It is easier to find people when the names are somewhat unusual and they leave records in multiple locations. Fortunately that's what happened with my Uncle Claude.
Claude Sartorius was in at least three national soldier's homes in the early 20th century:
- Danville, Illinois
- Johnson City, Tennessee
- Dayton, Ohio
I know this is my Uncle Claude. The name of his sister is listed as Vola Price and there are not many individuals with the name of Claude Sartorius. Claude and Vola are siblings of Fredericka (Sartorius) Johnson (1865 Adams County, Illinois--1913 Bear Creek Township, Hancock County, Illinois)--my great-great-grandmother. Claude was apparently in the service from 1906 through 1909.
The registers for Danville, Illinois and Dayton, Ohio, are available on Ancestry.com as a part of their fee-based membership. The registers for Johnson City, Tennessee, (and others) are on FamilySearch for free. All are searchable. The images for Danville and Dayton in this blog post were obtained at Ancestry.com. The images for Johnson City were obtained on FamilySearch.
Danville
Dayton
Johnson City
Next on my list:
- create a chronology of Claude's hospitalizations
- locate more on Claude's military service
- determine if any relatives know anything about him.
