Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Russell Gilbert Phipps
At the Dorchester Historical Society, we are in the process of a year-long project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I. Using a collection of photographs we have of WWI Dorchester residents, we will be featuring servicemen in a number of short biographies throughout the year. At the culmination of the project, we hope to produce an online exhibit that highlights these men and their service to our country.
Our next biography features: Russell Gilbert Phipps.
Written by Camille Arbogast.
Russell Gilbert Phipps was born September 9, 1896, in Milton, Massachusetts. His parents, Gilbert and Lena (Mayo), were from Maine. Married in Boston in October 1887, they owned a house at 210 Eliot Street in Milton. Lena had been a milliner before her marriage. Gilbert, along with his brother Fred, ran the Phipps Bros. Express company, providing delivery services. Lena and Gilbert had three older children: May, born in 1890, Frances in 1892, and Helen in 1893.
In June 1914, Russell graduated from Milton High School and delivered the Class Day Address to Undergraduates. Entering Boston University, he majored in Chemistry and served as a chemistry lab assistant. He participated in many extracurricular activities, including serving as secretary of the YMCA during his sophomore year, on the BU News staff for two years, and as an associate editor of Hub in his junior year. He also pledged Kappa Phi Alpha. We don’t believe Frederick had a Dorchester connection and we were unable to determine why he was included in Dr. Perkins’s collection.
Russell decided to delay his graduation, and on April 12, 1918, he enlisted in the Naval Reserves at the Boston Navy Yard in Charlestown. Four days later, he was sent to the Naval Training School in Hingham, where he remained until May 7. He trained for about two weeks at the Naval Fire Range in Wakefield, before being sent to the Naval Training Camp on Bumpkin Island in Boston Harbor. In early June, he spent a week at the District Enrolling Office in Boston. During his training, he was promoted from Seaman Second Class to Chief Boatswain Mate. On June 18, he entered Officer’s Material School, First Naval District, at Harvard. He graduated from the program on October 14, 1918, though any public commencement ceremony had to be cancelled due to the flu epidemic.
Russell accepted a commission as an ensign. On March 4, 1919, he was transferred from the First Naval District to the USS Mount Vernon, which had recently rejoined the Cruiser and Transport Service after being torpedoed in 1918, and had begun transporting servicemen home from France. Russell was one of a group of ensigns “of the United States Naval Reserve Force, to be ensigns in the Navy, for temporary service,” effective April 22. In a Navy Directory published July 1, Russell was listed at Base Hospital Number 5, and then, in September 1919, at Naval Hospital, Brest, France.
In 1920, Russell was again living with his parents on Eliot Street, completing his education at Boston University. During his final year, he was class vice-president, played basketball, and served on a number of social event committees. He graduated on June 17, 1920, with a bachelor of science. His motto in the yearbook was “And when a lady’s in the case, You know all things give place.”
In 1921, Russell appeared in the Boston directory as a chemist, living with his parents. He then moved to Illinois. On August 15, 1925, Russell married Hannah Johnsen in Hinsdale, Illinois, her hometown. They had two children, Barbara and Russell, Jr. In 1930, the family lived at 1415 16th Avenue in Maywood, Illinois. On the census that year, Russell’s occupation was recorded as “Copy writer, advertising,” but he was currently unemployed. By 1942, the family had moved to 1113 South 7th Avenue in Maywood. Russell worked in the research lab in the Maywood facility of the American Can Company, a tin can manufacturer. During the Korean War, Russell junior served in the Army as a rifleman and was wounded in action.
Russell died on May 29, 1967. He was buried in Mount Emblem Cemetery in Elmhurst, Illinois.
Sources
Birth Certificate, Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts; Ancestry.com
Family Tree, Ancestry.com
Federal Census 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930; Ancestry.com
78th Annual Town Report of Milton Mass for the Year Ending December 31, 1914, Compiled by the Auditors. Boston: Poole Printing Co. Inc.; Archive.org
Boston University Yearbooks, Ancestry.com
Military, Compiled Service Records. World War I. Carded Records. Records of the Military Division of the Adjutant General’s Office, Massachusetts National Guard.
“Harvard Diplomas for Coming Ensigns,” Boston Globe, 14 October 1918: 10; Newspapers.com
“Orders to Naval Officers,” 4 March 1919. Army and Navy Register, 15 March 1919: 341; Books.Google.com
“Promotions and Appointments in the Navy,” Congressional Record, 10 July1919, 1st Session of the 66th Congress, Vol III. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1919; Books.Google.com
Navy Directory, 1919, Volume III; Ancestry.com
“Over 400 Students Get Degrees at B.U.,” Boston Post, 17 June 1920; 17; Newspapers.com
Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. Records of the Selective Service System, National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com
“Chicagoan Dies in Korea; Seven Suffer Wounds,” Chicago Tribune, 28 Nov 1951; 63; Newspapers.com
Death Notices, Chicago Tribune, 30 May 1967; 29; Newspapers.com