FIRST WAR WIDOW Mrs. Howard Birt Receives At a Casualty Clearing Station Somewhere The great world war is slowly but steadily drawing nearer to us. Each week brings new events that touch us more closely. The first of the week a message came to Franklin informing a woman of the death of her husband in France. The telegram came from Ottawa, Canada, having been cabled from England. It contained the simple statement that Howard Oscar Birt died of wounds at casualty clearing station No. 42, somewhere in France, on May 4th. Howard Birt was formerly a fireman at the Harding Paper Mill. About six years ago he was married to Margaret Mc-Grail and two children were born to them. The younger died a few months ago. Birt enlisted at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was sent to France with other recruits from Canada. Mrs. Birt last heard from her husband on May 4th, in a letter which was written April 17th. The brave little wife and mother has had much of sorrow and suffering in the past year. She is Franklin's first widow of the war. Source: Franklin Chronicle May 17, 1917 [copy obtained from obituary collection at the Warren County Genealogical Society] |
by Arne H Trelvik 4 Dec 2005 |
This page created 4 December 2005 and last updated
21 June, 2011
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