Delaware County NY Genealogy and History Site

Here is another WWI Veteran from the Stamford Village Library history room photo collection. He moved around quite a bit and was only really in Stamford about ten years but he was here long enough to marry a Stamford girl. Notice in the photo he is wearing two pinky rings and a bracelet, that is rather unusual for the times. I also must add that whoever ID'd the photo added a ? mark so I hope this is the right guy.

William (last name sometimes listed as Devine) was born February 24, 1888 in Hurleyville, Sullivan County NY to Ellis Lewis and Nora Zilpha (Young) Divine. He had one younger brother Thomas H., that I know of. On September 7, 1910 he married Helen Gould Church daughter of John Dewitt and Mina (Champion) Church and granddaughter of Simon B. Champion (proprietor of the Stamford Mirror) in Stamford. They had seven children; Vincent, Blanche/Mrs. Spencer Walton, Leah/Mrs. Luther Davis, twin sons Theodore F. and William S. Jr, Eugene and Elsie/Mrs. Kendrick Buckwalter.

Shortly after his twin sons were born William leased the Townsend print shop in Oneonta and enlisted in the Army at Gettysburg, PA on July 16, 1917. He was engaged in a battle at Chateau-Thierry

and wounded July 25, 1918. His total time overseas was April 7, 1918 to January 19, 1919 and he was discharged January 30, 1919.

He was also required to register for WWII in1942. At that time he was 54 years old and living in Wilkes-Barre, PA, unemployed and described as 6' ½ ”, 180lbs, hazel eyes, brown/gray hair and scar on L. groin. Previous to this registration he was in the 1940 census Bath (NY) Veterans Administration Facility as a patient.

Through the years William's occupation was printer and or Linotype operator at assorted newspapers (Linotype operators enter text on a 90-character keyboard). He worked at the Stamford Mirror-Recorder, Roscoe (NY) Review, Ellenville (NY) Press, Otsego Farmer Cooperstown, Wilkes-Barre Sunday Independent and newspapers in or near Butler, PA Middletown, Orange County NY, Scranton, PA, Harrisburg, PA and Nanticoke, PA.

William S. Divine, age 67, died suddenly on October 6th, 1955 at the home of his daughter Mrs. Luther Davis in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Interment was in Mount Greenwood Cemetery in Trucksville, PA.

From the Social Security Death Index I found out that his wife died April 1980 in PA, age 88, but I could not find her resting place.