On Armed Forces Day we are celebrating the life of Air Force Staff Sergeant Walter Lee Garrison, Jr. (1931-1975). He was the son of Walter and Mamie (Fountain) Garrison who lived at 709 Roselane Street in the Smoketown Neighborhood. From 1949 to 1953, Walter served in the Air Force during the Korean War. This war was a turning point for many African Americans in the Armed Forces as the US Department of Defense allowed African Americans to serve in all combat and combat service elements. By June 1950, almost 100,000 African Americans were on active duty in the Armed Forces, which was about 8% of the total manpower. Walter was one of those African Americans. He also worked as a mail carrier for the US Postal Service and was a member of the Green Street Baptist Church and Chestnut Street YMCA. Walter had a daughter, Tia Lynn, with Lois (Mason) Everett. Walter died at Norton Hospital at the age of 44 after an illness. Thank you for your service.

On Armed Forces Day we are celebrating the life of Navy Yeoman First Class Charles Edwin Snyder (1892-1961). He was the son of John Snyder and Mary King who lived on 16th Street in Louisville. Charles’s Navy career spanned 12 years and 23 ships during both World War I and World War II. According to his draft card, Charles was tall and slender with dark hair and brown eyes. He was aboard the Navy replenishment ship Salinas when the ship was torpedoed by German submarines in October 1941. After retirement, he worked as a repairman. Charles died in 1961 at the VA Hospital in Louisville at the age of 68. He was a member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), American Legion, and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was survived by three daughters and a son. Thank you for your service. 

We are celebrating the life of Army Nurse Anna Reid Carfield (1891-1943). She was the daughter of James Carfield and Mary Ann Hegerty who both died when Anna was a young girl. It appears that Anna was raised by her sister Edna and her husband Fred Herman, and Edna was twenty years Anna’s senior. Anna became a nurse for the Army Nurse Corps and was stationed to Base Hospital No. 40, Barrow Unit, in Lexington. On July 12, 1918, she traveled to New York where she boarded the Olympic, the sister ship of the Titanic, which transported troops to Europe during World War I. Much of the Barrow Unit was located in Southampton, England where a hospital opened at manor house Sarisbury Court, but some of the Unit members served in France as well. Anna served her country from April 6, 1918 through April 29, 1919. The American Red Cross recruited over 22,000 professionally-trained female nurses to serve in the US Army between 1917 and 1919. Over 10,000 of those women served near the Western Front. By the 1920s, Anna was a practicing nurse in the Lexington area where she remained until her death of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 52. Anna never married and was survived by her sister and three brothers. Thank you for your service, Anna. 

On Armed Forces Day we are celebrating the life of Marine Corporal Henry E. Tribue, Jr. (1934-1969). He was the son of Henry E. and Geneva (Brown) Tribue who lived in Indianapolis, Indiana. From 1952 to 1955, Henry served in the Marines during part of the Korean War. After training at Camp Lejune in North Carolina, Henry was sent to the Atomic Energy Commission Proving Grounds to observe a series of atomic tests. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California. After his service ended, Henry and his wife Eva Dathright lived at 2310 Mellwood Avenue in the Clifton Heights Neighborhood. He worked as a foreman at the Ford Motor Company Truck Plant. Henry died at the age of 35 of gunshot wounds received at home in an argument. Tribue was survived by his wife, parents, and five siblings. Thank you for your service, Corporal Tribue. Image from “Indianapolis News” April 22, 1953.

For Memorial Day, we are featuring Private Kermit Caswell (1918-1944), the son of Hart County farmer John S. Caswell and Elizabeth (Bowman) Caswell. Kermit was the eldest of the five Caswell children and worked as a farmer. On November 6, 1942, Kermit enlisted in the Army. His enlistment records say he was 5’5” tall and weighed 116 pounds. Kermit was assigned to the 95th Infantry Division, which sailed to England on August 10-17, 1944. Then on September 15, 1944, the Division moved to France where they entered combat east of Moselle and south of Metz on October 19, 1944. The Division pushed toward the Saar during November and December 1944. Sadly, Kermit was killed in action on December 15, 1944 while in service of his country. His remains were not returned to the Caswell family for burial until April 1949, which is when his obituary was published. Thank you, Private Caswell for your sacrifice. You will not be forgotten.

May is Asian Pacific Heritage Month. In our research thus far, we have only discovered two people of Asian and/or Pacific descent buried at Eastern Cemetery. One person we discovered is Lottie Wu (September 30, 1924 – April 24, 1925). Just about everything we know regarding Lottie Wu and her family comes from Lottie’s death certificate. Her father was Hai Wu and was born in the United States. Her mother’s maiden name was Wangsee, but her first name is unknown. She immigrated to the United States from China. Lottie lived a very short life. She died of an edema of the larynx, which can obstruct the upper airways. She was six months old. At the time of her death, her family was living at 658 S. 2nd Street and Hai was working at a Chinese Hand Laundry at 627 W. Broadway. The first Chinese immigrants came to Louisville in the 1920s from Canton, China. Following a tradition of Chinese in the United States, many operated hand laundries with a small few operating restaurants. Kent Quan who will be featured in another post about Asian Pacific Heritage Month also worked in a laundry and was originally from Canton, China.

May is Asian Pacific Heritage Month. In our research thus far, we have only discovered two people of Asian and/or Pacific descent buried at Eastern Cemetery. One person we discovered is Kent “Kai” H. Quan (1900-1951), a first generation Chinese American. Born in San Francisco, CA, Kent also known as Kai, could not be found in many records. It is unclear when he married his wife Emily Wu, a Chinese immigrant, but they had six children beginning circa 1933. They lived in New York City for a brief period before moving to Bowling Green, KY and then to Louisville. Emily’s father Richard “Dick” Wu owned several laundries in Louisville in which the couple worked until they opened their own business. Kent and Emily owned the Quan Grocery at 646 Finzer Street in the Smoketown Neighborhood. Kent died of a heart attack at the age of 51. Emily continued to live in Louisville until 1999 when she moved to her daughter’s house in Florida. Emily died in 2000 at the age of 90. The front of Kent’s headstone contains his name in English as well as in Chinese below. The back of the headstone contains three columns of Chinese text. The left side translates to Chikai Town and Sanbanbu Village. The center columns translates to Tomb of Quan, Chongzhou Tianqihong. The right side translates to Canton Province and Kaiping County. The information included and the design of the headstone is a mix of American and Chinese traditions. Photo of the family is from “Courier-Journal” December 2, 1940.

Franz “Frank” Schubert (1816-1885) and Anna Margaretha (Kappeser) Schubert (1826-1885) immigrated to the United States from Germany. He was a saddler and collarmaker, and she was a homemaker. Together they had six children. Frank and Anna spent a large part of their lives on Mary Street in the Germantown Neighborhood. Frank died in February 1885 of dropsy while Anna died in August 1885 of paralysis. The Schubert monument is in German and features a large arch with Franz’s information on the left side and Anna’s on the right. The center of the arch shows two hands clasped between the words, “Vater und Mutter,” which means father and mother. Clasped hands are frequently seen on double monuments to symbolize holy matrimony or the eternal union of husband and wife. Several of these identical double stones can be found at Eastern and many are in German. Frank and Anna’s sons, Casper and Frank, and daughter, Anna Katharina “Katie,” are buried next to them.

 

Fredrick L. Buyer (1850-1891) was born in New York City to Katherine and Jacob Buyer, German immigrants. Jacob was a carpenter and “Kath” was a homemaker. Fredrick, or Fred, was the Buyer’s first of eight children. By the 1850s, thirty-five percent of the population in Louisville was German. According to the 1870 Census, the Buyer family was living in Louisville. Their children ranged in age from 19 (Fred) down to 5 (Everhart). Fred, following in his father’s footsteps, was also a carpenter. Fred died at the age of 41, of phthisis pneumonia, which was likely a form of tuberculosis. His headstone is simple, but it tells us things about his life. His life began in New York. The single, in bloom, thornless rose is often recognized as a Christian symbol of the Virgin Mary who is referred to as the “rose without thorns”. The Christian reference is further supported by the badly worn inscription at the bottom of the stone that includes the words “called home” which indicates Fred was called to Heaven.

John L. Branham (1810-1884) was born in Kentucky in 1810. According to the 1850 Census, he was a carpenter, married to Ellen. During the Civil War, John was a Private in the Union Army serving in the Kentucky B.5 Infantry. He died of paralysis at the age of 74. It is likely that his death was due to a war related injury because Ellen, who was ten years his junior, was able to draw a pension from the government after his death. The top, center of John’s tombstone has the symbol of clasped or shaking hands. The hands can be interpreted several ways. Sometimes they depict a man’s cuff and a women’s cuff, signifying a marital bond in life that will be reunited in death. Other times it signifies the last handshake between the living and the dead or the handshake of God as he greets the dead, as they enter Heaven. The clasped or shaking hands symbol was also commonly found on Masonic and Odd Fellows tombstones and in those cases can represent fellowship. Just under John’s name, you can see an intersecting square and compass with a G in the center. This signifies that John was a Mason. The letter G in the center of the square and compass stands for God and Geometry. The headstone looks like it was made for John and Ellen, but she was not buried there.

Albert Fields (1913-1993) and Dorothy Mae (Gill) Doyle Fields (1914-1986) share a headstone with Dorothy on side and Albert on the other. However, Albert was not buried in Eastern Cemetery as he died after burials ceased. According to his obituary, Albert is buried in Green Meadows Memorial Cemetery. Albert was a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee and a World War II Army veteran. According to Indiana Marriage Records, he and Dorothy married in both 1967 and 1971. It is unclear why this occurred. Dorothy was a native of Athens, Alabama. She was previously married to Leo Melvin Doyle who died in 1966 and was buried in the Louisville Cemetery. Together they had four children: Robert, Margretta, Leona, and Shadie. At the time of Dorothy’s death in 1986 she had 29 grandchildren and 36 great-grandchildren. Dorothy’s side of the headstone has a decorative scallop detail with a quote, “Sunset and Evening Star, And one clear call for me!” This is a line from Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem “Crossing the Bar.” Albert’s side of the headstone contains the next line in the poem, “And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea.” It is believed that when Tennyson wrote this poem during his long illness, he expressed his accepting attitude toward death. He requested that this poem be his last published poem.

Ruthannetta “Ruth” (Gelthaus) Chambers (1909-1945) was born at 427 Campbell Street to German immigrants, Rudolph and Mamie Gelthaus, on February 13, 1909. At the age of 19, Ruth married divorcee James H. “Jimmy” Chambers. Jimmy was the biological son of Kate Ludwig and Anthony Leopold, and he was adopted at a very early age by George and Susie Chambers. Ruth and Jimmy were married in Jeffersonville, IN. The couple started their lives together in the Baxter Avenue area and later moved to 941 Fehr Avenue. Jimmy worked primarily as a chauffeur and Ruth as a telephone operator for the phone company. On February 6, 1931, Ruth gave birth to the couple’s only child James Chambers, Jr. On September 4, 1945, Ruth died at the young age of 36 from uterine cancer. She is buried at Eastern Cemetery not far from Jimmy’s adoptive parents. Jimmy went on to live an additional 54 years after Ruth’s death when he died in 1999 at the age of 94. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery with his third wife, Ruth (Brown) Chambers, who he was married to from 1950 until his death. Photos are from Find A Grave user “Tribute to our ancestors.” 

Sara Elizabeth “Lizzie” (Kerfoot) Keene (1868-1903) was born in Hardin County, KY to farmer Albien Kerfoot and Lucinda Daugherty. At the age of 22, Lizzie married Samuel Stonewall Keene on October 11, 1890, in Jeffersonville, IN. The couple started their lives together on F Street (Altwood Avenue) near 4th Street. Samuel worked various odd jobs: city collector, motorman, health officer, and janitor. Together the couple had three children: Charlotte, Roy, and Carl. On July 21, 1903, Lizzie died at the young age of 35 from septicemia likely due to complications from childbirth. Her son Carl had been born just four days prior to her death. Lizzie is buried at Eastern Cemetery, but no marker has been found. Samuel married Annie Mae Decker after Lizzie’s death. Samuel, Annie, and Carl are all buried in Eastern Cemetery as well. Photo is from Find A Grave user Kyle Fible-Epperson.

Julia Smith (1849-1867) has a beautiful, ornate headstone teeming with symbolism. The angel is a guardian of death and the lily symbolizes purity, chastity, and innocence. The dogwood flower at the top of the marker is a symbol for Christianity, divine sacrifice, and resurrection while the garland draped over the top symbolizes victory in death. At the age of 17 Julia died from cerebral congestion, which appeared to be a 19th century catch-all. It could have been a stroke or swelling of the brain caused by an infection or trauma. Julia was the daughter of Nancy Smith who is buried next to her. According to census and newspaper records, Nancy was a brothel madame with an establishment on Lafayette Street. Louisville had three main districts for prostitution: Lafayette-Marshall Red Light District (located Preston through Wenzel Streets and Grayson and Walnut Streets), The Chute (located around intersection of Floyd and Jefferson Streets), and Green-Grayson Red Light District (located 6th through 11th Streets and Green and Grayson Streets).

Raymond John Hambaugh (1925-1986) was born to Harry and Minnie (Bryant) Hambaugh on November 12, 1925. Harry and Minnie married in Louisville on December 3, 1906. Together, the couple had five children; their first child was born in 1909 and their last child, Raymond, was born in 1925. Raymond’s father died of pneumonia in 1933 when Raymond was only eight years old. By 1935, Raymond was living on a farm on Cane Run Road that was owned by William and Lillian Schildknecht. According to the 1940 Census, William and Lillian had two biological children and Raymond, along with four other young boys, were all “wards” to William Schildknecht. It is not certain if this was the case with Raymond, but during this time it was not uncommon for young boys to be used for farm labor when their parents did not have the means to raise them. When Raymond registered for the WWII draft at the age of 18, he was noted as being 135 pounds, 5’4” tall, with a light complexion and blonde hair and blue eyes. At the time he was working for Ballards Flour Mills. Raymond died in the Scott County Hospital in Indiana of pneumonia at the age of 60. At the time of his death, he was living at 2200 Duncan Street in Louisville. His brother Leo (2142 Duncan Street), three nieces, and four nephews were listed as Raymond’s survivors in his obituary. Raymond is buried in an unmarked grave at Eastern Cemetery. Photos are from Find A Grave user Eric Schumacher.