"The War to End All Wars": Cowhey draft registration

After doing the research on William and Thomas Cowey's contribution to the Union forces during the Civil War, I wondered if any descendants of William in later generations had served time in the military.

The answer that I found: apparently not.

I did, however, find some interesting documents during my search. It turns out that all men of appropriate age were required to register for the draft during World War I. Whether or not they ended up serving or not, they filled out some paperwork for the government. The forms filled out by the men who ended up not serving may not have had too much value for the military in the long-term. However, thankfully, these documents were filed away for safe-keeping. Now researchers like me have another bit of family history in their hands.

In this case, I found the World War I draft registration cards for Charles William Cowhey and his brother Ambrose Paul Cowhey. Here is my great-grandfather Charles' card:

It is difficult to read, but I was able to decipher the following information about Charles (much of which I already knew):

• He resided at 68 Main Street, Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania
• He was born on August 21, 1887 in East Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania and was 30 years old at the time this document was filled out in 1917
• His occupation at the time was Foreman for the Atlantic Refining Company, Pottsville, Pennsylvania
• He was married and had one child (we know that this was his wife Agnes and their daughter Annie, age 3 at the time of this document)

And perhaps the most interesting information on the card, Charles' physical description:

• Short
• Medium-build
• Gray eyes
• Dark brown hair

Charles' brother Ambrose' World War I draft registration card was also interesting to find. Here it is below:

Ambrose' card states:

• He resided at 68 Main Street, Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania (He shared a home with Charles, Agnes & little Annie, and his sister Blanche - hopefully a happy arrangement)
• Ambrose was 34 years old at the time this document was filled out in 1918 - his birthdate was September 22, 1884
• His occupation was Flagman for the Pennsylvania & Reading Railroad Company, Pottsville, Pennsylvania
• Nearest relative: Blanche Cowhey (his sister), also residing at 68 Main Street

Ambrose' physical appearance is described as follows:

• Short
• Medium-build
• Blue eyes
• Light brown hair

Probably my favorite part of these documents is seeing each man's signature at the bottom. It makes me wonder when I see their names scrawled at the bottom of the forms if they knew that they would not be drafted into military service, or if they were concerned about the possibility of going overseas to fight for their country.

Either way, I'm sure that they probably kept a close eye on The Pottsville Republican and the news of world events that were transpiring so far from their close-knit community in Mount Carbon and Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

Knock, knock...

Two-hundred and seventeen years ago yesterday, on August 1, 1790, census-takers went door to door knocking on homes in the young United States of America and the first official U.S. Census of the United States was completed. If you're old enough, you may remember participating in one or more yourself. (The last U.S. Census was completed in the year 2000.)

The U.S. Census is a goldmine for family history researchers and it was one of the first places I started when I began looking for information about our family. At this time, the most recent census information available to researchers is the 1930 census, and I started there and went back each decade as I learned more about different branches of our family.

Each census year provides a little bit different information, including home addresses, family members' occupations, ages, birthplaces, and more.

Below is an image from the 1920 Census showing Charles & Agnes Cowhey and their young daughter Annie and Charles' sister and brother Blanche & Ambrose residing at 68 Main Street, Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania.


If you are interested in taking a look at original census records yourself, you can access them free via Ancestry.com at most local libraries. If you have a library card, you can access the census records from your home computer via most local library websites' connection to Heritage Quest online. (Unfortunately, Ancestry.com does not allow remote access for library users, and their subscription prices are pretty steep.) Some census records are also available online at the LDS Family Search website. Each site has a different search engine so sometimes you can find your family census records on one site when you can't find them on others.

Family Tree Magazine's website has some easy to use downloadable forms for the U.S. Census and other family history purposes. Print out a stack of these for each census year that you are taking a look at and it will make it easier to understand what you are reading. I hope you'll enjoy trying your hand at a little family history research yourself. Please let me know if you make any exciting discoveries!

Like father, like sons

Charles Cowhey had just turned five years old when his father passed away in the train explosion of Engine No. 563 on November 14, 1892. He and his older brothers Ambrose & Thomas, ages 9 & 10 respectively, probably had mixed feelings about trains for awhile, since their father had been killed in such a horrible accident. However, both Charles and Ambrose, and possibly also Thomas, went on to spend much of their working lives in and around the railroad.

The railroad was their world. It's true that coal was king, but coal needed transportation. The railroad provided that. The Schuylkill county canals, which had transported coal by water, had seen their peak in the 1850's and slowly lost significance as the railroad took over. Trains were in their heyday and they were the world of the Cowhey men and their families in the late 19th century and early 20th century. See Images of America: Pottsville by Mark T. Major & L. Ward for great pictures of the time period from the collection of the Historical Society of Schuylkill County.

From various records that I have found, here's an idea of what Charles Cowhey's resume might have looked like:

Charles W. Cowhey

• 1913 Foreman, Atlantic Refining Company
• 1920 Machinist helper
• 1930 Laborer on railroad
• 1939 W.P.A.
• 1946 Train runner
• 1957 Crane operator

His daughter Anne (Cowhey) McCue's address book lists his work address as: 129 E. 7th Street, Chester, Pennsylvania.

Here is a Chester to Philadelphia train ticket dated 1942:


Here is a photo of the old Chester train station:

Ambrose also spent alot of time around the trains, certainly as a brakeman (recorded on the 1920 U.S. Census) and also possibly as a "caboose man" (as remembered by his grand-niece, Nancy).

William Cowhey's childhood was spent during what could also be called the childhood of the steam engine. He lived his life in and around the railroad and those engines puffing steam into the air as they carried coal and passengers around Pennsylvania.

His sons also knew the steam engine well. Ironically, in 1957, the year that Charles Cowhey died, was the very year that the Pennsylvania Railroad ended its use of steam locomotives. The steam engine's era was over, and many of the most historic locomotives retired to a life of preservation at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. By 1959 the national rail network had dropped to 220,000 miles. By 1971 the Reading Railroad Company had declared bankruptcy.

The era of the railroad was over. And life would never be the same for the Cowhey family and their descendants.

Three's a crowd

This tombstone at the grave of our beloved family members doesn't tell the story, so I'll share the family legend as I've heard it. Charles & Agnes Cowhey, husband and wife (and my great-grandparents) are buried side-by-side in Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania's Calvary Cemetery. It is a beautiful little cemetery at the top of the hill in Mount Carbon - a place that invites introspection, prayer and maybe even a little racing down the hill (depending on your mood at the end of your visit).

Charles died of heart trouble at the age of 69. Agnes died at the age of 89. Nothing unusual about the story so far. What is interesting is the man buried alongside them: Ambrose P. Cowhey, Charles' brother. A railroad caboose man known for eating cereal with coffee poured over it instead of milk, he never married. He is remembered fondly by a grandniece of his, who enjoyed nature walks with him as a little girl. Not so fond of him was poor Agnes, who, because of his bachelor status and brotherhood to Charles, had to accept him as part of her household for many years.

And now, laid to her eternal rest, who must she and her husband share a gravesite with? That Ambrose again. When she married Charles, did she know she was getting Brose along with him?

Source: Calvary Cemetery (Mount Carbon, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania), Charles W., Agnes C. & Ambrose P. Cowhey marker; photographed 2004, privately held by Lisa [address for private use].