No. 1
The Spanish-American War (1898) Park University's Collection of Student and Alumni Veterans
A Collaborative Series between the Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections and George S. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War at Park University
Overview of the Collection The
names
of
Park
University
students
and
alumni
that
served
during
the
Spanish-
American War were collected from publications of The Stylus (Park's student newspaper; Volume 7, 1901-02) as well as various volumes of the Narva yearbook.
Surviving personnel files held in the University's Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections, along with the genealogical expertise of researchers in Parks' George S. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War, finalized biographical information, service information and sketches on each servicemember.
Photos, documents or letter held in the personnel files and in public records provided assistance with the narratives authored in this collection.
Digital editions of the Narva can be accessed at: library.park.edu/home/archives.
The Spanish-American War The Spanish-American War was a conflict involving the United States, Spain, the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.
Revolving around Spanish colonial rule in the Western Hemisphere
and the governments of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines, war was declared on Spain on April 25, 1898.
American support of revolutionaries in Cuba and the Philippines demanding independence from Spain prompted intervention.
The war ended on August 13, 1898, and established the
United States Military Government of Cuba. and Guam from the Spanish.
The U.S. acquired Puerto Rico, the Philippines
Park University's Students and Alumni of the SpanishAmerican War BERT BARKHURST (Unknown) Barkhurst attended Park Academy or Park College in the early 1900s and served in the U.S. Army. from
His birth/death information and burial location is unknown. files
held
in
the
Fishburn
Archives
and
public
record
have
Lack of information made
biographical
information impossible to determine.
D. BYBEE (Unknown) Bybee attended Park Academy in 1900 and served in the U. S. Army. His birth/death information and burial location is unknown. Lack of information from files held in the Fishburn Archives and public record have made biographical information impossible to determine.
HOMER DERR (Unknown) Derr attended Park Academy or Park College in the early 1900s and served in the U.S. Army. from
His birth/death information and burial location is unknown. files
held
in
the
Fishburn
Archives
and
public
record
have
Lack of information made
biographical
information impossible to determine.
FRANK R HART (1878-Unknown) Hart was born in Iowa in 1878 and attended Park College in 1900,
but it is unknown if he
graduated. Hart served in the U, S. Army. His death information and burial location is unknown. Lack of information from files held in the Fishburn Archives and public record have made late-life biographical information impossible to determine.
ROBERT JOHNSTON LAMME (July 6, 1876-Sept. 14, 1965)
Lamme was born in El Paso, Ill., to David (1840-1882) and Jennie Adams (1844-1887. Lamme, the fourth of six children. Lamme and his siblings (ages 7-15) were orphaned with the death of their parents. Lamme lived for a time with Jamison Graham (1857-1938), a homesteader most likely connected through the Presbyterian Church. Lamme enlisted in the U. S. Army on May 10, 1898, serving as a corporal in Company I, 20th U.S. Infantry, regimentally stationed at Camp Poplar River, Mont. He was honorably discharged on Oct. 16,
1898.
Sometime
between
1899
and
1901,
Lamme
attended
Park
College,
but
it
is
unknown if he graduated. He married Mabelle Vankirk (1879-1954) on March 27, 1902, in Grant, Ind., soon moving to South Dakota, where he established a dentistry practice. The couple had two sons, Charles Wendell (1904-85) and
Robert
Benedict
(1908-34),
and
resided n South Dakota until the early 1930s before moving to San Diego, Calif., in 1935, remaining there until both of their deaths. Lamme is buried at Fort Rosencrans National Cemetery in San Diego.
ARCHIBALD ROBERTSON LAW (June 30, 1875-Oct. 6, 1960)
Law was born in Fountain Green, Ill., to Robert Isaac (1845-1927) and Alice Walker (18441885) Law, the oldest of six children. Raised in Hancock County, Ill., Law enlisted in the U. S. Army on June 14, 1898, serving in Company B, 3rd Infantry Regiment of the Missouri Volunteer Infantry until his honorable discharge as a private on Nov. 7, 1898. After his discharge, Law attended Park College from 1899-1902, becoming a member of the Lowell Literary Club, serving as its secretary in 1901 the Oratorical Club, the College Military Department (an early version of World War I’s Student Army Training Corps) and the Narva yearbook editing team, serving as its assistant business manager in 1901. After graduating, Law
lived for
a time
in Tatitlek Village, Alaska, an Alutiiq populated region along the
southern coast of the state. By 1911, Law had moved to Bentonville, Ark., where he met and married Minnie Searcy (1893-1985) and became a farmer.
The couple had had four
children, Robert Archibald, Jr. (1912-72), Louis Edward (1919-2012), Alice Kathryn (19202002) and Fredrick Duncan (1924-2011).
They continued to live in Benton County, Ark.,
until Law's death from heart disease. Law is buried in Bentonville Cemetery.
CHARLES MORRIS PIPKIN (Nov. 14, 1875-Dec. 8, 1941)
Pipkin was born in Jameson, Mo.,, to Charles Morris Sr. (1847-1923) and Mary Frances Garrett (1851-1939) Pipkin, the second of five children. Pipkin was accepted into Park College in 1897, but left midway to begin his service, enlisting in the U. S. Army on June 14, 1898. He served in Company B, 3rd Infantry Regiment of the Missouri Volunteer Infantry until his honorable discharge as a private on November 7, 1898. He returned to complete his bachelor's degree, and became president of the Lowell Literary Club, a member of the baseball team, Philosophical
Club,
the
College
Military Department, the Narva
editing team, serving as business manager in 1901 and an actor in several class plays. Pipkin married Mary Katherine White (1881-1971), a Park classmate, on Dec. 12, 1901, in Kansas City, Mo. Garrett
(1904-81),
The couple remained in Kansas City and had four children, Francis Katherine
Charles Morris III (1915-98). 1940.
He was involved
Jane
(1906-83),
Elizabeth
Georgia
(1909-unknown)
and
Pipkin became an editor at The Kansas City Star, retiring in
in
a streetcar
accident
on
Sept 20, 1940, and died of his
injuries just over a year later. He is buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Kansas City, Mo.
H. SLOAN (Unknown) Sloan attended Park College briefly and was scheduled to graduate in 1902, but did not complete his degree.
He served in the U.S. Army.
His birth/death information and burial
location is unknown. Lack of information from files held in the Fishburn Archives and public record have made biographical information impossible to determine.
HORACE EATON STEELE (Oct. 10, 1878-Dec. 25, 1970)
Steele was born in Lawrence, Kan., to Lewis Scott (1833-1916) and Louisa Adele Blakely (1832-96) Steele, the youngest of five children. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on April 27, 1898, serving in Company B, 3rd Infantry Regiment of the Missouri Volunteer Infantry until his honorable discharge as a private on Nov. 7, 1898.
Steele attended Park Academy,
graduating in 1901, then attended the University of Kansas, graduating in 1911.
He was a
teacher in a public school in Conway, Ark., until World War I when he went to France as a civilian aid to the YMCA. school
teacher
until
Steele lived in New Orleans, La., in the 1920s working as a
moving
to
Leadsville,
W.Va.,
in
employed with the West Virginia Division of Forestry.
the
early
where
was
Steele died at his home in
He never married and had no children.
buried in Little Arlington Cemetery in Elkins.
he
By 1940, Steele was retired and
living in Leadsville, as well as spending time in Boulder, Colo. Elkins, W.Va., outliving all of his siblings.
1930s
Steele is
HARLIN JAMES WOODARD (Dec. 1, 1876-Dec. 25, 1945)
Woodard was born in Pittsburg, Kan., to Orson (1853-1900) and Susan Matilda James (1855-81)
Woodard,
the
couple's
only
child.
After
his
mother's
Woodard's father married Mina Davis in 1884 and had two children.
unexpected
death,
Woodard enlisted in
the U.S. Army on April 30, 1898, in Fort Scott, Kan., serving in Company F, 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry until his honorable discharge as a sergeant on Aug. 20, 1899.
At the
time of his father's death in 1900, Woodard was a student at Park College where he was a member of the Parchevard Literary Society, secretary of the Oratorical Association, and member of the College Military Department.
After graduating in 1903, Woodard became
a real estate broker in Las Vegas, Nev., where he lived until the early 1920s. Woodard was admitted into Sawtelle
Veterans
Hospital
in
Los
In 1923,
Angeles, Calif. Initially
staying due to minor health concerns, he soon found himself in and out of the hospital over the next 20 years, either as a patient or assistant in several of the facilities on the property.
Woodard married in 1923, but divorced soon afterwards; he never remarried or
had children.
Woodard died in San Mateo County, Calif., is buried in Golden Gate
National Cemetery in San Bruno, Calif.
Researching Veterans of this Era The periods of service between the Civil War and World War I are often the most difficult to track, especially when servicemembers are attached to a state-level militia over a national branch. Conflicts such as the American-Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, Philippine or China Insurrections were not just brief in conflict period, but minimal in American interest and national mobilization.
Finding information freely available to the public is extremely limited in reference to veterans of any generation; however, select collections from the Department of Veterans Administration
and Adjutant General's Office within the National Archives and Record
Administration can be helpful in creating a starting base, including confirming military service,
regardless
of
conflict.
Outside
of
national
collections,
certain
states
have
extensive online records accessible for free; Missouri, for example, has a database of individual service cards, muster rolls, and statistical reports regarding servicemembers from the War of 1812 to World War I. Genealogical databases are the best places to begin research, especially if you are unsure of the veteran's basic biographical information.
General Sources Utilized in this Collection Adjutant General of the U. S.. 1798-1914. Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. Captain J.N. Coe (no date), 20th Regiment of Infantry. accessed Nov. 30, 2020. Department of Veterans Affairs. 1960. Veterans Administration Master Index. St. Louis, National Archives and Records Administration.. Library of Congress Hispanic Division. 2011. The World of 1898: The Spanish-American War. accessed Nov. 30, 2020. Patrick McSherry (no date). The Spanish-American War Centennial Website. accessed Nov. 30, 2020. Office of the Adjutant General. 1898. State of Missouri Spanish- American War Muster Roll. Jefferson City, Mo., Secretary of State. Office of the Quartermaster General. 1960. Applications for Headstones for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1970. Washington, D.C. , National Archives, Records of the Adjutant General's Office. 1898. General Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the War with Spain. Washington, D.C., National Archives and Records Administration. Provo: Ancestry.com. U. S. Census Bureau. 1900. 12th Census of the United States. Washington, D.C., National Archives and Records Administration. U. S. Social Security Administration. 1963. Social Security Applications and Claims. Provo:
Ancestry.com.Various,
hosted
by
the
Library
of
Congress,
Declarations of War from Around the World, accessed Nov. 30, 2020.
1914-1918.
The George S. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War at Park University The Robb Centre was founded in 2005 by family members of George Seanor Robb (18871972), a 1912 Park graduate, World War I veteran, and Medal of Honor recipient. Robb, a white officer, served in the 369th (Harlem Hellfighters) Infantry Regiment, a segregated regiment composed of African-American troops.
His valorous service earned him the
Purple Heart, Ordre National de la Legion d' Honneur (France), Croix de Guerre with Bronze Palm (France), Croce al Merito di Guerra (Italy) and Order of Prince Danilo I (Montenegro).
Contact: gsrcentre@park.edu (816) 584-6890
The Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections The Fishburn Archives preserves, protects and provides information services related to Park College (1875-2000), Park University (2000 to present), the City of Parkville, Mo., (1844 to present), and the County of Platte, Mo., (1838 to present).
Contact: archives@park.edu (816) 584-6891