#1093 p 56 World War I and 1912-1920 Jack Barrett Hydrographic + Navy Reserve
#1093 p 56 83-1318 -l9l2-l920 Hydrographic Office & World War I #08 In 1911 Jack made the cholera-shortened ITASCA cruise to Marseilles, France, Gibraltar, and the Azores. Admiral Earl G. Rose reviewing Revenue Cutter School history notes considerable discomfort for cadets when new facilities were occupied at Fort Trumbull, Connecticut in the move from Arundel Cove, South Baltimore in 1910. Jack resigned from the school in November, 1911 but continued many close friendships among the ITASCA shipmates. From November 1911 to August 1912 he lived with his family in South Boston for the last time residing in Massachusetts until 1932. He had several temporary jobs, including one at George Emerson coffee company. Jack saw a great deal of his second cousins the Hartigans at D and Third Streets, South Boston. His mother's mother Mary Ann O Farrell had a sister Margaret who married Jeremiah Donovan near Bandon, county Cork, and their daughter born 1852 in Cork came to Boston when about five years old. She married a native of Baltimore, Maryland, Edward Hartigan who worked as a newspaper stereotyper in Baltimore, Philadelphia and then Boston, but he died of tuberculosis in 1899, leaving four sons and two daughters. Jack's Buckley grandparents had boarded with the Hartigans and Donovans at D and West Third Streets South Boston for about a year 1877 before buying a house of their own at 469 West Eighth Street, where the Buckleys lived until they moved to Melrose in 1884. Jack did not know the oldest Hartigan boy, "Miah" [Jeremiah] who died of tuberculosis after playing football at Boston College, but for several years Jack was very close with the second son James Hartigan born 1880 and severely crippled for some years before passing away in 1912. James worked as journalist in Bath Maine around 1907 and for a period in upstate New York, probably Binghamton. Their mother and sisters Gertrude and May kept in frequent touch with Jack's aunts in Melrose,Minnie and Maggie Buckley. James Hartigan died in 1912,and his younger brother Edward after four years at Boston College 1907-1911 and one at West Point Military Academy as a freshman classmate of Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley 1911-12, decided to enter the priesthood and attended St. John's Seminary, Brighton. Their youngest brother John served in the military in World War I and became a lawyer Their mother adopted a daughter Dorothy and moved to 80 Brown Avenue Roslindale near Sacred Heart Church in 1917. Father Hartigan was parish priest many years in Everett and North Weymouth and then pastor 1953-1970 of Immaculate Conception Churcn Everett. In the 1920s he started a well-known childrens' camp "Cedar Crest" at Green Harbor,Marshfield, and the Barretts were frequent visitors there through the 1970s when his sisters Gertrude, May, and Dorothy moved there from Roslindale. May Hartigan 1886-1979 was an early South Boston High School graduate, attended teachers college and taught seventh and eighth grade mathematics at Washington Irving School in Roslindale. In March 1912 Jack's aunt Minnie Buckley died of tubercular meningitis after several days of severe illness when she could not speak.Jack remembered sitting at her side for two days talking to her without being able to tell whether she was conscious and understood him, though her eyes appeared open.She and her younger sister Maggie had looked after Jack by day 1889-1894 while his father commuted to his plumbing shop. One time around 1894 Jack traveled with her by train to visit Buckley cousins in Milford, Massachusetts, who were bootmakers,and she frequently wrote letters to her father's brother Michael 1834-1918, who was on the family farm in Moskeigh.Aunts Minnie and Maggie Buckley worked some years at Converse Rubber Company in Malden. Jack kept Minnie's leather address book, which seems to have been used 1903-4. Among the entries; 'Mr. Michael Buckley, Moskeigh, Bandon, county Cork Ireland-- Miss Katie L. Buckley 38 Parkhurst St., Milford, Massachusetts-- and Mollie Manning E. Fourth Street, South Boston (later Mrs. Charles Curtaz of Linnet St., West Roxbury, who lived to age ninety and remembered her neighbor Helen Cochrane attended Girls Public Latin and dated Jack Barrett 1905). Some time after Maggie's death in 1921, her brother John sent Jack Barrett offering him a selection of any or all or Minnie's books he wished to keep. The handwritten letter had some humorous comments.John married Jennie Cain born Warrenton, near Liverpool, England. He worked as a pattern maker at Charlestown Navy Yard,and they had nine children.Jack saw his uncle John Buckley in 1921 when Jack came into Charlestown Navy Yard as an officer of the destroyer TOUCEY on its fall trip north from South Carolina.Jack also was in contact 1910-1912 with his Mehegan cousins near the Roslindale- Hyde Park line. Robert Mehegan junior had worked 1910-1911 in Federal Land Office Evanston Wyoming and in September-October 1911 visited Jack's aunts and other relatives in California. LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE in Maine 1912 From September to December l9l2 Jack worked for the Lighthouse Service aboard the Lighthouse Tender ZIZANIA under Captain Herma Ingalls. They encountered cold weather and very rough seas. The tenders were named for various types of grasses, as the skipper's widow Mrs. Herman Ingalls of Bucks Harbor, Maine explained to us.Zizania is an American grass known as "wild rice" used as food by native Americans and imporant for birds and wildlife.Mrs. Haskell C. Todd of Belfast, Maine, whose husband served on the Tanker TRINITY l938-l939 sent us a postcard picture of the ZIZANIA. My Mount Holyoke l923 class president Marion Lewis Smart used to spend summers in Bucks Harbor and later lived there after her husband Vin retired from law practice in New Jersey and New York.Captain Haskell Todd's wife is the daughter of a lighthouse keeper. She well remembers the many occasions when she was a young girl, and the ZIZANIA brought out coal, oil, groceries, and frequently other supplies. Jack later commented the weather and conditions were demanding and required seamanship and small boat proficiency and physical hardiness. See ZIZANIA photos web pages 47-#1006 and 49-#1025 and Marion Lewis Smart letter below at end of this chapter. NAVAL HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE WASHINGTON At this time Jack took many civil service examinations resulting in taking a job with the Naval Hydrographic Office in Washington in January l9l3.He found a home with a family of Christian Scientists on A Street southeast, who gave him a fine big private room where he was allowed to keep his window open constantly regardless of the weather.He also got three excellent meals a day there & was pleased that it was within easy distance of his office at the State, War & Navy Building (where he used to see President Wilson's Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan),but he was embarassed by the teen-age daughters who used to run their fingers through his wavy red hair. He was active & on one occasion Easter Sunday March 23, 1913 walked forty-four miles between Baltimore, Maryland, & Washington without stopping to eat or sleep. He lived in the house for several years but finally had to move out reluctantly when lightning struck the house - the storm damaged the roof so badly a great deal of water came in. This was the period when the Barretts heard from immigrant Aunt Johanna Hession aged eighty-five years, who in April 1914 sent twenty-five dollar presents to his sisters Mollie & Kate (April l9l4) & Jack's father's sister Kate Barrett who lived with her aunts at 2043 Polk Street San Francisco wrote Jack a long letter about the San Francisco World's Fair l9l5-her interest in women's suffrage & in President Woodrow Wilson's Irish-American press Secretary Joseph Tumulty - one of the first Irish to hold prominent national office- & her concern with the violent activities of the International Workers of the World ("I hope they go to Kamchatka or Patagonia - I don't care which," she wrote. Postcards from Jack to South Boston were numerous - he followed his brother Bill's progress at Boston Latin School, where they had most of the same teachers.Jack came home to Boston most holidays.His work was largely mathematical revising the tables in Bowditch's American Practical Navigator. Occasionally they answered "Inquiries from Mariners" by letters that were sometimes published. This was the period he got to know Gershom Bradford, C.C. Ennis & other Hydrographic staffers he kept in touch with for many years. The Hydrographic Office was begun in 1840s by Matthew Fontaine Maury, who took the confederate side in the Civil War. George Littlehales was one of the better known hydrographers. Jack took a public speaking course at Gonzaga College & spent much time at the District of Columbia Carroll council Knights of Columbus.He saw chess champions Albert Lasker & Jose Capablanca at the Capitol City Chess & Checker Club. He memorized a poem, "If you would ruin a man, Dagger & bomb are archaic- Teach him - Inoculate him with chess. It is fortunate perhaps that chess is seldom well taught -Or we should have (the world) going to rack & ruin while statesmen pondered (their chessboards) & taxicabs made knights' moves from Charing Cross to Picadilly- & Every now & then a suicide would turn up with this tragic message pinned to its breast -'Alas- I checked with my queen too soon.'" Jack recounted one incident of a man who had & evening date & came in "for a quick game" & was glued to the chessboard five hours later, having forgotten all about the date. BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE In December 1916 Jack transferred from Naval Hydrographic Office to the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce in Department of Commerce, where he worked until activated April 1917 as Naval Reserve officer at American entry into World War I.The Bureau was concerned with promoting United States exports and trade interests and developing new markets.Jack's linguistic experience at Boston Latin School was helpful, and he remembered translating a number of languages, particularly Rumanian, which retained a strong resemblance to classical Latin.Among his friends there he kept in touch with Chauncy Snow, a nephew of New York state's Senator Chauncy Depew, a well known wit and public speaker. In the 1960s Jack Barrett still exchanged Christmas cards with Chauncy Snow's son, an Episcopal minister. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NAVAL MILITIA In l9l5 Jack always interested in the sea, joined the District of Columbia Naval Militia.Among the l9l6 members we found the name of Miles Finley, now a retired Navy Commander. On October 23, l970 Commander Finley wrote: "Dear Mrs. Barrett,Your interesting letter of September 27th was forwarded to me by Bureau of Personnel, arriving just as we were leaving for San Francisco (his home is in San Diego, California).My connection with the D.C. Naval Militia was fairly brief.As I recall the chain of events was something like this: I had served in the War Department as a Quartermaster clerk at Fort Flagler,Washington, & at Fort Riley,Kansas August l908 to January l9ll.I was again in Federal Service, Office of Postmaster General,starting August l9l2.I marched up Pennsylvania Avenue,heading a squad of telephone girls & charwomen in the Preparedness parade, passing in review before President Wilson. As the War Clouds began to roll up, I discussed personal war plans with my good friend, Lieutenant C.G.A.Johnson, P.A. Pay (clerk) D.C. Naval Militia DCNM headed by Captain MacGruder. I had thought of applying for a commission in the Quartermaster Corps, U.S.Army, but Carl asked me to go with him one Sunday morn to the DCNM Armory- Water and O Streets for an interview with Lieutenant Commander R.B. Bruninant (spelling?)DCNM, the commanding officer - he was chief clerk Bureau of Ordinance Navy Department. I think it was the next Monday that Carl telephoned me to go buy a uniform, that I had been commissioned Ensign, DCNM (Assistant Paymaster).- & this was followed promptly by orders to a session of Naval pay Officers' School Sept.l5-October l4, l9l6.I qualified for the National Naval Volunteers by attending this school & proving my ability.(Jack Barrett also became a member of the National Naval Volunteers by examination - Sophie Barrett note).I attended drill regularly & made one cruise in the USS SYLVIA Thanksgiving weekend l9l6 when we took Adjutant general J.C. Costner commanding D.C. Militia to the Colonial Beach area. He went duck hunting.Bunks in officer country were all filled, & I spread a mattress in a passageway.(Jack Barrett made this cruise on the SYLVIA). Sorry these XEROX prints are so poor,but you will note 'Recruiting Campaign begun" in the 'Ready for Service' story.I was that recruiting officer, under orders of March 28, l9l7 for the purpose of making necessary preliminary arrangements for mobilization' an endorsement of April 6, l9l7 reads." You will discontinue duty under these orders received to mobilize Naval Militia."April 6, l9l7 other orders directed me to report at the Naval Militia Armory forthwith- turn over federal equipment & proceed to Naval Yard Norfolk. I then received orders to proceed to such port as the USS YANTRON may be (at) & report to the Commanding officer for duty as ordered.I remember your husband, but we met only at drills. I did not march in the March 4, l9l7 Inaugural Parade, I had not yet acquired `an overcoat. Carl G.A. Johnson did march. (Jack Barrett marched & kept postcards of the Inaugural March on March 4, l9l7.) I had a cozy seat to watch the event at a window in the old Post Office Building, Pennsylvania Avenue.I know the boys towed a field piece up the Avenue, & many sets of colors were riddled by the strong cold rain.-Miles Finley." From XEROX material D.C. Naval Militia Ready for Service. Men could turn out fully equipped a few hours after call received.In a very few hours after a call for mobilization is received at the Naval Militia Armory at the foot of Water & O Streets Southwest, that organization could turn out, fully equipped one (hundred) sixty fighting men= men who knew at least the rudiments of work aboard a man-of-war.A plan of the Navy Department to call out the Naval Militia to relieve officers and men of the regular Navy for service aboard the first-line ships of the Navy is awaiting the signature of the President.The one hundred sixty men now on the rolls are thoroughly interested- as all men who have not attended drills regularly have been dropped. These men participate in the Thursday night drills & participate in the practice cruises aboard the USS SYLVIA, the training ship loaned to the organization by the Navy.Four officers have taken the examination required by the Navy for the National Naval Volunteers. They are Lieutenant C.G.A. Johnson, assistant paymaster, Lieutenant,P.D. Johnston commanding the First Division, Ensign J. B. Barrett commanding the Second Division, & M.R. Finley assistant Paymaster. The other officers are expected to take their examinations in a short time, & the examinations of the men are now being held.A recruiting campaign has just been inaugurated in order to recruit the organization to its full strength of 445 men. Prizes have been offered by the staff officers of the battalion for the men who bring in the most recruits.Every officer & man now in the organization is fully equipped for service afloat & the Supply Department of the local organization has on hand enough outfits to completely equip two hundred men immediately.The local organization is fully equipped to handle any large number of recruits that might come in as a result of a mobilization order." (End Finley's XEROX). Jack Barrett's service chronology: December l9l5 Served as A.S. 2M 3c & O.M. 2c in the Naval Militia of Washington DC till August l9l6. -July 15-26, 1916 Jack served as Quartermaster First Class on battleship ILLINOIS XBB7 368 feet length - 72.5 feet breadth, 23 feet6 inches draft,11,552 tons, steel constructed 1901 Newport News, Virginia Vertical 3 EXP engines eight mosher boilers, General Electric Company. COMMISSIONED ENSIGN, NAVAL MILITIA August l9l6 commissioned Ensign in Naval Militia of Washington DC. February l9,l9l7 passed examination as Ensign in Naval Militia of Washington DC. February 24, l9l7 Ensign National Naval Volunteers- accepted & executed oath of office.March 28, l9l7 Commissioned Ensign in the National Naval Volunteers dating from February 24, l9l7.==ACTIVE SERVICE WORLD WAR I April 7,l9l7 Called into the service of the United States & to Navy Yard,Washington DC for duty aboard the USS SYLVIA(a converted yacht). --l9l7 November 8- Detached SYLVIA to duty USS MONTGOMERY as Navigator. Name changed to ANNISTON March 14, 1918 while Jack was aboard. The ship was camouflaged & did convoy duty in Carribean.Authorized 1888, this cruiser (no. 9) was built at Columbia Iron Works, Baltimore, Maryland - stricken from Navy rolls August 25, 1919, sold November 13, 1919) l9l8-January l- Jack became Lieutenant junior grade (jg) National Naval Volunteers for temporary service duty dating from January l, l9l8- May l7, l9l8 accept & executed oath of office. Granted two days leave from June l0 to June llth l9l8. June l3 detached USS ANNISTON to duty Naval Training Station Norfolk Virginia. - l9l8 July 1 Lieutenant in Naval Reserve Force, class two - transferred to Naval Reserve Force by act of Congress approved July 1, l9l8 - July l0 admitted to Naval Hospital Hampton roads Va for treatment (sinus/?) Discharge July 23. Nov, 23, l9l8 given the provisional assignment with rank & grade of Lieutenant LDO in the Naval Reserve Class two to rank from July 1,l9l8. Assignment expires Feb. 23, l920- Dec. 2, l9l8 accepted & executed oath of office. From the Commandant of the First Naval District "There is forwarded herewith a Victory Medal conferred upon you in accordance with the provisions of an Act of Congress approved May l3, l908 directing the preparation & distribution of badges to the officers & men of the Navy & Marine Corps of the United States who participated in engagements & campaigns deemed worthy of such commemoration.The badge is issued to you by the Bureau of Navigation in recognition of your services in the World War." #04 World War I era-April l0, l9l7 to October 22, l9l7 executive officer, navigator & watch officer on USS SYLVIA Fifth Naval District.Oct. 22 to Oct. 25 temporary duty Kazeruna (spelling?) October 25 to November l5, back to SYLVIA. November l5, l9l7 to June 16, l9l8 navigator USS MONTGOMERY later named ANNISTON along Atlantic seaboard between Newport Rhode Island, Charleston, South Carolina, & Bermuda. The ANNISTON was camouflaged & did convoy duty in the Carribean (not clear if Lieutenant Barrett was aboard at that time). INSTRUCTOR OFFICER MATERIAL SCHOOL, HAMPTON ROADS, VIRGINIA: From June l7, l9l8 to March 2l, l9l9 Jack Barrett was an instructor in Seamanship & Regulations at the Officer Material School, Norfolk (Hampton Roads,?) Virginia under Captain Quimby. On one occasion Jack Barrett received a commendation for volunteering special skills:"One of the naval overseas vessels that were sailing had to return to port Saturday night because of the condition of the compasses.It was rather difficult under the circumstances to get an expert to compensate the compasses without considerable delay to the ship.Lieutenant (jg) Barrett was communicated with & the circumstances explained to him.He very gladly offered to go out to the ship & compensate the compasses. I want to express my appreciation for the work that he did, as it was a saving to the government & it prevented a delay of at least one day's sailing of the vessel. Signed W.S Whitted, Commander United States Navy, Retired." Captain Quimby sent a letter to the Bureau of Navigation:"It gives me pleasure to forward the enclosed letter of commendation in regard to the compass work of Lieutenant J.B.Barrett & suggest that such matters should be placed in the record of Lietenant Barrett, & letter of commendation should be returned to Lieutenant JB Barrett from the Navy Department."On February l7, l9l9 Jack received orders to proceed to Washington DC for a three day course of instruction at the Naval Observatory.On November l4, l9l8 Lieutenant HL Crawford USN Retired, wrote to the Steamboat Inspectors at Tampa Florida:"This is to certify that JB Barrett served as Quartermaster first class in the USS ILLINOIS from July l5, l9l6 to July 26, l9l6, also as Executive & Navigating Officer on the USS SYLVIA from April 10, l9l7 to November 15, l9l7, performing all duties assigned to him in an efficient manner. he was found to be a sober, capable, & industrious office, & I take great pleasure in recommending him as such. We have the graduation programs of the classes of the Officer Material School in which Jack was an instructor l9l8, & they list the names of the graduates.After prolonged search we located one member of those classes Commander Arthur Edwin Uber, born in l897 now retired & living in Butler, Pennsylvania: On May 4, l97l he wrote,"Mrs. Barrett: Yes! I am the same A.E. Uber who was graduated from the officer Material School at the Naval Operating Base in Norfolk, Virginia on 12 March l9l9. Our school was the old Pennsylvania Building constructed for the Jamestown Exposition held in l907.Captain "Jack" Quimby as you mention was in charge of the school.Strange as it may seem, your late husband's name was the only other name I can remember among all the instructors & students in the school.You must remember this is all about a period fifty- two years ago.Tiny fragments of the time, if any at all,come back to me now. I am quite sure any of my recollections would be of little value to you.He was not tall - rather thin- But the name sticks. A group of us were standing out in front of the building, across from the sea wall on the other side of the street.Someone said, "Here comes 'Salty' Barrett. We saluted.He returned it!!!- Put on a big grin & waved back. He evidently had on his number three work uniform, since the braid was well tarnished with a greenish line.Among us in those days an officer who showed evidence of practical experience & sea duty was much admired & respected.See what I mean? Just a little bit of the past= 52 years ago- of no particular value.I still have my "Knight's Seamanship", which is falling apart & also my little "Bluejacket's Manual.I remember going up to Yorktown one weekend on the PAMLICO ((training ship for students in Officer Material School). Quarters were crowded or non-existent.Many swung their hammocks outside on deck. It was cold - but turned warm during the night & rained.That precipitated a rush to get under cover- you can imagine..-A.E. Uber." TROOPSHIP USS SEATTLE commanded by Captain J.R. Y. Blakely under Admiral Gleaves_March l9, l9l9 Jack Barrett was detached from Fifth Naval District where he had served as Instructor of Seamanship & Regulations at Officer Material School Norfolk. He reported next to the Commander, Cruiser & Transport Force, New York for assignment to USS SEATTLE. - l9l9 March 31: To duty as Navigator on board the USS Seattle. Made three (four?) round trips Brest (Brittany, France) to Hoboken New Jersey with returning troops. Smedley Butler US Marine Corps was in charge of a large base at Brest with Marines & other troops awaiting transportation. Jack was interested in Butler's career & may have seen him at this time & at Shanghai l927. It is possible Jack's acquaintance with Pacific Fleet Chaplain William Maguire (Captain USN in l940's) may date from this time also. Some notes in Jack's handwriting stolen l993 gave chronology of an incident April l9l9 at Brest, where local civilians stole eggs from the battleship about three o'clock in the morning, leading to an investigation.There were severe food shortages in France & other parts of Europe at this period in aftermath of the Great War. Two well known World War I Naval leaders were aboard the SEATTLE who had been in the thick of the convoy effort - the SEATTLE was the flagship of Admiral Gleaves, who organized and led the first American convoy in 1917, which went to St. Nazaire to surprise the Germans, who expected the convoys to go to the large convenient port of Brest at the time of the Brittany peninsula - and Captain John Russell Y. Blakely was the SEATTLE's Captain. Gleaves wrote a book about the convoy operations and unprecedented movement of personnel thousands of miles at sea. The number of ships involved reached a maximum in 1919, as there was haste to "bring the boys home." The SEATTLE was 504 feet 5 inches length - breadth 72 feet ten inches 25 feet draft displacement 14,500 tons- tons per inch immersion 59.7 - fuel 2062 tons coal -masts one cage one military - mess 19 wardroom officers, 14 junior officers, 38 chief petty officers - marines 64- other enlisted 820. Engines Bert 3EXP. 16B+ W boilers. Horsepower 27463 General Electric turbines. Guns: four ten-inch 40 caliber sixteen six-inch 50 caliber Anti-aircraft two three-inch. Four twenty-one-inch torpedoes. Five inch hull armor New York SB Company built $4,035,000. Authorized July 1, 1902. Launched 1905. Commissioned August 7, 1906. Out of commission Feb. 14, 1921. Speed 22.27 knots. -l9l9: June l9 Detached USS SEATTLE & relieved of all active duty. This was the period of the popular song, "How're ya going to keep 'em down on the Farm after they've seen Paris? How're ya going to keep them away from Broadway, painting the town? - That's a mystery." Around this time early 1919, Jack's friend William W. Paca as an Army Military Police Officer was arresting deserters who were hiding in Paris sewers and did not want to return home to the United States. There was no arrangement for American troops to be discharged in France, and they had to come home. Grace Bacon, who became Sophie Barrett's Professor for three years of German language study at Mount Holyoke, was in France with the Red Cross some months in 1919. Troop morale during World War I was helped by entertainers like Ernestine Schumann-Heinck, famous for her rendition of the carol "Silent Night". Even she, after the end of the war was concerned for her son to be released from service so he could help with her concert tours. DEMOBILIZATION Jack left active Naval Reserve duty early in August, 1919, and investigated employment opportunities. Jack briefly signed up on a ship WEST CORUM but reansferred to be first officer of the commercial ship WESTERNER (previously a troopship) from November l5, l9l9 to September l0, l920.The Commander, Mal Richardson from Virginia, was one of Jack's closer & more congenial friends & correspondents for nearly fifty years, & he & his sister-in-law Mrs. Kane kept in touch with the Barrett family until l972, when he passed away. Jack made his first trip through the Panama Canal, opened l9l4. The visited Hawaii, & Japan, where Jack took photographs of the Inland Sea & sent them to the Navy department, which was interested in precise information on foreign ports & waterways.He wrote his father a long letter from Shanghai - his first visit to China. They took on timber & cordage materials as cargo in Manila. Until l993 we had a notebook with Jack's detailed navigational calculations of stars, latitudes & longitudes passing through the eight-degree-north channel in islands south of India. Before the advent of radio, it was important to be able to recognize many navigational stars, as only a few might be visible in cloudy weather.With somewhat less cargo than hoped they proceded through Suez & arrived Liverpool May l920. Jack could see the Irish shore, from which his grandparents had emigrated, but there was political tension in the time of the "troubles" as Ireland sought independence from Britain, & this was the closest Jack ever came to the homeland of his ancestors.The ship was bothered by thefts on the dock,& Jack as first mate complained to the police. One policeman said to him, "You'll stand by me, mate?"Jack believed he was asking for a bribe but offered him nothing.One of the officers Jack remembered pleasantly was a Norwegian named Torkelson.In London Jack saw Pavlova danced her favorite ballet role as the Swan in Camille Saint-Saens's "Le Cygne". It was probably on this trip (or in Washington) that Jack saw Sarah Bernhardt play Shakespeare's "Shylock" in her older years after having a leg amputated.He mentioned this a number of times in conversation. Having already been in England several times, Jack began to know his way around fairly well and found he was accepted practically as a native and seldom spotted as an American unless he volunteered the information. He was fond of saying that the speech habits of New Englanders and Virginians were closer to those of England than the speech habits of other Americans. He found his acceptance as a native curious and sometimes embarassing. His impish nature got the better of him one time when he was asked in London, probably in the subway by a traveler, "Is Picadilly Circus this way?" Tired of making explanations that he was a foreigner, Jack just pointed somewhere and said, "That way." He later realized that he had probably been ninety degrees in error, but he turned it into a very funny story, though we were somewhat scandalized. FOLLOW-UP on HERMAN INGALLS and 1912 LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE MAINE: Sophie located Mrs. Herman Ingalls 1970 at Starboard,Bucks Harbor, Maine and learned her Mount Holyoke classmate Marion Lewis Smart and her husband Vin went there summers (they settled there year-round later, when Vin retired from New York law practice). This letter of Marion's describes her enjoyable visit with spry Mrs. Ingalls:---NBK 8 p 204-207 September 23, 1975 Starboard Bucks Harbor Maine 04618 [from Marion Lewis Smart Dear Sophie What a pleasant experience I had last week when I called on Mrs. Captain Ingalls in Howard Cove. She is a delightful lady of eighty-eight. She had just returned from a birthday party for someone who was ninety years and said, "I am completely stuffed with good Down East cooking." He home is charming-one that had been Captain Ingalls's grandfather's- and she and the Captain reclaimed it mostly themselves on his retirement. She lives all soul alone, much to the displeasure of her only living daughter and her grandchildren. She has six great-grandchildren. When they left Cortland, they sold all their furniture ad purchased what she called "island furniture" beautiful pieces from the old homes on Maine's many islands- they are priceless now of course- and after his retirement they traveled, and she collected exquisite pieces of glassware and small furnishings. She was and is I guess an artist, for on the tiny dining room plaster walls she has a mural of the last schooner to sail from Machias down the river, as well as a family tree of sorts depicting the history of the land that had passed down from one Howard who held squatters' rights until Maine was separated from Masachusetts. We talked and talked about this and that, and she eagerly showed me her treasures - someone is writing about lighthouses and has taped her recollections. Very little authentic information can be found either in the archives of Washington or from the rapidly diminishing group associated with the early tending of the houses before the Coast Guard took over. Thank you for giving me a reason to call upon such a charming, agile, and up-to-date lady. She greeted me in gorgeous turquoise blue pants, gay flowered blouse, matching sweater, and perfectly coiffured hair- sparkling blue eyes, and lots of spirit. She had just finished painting a corner cupboard which has had to be repaired as the corner post had been eaten away by ants- she had still the outer wall to paint on the sun porch! Well, we're still here, leaving the end of this week when Vin will begin the racket of commuting to New York on the first. Your letter of the twelfth was forwarded to us here, taking about a week to arrive here. I have followed with interest despair and shock at the goings-on in Hyde Park but was grateful to read that when the spirit of unrest appeared in a lunch room of four hundred, student leaders calmed the crowd, and no disturbance really erupted. The black problem is so desperately complicated, and poor Boston seems to have ben torn to pieces. I went to school with blacks, white, and European races, and we all got along splendidly - however, each followed his racial mores at home and socially - we all respected the other's background - New York of course is changed in color, for thre are thousands of Puerto Ricans beside the blacks. We noticed no integration among the gulls that sail and glide about - they keep to their own group and species! The Giles situation is indeed complex and heart breaking - one does have to respect the privacy of an individual and his family as one longs to aid or help in some way. We have no connection with the Food and Drug Administration and have thought them careless in the release of some drugs and additives while frustratingly slow in accepting or releasing others. One example is the drug which has proved so successful in the treatment of arthritis- people move to California so as to be near the Mexican border and can there cross over for the treatment which has been so miraculous in results. = I am sure that Gerard [Buckley] and Jerry Murray will eventually meet [Perth Austrlia]. Our little family is head over heels involved in their University work, and recently they have acquired a small piece of land with many fruit trees on it - part of a former farm- outside of Perth -no house, just land and trees with so many possibilities ahead that they are immersed in all the quirks and trials of immediate plans and those in the future. Jerry is now in another institution, so I imagine that their University meetings are not as frequent as before, and weekends seem to be spent on the "farm" as they prune, plan and picnic. The babies love the freedom there, and the former owners, living now nearby, are more than hospitable. [Hurricane] Eloise is blowing in Alabama while we are smothered in fog and drizzle. The rain drops on the roof have a very soporific effect on me, so please forgive my wanderings on paper. Trees as an interest - that reminds me of the collections of slides and old glass photograph plates I gave to the Brattle Street Book Shop when I finally reached the boxes in the barn where my grandfather had them stored. He had photographed trees all over New England. Those photographs were famous in size, in history or peculiarity - the old photographs went, too. Grandpa used to show them with his old huge stereopticon. We have a nice large oak tree here on our New Jersey property, and the house is panelled in chestnut downstairs, dining room, hall, beams and low panels with fireplace in the living room. We love it, for it is its natural color, only aged. Most of the original houses in Mountain Lakes had chestnut woodwork as the blight had hit, and the lumber was avilable for the saw mill established for the development of the community from the wilderness in 1911. I must don wet weather clothes, yellow pants, and jacket as we must unload our boat before leaving here. We pulled the "Wrinkla" out yesterday, and she is now high and dry in a field! So glad to hear from you with all your news, which is vital to all your friends. Write again. as always -Marion [Lewis Smart 1923] During 1970-1972 Sophie Barrett corresponded with Dorothy Kane, sister-in-law of 'Captain' Mal Richardson, whom Jack served with 1917-18 on the MONTGOMERY and again 1920 on the commercial ship WESTERNER. If the 1972 obituary is accurate, it appears the WESTERNER may have been a Navy troop ship during World War I, but it was in commercial service when Jack went around the world as a ship's officer with Richardson December 1919-May 1920. This is the text Sophie preserved [black notebook one p- 249] THE VIRGINIA PILOT Feb 8, 1972 Captain Mal S. RICHARDSON 81 Retired Commander Mal S. Richardson of 1130 Manchester Avenue formerly with Merchant Marine Inspection Division died Monday evening in a hospital.Captain Richardson retired in 1952 after more than four decades as a deep water chief mate and relief master. A native of Matthias county, he lived here thirty years. He was a member of [?Batelot?] Masonic Lodge 7, Gloucester, Known by associates as 'Captain' Richardson, he began his sailing career with the Old Bay Line in 1909 as a Quartermaster. In 1910 he joined the Merchant and Miners Transportation Company as a second mate, later became chief mate running between Baltimore and Norfolk and betwen New York City and Jacksonville, Florida.In 1913 on trips between New York City, Boston, and South America he was chief mate and chief relief master. He entered the Navy on April 18, 1917 and was appointed a Lieutenant Commander and Commander of the troop transport WESTERNER and made trips around the world. He also was manager of the James River Reserve Fleet in 1923. He left this job to join the Bureau of Merchant Marine Inspection in Norfolk in 1936 with rank of Lieutenant Commander. He remained in Norfolk after his retirement.He is survived by nieces, nephews, cousins [+ sister-in-law Dorothy Kane].
#1093 p 56 83-1318 -l9l2-l920 Hydrographic Office & World War I #08 In 1911 Jack made the cholera-shortened ITASCA cruise to Marseilles, France, Gibraltar, and the Azores. Admiral Earl G. Rose reviewing Revenue Cutter School history notes considerable discomfort for cadets when new facilities were occupied at Fort Trumbull, Connecticut in the move from Arundel Cove, South Baltimore in 1910. Jack resigned from the school in November, 1911 but continued many close friendships among the ITASCA shipmates. From November 1911 to August 1912 he lived with his family in South Boston for the last time residing in Massachusetts until 1932. He had several temporary jobs, including one at George Emerson coffee company. Jack saw a great deal of his second cousins the Hartigans at D and Third Streets, South Boston. His mother's mother Mary Ann O Farrell had a sister Margaret who married Jeremiah Donovan near Bandon, county Cork, and their daughter born 1852 in Cork came to Boston when about five years old. She married a native of Baltimore, Maryland, Edward Hartigan who worked as a newspaper stereotyper in Baltimore, Philadelphia and then Boston, but he died of tuberculosis in 1899, leaving four sons and two daughters. Jack's Buckley grandparents had boarded with the Hartigans and Donovans at D and West Third Streets South Boston for about a year 1877 before buying a house of their own at 469 West Eighth Street, where the Buckleys lived until they moved to Melrose in 1884. Jack did not know the oldest Hartigan boy, "Miah" [Jeremiah] who died of tuberculosis after playing football at Boston College, but for several years Jack was very close with the second son James Hartigan born 1880 and severely crippled for some years before passing away in 1912. James worked as journalist in Bath Maine around 1907 and for a period in upstate New York, probably Binghamton. Their mother and sisters Gertrude and May kept in frequent touch with Jack's aunts in Melrose,Minnie and Maggie Buckley. James Hartigan died in 1912,and his younger brother Edward after four years at Boston College 1907-1911 and one at West Point Military Academy as a freshman classmate of Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley 1911-12, decided to enter the priesthood and attended St. John's Seminary, Brighton. Their youngest brother John served in the military in World War I and became a lawyer Their mother adopted a daughter Dorothy and moved to 80 Brown Avenue Roslindale near Sacred Heart Church in 1917. Father Hartigan was parish priest many years in Everett and North Weymouth and then pastor 1953-1970 of Immaculate Conception Churcn Everett. In the 1920s he started a well-known childrens' camp "Cedar Crest" at Green Harbor,Marshfield, and the Barretts were frequent visitors there through the 1970s when his sisters Gertrude, May, and Dorothy moved there from Roslindale. May Hartigan 1886-1979 was an early South Boston High School graduate, attended teachers college and taught seventh and eighth grade mathematics at Washington Irving School in Roslindale. In March 1912 Jack's aunt Minnie Buckley died of tubercular meningitis after several days of severe illness when she could not speak.Jack remembered sitting at her side for two days talking to her without being able to tell whether she was conscious and understood him, though her eyes appeared open.She and her younger sister Maggie had looked after Jack by day 1889-1894 while his father commuted to his plumbing shop. One time around 1894 Jack traveled with her by train to visit Buckley cousins in Milford, Massachusetts, who were bootmakers,and she frequently wrote letters to her father's brother Michael 1834-1918, who was on the family farm in Moskeigh.Aunts Minnie and Maggie Buckley worked some years at Converse Rubber Company in Malden. Jack kept Minnie's leather address book, which seems to have been used 1903-4. Among the entries; 'Mr. Michael Buckley, Moskeigh, Bandon, county Cork Ireland-- Miss Katie L. Buckley 38 Parkhurst St., Milford, Massachusetts-- and Mollie Manning E. Fourth Street, South Boston (later Mrs. Charles Curtaz of Linnet St., West Roxbury, who lived to age ninety and remembered her neighbor Helen Cochrane attended Girls Public Latin and dated Jack Barrett 1905). Some time after Maggie's death in 1921, her brother John sent Jack Barrett offering him a selection of any or all or Minnie's books he wished to keep. The handwritten letter had some humorous comments.John married Jennie Cain born Warrenton, near Liverpool, England. He worked as a pattern maker at Charlestown Navy Yard,and they had nine children.Jack saw his uncle John Buckley in 1921 when Jack came into Charlestown Navy Yard as an officer of the destroyer TOUCEY on its fall trip north from South Carolina.Jack also was in contact 1910-1912 with his Mehegan cousins near the Roslindale- Hyde Park line. Robert Mehegan junior had worked 1910-1911 in Federal Land Office Evanston Wyoming and in September-October 1911 visited Jack's aunts and other relatives in California. LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE in Maine 1912 From September to December l9l2 Jack worked for the Lighthouse Service aboard the Lighthouse Tender ZIZANIA under Captain Herma Ingalls. They encountered cold weather and very rough seas. The tenders were named for various types of grasses, as the skipper's widow Mrs. Herman Ingalls of Bucks Harbor, Maine explained to us.Zizania is an American grass known as "wild rice" used as food by native Americans and imporant for birds and wildlife.Mrs. Haskell C. Todd of Belfast, Maine, whose husband served on the Tanker TRINITY l938-l939 sent us a postcard picture of the ZIZANIA. My Mount Holyoke l923 class president Marion Lewis Smart used to spend summers in Bucks Harbor and later lived there after her husband Vin retired from law practice in New Jersey and New York.Captain Haskell Todd's wife is the daughter of a lighthouse keeper. She well remembers the many occasions when she was a young girl, and the ZIZANIA brought out coal, oil, groceries, and frequently other supplies. Jack later commented the weather and conditions were demanding and required seamanship and small boat proficiency and physical hardiness. See ZIZANIA photos web pages 47-#1006 and 49-#1025 and Marion Lewis Smart letter below at end of this chapter. NAVAL HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE WASHINGTON At this time Jack took many civil service examinations resulting in taking a job with the Naval Hydrographic Office in Washington in January l9l3.He found a home with a family of Christian Scientists on A Street southeast, who gave him a fine big private room where he was allowed to keep his window open constantly regardless of the weather.He also got three excellent meals a day there & was pleased that it was within easy distance of his office at the State, War & Navy Building (where he used to see President Wilson's Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan),but he was embarassed by the teen-age daughters who used to run their fingers through his wavy red hair. He was active & on one occasion Easter Sunday March 23, 1913 walked forty-four miles between Baltimore, Maryland, & Washington without stopping to eat or sleep. He lived in the house for several years but finally had to move out reluctantly when lightning struck the house - the storm damaged the roof so badly a great deal of water came in. This was the period when the Barretts heard from immigrant Aunt Johanna Hession aged eighty-five years, who in April 1914 sent twenty-five dollar presents to his sisters Mollie & Kate (April l9l4) & Jack's father's sister Kate Barrett who lived with her aunts at 2043 Polk Street San Francisco wrote Jack a long letter about the San Francisco World's Fair l9l5-her interest in women's suffrage & in President Woodrow Wilson's Irish-American press Secretary Joseph Tumulty - one of the first Irish to hold prominent national office- & her concern with the violent activities of the International Workers of the World ("I hope they go to Kamchatka or Patagonia - I don't care which," she wrote. Postcards from Jack to South Boston were numerous - he followed his brother Bill's progress at Boston Latin School, where they had most of the same teachers.Jack came home to Boston most holidays.His work was largely mathematical revising the tables in Bowditch's American Practical Navigator. Occasionally they answered "Inquiries from Mariners" by letters that were sometimes published. This was the period he got to know Gershom Bradford, C.C. Ennis & other Hydrographic staffers he kept in touch with for many years. The Hydrographic Office was begun in 1840s by Matthew Fontaine Maury, who took the confederate side in the Civil War. George Littlehales was one of the better known hydrographers. Jack took a public speaking course at Gonzaga College & spent much time at the District of Columbia Carroll council Knights of Columbus.He saw chess champions Albert Lasker & Jose Capablanca at the Capitol City Chess & Checker Club. He memorized a poem, "If you would ruin a man, Dagger & bomb are archaic- Teach him - Inoculate him with chess. It is fortunate perhaps that chess is seldom well taught -Or we should have (the world) going to rack & ruin while statesmen pondered (their chessboards) & taxicabs made knights' moves from Charing Cross to Picadilly- & Every now & then a suicide would turn up with this tragic message pinned to its breast -'Alas- I checked with my queen too soon.'" Jack recounted one incident of a man who had & evening date & came in "for a quick game" & was glued to the chessboard five hours later, having forgotten all about the date. BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE In December 1916 Jack transferred from Naval Hydrographic Office to the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce in Department of Commerce, where he worked until activated April 1917 as Naval Reserve officer at American entry into World War I.The Bureau was concerned with promoting United States exports and trade interests and developing new markets.Jack's linguistic experience at Boston Latin School was helpful, and he remembered translating a number of languages, particularly Rumanian, which retained a strong resemblance to classical Latin.Among his friends there he kept in touch with Chauncy Snow, a nephew of New York state's Senator Chauncy Depew, a well known wit and public speaker. In the 1960s Jack Barrett still exchanged Christmas cards with Chauncy Snow's son, an Episcopal minister. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NAVAL MILITIA In l9l5 Jack always interested in the sea, joined the District of Columbia Naval Militia.Among the l9l6 members we found the name of Miles Finley, now a retired Navy Commander. On October 23, l970 Commander Finley wrote: "Dear Mrs. Barrett,Your interesting letter of September 27th was forwarded to me by Bureau of Personnel, arriving just as we were leaving for San Francisco (his home is in San Diego, California).My connection with the D.C. Naval Militia was fairly brief.As I recall the chain of events was something like this: I had served in the War Department as a Quartermaster clerk at Fort Flagler,Washington, & at Fort Riley,Kansas August l908 to January l9ll.I was again in Federal Service, Office of Postmaster General,starting August l9l2.I marched up Pennsylvania Avenue,heading a squad of telephone girls & charwomen in the Preparedness parade, passing in review before President Wilson. As the War Clouds began to roll up, I discussed personal war plans with my good friend, Lieutenant C.G.A.Johnson, P.A. Pay (clerk) D.C. Naval Militia DCNM headed by Captain MacGruder. I had thought of applying for a commission in the Quartermaster Corps, U.S.Army, but Carl asked me to go with him one Sunday morn to the DCNM Armory- Water and O Streets for an interview with Lieutenant Commander R.B. Bruninant (spelling?)DCNM, the commanding officer - he was chief clerk Bureau of Ordinance Navy Department. I think it was the next Monday that Carl telephoned me to go buy a uniform, that I had been commissioned Ensign, DCNM (Assistant Paymaster).- & this was followed promptly by orders to a session of Naval pay Officers' School Sept.l5-October l4, l9l6.I qualified for the National Naval Volunteers by attending this school & proving my ability.(Jack Barrett also became a member of the National Naval Volunteers by examination - Sophie Barrett note).I attended drill regularly & made one cruise in the USS SYLVIA Thanksgiving weekend l9l6 when we took Adjutant general J.C. Costner commanding D.C. Militia to the Colonial Beach area. He went duck hunting.Bunks in officer country were all filled, & I spread a mattress in a passageway.(Jack Barrett made this cruise on the SYLVIA). Sorry these XEROX prints are so poor,but you will note 'Recruiting Campaign begun" in the 'Ready for Service' story.I was that recruiting officer, under orders of March 28, l9l7 for the purpose of making necessary preliminary arrangements for mobilization' an endorsement of April 6, l9l7 reads." You will discontinue duty under these orders received to mobilize Naval Militia."April 6, l9l7 other orders directed me to report at the Naval Militia Armory forthwith- turn over federal equipment & proceed to Naval Yard Norfolk. I then received orders to proceed to such port as the USS YANTRON may be (at) & report to the Commanding officer for duty as ordered.I remember your husband, but we met only at drills. I did not march in the March 4, l9l7 Inaugural Parade, I had not yet acquired `an overcoat. Carl G.A. Johnson did march. (Jack Barrett marched & kept postcards of the Inaugural March on March 4, l9l7.) I had a cozy seat to watch the event at a window in the old Post Office Building, Pennsylvania Avenue.I know the boys towed a field piece up the Avenue, & many sets of colors were riddled by the strong cold rain.-Miles Finley." From XEROX material D.C. Naval Militia Ready for Service. Men could turn out fully equipped a few hours after call received.In a very few hours after a call for mobilization is received at the Naval Militia Armory at the foot of Water & O Streets Southwest, that organization could turn out, fully equipped one (hundred) sixty fighting men= men who knew at least the rudiments of work aboard a man-of-war.A plan of the Navy Department to call out the Naval Militia to relieve officers and men of the regular Navy for service aboard the first-line ships of the Navy is awaiting the signature of the President.The one hundred sixty men now on the rolls are thoroughly interested- as all men who have not attended drills regularly have been dropped. These men participate in the Thursday night drills & participate in the practice cruises aboard the USS SYLVIA, the training ship loaned to the organization by the Navy.Four officers have taken the examination required by the Navy for the National Naval Volunteers. They are Lieutenant C.G.A. Johnson, assistant paymaster, Lieutenant,P.D. Johnston commanding the First Division, Ensign J. B. Barrett commanding the Second Division, & M.R. Finley assistant Paymaster. The other officers are expected to take their examinations in a short time, & the examinations of the men are now being held.A recruiting campaign has just been inaugurated in order to recruit the organization to its full strength of 445 men. Prizes have been offered by the staff officers of the battalion for the men who bring in the most recruits.Every officer & man now in the organization is fully equipped for service afloat & the Supply Department of the local organization has on hand enough outfits to completely equip two hundred men immediately.The local organization is fully equipped to handle any large number of recruits that might come in as a result of a mobilization order." (End Finley's XEROX). Jack Barrett's service chronology: December l9l5 Served as A.S. 2M 3c & O.M. 2c in the Naval Militia of Washington DC till August l9l6. -July 15-26, 1916 Jack served as Quartermaster First Class on battleship ILLINOIS XBB7 368 feet length - 72.5 feet breadth, 23 feet6 inches draft,11,552 tons, steel constructed 1901 Newport News, Virginia Vertical 3 EXP engines eight mosher boilers, General Electric Company. COMMISSIONED ENSIGN, NAVAL MILITIA August l9l6 commissioned Ensign in Naval Militia of Washington DC. February l9,l9l7 passed examination as Ensign in Naval Militia of Washington DC. February 24, l9l7 Ensign National Naval Volunteers- accepted & executed oath of office.March 28, l9l7 Commissioned Ensign in the National Naval Volunteers dating from February 24, l9l7.==ACTIVE SERVICE WORLD WAR I April 7,l9l7 Called into the service of the United States & to Navy Yard,Washington DC for duty aboard the USS SYLVIA(a converted yacht). --l9l7 November 8- Detached SYLVIA to duty USS MONTGOMERY as Navigator. Name changed to ANNISTON March 14, 1918 while Jack was aboard. The ship was camouflaged & did convoy duty in Carribean.Authorized 1888, this cruiser (no. 9) was built at Columbia Iron Works, Baltimore, Maryland - stricken from Navy rolls August 25, 1919, sold November 13, 1919) l9l8-January l- Jack became Lieutenant junior grade (jg) National Naval Volunteers for temporary service duty dating from January l, l9l8- May l7, l9l8 accept & executed oath of office. Granted two days leave from June l0 to June llth l9l8. June l3 detached USS ANNISTON to duty Naval Training Station Norfolk Virginia. - l9l8 July 1 Lieutenant in Naval Reserve Force, class two - transferred to Naval Reserve Force by act of Congress approved July 1, l9l8 - July l0 admitted to Naval Hospital Hampton roads Va for treatment (sinus/?) Discharge July 23. Nov, 23, l9l8 given the provisional assignment with rank & grade of Lieutenant LDO in the Naval Reserve Class two to rank from July 1,l9l8. Assignment expires Feb. 23, l920- Dec. 2, l9l8 accepted & executed oath of office. From the Commandant of the First Naval District "There is forwarded herewith a Victory Medal conferred upon you in accordance with the provisions of an Act of Congress approved May l3, l908 directing the preparation & distribution of badges to the officers & men of the Navy & Marine Corps of the United States who participated in engagements & campaigns deemed worthy of such commemoration.The badge is issued to you by the Bureau of Navigation in recognition of your services in the World War." #04 World War I era-April l0, l9l7 to October 22, l9l7 executive officer, navigator & watch officer on USS SYLVIA Fifth Naval District.Oct. 22 to Oct. 25 temporary duty Kazeruna (spelling?) October 25 to November l5, back to SYLVIA. November l5, l9l7 to June 16, l9l8 navigator USS MONTGOMERY later named ANNISTON along Atlantic seaboard between Newport Rhode Island, Charleston, South Carolina, & Bermuda. The ANNISTON was camouflaged & did convoy duty in the Carribean (not clear if Lieutenant Barrett was aboard at that time). INSTRUCTOR OFFICER MATERIAL SCHOOL, HAMPTON ROADS, VIRGINIA: From June l7, l9l8 to March 2l, l9l9 Jack Barrett was an instructor in Seamanship & Regulations at the Officer Material School, Norfolk (Hampton Roads,?) Virginia under Captain Quimby. On one occasion Jack Barrett received a commendation for volunteering special skills:"One of the naval overseas vessels that were sailing had to return to port Saturday night because of the condition of the compasses.It was rather difficult under the circumstances to get an expert to compensate the compasses without considerable delay to the ship.Lieutenant (jg) Barrett was communicated with & the circumstances explained to him.He very gladly offered to go out to the ship & compensate the compasses. I want to express my appreciation for the work that he did, as it was a saving to the government & it prevented a delay of at least one day's sailing of the vessel. Signed W.S Whitted, Commander United States Navy, Retired." Captain Quimby sent a letter to the Bureau of Navigation:"It gives me pleasure to forward the enclosed letter of commendation in regard to the compass work of Lieutenant J.B.Barrett & suggest that such matters should be placed in the record of Lietenant Barrett, & letter of commendation should be returned to Lieutenant JB Barrett from the Navy Department."On February l7, l9l9 Jack received orders to proceed to Washington DC for a three day course of instruction at the Naval Observatory.On November l4, l9l8 Lieutenant HL Crawford USN Retired, wrote to the Steamboat Inspectors at Tampa Florida:"This is to certify that JB Barrett served as Quartermaster first class in the USS ILLINOIS from July l5, l9l6 to July 26, l9l6, also as Executive & Navigating Officer on the USS SYLVIA from April 10, l9l7 to November 15, l9l7, performing all duties assigned to him in an efficient manner. he was found to be a sober, capable, & industrious office, & I take great pleasure in recommending him as such. We have the graduation programs of the classes of the Officer Material School in which Jack was an instructor l9l8, & they list the names of the graduates.After prolonged search we located one member of those classes Commander Arthur Edwin Uber, born in l897 now retired & living in Butler, Pennsylvania: On May 4, l97l he wrote,"Mrs. Barrett: Yes! I am the same A.E. Uber who was graduated from the officer Material School at the Naval Operating Base in Norfolk, Virginia on 12 March l9l9. Our school was the old Pennsylvania Building constructed for the Jamestown Exposition held in l907.Captain "Jack" Quimby as you mention was in charge of the school.Strange as it may seem, your late husband's name was the only other name I can remember among all the instructors & students in the school.You must remember this is all about a period fifty- two years ago.Tiny fragments of the time, if any at all,come back to me now. I am quite sure any of my recollections would be of little value to you.He was not tall - rather thin- But the name sticks. A group of us were standing out in front of the building, across from the sea wall on the other side of the street.Someone said, "Here comes 'Salty' Barrett. We saluted.He returned it!!!- Put on a big grin & waved back. He evidently had on his number three work uniform, since the braid was well tarnished with a greenish line.Among us in those days an officer who showed evidence of practical experience & sea duty was much admired & respected.See what I mean? Just a little bit of the past= 52 years ago- of no particular value.I still have my "Knight's Seamanship", which is falling apart & also my little "Bluejacket's Manual.I remember going up to Yorktown one weekend on the PAMLICO ((training ship for students in Officer Material School). Quarters were crowded or non-existent.Many swung their hammocks outside on deck. It was cold - but turned warm during the night & rained.That precipitated a rush to get under cover- you can imagine..-A.E. Uber." TROOPSHIP USS SEATTLE commanded by Captain J.R. Y. Blakely under Admiral Gleaves_March l9, l9l9 Jack Barrett was detached from Fifth Naval District where he had served as Instructor of Seamanship & Regulations at Officer Material School Norfolk. He reported next to the Commander, Cruiser & Transport Force, New York for assignment to USS SEATTLE. - l9l9 March 31: To duty as Navigator on board the USS Seattle. Made three (four?) round trips Brest (Brittany, France) to Hoboken New Jersey with returning troops. Smedley Butler US Marine Corps was in charge of a large base at Brest with Marines & other troops awaiting transportation. Jack was interested in Butler's career & may have seen him at this time & at Shanghai l927. It is possible Jack's acquaintance with Pacific Fleet Chaplain William Maguire (Captain USN in l940's) may date from this time also. Some notes in Jack's handwriting stolen l993 gave chronology of an incident April l9l9 at Brest, where local civilians stole eggs from the battleship about three o'clock in the morning, leading to an investigation.There were severe food shortages in France & other parts of Europe at this period in aftermath of the Great War. Two well known World War I Naval leaders were aboard the SEATTLE who had been in the thick of the convoy effort - the SEATTLE was the flagship of Admiral Gleaves, who organized and led the first American convoy in 1917, which went to St. Nazaire to surprise the Germans, who expected the convoys to go to the large convenient port of Brest at the time of the Brittany peninsula - and Captain John Russell Y. Blakely was the SEATTLE's Captain. Gleaves wrote a book about the convoy operations and unprecedented movement of personnel thousands of miles at sea. The number of ships involved reached a maximum in 1919, as there was haste to "bring the boys home." The SEATTLE was 504 feet 5 inches length - breadth 72 feet ten inches 25 feet draft displacement 14,500 tons- tons per inch immersion 59.7 - fuel 2062 tons coal -masts one cage one military - mess 19 wardroom officers, 14 junior officers, 38 chief petty officers - marines 64- other enlisted 820. Engines Bert 3EXP. 16B+ W boilers. Horsepower 27463 General Electric turbines. Guns: four ten-inch 40 caliber sixteen six-inch 50 caliber Anti-aircraft two three-inch. Four twenty-one-inch torpedoes. Five inch hull armor New York SB Company built $4,035,000. Authorized July 1, 1902. Launched 1905. Commissioned August 7, 1906. Out of commission Feb. 14, 1921. Speed 22.27 knots. -l9l9: June l9 Detached USS SEATTLE & relieved of all active duty. This was the period of the popular song, "How're ya going to keep 'em down on the Farm after they've seen Paris? How're ya going to keep them away from Broadway, painting the town? - That's a mystery." Around this time early 1919, Jack's friend William W. Paca as an Army Military Police Officer was arresting deserters who were hiding in Paris sewers and did not want to return home to the United States. There was no arrangement for American troops to be discharged in France, and they had to come home. Grace Bacon, who became Sophie Barrett's Professor for three years of German language study at Mount Holyoke, was in France with the Red Cross some months in 1919. Troop morale during World War I was helped by entertainers like Ernestine Schumann-Heinck, famous for her rendition of the carol "Silent Night". Even she, after the end of the war was concerned for her son to be released from service so he could help with her concert tours. DEMOBILIZATION Jack left active Naval Reserve duty early in August, 1919, and investigated employment opportunities. Jack briefly signed up on a ship WEST CORUM but reansferred to be first officer of the commercial ship WESTERNER (previously a troopship) from November l5, l9l9 to September l0, l920.The Commander, Mal Richardson from Virginia, was one of Jack's closer & more congenial friends & correspondents for nearly fifty years, & he & his sister-in-law Mrs. Kane kept in touch with the Barrett family until l972, when he passed away. Jack made his first trip through the Panama Canal, opened l9l4. The visited Hawaii, & Japan, where Jack took photographs of the Inland Sea & sent them to the Navy department, which was interested in precise information on foreign ports & waterways.He wrote his father a long letter from Shanghai - his first visit to China. They took on timber & cordage materials as cargo in Manila. Until l993 we had a notebook with Jack's detailed navigational calculations of stars, latitudes & longitudes passing through the eight-degree-north channel in islands south of India. Before the advent of radio, it was important to be able to recognize many navigational stars, as only a few might be visible in cloudy weather.With somewhat less cargo than hoped they proceded through Suez & arrived Liverpool May l920. Jack could see the Irish shore, from which his grandparents had emigrated, but there was political tension in the time of the "troubles" as Ireland sought independence from Britain, & this was the closest Jack ever came to the homeland of his ancestors.The ship was bothered by thefts on the dock,& Jack as first mate complained to the police. One policeman said to him, "You'll stand by me, mate?"Jack believed he was asking for a bribe but offered him nothing.One of the officers Jack remembered pleasantly was a Norwegian named Torkelson.In London Jack saw Pavlova danced her favorite ballet role as the Swan in Camille Saint-Saens's "Le Cygne". It was probably on this trip (or in Washington) that Jack saw Sarah Bernhardt play Shakespeare's "Shylock" in her older years after having a leg amputated.He mentioned this a number of times in conversation. Having already been in England several times, Jack began to know his way around fairly well and found he was accepted practically as a native and seldom spotted as an American unless he volunteered the information. He was fond of saying that the speech habits of New Englanders and Virginians were closer to those of England than the speech habits of other Americans. He found his acceptance as a native curious and sometimes embarassing. His impish nature got the better of him one time when he was asked in London, probably in the subway by a traveler, "Is Picadilly Circus this way?" Tired of making explanations that he was a foreigner, Jack just pointed somewhere and said, "That way." He later realized that he had probably been ninety degrees in error, but he turned it into a very funny story, though we were somewhat scandalized. FOLLOW-UP on HERMAN INGALLS and 1912 LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE MAINE: Sophie located Mrs. Herman Ingalls 1970 at Starboard,Bucks Harbor, Maine and learned her Mount Holyoke classmate Marion Lewis Smart and her husband Vin went there summers (they settled there year-round later, when Vin retired from New York law practice). This letter of Marion's describes her enjoyable visit with spry Mrs. Ingalls:---NBK 8 p 204-207 September 23, 1975 Starboard Bucks Harbor Maine 04618 [from Marion Lewis Smart Dear Sophie What a pleasant experience I had last week when I called on Mrs. Captain Ingalls in Howard Cove. She is a delightful lady of eighty-eight. She had just returned from a birthday party for someone who was ninety years and said, "I am completely stuffed with good Down East cooking." He home is charming-one that had been Captain Ingalls's grandfather's- and she and the Captain reclaimed it mostly themselves on his retirement. She lives all soul alone, much to the displeasure of her only living daughter and her grandchildren. She has six great-grandchildren. When they left Cortland, they sold all their furniture ad purchased what she called "island furniture" beautiful pieces from the old homes on Maine's many islands- they are priceless now of course- and after his retirement they traveled, and she collected exquisite pieces of glassware and small furnishings. She was and is I guess an artist, for on the tiny dining room plaster walls she has a mural of the last schooner to sail from Machias down the river, as well as a family tree of sorts depicting the history of the land that had passed down from one Howard who held squatters' rights until Maine was separated from Masachusetts. We talked and talked about this and that, and she eagerly showed me her treasures - someone is writing about lighthouses and has taped her recollections. Very little authentic information can be found either in the archives of Washington or from the rapidly diminishing group associated with the early tending of the houses before the Coast Guard took over. Thank you for giving me a reason to call upon such a charming, agile, and up-to-date lady. She greeted me in gorgeous turquoise blue pants, gay flowered blouse, matching sweater, and perfectly coiffured hair- sparkling blue eyes, and lots of spirit. She had just finished painting a corner cupboard which has had to be repaired as the corner post had been eaten away by ants- she had still the outer wall to paint on the sun porch! Well, we're still here, leaving the end of this week when Vin will begin the racket of commuting to New York on the first. Your letter of the twelfth was forwarded to us here, taking about a week to arrive here. I have followed with interest despair and shock at the goings-on in Hyde Park but was grateful to read that when the spirit of unrest appeared in a lunch room of four hundred, student leaders calmed the crowd, and no disturbance really erupted. The black problem is so desperately complicated, and poor Boston seems to have ben torn to pieces. I went to school with blacks, white, and European races, and we all got along splendidly - however, each followed his racial mores at home and socially - we all respected the other's background - New York of course is changed in color, for thre are thousands of Puerto Ricans beside the blacks. We noticed no integration among the gulls that sail and glide about - they keep to their own group and species! The Giles situation is indeed complex and heart breaking - one does have to respect the privacy of an individual and his family as one longs to aid or help in some way. We have no connection with the Food and Drug Administration and have thought them careless in the release of some drugs and additives while frustratingly slow in accepting or releasing others. One example is the drug which has proved so successful in the treatment of arthritis- people move to California so as to be near the Mexican border and can there cross over for the treatment which has been so miraculous in results. = I am sure that Gerard [Buckley] and Jerry Murray will eventually meet [Perth Austrlia]. Our little family is head over heels involved in their University work, and recently they have acquired a small piece of land with many fruit trees on it - part of a former farm- outside of Perth -no house, just land and trees with so many possibilities ahead that they are immersed in all the quirks and trials of immediate plans and those in the future. Jerry is now in another institution, so I imagine that their University meetings are not as frequent as before, and weekends seem to be spent on the "farm" as they prune, plan and picnic. The babies love the freedom there, and the former owners, living now nearby, are more than hospitable. [Hurricane] Eloise is blowing in Alabama while we are smothered in fog and drizzle. The rain drops on the roof have a very soporific effect on me, so please forgive my wanderings on paper. Trees as an interest - that reminds me of the collections of slides and old glass photograph plates I gave to the Brattle Street Book Shop when I finally reached the boxes in the barn where my grandfather had them stored. He had photographed trees all over New England. Those photographs were famous in size, in history or peculiarity - the old photographs went, too. Grandpa used to show them with his old huge stereopticon. We have a nice large oak tree here on our New Jersey property, and the house is panelled in chestnut downstairs, dining room, hall, beams and low panels with fireplace in the living room. We love it, for it is its natural color, only aged. Most of the original houses in Mountain Lakes had chestnut woodwork as the blight had hit, and the lumber was avilable for the saw mill established for the development of the community from the wilderness in 1911. I must don wet weather clothes, yellow pants, and jacket as we must unload our boat before leaving here. We pulled the "Wrinkla" out yesterday, and she is now high and dry in a field! So glad to hear from you with all your news, which is vital to all your friends. Write again. as always -Marion [Lewis Smart 1923] During 1970-1972 Sophie Barrett corresponded with Dorothy Kane, sister-in-law of 'Captain' Mal Richardson, whom Jack served with 1917-18 on the MONTGOMERY and again 1920 on the commercial ship WESTERNER. If the 1972 obituary is accurate, it appears the WESTERNER may have been a Navy troop ship during World War I, but it was in commercial service when Jack went around the world as a ship's officer with Richardson December 1919-May 1920. This is the text Sophie preserved [black notebook one p- 249] THE VIRGINIA PILOT Feb 8, 1972 Captain Mal S. RICHARDSON 81 Retired Commander Mal S. Richardson of 1130 Manchester Avenue formerly with Merchant Marine Inspection Division died Monday evening in a hospital.Captain Richardson retired in 1952 after more than four decades as a deep water chief mate and relief master. A native of Matthias county, he lived here thirty years. He was a member of [?Batelot?] Masonic Lodge 7, Gloucester, Known by associates as 'Captain' Richardson, he began his sailing career with the Old Bay Line in 1909 as a Quartermaster. In 1910 he joined the Merchant and Miners Transportation Company as a second mate, later became chief mate running between Baltimore and Norfolk and betwen New York City and Jacksonville, Florida.In 1913 on trips between New York City, Boston, and South America he was chief mate and chief relief master. He entered the Navy on April 18, 1917 and was appointed a Lieutenant Commander and Commander of the troop transport WESTERNER and made trips around the world. He also was manager of the James River Reserve Fleet in 1923. He left this job to join the Bureau of Merchant Marine Inspection in Norfolk in 1936 with rank of Lieutenant Commander. He remained in Norfolk after his retirement.He is survived by nieces, nephews, cousins [+ sister-in-law Dorothy Kane].
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