Update on the life and death of Arthur Alma Kerby

Uncle Art’s World War I draft card states the following: It is dated 5 Jun 1917 in Webb, Cochise County, Arizona.  Arthur Alma Kerby, age 23, born 16 Apr 1894 in Pima, Arizona – farmer for himself, single, medium build, tall, grey eyes and black hair.  I just found the above picture on FamilySearch in February 2024 and you can tell by this picture that his description on his draft card was pretty accurate.  He was a handsome young man.

The reason for this update is because I wrote a blog post about Uncle Art “Arthur Alma Kerby” and posted it on 26 Aug 2015.  I wrote about his young life and how it ended so tragically on a field somewhere in France during World War I.   Most of the records we had found stated Uncle Art had been killed in action.  At the time I wrote that post in 2015 I had no idea where he had died with any certainty, only that it was in France.  I knew his body had been brought home for burial almost 3 years after his death, but nothing about his actual death or where he had been interred.

Link to my previous blog post: Arthur Alma Kerby

We always knew that Uncle Art died on 30 Oct 1918 somewhere in France at the young age of 24 years.  As of 26 Jan 2024, we now know what happened and where it happened, thanks to Peter Wever of the Netherlands.

I received the following message on Ancestry.com on 26 Jan 2024 from Peter Wever.  “Hi Vickie, allow me to introduce myself.  I am Peter Wever from the Netherlands and I am researching American soldiers that were initially buried at the military cemetery of Bazoilles-sur-Meuse.  Among those was Arthur Alma Kerby of whom you listed a photo on Ancestry.  Would you be willing to share a higher resolution of this photo through email. Thanks in advance, Peter”

Peter stated the following in a subsequent email: “Bazoilles Hospital Center was situated in Bazoilles-sur-Meuse, a small village in the Vosges Department in North-East France.  Your Uncle Arther died there on October 30, 1918, from "broncho pneumonia following gunshot wounds of left shoulder and leg" at Base Hospital No. 18.  This hospital was one of the 7 hospitals that made up the hospital center.  He was buried at US Military Cemetery No. 6 on October 31 in Grave No. 348.  He was disinterred on February 8, 1921 for transportation to the US where he was reburied.  See the notes of Father Dinan, the chaplain of the hospital center, on the burial of your uncle.  It also mentions exact time of death.  700 Americans were buried there at US Military Cemetery No. 6.”  I received the following images from Peter.

Uncle Art died at 3:10 PM on Oct. 30, 1918

Cause of death listed as WRIA.  I asked Peter what that meant.  He stated the following: “WRIA or DWRIA means (died of) wounds received in action.  It indicates a soldier died after reaching a medical facility.”

This is where Uncle Art was buried until his body was disinterred to be sent home almost 3 years later.

Uncle Art’s body arrived in Douglas, Arizona on 10 Jun 1921 which was a Friday and his body was held there until Saturday when it was brought to Webb.  The next day, he was buried with full military honors by the Fred Hilborn Post of the American Legion on 12 Jun 1921 which was a Sunday, at the Whitewater Cemetery not far from Webb where he grew up.

Peter has written a book about the Bazoilles Hospital Center and on the front cover of his book is a picture from Base Hospital No. 18, the same hospital that Uncle Art was in when he passed away.  The following is the cover of that book.  After Peter contacted us, we ordered his book so we could read more about the hospital.  It is very interesting and very informative.

I asked Peter if he knew what battle Uncle Art was wounded in and he stated the following: “I noted you wrote you did not know in which battle he was killed - or wounded.  That was the Meuse-Argonne Offensive which lasted from September 26 to November 11, 1918 and is still the largest military activity in American history and also its deadliest military campaign.  See the PDF attachment.  The 3rd Infantry Division in which your uncle served was first in reserve but went into the lines around October 1.  If you look at the map in the PDF attachment, you go north from the grounds gained by the 37th and 79th Division.  Then you see the grounds gained by the 3rd Division (marked by a 3 in a circle) which curves to the east going north.  Your uncle must have been wounded somewhere on these grounds. From there he was probably transported to a Field Hospital of the 3rd Division, a non-divisional Evacuation Hospital and from there to Bazoilles Hospital Center.“

I made a cut of the PDF map to show it in larger detail and I have added blue arrows to show the different Divisions, that Peter mentioned in his email.  Uncle Art was in the 3rd Division.  For some reason I can not get my blue arrows to show up.  Right in the center in the pink you will see a 3 with a circle around it.  It borders the 37th & 79th Divisions which are to the south and then it kind of circles to the northeast still in pink with another 3 in a circle.  Uncle Art would have been wounded somewhere in that pink area.  The town of Cunel, France is about in the middle of that pink area.

Uncle Art would have been wounded possibly somewhere in the area around Cunel, then taken to a field hospital before being transported to the Hospital Center at Bazoilles-sur-Meuse where he died.  It is about 90 miles south of Cunel to Bazoilles-sur-Meuse.  The following is a modern-day Google map showing Cunel to Bazoilles-sur-Meuse.

As Paul Harvey use to say at the end of his broadcast, “Now you know…the rest of the story”.

Written by Vickie Beard Thompson for a blog post on 19 February 2024.

Samuel Humphreys, 1818-1889, his wives, Dorcas Price, abt. 1820-bef. 1841; Mariah Austin, 1817-1879 and Mrs. Sarah A. Martin, 1840-1892

Samuel Humphreys and his second wife, Mariah Austin were my 4^th great-grandparents on my Momma’s side of the family.  Samuel was born in Virginia on 16 December 1818, but as of yet I still do not know where in Virginia or who his parents were.  I do believe he had a brother named William Humphreys who was also born in Virginia in about 1808 and died before 1850 in Crittenden County, Kentucky.  I have a picture of Samuel, but I have never seen a picture of any of his wives.  This is a copy from an old tintype photo, but unfortunately, I failed to write down who I had received it from many years ago.

Samuel worked as a farmer his entire life from what I have gleaned from census, land and court records, etc.  I know he was growing tobacco in the 1840’s from land deed records I have found.

Samuel married his first wife, Dorcas Price in Davidson County, Tennessee on 16 April 1836.  She was probably born around 1820 and had died before 1841.  They became the parents of twins, Mary Ann Elizabeth and William Albert Humphreys who were born in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee on 9 January 1837.  Mary married James Madison Bennett in Crittenden County, Kentucky on 14 January 1857.  They had six known children: William D., J. A., E. H., F. M., W. M. and J. K. Bennett.  Mary died in Posey County, Indiana on 29 May 1902.  William married Drucilla Champion in Crittenden County, Kentucky on 27 November 1858.  They became the parents of five sons, Jesse Henderson, Charles Grant, Granville Davis, Samuel Carty and Albert Humphreys.  William had apparently died sometime before 1870 as his wife and five sons are living with her parents on the 1870 census in Hurricane, Crittenden County, Kentucky.

Samuel next married my grandmother, Mariah Austin in Livingston County, Kentucky on 14 May 1841.  They were married by Joseph Hughes a Justice of the Peace, bondsman was William Humphreys, groom was of age and bride proven of age by William Humphreys.  I believe this William Humphreys was a brother to Samuel.  Since Mariah was almost 24 years old, I don’t know why her age had to be proven by someone, unless she looked younger than she was.  Mariah was born in Tennessee on 1 September 1817 and died on her 62^nd birthday in Crittenden County, Kentucky on 1 September 1879 of heart disease.  The 1880 mortality schedules also state her father was born in England and her mother in Virginia and the doctor attending her was Thomas Dean, when she died.  I have yet to find Mariah’s parents or any known siblings or where in Tennessee she may have been born though. 

Samuel and Mariah became the parents of seven known children, namely: Sarah Jane Frances (my 3^rd great-grandmother), Lewtisha Mary Ann, Charles Edward, Henrietta Carlene Necitie Tennessee Virginia Ann, Nancy Mariah, Samuel Jefferson Humphreys and Samuel Jefferson’s twin, a baby girl who was not named and died at birth.  They sure did like to give the girls a ton of names, didn’t they? JJ

Sarah Jane Frances Humphreys, 1842-1911, was married twice, first to my 3^rd great-grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Yates, 1839-1864/65, in Crittenden County, Kentucky on 8 December 1858.  They had three children, John Henry, 1859-1929, Mary Tom, 1862-1938 (my 2^nd great-grandmother) and Anna Maria Yates, 1864-1935.  Thomas served in the Union Army during the Civil War.  I have two different dates of death for him.  The first death date 9 November 1864, I was told he was killed in battle on that date.  The other death date 10 August 1865, also said he was killed in battle, but the war was over, so if he died on this date then it may have been from wounds or diseases contracted during the war.  Either way he must have died sometime before 25 December 1866, because that is the date that Sarah married her second husband, Henry Bartlett Yates, 1833-1896, who happened to be Thomas’ older brother.  Sarah and Henry had six children together, Martha Ellen, 1867-1911, Sarah Caldonia, 1870-1954, Emma S., 1874-1876, Benjamin Lewis, 1877-1918, Cora M., 1880-1939 and Nora B. Yates, 1882-1961.  Sarah’s obituary from The Crittenden Press, issue dated March 30, 1911 reads as follows: “Mrs. Yates, mother of Rev. B. L. Yates, died at her home near Levias last week, she had been ill several months.  Her son who has charge of the church at Lafayette, Kentucky was here to see her several times this year.”  I only have one known picture of Sarah and she is with her oldest son, John Henry and his wife, Mary Jennings.  Sarah is in the black cape and I don’t know who the taller man on the left is, possibly a son to John Henry.

Lewtisha Mary Humphreys was born in Crittenden County, Kentucky on 31 August 1844, but had died sometime before the 1860 census was taken.

Charles Edward Humphreys, 1848-1916, was married three times, first to Mary Jane Harmon, 1852-1871, in Crittenden County, Kentucky on 22 December 1866.  Second to Sarah Catherine Elsie Bonham, 1853-1890, in Crittenden County, Kentucky on 5 December 1871 and last to Drue Nettie Barnett, 1866-1965, in Elizabethtown, Hardin County, Illinois on 25 July 1893.  Charles his first two wives and some other family members are all buried at the Deer Creek Cemetery in Sheridan, Crittenden County, Kentucky.  Charles was the father of 19 known children.  Charles and Mary’s children were: James Henry, Alzara Josephine and a baby boy that died a few days after birth along with Mary and was never named.  Charles and Sarah’s children were: George Samuel, Lucy Ann, Chester Cartwright, Charles G., Jesse McCoy, John Jefferson, Calvin Edward, Harvey Lee, Essie Jane Dean, Clarence Lester, Emory Thomas, Herman Elza and a baby boy that was not named apparently and died a couple of months after his birth along with his mother, Sarah.  Charles and his last wife Drue had the following children: Peter Barnett, Josie Annie and Freeman Austin Humphreys.  Family stories say that Drue was blind, but took care of her children and step-children and their home without any problem.  I don’t have a picture of Charles or his wives, but I have a picture taken in 1924 of eight of his 19 children, but I do not know the names of these children in the picture.  If anyone that reads this happens to know any of their names, I would love to hear about it.

Henrietta Carlene Necitie Tennessee Virginia Ann Humphreys, 1850-1917, was married to John Alexander W. Bebout in Crittenden County, Kentucky on 25 December 1866.  The census records state she was the mother of eight children but I only now the names of four of her children. They were: H. E., Rufus A., Enoch Fatus and Thomas N. Bebout the others must have died young or possibly married young and were just missed in the census records.

Nancy Mariah Humphreys, 1852-1909, married James E. Hall in Crittenden County, Kentucky on 6 September 1871.  They were the parents of five known children, namely: Mary M., John M., Thomas J., Alfred R. and William R. Hall.

Samuel Jefferson Humphreys, 1854-1918, he had a twin sister who did not live but a few days.  Samuel married Nancy Jane Hoover, 1853-1916, in Crittenden County, Kentucky on 12 February 1874.  They became the parents of six children, namely: Rosa Bell, Panola Ester, William D., Luther Lee, Leslie Sherman and Oliver Humphreys.  I have only one picture of Samuel, his wife, Nancy and their son, William D. with his wife and two children.  After Nancy died Samuel remarried to Mrs. Nute Whitesides at Hurricane Church in Crittenden County, Kentucky on 2 September 1917, he only lived a little over a year after this marriage.  I am not sure what exactly Mrs. Nute’s first name was or her maiden name or anything about her at all.

Samuel’s last wife was a widow woman named Mrs. Sarah A. Martin.  They were married in Crittenden County, Kentucky on 3 March 1880 and they never had any children that I am aware of.  Sarah was born in Kentucky on 24 March 1840 and died in Crittenden County, Kentucky on 4 January 1892.  She was almost 22 years younger than Samuel.

Samuel left a will written 24 Aug 1889 in Crittenden County naming his last wife, Sarah, two sons, Charles and Samuel and four daughters which he did not name.  His son, William had died before 1870, and his daughter, Lewtisha had died before 1860.  That means the four girls were Mary, Sarah, Henrietta & Nancy.  The witnesses were: A. J. Bebout, W. R. Lynn and T. J. Hamilton. The will was brought to court and probated on 15 October 1889.

Samuel, his wives, Mariah and Sarah as well as his daughter, Henrietta and son, Samuel and some of their families are all buried at the Love Graveyard in Crittenden County, Kentucky.  I visited this cemetery again in June of 2022.

If anyone knows of any stories or more information about any of these people I would love to hear from you about them. 

Written by Vickie Beard Thompson, the 4^th great-granddaughter of Samuel and Mariah in July 2022