Dick Thackray - c 1917 - 1918 - page 96

I'm very lucky to have several of my grandmother Evelyn Clara Call's (1895-1962) photo albums. And perhaps even luckier that she labeled many of the photos - so I know roughly when and where they were taken, and who was in the photos. 

My grandmother attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in 1915-1916, and then Cornell University in Ithaca, New York from 1916-1919. 

Page 96 of the album has photos of Dick Thackery taken in Georgia in his military uniform. As I did a little research to figure out who he was, I found some interesting documents so decided to write a blog post just about Dick Thackery

Bouquet of Cotton

Dickie

In Georgia

As I looked at the photos - my first questions were Who is Dick Thackery? Why are there photos of him in my grandmother's photo album? And was she in Georgia to take the photos? 

I could only find a few records for him as Richard Thackery. When I found one record with an alternate spelling of Thackray - suddenly there were plenty of records that told the story of an English immigrant to the United States who served his new country during World War 1.

Richard Thackray was born either on August 5, 1886 or 1887 at Branleygrange, England. He was the son of Robert Thackray, also born at Branleygrange, and who lived in Pateley Bridge, England in 1924. 

So far, I have not been able to find a birth record for Richard, or identify Branleygrange. Pateley Bridge is in Yorkshire, and there are several Thackray families in the area including a Robert who had children born in the 1880s. No census records for Robert include a son named Richard. In 1901, there was a Richard Thackery, age 16 (born 1885) born in Bramley Grange, Yorkshire, working as a servant in the household of Leonard Smith, a farmer in Fountains Earth, Pateley Bridge, Yorkshire. I believe this is the Richard Thackray I have photos of. 

According to a later passport application, Richard arrived at the port of New York, sailing from Liverpool on about January, 1 1911. No 1911 immigration record has been found for Richard.

In 1915, Richard was listed in the New York State Census as living in Bethany, Genesee County, New York, age 28, born in England, not a citizen, in the US for 4 years. He was a servant working in the home of Wakefield and Magdelena Burks. 

On June 5, 1917, Richard registered for the World War I draft. 

 

On September 25, 1917, he was inducted into the U.S. Army in Batavia. He served overseas from August 24, 1918 through September 3, 1919. He was honorably discharged on September 26, 1919. 

On July 17, 1918, Richard swore his oath of citizenship and became a U.S. Citizen. Three days later, on July 20, he filed his Petition for Naturalization as a U.S. Citizen under that Amendatory Act of May 9, 1918, which allowed aliens serving in the armed forces to petition for naturalization without having to meet the standard requirements. More than 192,000 members of the military applied under this act between May 9,1918 and June 30, 1919. 

At the time he became a citizen, Richard was stationed at Camp Gordon in Georgia, so that may be where the photos in the album were taken. 

On August 23, 1918, Richard headed overseas from the Port of Boston on the Cardiganshire

Just over a year later, on August 24, 1919, Richard left Brest, France on the U.S.S. Mobile and landed in Hoboken, New Jersey on September 3, 1919. 

On September 26, 1919, he was discharged from the U.S. Army with an honorable discharge. 

By January 1, 1920, Richard was back in Bethany, working as a laborer on Wakefield Burks farm. He is listed as a naturalized citizen of the United States. 

On October 14, 1924, Richard applied for a U.S. Passport, stating his plans to travel to England to visit relatives. He intended to sail from New York on the Cedric on November 29, 1924. His passport was issued on October 16. 

The photograph accompanying his passport application confirms that this Richard Thackray is the Dick Thackery in the photo album 

Richard returned to the U.S. on March 4, 1925, entering through the port of New York, having left Southampton, England on the Olympic on February 25, 1925. 

In 1925, Richard was living in Bethany, working as a farm laborer, and living as a lodger with the family of William and Nellie Embt. 

By the 1930 census, Richard was back working as a farm laborer for Wakefield Burks in Bethany. 

On September 3, 1930, Richard was admitted to the National Home for Disabled Soldiers in Bath, Steuben County, New York. Upon admission, he was diagnosed with flat feet and varicose veins. He was discharged on September 25, 1930. 

In 1940, Richard was living in Bethany, working as a farm laborer in the home of Glover Burks and his widowed mother Magdelena. 

On February 8, 1969, Richard Thackray died in Genesee County. According to the Social Security Death Index, his last check was sent to an address in Pavillion. 

Richard is buried in Wyoming Cemetery, Wyoming, Wyoming County, New York - the same cemetery where Wakefield Burks and his family are buried. 

So circling back to my original questions of Who is Dick Thackery? Why are there photos of him in my grandmother's photo album? And was she in Georgia to take the photos? 

Richard Thackray was an English immigrant who served in the armed forces of his new country and became a citizen during World War I. After the war, he returned to Genesee County, where he appears to have lived out his life working on the family farm of the Burks family. 

As to why are the photos in my grandmother's album? Not sure - I assume he was someone she knew in Genesee County. 

And did my grandmother take the photos of Dick Thackery in Georgia? No clue - I doubt it since I have no indication she left New York during the time he was in Georgia. 

Previous pages in the album: Mannix Family and Charles Arthur Call Family - 1917 - pages 91-95

Next pages in the album: Visit to Niagara Falls - May 1918 - pages 97-100