I am Very Fortunate to have inherited a large collection of photos, documents, postcards and letters belonging to my great uncle, Ernest Ramer. He was my grandmother Minnie Ramer Springer's older brother. He married and had only one daughter who never married. So, the Executor of her Estate was very kind and gave the collection to me. Going through these letters, to and from Ernest and other family members, opened up a whole new understanding and interest in World War I. So, Uncle Ernest is the Soldier I will write about this week. It is also very fitting that just about 10 days ago, we celebrated the 101st Anniversary of the Armistice ending World War I on November 11, 1918.
James "Ernest" Ramer, born October 3, 1894 in Boz, Ellis County, Texas was the eldest child of John "Henry" and Nancy Jane "Jennie" Ferguson Ramer.
Much of the story of Ernest's early years is described in the
Autobiography/Biography written by his mother, my great grandmother, Jennie Ferguson Ramer, and completed by her brother, Ancil Ferguson. There are stories of hunting trips, school adventures, moving to different parts of Texas, illnesses and deaths in the family, and the growth of the Ferguson family and the Ramer family. One of the stories is about the birth of Ernest. Remember that this portion of the Biography was written by Ancil Ferguson, Jennie's younger brother.
In the spring of 1912, Ernest played baseball in Mountain Peak. Here is his team, with his uncle Horry Ferguson, who was just a year older than Ernest, next to him in the photo (holding the bat).
When the United States declared war against Germany on April 6, 1917, Ernest was working on his father's farm and was depended on by his father. From the website, https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/conscription, we learn that
Hallie Hamm, a close Ramer cousin from Tennessee, was already in the Army and was stationed at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. He had enlisted June 25, 1917, so had been in the service about three weeks. On July 12, 1917, Hallie wrote to Ernest encouraging him to go ahead and enlist if he thought he might be drafted. Hallie said he had heard some of the officers talking about how they were going to treat the "Draftees" and it didn't sound good!
So, on October 8, 1917, Ernest enlisted in the US Army in Waxahachie, the county seat of Ellis County, Texas. And on October 9th, he arrived at the Army Camp Travis, San Antonio, Texas. Ernest sent a postcard home to tell his family that he had arrived.
During the next six months, Ernest drills, has different duties and meets many people. He wrote home several times a week and was very glad when he received letters from home, too. Here is one he wrote on December 1, 1917. They believed they may be moving soon, but really did not know. He had been on guard duty and they had camp pictures taken. He talks about a Camp Travis vs Kelly Field football that they won, cake his mom had sent, a camp-wide quarantine for mumps that was ongoing, no furloughs for Christmas and a huge list of foods they recently had!
Here is the camp picture he sent home to his parents - full view and a close up I did for clarity.
The letter Ernest wrote on March 31, 1918 states that his unit will be leaving "tomorrow night" for Fort Doniphan, near Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
On April 1, 1918, Ernest and his comrades began their journey away from San Antonio. In just a few days, they reached their next temporary home, Camp Doniphan, near Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
By April 7th, Ernest is getting settled in at Camp Doniphan, waiting for his assignment. He mentions hiking and seeing a prairie dog that jumped down his hole as soon as he saw Ernest!
On May 8th, Ernest writes home that they will be leaving Camp Doniphan "tomorrow for parts unknown". Stops along the way included St. Louis, Missouri; Akron, Ohio; Pennsylvania; Jersey City, New Jersey and finally, Camp Mills, New York. Here are some cards from these stops.
Ernest mentions that sometimes when the pass through a town, if they stop they parade for the citizens. But, if they don't stop, they throw their cards and letters for home out the windows in hopes that someone will mail them. Can you imagine doing that today?
They finally arrived at Camp Mills, New York where they stayed in tents - not like the previous camps where they stayed in barracks, houses or the YMCA. He mentions seeing the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.
Ernest and many other men sailed out on the NH 43543 SS JUSTICIA, a British Passenger Ship. Here is a passenger list with his name. He is listed as number 74, the fifth name on the list.
This website,
https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-43000/NH-43543.html has a great description of the ship and this photo:
The next letter written on May 28, 1918 from "Somewhere on the Atlantic". It is poignant as he tries to describe the scene on the ship, sleeping arrangements and the "Y".
The June 15 letter is from Angers, France and he gives his parents a new address to use when sending him mail: James E Ramer, Private, Co. F, 110 Ammunition Train, A.P.O. 733, A. E. F., France.
On July 8th, Ernest wrote a letter and describes his celebration of the 4th of July and mentions the French Independence Day on July 14. He mentions being paid in French money and having a date with a French girl, commenting about trying to communicate when she spoke no English and he spoke very little French. He also mentions hearing "big guns" and seeing some German POW's. Part of the letter is censored - I guess he was giving too much information. (You can see the hole in the paper where some words were torn out.) Apparently he is close, but to too close to the front line.
For the location, many of the letters say, "Somewhere in France", since he was not allowed to give his exact location. From his Honorable Discharge papers, the actual battles in which he fought are listed. So, I am able to piece together some of the letters to actual battlegrounds. Here is one sent while he was in the Battle of St. Mihiel. It was written September 15 (the Battle lasted from September 12-16). He mentions moving around a lot, not at the "Front", yet, but living a real soldier life, now; an air battle, machine gun fire, being in "real lively sector now and you would know it, if I could tell you where we are."
Ernest was also involved in the Battle of Meuse-Argonne, France, which started October 15th. This letter was written on that first day. He states,
A very cute postcard Ernest wrote on October 18 (I think) was to his little brother, Grady, who was 6 years old. It is addressed to Master Grady Ramer. It's very tiny writing, so here is what he said:
I wonder what Grady had been up to! And this card was from the battlefield. WOW!
The last letter in this collection written during the War was dated November 14, 1918. Part of it reads:
Ernest finally came back to the USA aboard the USS Great Northern. It left Brest, France on April 12, 1919 and arrived at Hoboken, New Jersey on April 20. Here is the passenger list with his name, 9th on this list, number 149:
This website
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/g/great-northern.html gives more information about this ship.
In the collection is a fold-out postcard set of photos of the USS Great Northern. Also among the collection are a number of postcards purchase in France, some showing damage from the bombings. Here are a couple:
James Ernest Ramer returned to Texas and was honorably discharged from the US Army on May 1, 1919 back at Camp Travis, where it all started. Here are the discharge papers.
He married Lottie Ann Thompson on May 21, 1922 in Johnson County, Texas.
James "Ernest" Ramer, born October 3, 1894 in Boz, Ellis County, Texas was the eldest child of John "Henry" and Nancy Jane "Jennie" Ferguson Ramer.
Much of the story of Ernest's early years is described in the
Autobiography/Biography written by his mother, my great grandmother, Jennie Ferguson Ramer, and completed by her brother, Ancil Ferguson. There are stories of hunting trips, school adventures, moving to different parts of Texas, illnesses and deaths in the family, and the growth of the Ferguson family and the Ramer family. One of the stories is about the birth of Ernest. Remember that this portion of the Biography was written by Ancil Ferguson, Jennie's younger brother.
The family lived the next three months on the Eli Thrash farm, about three miles southwest of Mountain Peak. They picked cotton for Mr. Thrash. In the meantime Papa and Henry each rented a farm from Mr. Turner near the Bethel Methodist Church. These farms were between Bethel Church and Boz. Jennie and Henry had a house and never lived with our family any more.
On this farm Jennie and Henry became parents. Their first child, James Ernest, was born October 3, 1894. This first grandchild of our parents was something rather special with the whole family and has remained so to this day. He was so near the same age of Ed, Horry, and me that he seemed more like a brother than a nephew.Another story I will share includes Ernest, Ancil and Horry.
In December 1898 both families moved to the "Huff Farm", three miles west of Mountain Peak and three miles east of Venus. We lived across the public road from the "Huff School House". The RAMERS lived about 200 yards east of us. Both houses face south.
We moved about a week before the RAMERS. Ed, Horry, and I started to school, also our cousin, Elmer FERGUSON, who lived with us. The day after the RAMERS moved Ernest visited the school. He sat between Ed and Horry, who shared a double desk. When the teacher, a young man, came back to meet the young visitor Horry introduced him to the teacher.
Horry said: "This is Henry's boy." After Christmas Ernest, started to school at the age of four. Horry was five, Ed was 7, I [Ancil] was 9, Elmer was 11, Lizzie was 17. She was a student in the Mountain Peak School and boarded with our uncle and aunt, Dr. and Mrs. Shytles.In his early years, Ernest was joined by five younger siblings, Minnie, Lula, Bernice, Johnnie Prue and Grady. Here they are with Ernest leading the horse-drawn carriage (before Grady was born).
When the United States declared war against Germany on April 6, 1917, Ernest was working on his father's farm and was depended on by his father. From the website, https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/conscription, we learn that
President Woodrow Wilson signed the Selective Services Act on May 18, 1917, in preparation for U.S. involvement in World War I. The United States had a standing army of just over 100,000 at the time.
The initial act required all men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register with the newly created Selective Service System. By the end of World War I in November 1918, roughly 24 million men had registered and 2.8 million were drafted into the armed forces. The draft was dissolved after World War I.So, Ernest was compelled to register and did so on June 5, 1917. He was 22 years old.
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| Source Citation: Registration State: Texas; Registration County: Ellis; Roll: 1953276; Draft Board: 1. Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. |
So, on October 8, 1917, Ernest enlisted in the US Army in Waxahachie, the county seat of Ellis County, Texas. And on October 9th, he arrived at the Army Camp Travis, San Antonio, Texas. Ernest sent a postcard home to tell his family that he had arrived.
You can learn more about Camp Travis here,
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qbc28, if you like. It is a very interesting article with a timeline and details that corroborate Ernests' letters and cards.During the next six months, Ernest drills, has different duties and meets many people. He wrote home several times a week and was very glad when he received letters from home, too. Here is one he wrote on December 1, 1917. They believed they may be moving soon, but really did not know. He had been on guard duty and they had camp pictures taken. He talks about a Camp Travis vs Kelly Field football that they won, cake his mom had sent, a camp-wide quarantine for mumps that was ongoing, no furloughs for Christmas and a huge list of foods they recently had!
On December 22nd, Ernest's mother, Jennie, sent him a long letter. She expresses her disappointment at his not being able to attend a cousin's funeral. (The cousin was Private James Dewey Ferguson, Ernest's first cousin. He was stationed at Camp Bowie, near Fort Worth and died December 20, 1917 of influenza. The funeral was held on the 21st.) She also mentions a watch she is sending him as a Christmas gift and some other things from his sisters to be sent later. Her grief is very evident.
In a Christmas Eve letter Ernest wrote that his cousin Horry has been stationed at the Quarter Master, also in San Antonio, and they will be able to be together Christmas. Horry also wrote a letter to his sister, Jennie the same night!
Letters in early 1918 include mentions of more quarantining due to measles, influenza and other maladies. It seems that Ernest was able to go home for a short visit in February. Many more letters were exchanged and I am glad to share them with any family members who would like to see them. Just let me know.
The letter Ernest wrote on March 31, 1918 states that his unit will be leaving "tomorrow night" for Fort Doniphan, near Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
On April 1, 1918, Ernest and his comrades began their journey away from San Antonio. In just a few days, they reached their next temporary home, Camp Doniphan, near Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
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| "Passing through Maypearl and Venus, Texas" |
On May 8th, Ernest writes home that they will be leaving Camp Doniphan "tomorrow for parts unknown". Stops along the way included St. Louis, Missouri; Akron, Ohio; Pennsylvania; Jersey City, New Jersey and finally, Camp Mills, New York. Here are some cards from these stops.
They finally arrived at Camp Mills, New York where they stayed in tents - not like the previous camps where they stayed in barracks, houses or the YMCA. He mentions seeing the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.
Ernest and many other men sailed out on the NH 43543 SS JUSTICIA, a British Passenger Ship. Here is a passenger list with his name. He is listed as number 74, the fifth name on the list.
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| Source Citation: The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 456. Description: Date Range: 7 Apr 1918-26 Aug 1918. Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Lists of Incoming Passengers, 1917-1938. Textual records. 360 Boxes. NAI: 6234465. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985, Record Group 92. The National Archives at College Park, Maryland. Lists of Outgoing Passengers, 1917-1938. Textual records. 255 Boxes. NAI: 6234477. |
https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-43000/NH-43543.html has a great description of the ship and this photo:
The next letter written on May 28, 1918 from "Somewhere on the Atlantic". It is poignant as he tries to describe the scene on the ship, sleeping arrangements and the "Y".
The June 15 letter is from Angers, France and he gives his parents a new address to use when sending him mail: James E Ramer, Private, Co. F, 110 Ammunition Train, A.P.O. 733, A. E. F., France.
On July 8th, Ernest wrote a letter and describes his celebration of the 4th of July and mentions the French Independence Day on July 14. He mentions being paid in French money and having a date with a French girl, commenting about trying to communicate when she spoke no English and he spoke very little French. He also mentions hearing "big guns" and seeing some German POW's. Part of the letter is censored - I guess he was giving too much information. (You can see the hole in the paper where some words were torn out.) Apparently he is close, but to too close to the front line.
For the location, many of the letters say, "Somewhere in France", since he was not allowed to give his exact location. From his Honorable Discharge papers, the actual battles in which he fought are listed. So, I am able to piece together some of the letters to actual battlegrounds. Here is one sent while he was in the Battle of St. Mihiel. It was written September 15 (the Battle lasted from September 12-16). He mentions moving around a lot, not at the "Front", yet, but living a real soldier life, now; an air battle, machine gun fire, being in "real lively sector now and you would know it, if I could tell you where we are."
Ernest was also involved in the Battle of Meuse-Argonne, France, which started October 15th. This letter was written on that first day. He states,
"I am so sore I can hardly get about for we hiked yesterday with fuel packs and I came near not making it but I wasn't by myself by any means. We are in barracks now made of limbs of trees and plastered with mud but they do alright, much better than a tent. I guess you are getting some good news over there now. I haven't seen a paper since Sunday, but it surely did look good and I hope it turns out that way..."He also mentions they will be "having steak, gravy and pudding and maybe something else" for dinner.
A very cute postcard Ernest wrote on October 18 (I think) was to his little brother, Grady, who was 6 years old. It is addressed to Master Grady Ramer. It's very tiny writing, so here is what he said:
Somewhere in France. Dear Grady: I will write you a card tonight. I wonder what you are doing but I guess you are still at the same old business. I guess you will be nearly large enough to start to school this year and if you do, study hard and catch up with Johny Prue [his sister who was 4 years older]. Mamma writes me that you are getting to be real mean but surely you're not for don't you remember what we used to tell you about bad boys. Have you picked enough cotton to buy a saving stamp yet? Work hard and take my place till I get back home."
I wonder what Grady had been up to! And this card was from the battlefield. WOW!
The last letter in this collection written during the War was dated November 14, 1918. Part of it reads:
I guess you have been reading the terms of the Armistice and that all hostilities have ceased over here. It surely does seem funny not to hear big guns roaring. They were putting on one of the heaviest barrages you ever heard Monday morning and at 11 o'clock it ceased. We didn't know till 11:30 that the Armistice was signed and we thought is a little strange for such a sudden artillery stop. The French sure have been celebrating and they have a right to be happy. The Americans have been doing some celebrating also. We are still in the woods and I hope we stay here until we get ready to come home and I hope it won't be too long before our ship sails but of course, I don't know how long that will be.
Ernest finally came back to the USA aboard the USS Great Northern. It left Brest, France on April 12, 1919 and arrived at Hoboken, New Jersey on April 20. Here is the passenger list with his name, 9th on this list, number 149:
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| Source Citation: The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 111. Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Lists of Incoming Passengers, 1917-1938. |
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Web Address: search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=WWIShipImages&h=166&t
i=0&indiv=try&gss=pt. Title: U.S., WWI Troop Transport Ships, 1918-1919. Online publication - Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.Original data - U.S., WWI Troop Transport Ships, 1918-1919. Various sources. Original data: U.S., WWI Troop Transport Ships, 1918-1919. Various sources. |
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/g/great-northern.html gives more information about this ship.
In the collection is a fold-out postcard set of photos of the USS Great Northern. Also among the collection are a number of postcards purchase in France, some showing damage from the bombings. Here are a couple:
James Ernest Ramer returned to Texas and was honorably discharged from the US Army on May 1, 1919 back at Camp Travis, where it all started. Here are the discharge papers.
He married Lottie Ann Thompson on May 21, 1922 in Johnson County, Texas.
Ernest and Lottie had one daughter, Jimmie Ann Ramer born on December 3, 1931 and you can read more about her here:
https://regnirpsstories.blogspot.com/2018/09/back-to-school-remembering-miss-jimmie.html. Ernest died on February 12, 1967, Lottie died July 10, 1983 and Jimmie Ann died January 2, 1988.
I am grateful for Uncle Ernest, and all of the other persons who have fought to preserve our freedom. I am also grateful to this family for sharing this legacy with me, so I can share it with others.
'Til Next Time!
#52Ancestors
https://regnirpsstories.blogspot.com/2018/09/back-to-school-remembering-miss-jimmie.html. Ernest died on February 12, 1967, Lottie died July 10, 1983 and Jimmie Ann died January 2, 1988.
I am grateful for Uncle Ernest, and all of the other persons who have fought to preserve our freedom. I am also grateful to this family for sharing this legacy with me, so I can share it with others.
'Til Next Time!
#52Ancestors
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