Genealogical Sleuthing pt. 2
Travis L. Sartain, Jr. was born in Lubbock, Texas on September 22nd, 1942 to Travis L. Sartain, Sr. and Edith L. Stubblefield. This photo was taken in New Braunfels, Texas in 1945. At this time, Travis was 3 years and 3 months old. Because I had the date of the photo and his age at the time it was taken, I knew finding Travis’ family was going to be a piece of cake, and it was.
As always, my favorite part about doing this type of research is finding information beyond what’s listed in government records. Let’s see if we can put a story together. Here we go:
Travis L. Sartain, Jr. (subject) :
Records show that when Travis was 7 years old, roughly 1949, he arrived at the port of San Francisco on the USAT General William O Darby from Honolulu, Hawaii with his mother and baby brother, who had been born in Honolulu 5 months prior. Presumably, based on his father’s military involvement, he and his family were stationed here for a time.
It’s become clear that Travis and his family were frequently on the move. From Hawaii to Texas, from California to Hawaii, from California to Washington D.C., from France to New Jersey, and so on.
Travis himself was a Specialist 4 in the US Army in Vietnam from 1965-1969. He enlisted September 18th, 1965 and was released on October 8th, 1969.
To get a taste of the experiences and climate that Travis and his cohorts may have faced while in the military, I’ve included a couple of significant events of the Vietnam War from 1965-1969:
- November 1965— Almost 300 Americans killed and a few hundred more injured during the Battle of la Drang Valley.
- 1966— US troop numbers hit 400k in Vietnam.
- November 1967— Battle of Dak To, US endures roughly 1.8k deaths
- February 11-17, 1968— Highest number of US deaths in one week, 543.
A few years later, in the States, Travis would die from multiple blunt trauma on July 20th, 1975 due to a head-on traffic collision that took place July 19th at 2:00 p.m, 2 miles west of Converse, Old Seguin, Road. This crash killed 2 and injured 2 others. Also killed was Brig. Gen. Joseph B. Starker, 46 of Ft. Hood. The two others who were injured suffered a fractured neck and the other, various injuries but came out with their lives. The accident occurred, according to the police, when Travis was traveling eastbound and crossed into the westbound lane.
At his death, he had lived in San Antonio for 6 years and was survived by 1 daughter and 3 sons.
Travis was a mechanic up until his death.
Travis L. Sartain, Sr. (father):
Travis’ father was born in Avery, Red River County, Texas on April 13th, 1920. Avery, at this time, one of the largest tomato producing and shipping cities in northeastern Texas.
Travis was Chief Warrant Officer 4 in the US Air Force, and fought in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
Travis Sr. died September 27th, 1991 in San Antonio, Texas.
Richard Leroy Sartain (paternal grandfather):
Richard was born on December 13th, 1895 in Waxahachie, Texas to Albert Z. and Elizabeth M. Sartain.
On June 15th, 1919, he married Annie Ruth Peacock in Red River, Texas, 4 days prior to departing overseas.
Richard was a farmer, and like many of the Sartains succeeding him, a military man: Texas Company X, Private 359, Infantry 90th Division. He served overseas, in France, from June 19, 1918- January 10, 1919 and upon discharge, was deemed 25% disabled. From a relative’s comment on Ancestry, it is speculated that this disability stemmed from his exposure to mustard gas.
I’ve included a little information here on mustard gas used during the Great War:
“‘The effects did not become apparent for up to 12 hours,’” wrote John Ellis in “Eye-Deep in Hell: Trench Warfare in World War I.” “But then it began to rot the body, within and without. The skin blistered, the eyes became extremely painful and nausea and vomiting began. Worse, the gas attacked the bronchial tubes, stripping off the mucous membrane. The pain was almost beyond endurance and in most cases [victims] had to be strapped to their beds.”
-From 100 Years of Chemical Weapons
Back to his military career: Upon research, it appears that the headquarters for his division were located in Aignay-le-Duc, France. Men in this division fought in the Villers-en-Haye and Puvenelle of Lorraine as well as the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne operations. Following November 1919, this division moved into Germany.He passed away on December 27th, 1940 from Cardio-Renal disease after being treated for over 7 months for Lou Gehrig's Disease, also speculated to have been caused by mustard gas.
Annie Ruth Peacock (paternal grandmother):
Annie was born on June 22nd, 1896 in a town with a population of 48 residents, at the time called Isaca, Texas, and renamed Avery as of 1902. Avery was a cotton town and, when Annie was 4 years old, uh… boasted a population of 176.
According to the 1910 US Census, at 13 years, she worked on her family’s farm. Future Censuses suggest Annie was a housewife since marriage and remained so until her passing on December 13th, 1970.
Edith Loraine Stubblefield (mother) :
Edith was born on November 15, 1923 in Kerens, Navarro, Texas.
At one time during the Sartains’ residence in Hawaii, Edith was a member of the Hickam Non-Commisioned Officers Wives Club, once the Leilani Club, which is still active to this day.
She was much more than a homemaker. She had the arduous task of ushering her young children from state to state and country to country, usually on her own.
Edith passed away on August 29th, 2017, at the old age of 93 in San Antonio, Texas.
James M. Stubblefield (maternal grandfather):
James was born July 18th, 1897 in Navarro (?), Texas.
He served in the military from July 18th, 1917 to April 10th, 1919 (Private, Battery "B" 132nd Field Artillery) and departed to St. Nazaire, France on March 12th, 1919 on the Kroonland.
James married Verble M. Couch on July 1st, 1922 in Matagorda, Texas.
Following the War, James worked as a farmer and at one point, at a hatchery, until his death.
He succumbed to carcinoma of the pancreas with regional metastasis on October 24th, 1971.
Verble Marjorie Couch (maternal grandmother):
Verble was born on February 10th, 1903 in Troup, Texas, which, like many other cities in Texas, was founded as a railroad town.
Verble was the eldest of several siblings and later went on to be a homemaker.
She died April 4th, 1988 in San Antonio, Texas.
Making contact:
I located Travis’ 1st cousin on Ancestry. I reached out to him with:
“Howdy, Mr. ________! I'm not related, but I was at an antique store in Gruene, Texas today and found an original photo of a young Travis Leroy Sartain, Jr. Research has led me here, and I was hoping to get your email so I can send over a scanned copy of the photo. I would post it to this message, but I can't attach photos. Let me know if you're interested. Thanks!”
His response to my message was:
“Hi _____ - And thank you so much for finding me. Travis, Jr., my 1st cousin, was killed in an automobile accident between San Antonio and Converse many years ago. He is one of my family members that I do not have many photos to post on the site. My email address is "________" and I would be honored and delighted if you would send me a copy of the photo. Travis, Jr still has one sibling living in the San Antonio area. I am certain he will be glad to know you cared enough to find me. Thank you SO VERY MUCH. - _____”.
Thoughts:
I really wish I could’ve found more on Edith, Annie, and Verble. Trying to find information on them, and any other woman, for that matter, is very tedious because you have two surnames to work with AND the fact that during the lifetimes of these women, they were typically homemakers.
For future posts, I’m not sure how much detail I should go into. For this one, I stuck with parents and grandparents. I could potentially do siblings, but I’m unsure. To learn about one family member you need to learn about the other family member then the other family member then the other until you are back in the 1700s trying to figure out how some family on a boat landed the photo subject(s) into my hands.
Family Member Photos and Sources Here: