War Activities of Robertson County 1917-1919

Submitted By Seldon Bain Graham Jr. whose father wrote, War Activities of Robertson County, Texas 1917 - 1919, in June 1933 as his Master's thesis in history at the University of Texas.

CHAPTER I:  INTRODUCTION

When the United States declared war on Germany, the average citizen was slow to realize the graveness of the situation.  At first, only the more adventurous youth of the nation began to enlist in the Army and Navy, but as the newspapers and other means of publicity brought out the great necessity for immediate action others began to volunteer.  Robertson County furnished its quota of young men for the Army and Navy, as well as a large group of civilian workers who gave liberally of time and money “to make the world safe for democracy”.  This dissertation is an attempt to summarize the contributions of the citizenship of Robertson County toward the winning of the World War. 

The record of the men in military service is not complete, as the service cards on file in the office of the Adjutant General’s Department at Austin, Texas, are very brief.  The service records as given are taken, (1) from the service record cards in the Adjutant General’s office in the State Capitol, Austin, Texas;  (2) the discharges recorded in the office of the County Clerk of Robertson County, Franklin, Texas;  and (3) the Robertson County Induction List from the Local Board, in the Texas War Records Collection in the archives of the University of Texas.  These records, unfortunately, are not complete.  Several names which should have been included, for some reason or other, are missing.  Following is a letter received from the United States Department of War in answer to a request for the records of the men in military service who had neither a service card on file at Austin nor a discharge record at the county seat: 

War Department
The Adjutant General’s Office 

July 30, 1932 

Mr. S. B. Graham
Franklin, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

I have your letter of July 23, 1932, containing a list of names of men from Robertson County, Texas, and requesting information relative to the State to which their statements of service were furnished by this office. 

Because of the large amount of work involved, the limited clerical force of the office and the numerous requests of a similar nature received by the Department, I regret that it is impracticable to examine the individual records of the men in question in order to ascertain, in each case, the State to which the former soldier’s World War service was credited. 

Very truly yours, 

(Signed) C. H. Bridges
Major General,
 The Adjutant General
By A. J. W. 

A separate list of the Robertson County men who had no available official record, but who undoubtedly served in some branch of military service of the United States in the Great War, has been added.

Residence at the time of enlistment was made the basis of determining which men serving in the World Was could be claimed by Robertson County.  In a few cases names have been included in the official list if sufficient evidence was found to show that they belonged to this county.  If the man was inducted at Franklin, Texas, his name was left on the list. 

The abbreviations used in compiling the service records of the men in service are in most cases the same as those used by the War Department.  A few additional abbreviations have been added.  A complete list of the abbreviations used will be found in the Appendix. 

The information concerning the civil service of the citizens of Robertson County was taken largely from the files of newspapers published in the county during the period of the conflict.  The Central Texan, published at Franklin, Texas, furnished most of the information.  Other sources of information were the Texas War Records Collection at the University of Texas, The Dallas Morning News, The Hearne Democrat published at Hearne, Texas, and personal interviews and correspondence with those who were actively engaged in the various war activities during the war period.  Some who took part in the work but have since moved away did not respond to the written request for information.  Many who were interviewed were vague in the information given as they had no records to refresh their memory.

Back to Graham Thesis Page

Back to homepage