parents of William Munford)

1) Notice spelling of mother's given name.

(a)

William Munford military Death Certificate

(a-c)

(b)

(c)

1) Notice spelling of surname of William and his father.

2) Review Handy and William's burial headstones for surname spelling.

3) Notice William's "Birth and Death" dates compared to headstone.

4) William joined U.S. Army (Wilson County, N.C.)

5) Enlisted, shipped overseas to France, and died . . . all within a three-month period)

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Spelling of names, providing correct birth and death dates play a vital role in genealogy.  Some cases, family and members of a local community knew a person only by nicknames.  For example, John-Jack; Ann-Annabell.  In cases of Centurions, friends and family may have all preceded the individual who passed away.  Official documents may have been lost due to fire, theft or misplacement.  

Genealogists spend hours, months even years to find their Ancestor's histories.  My search for William Munford took over twelve years.  Each piece of the puzzle gives a clue.  Each clue leads a genealogist on a new adventure to seek more pieces of the puzzle . . . a wonderful and rewarding work of art.

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Thank you for reviewing my findings.  To add a "cliff hanger," the parents of William Munford--Handy and Dilcy Montford--were buried close to William, based on their joint headstone.  

I now have a new puzzle to solve.  Dilcy was Handy's first wife.  He remarried just a few months before he passed away.  He is, however, buried alongside he first wife.

I will expand on Handy and Dilcy and his second wife in 2024.  I look forward to exploring my pieces of my puzzle with you.

Until then, Merry Christmas and I wish you all the happiest adventures you can experience throughout 2024.