Dorchester Illustration no. 2353 Edgar L. Wood
At the Dorchester Historical Society, we are in the process of a year-long project to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of World War I. Using a collection of photographs we have of World War I Dorchester residents, we will be featuring soldiers in a number of short biographies throughout the year. Most of the collection is a series of cards and photographs of men and women who were examined by Dr. Nathaniel R. Perkins of 1122 Adams Street prior to entry into service. At the culmination of the project, we hope to produce an online exhibit which highlights these men and their service to our country.
Edgar L. Wood
Notes from card in Perkins collection: Edgar L Wood 165 Infantry Co D 1162 Adams St Selected Nov. 6, 1917. Camp Devens, Feb. 1918. In France A.E.F. Wounded in the July drive on the Marne. Wound in the left forearm. Base Hospital 25 France.
Edgar was 28 years old when he joined the Army in November, 1917. A.E.F. was the American Expeditionary Forces, established July 5, 1917, in France, under the command of Gen. John J. Pershing.
Wikipedia reports: The July drive on the Marne was the second battle of the Marne, 15 July to 6 August, 1918. This was the last major German offensive on the Western Front. The attack failed when an Allied counterattack by French and American forces, including several hundred tanks, overwhelmed the Germans on their right flank, inflicting severe casualties. The German defeat marked the start of the relentless Allied advance which culminated in the Armistice with Germany about 100 days later.
The 1910 census reveals that Edgar, then 21 years old, was living with his family at 1162 Adams Street, where they rented. The family included his parents Wheelock and Margaret, both born in Canada. His father and older brother worked as teamsters at a grain store, and Edgar was a contractor. He had three younger sisters. They also had a lodger who worked in the chocolate mill. The 1920 census shows that after his return from the war Edgar became a helper on a truck at the chocolate mill. By this time the members of the family who were living at home were his parents; his brother, who was a book binder; Edgar, and two of his sisters, one a bookkeeper and the other a comptomatic operator in a woolen office. A comptomatic appears to have been a type of adding machine.
In later years Edgar is listed in city directories as a helper. By 1922 the family moved to Vose Street. About 1925 he married Bertha Upham. In 1926 Edgar move to Springfield, married and had a daughter named Jean. He became a warehouseman for an oil refinery company. He died on August 22, 1977.
Source Citation
Year: 1910; Census Place: Boston Ward 24, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_624; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 1631; FHL microfilm: 1374637
Source Information
Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
Source Citation
Year: 1920; Census Place: Boston Ward 21, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T625_739; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 525; Image: 731
Source Information
Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
Source Citation
Year: 1940; Census Place: Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts; Roll: T627_1711; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 22-161
Source Information
Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.