Dorchester Illustration World War One Service Member biography: Myles Joseph Gibbons
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: Myles Joseph Gibbons.
Written by Camille Arbogast.
Myles Joseph Gibbons was born in Galway, Ireland, to Bridget Heany and farmer Patrick Gibbons. Myles sometimes gave his birthday as April 17, 1892, as on his naturalization papers and World War I draft registration. Later in life, he was found using the birthdate February 1, 1889. He was one of fourteen Gibbons children. The 1901 and 1911 Irish censuses report the family living in Mullaghglass, Rinvyle, County Galway, Ireland.
During the first two decades of the 20th century, many of the Gibbonses immigrated to Boston. On September 8, 1912, Myles and one of his younger sisters, Catherine, sailed from Queenstown to Boston on the Cunard ship RMS Franconia. One year later, Myles filed an intention to become a naturalized American citizen. He reported that he was a laborer living at 18 Bearse Avenue in the Lower Mills neighborhood of Dorchester and swore he was neither an anarchist nor a polygamist. By 1917, when he registered for the first draft, he was living at 12 Huntoon Street, also in the Lower Mills section of Dorchester, and working at the Walter Baker Chocolate factory.
He was drafted and inducted into the United States National Army on October 5, 1917 at Local Board 21, Dorchester’s draft board. He served with Company F of the 301st Infantry until December 29, 1917. He then served with Company B of the 11th Engineers. He shipped overseas from Hoboken, New Jersey, on February 27, 1918, with the replacement detachment of the 14th Engineers. He returned to the United States on March 25, 1919. On April 7, he was naturalized an American citizen. His naturalization papers were witnessed by his superior officers at Camp Devens in Shirley and Ayer, Massachusetts: Captain Lesley B. Allen and First Lieutenant Frank Odeon. Three days later Myles was discharged from the army.
In 1920, Myles lived at 14 Branch Street, Dorchester, in the household of his second cousin, Patrick Ribbin. According to the census, he worked as a fireman in a factory or power plant. The 1920 Boston directory gives his place of employment as Police Station 19; he would work for the Boston Police for the rest of his life. Interestingly, an older brother, James, was a striker during the 1919 police strike. Myles was an officer with Division 19, based out of the Mattapan police station at 872 Morton Street.
On November 6, 1921, he married Annie Coyne. They were married by Reverend Francis L. Thomas of St. Hugh’s Church on Blue Hill Avenue. Annie was also from Ireland, having immigrated earlier that year. They had three children: John born in 1922, Eileen born in 1924, and Henry born in 1927. In April 1930, the census found the family residing at 18 Evans Street in Dorchester. A month later they bought a home at 17 Peacevale Road near Codman Square, in Dorchester.
On May 27, 1944, Myles accidentally shot himself in the temple with his service revolver. He told Captains Edward J. Keating and Bernard Graham that his gun had fired as it slipped off a closet shelf where he had placed it before going on vacation. His condition was poor and he was placed on the danger list. On May 29, he was operated on at Boston City Hospital, but he died only a few weeks later on June 11, 1944. His funeral was held at St. Matthew’s Church on Stanton Street.
Sources
Family Tree, Ancestry.com
1901, 1911 Irish Census, The National Archives of Ireland; census.nationalarchives.ie
Passenger List, Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1891-1943, National Archives, Washington, D.C.;The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Ancestry.com
Naturalization Records. National Archives at Boston, Waltham, Massachusetts; Ancestry.com
World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, National Archive and Records Administration; Ancestry.com
Service Record; The Adjutant General Office, Archives-Museum Branch, Concord, MA
Lists of Outgoing Passengers, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985, The National Archives at College Park, Maryland; Ancestry.com
Census Records, Federal, 1920, 1930; Ancestry.com
Boston Directory, 1920; Ancestry.com
Wells, Donna M. The Boston Police Department. Acadia Publishing, 2003;GoogleBooks
World War II Selective Service Registration Cards, National Archives and Records Administration, Ancestry.com
“Two in Dorchester” Boston Globe, 13 May 1930; 4
“Gun Slips Off Shelf and Shoots Mattapan Patrolman in the Head” The Boston Globe, 27 May 1944; 3
“To Operate on Officer, Victim of Shooting,” The Boston Globe, 29 May 1944; 5
“GIbbons” The Boston Globe, June 13, 1944, p. 15
