World War I Resources for Allen County, Indiana

Resources in The Genealogy Center at Allen County Public Library 

  1. Indiana World War I Deaths index webpage states: This database contains the names of the 1,420 Indiana soldiers listed as having lost their lives in Europe in World War I. The names of the soldiers are found in Soldiers of the Great War, volume 1, compiled by W. M. Haulsee, F. G. Howe and A. C. Doyle (Washington, DC: Soldiers Record Publishing Company, 1920). The information in this database includes the soldiers' name, rank, cause of death and city of residence. A search without a name will list 1,000 names with their residence and cause of death.
  2. African-Americans Registered for World War I Draft, Allen County, Indiana online database
  3. History of Allen County in the World War, 977.201 AL5TA, 16 volume set of books by Isabelle H. Taylor; Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County Publication date 1920 More Info tab has links to all volumes online at FamilySearch.org. The links below are online Archive.org.
    1. History of Allen County in the World War by Taylor, Isabelle H; Volume 3 pt 1 on Archive.org
    2. History of Allen County in the World War by Taylor, Isabelle H; Volume 4 on Archive.org
    3. History of Allen County in the World War by Taylor, Isabelle H; Volume 6 on Archive.org
    4. History of Allen County in the World War by Taylor, Isabelle H; Volume 9 pt 1 on Archive.org
    5. History of Allen County in the World War by Taylor, Isabelle H; Volume 10 on Archive.org
    6. History of Allen County in the World War by Taylor, Isabelle H; Volume 12 on Archive.org
    7. History of Allen County in the World War by Taylor, Isabelle H; Volume 13 on Archive.org
    8. History of Allen County in the World War by Taylor, Isabelle H; Volume 14 pt 1 on Archive.org
  4. July 20, 1917 World War I draft began.
  5. Indiana WW I Draft Registration Cards 1917-1918 Microfilm at The Genealogy Center
  6. World War I Draft Registration Cards at The National Archives and at Fold3.

Memorials

  1. September 28, 1918 a wooden memorial on the northeast corner of Berry and Calhoun Streets. Discussion September 26, 2013 on the original Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana page on Facebook.
  2. November 11, 1924 GE World War I Memorial Monument dedication.

  3. May 30, 2022 post by Electric Works on Facebook:

    An original memorial on the Electric Works campus is dedicated to the selfless sacrifice of those who gave their lives in defense of our country in World War I — 748 men and women from the Works went into military service during WW1. Six lost their lives.

    The memorial once sat at the SW corner of Broadway and Wall Street, before the Works expanded to the west side of Broadway. Now, the monument is located in McCulloch Park and lists employees of the Fort Wayne Works General Electric Company who served in WW1.

    This Memorial Day, we honor our nation's heroes. “We don’t know them all, but we owe them all.”

  4. is discussed on the City of Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation website.
  5. GE's Monument to its WWI veterans
    Daniel Baker 2015 flickr photo
    lists names on his flickr page
    On March 24, 2015 Daniel Baker posted his photo and a list of names on his GE's Monument to its WWI veterans flickr page. Inscription: TO THE MEN OF THE FORT WAYNE WORKS GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY WHO SERVED IN THE WORLD WAR 1914-1918 THIS MEMORIAL WAS ERECTED BY THEIR FELLOW EMPLOYEES, NOV. 11, 1924. THESE MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE He then lists all the names below his photo on flickr.
  6. November 1, 1928 Memorial Dedication in Memorial Park lists 106 names. World War I Memorial Dedication – November 12, 1928 by Randy Harter in the Fort Wayne Reader posted 2018-11-15. 80 Years Ago This Week… posted November 12, 2008 on Around Fort Wayne blog.
  7. City honors World War I monument May 25, 2013 in The Journal Gazette newspaper. Mayor Tom Henry joined local veterans, City Councilman Tom Didier and park officials Friday in rededicating a World War I memorial moved to McCulloch Park. GE’s WWI memorial merits care Near the main entrance to one of General Electric’s buildings, behind the tall iron fence on the west side of Broadway, is a memorial installed 84 years ago.
  8. WWI memorial installed November 11, 1924 by Frank Gray in November 20, 2012 The Journal Gazette newspaper.
  9. A photo of the crowd at the Memorial Park memorial dedication in the TWENTY - FIFTH ANNUAL Report of Board of Park Commissioners in 1929 was posted October 4, 2018 by Hofer and Davis, Inc. Land Surveyors on Facebook. They stated F.M. Randall was the Civil City Engineer in 1929, A.K. Hofer would become Department Engineer in 1930.
  10. Fort Wayne World War I veteran will finally get grave marker His story inspired a local U.S. Army veteran to pursue getting a marker for the grave. by Kevin Kilbane published April 15, 2017 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.
  11. Fort Wayne has a "Doughboy" statue at the WWI Memorial at Memorial Park. From American Doughboys: frozen in battle published March 26, 2013 in Hidden Gem A weekly blog about Indiana's cool historic places. See photo at Fort Wayne, Indiana Viquesney Doughboy and Navy Statue
    12. List of names researched by ARCH for the new memorial.
  12. August 13, 2017 ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage) posted the 135 names and announced on Facebook they will install a memorial plaque to be installed in Memorial Park honoring the Fort Wayne veterans killed in the war restoring. New trees were planted with a name tag to mark a tree in the memorial grove for each name on the plaque as originally done when the park was built.
  13. There used to be a photo of a plaque with a list of names on a large rock in Lakeside Rose garden originally posted July 7, 2018 on You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook.
  14. Flags shown at new memorial dedicationNovember 11, 2018 photo of the new memorial in Memorial Park, with names, was dedicated to the 125 soldiers, sailors, and nurses who made the ultimate sacrifice in WWI posted by Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation on Facebook. Mayor Tom Henry posted a photo November 11, 2018 on Twitter. Additional information: Parks department to host special Veterans Day ceremony at Memorial Park by Rex Smith posted November 7, 2018 on ABC WPTA21.com TV station. Item #9 above by ARCH says their research found 135 names for the new plaque. World War I Memorial Dedication by Randy Harter, Fort Wayne historian and authorpublished November 12, 1928 on Fort Wayne Readerand discussed November 21, 2018 on You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook.

War work of the Fort Wayne chapter of the American Red Cross by Taylor, Isabella Houghton, Mrs Publication date 1919

Videos by Eric Olson, 21Country Featured Reporter.

  1. Branch of Service  One hundred years ago American boys marched off to join the fight in Europe against Germany in the Great War, the War to End All Wars. 125 soldiers from Fort Wayne would die on Flanders Field and other corners of Europe before armistice was signed November 11th, 1918. One year later the city built a public park to honor those warriors, Memorial Park, its handsome entryway arch listing the name of each fallen soldier. Behind it on a hill called Memorial Grove 125 trees were planted, one for each solder. Published October 16, 2017
  2. The Known Soldier about Private Lloyd Meades, who married the love of his life, Elizabeth Arthur in 1919, fought the Germans in the Great War's bloodiest battles in France and Belgium; the Battle of the Marne, Flanders Fields and the Argonne. His uniform is at the The History Center. Posted November 12, 2017.
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Spies Among Us: World War I and The American Protective League by Michael Inman, Curator, Rare Book Division, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building published October 14, 2014 on New York Public Library blog. See U.S., American Protective League Members Record Cards and Registers of Members, 1917-1919 at Ancestry.com.

This Day in History, November 11, 1918: World War I Ends ABMC YouTubepublished November 10, 2014. On November 11, 1918 an armistice was signed between the Germans and the Allies, ending World War I. More than 100,000 Americans lost their lives during this war, and more than 30,000 of them are buried or memorialized within our eight overseas World War I cemeteries. Copied from November 11, 2015 American Battle Monuments Commission Facebook post.

An American filmed the German army in WWI — until they became the enemy 4 minuted video in newspaper article by Michael E. Ruane published February 7, 2017 on the Washington Post.

March 30,1918 Allen County's Roll of Honor lists world war deaths, since November 1917 through March 1918, and locations in The News-Sentinel newspaper.

May 27, 1918 The Fort Wayne News and Sentinel lists 91 draftees from rural areas onthe original Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana page on Facebook.

February 15, 1919 - Private Frank B. Roth letter to parents in the Fort Wayne News and Sentinel posted Feburary 12, 2014 onthe original Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana page on Facebook.

Febraury 15, 1919 - Rober Bowser letter he lives to parents in the Fort Wayne News and Sentinel post Febraury 12, 2014 onthe original Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana page on Facebook.

Gold star honor roll. A record of Indiana men and women who died in the service of the United States and the allied nations in the world war. 1914-1918 by Indiana Historical Commission. cn; Oliver, John Williams, ed Publication date 1921, on Archive.org. Allen County Gold Stars start on page 18.

History of Allen County in the World War (I) 1920

Vol. 2- "copied [by hand by the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County] from the original volumes which were borrowed from the Indiana State Library." Service records: v. 2. A -- v. 3. B -- v. 4. C -- v. 5. D -- v. 6. E-F -- v. 7. G -- v. 8. H -- v. 9. I-K -- v. 10. L -- v. 11. M -- v. 12. N-P -- v. 13. Q-R -- v. 14. S -- v. 15. T-V -- v. 16. W-Z

"The first volume is a detailed account of the various war time activities and services carried on locally [includes pamphlets and photos] ... the other nine [i.e., 15] volumes are devoted to the service records of the 3500 soldiers, sailors and marines from Allen County."

History of Allen County in the World War (Volume 3, pt.1) - by Taylor, Isabelle H; Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County Publication date 1920

History of Allen County in the World War (Volume 4) - by Taylor, Isabelle H; Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County Publication date 1920

History of Allen County in the World War (Volume 6) - by Taylor, Isabelle H; Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County Publication date 1920

History of Allen County in the World War (Volume 9, pt.1) - by Taylor, Isabelle H; Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County Publication date 1920

History of Allen County in the World War (Volume 10) - by Taylor, Isabelle H; Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County Publication date 1920

History of Allen County in the World War (Volume 12) - by Taylor, Isabelle H; Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County Publication date 1920

History of Allen County in the World War (Volume 13) - by Taylor, Isabelle H; Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County Publication date 1920

History of Allen County in the World War (Volume 14, pt.1) - by Taylor, Isabelle H; Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County Publication date 1920

On April 6, 2017 Indiana Historical Bureauon Facebook posted a 24 minutes video World War I, 1917-1918 a YouTubeposted April 4, 2017 by the Indiana State Library.

Soldiers Of The Great War, Volume 1 with Indiana soldiers starting on page 289 by Doyle, A. C. (Alfred Cyril), 1893-; Haulsee, W. M. (William Mitchell), 1889-; Howe, F. G. (Frank George), 1890-; Soldiers Record Publishing Associationi Publication date 1920, on Archive.org. See also Soldiers Of The Great War, Volume 2 and Soldiers Of The Great War, Volume 3

War work of the Fort Wayne chapter of the American Red Cross by Taylor, Isabella Houghton, Mrs, Publication date 1919, on Archive.org.
Lots of names about half-way thru the book.

Bangert: Indiana's amazing WWI honor roll by Dave Bangert published May 22, 2015 on JConline. A publication that provides biographical sketches about Hoosier service men and women who died in World War I. discussed May 26, 2015 by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook.

National Council of Defense created records registering women over age 16 and children in 1917-1918. Allen County has only a couple paragraphs on page 44 of Report of the Woman's Section of the Indiana State Council of Defense: From October, 1917 to April, 1919 by Indiana State Council of Defense. Sue Caldwell wrote an article The 1918 National Council of Defense War Registration of Women in Jasper County in the September 2013 issue of Indiana Genealogist. Harold Henderson wrote about in The treasure of Jasper County -- 1918 women's registration April 17, 2013 in his Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog. The National Archiveshas Records of the Council of National Defense [CND] on their site.

Photos published April 6, 2017 by Indiana Bicentennial Commission on Facebookon Facebook.

Indiana State Library posted February 25, 2017 on Facebook All World War I photos from the Rare Books and Manuscripts Collection are now available in the Indiana State Library Digital Collection here: http:// digitalcollections.library. in.gov/

Other Sources of Information

  1. The Average American Today and on the Eve of World War I by Jeff Nilsson published April 6, 2017 by The Saturday Evening Post.
  2. Library of Congress World War I and World War I: Online Offerings by John Sayers published February 15, 2017 on The Library of Congressblog.
  3. Online Collections Database at The National World War I Museum and Memorial.
  4. Significance of poppies remembering veterans - In Flanders Fields By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army
  5. Using WWI Military Service Cards to Trace Female Ancestors published December 3, 2018 on the Fountaindale Public Library District's Genealogy Blog.
  6. World War I films over 150 YouTubes from the The National Archives.
  7. World War I and Hoosiers: their diaries and letters posted October 16, 2021 on the Archives of Hoosier History Live podcast on Saturdays, noon to 1 p.m. ET on WICR 88.7 FMintroduction states: The soldier who fired the first American shot during World War I was a Hoosier. Because initial reports from France did not include the soldier’s name, they only indicated that he was from South Bend. A media frenzy ensued in October 1917 to determine his identity, with widespread misinformation that was repeated for years. Also in 1917, a nurse who had been born on a farm near Elkhart signed up with the American Red Cross to treat wounded soldiers at a military hospital in France. She became accustomed to nursing soldiers who had been injured by gas, a new form of warfare in World War 1. About 60 percent of the hospital’s patients suffered from gas-related injuries; in many cases, their lungs and respiratory systems were barely functioning.
  8. WW I Materials About this collection When the United States declared war on Germany in April, 1917, the majority of Hoosiers supported fighting as allies with England and France. Indiana supplied soldiers and war materials on a large scale, and citizens showed their unity with the support of Liberty Bond Campaigns and local aid groups. At We Do History online digital collection by the Indiana Historical Society.

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