Lexon Charles Cavanaugh moved to California as a young man, later fought in WWI in France, retired after twenty-five years in the Army, and died in a tragic train accident. His life was certainly interesting, but because he never married and didn't have children, there is no one telling his story. Until now.
Meet Lexon, my Second Great-Uncle.
He was born on October 3rd, 1891, 1892, or 1893 (depending on which record you look at - one even says 1895!) to John Houston Cavanaugh and Mary Calier (Read) in Mountain Grove, Wright County, Missouri. His family always called him Charlie, but as soon as he could get away on his own, he began using his preferred first name.
Lexon, age 3 or 4
I wish I had a photograph of him as a grown man, but the only one I have is a family photo taken when he was a young boy. I cropped the photo, above, for a closer look. His physical description varies a bit in records, but, generally, he is described as having blue or gray eyes, brown to black hair, and, as an adult, he stood about 5'5" tall. Lexon was the shortest of the boys, with brothers who ranged from 5'6" to 5'10".
I have searched for documentation to shed light on Lexon's life. The earliest records I've found are the 1900 and 1910 census records; 1900 in Texas County, Missouri and 1910 in Greene County, Missouri, just outside of Springfield. In early 1910, Charlie and his younger brother Elmer left for California to find work in the orchards. They were just 17 and 18 years old when they left for their adventure. Once they arrived, they urged their parents and younger siblings to join them. The family soon followed and they all settled in San Bernardino County.
In 1911, Charlie disappeared and his parents were frantically searching for him. An article in the newspaper said he was ill when he took his pay and left work, saying he was going home to his parents. Instead, he purchased a ticket to San Bernardino and disappeared. His distraught mother placed an ad in the lost and found for a full week. I'm not sure if they found him. This is the time period where he began using his given name, Lexon. Makes me wonder if he wanted a fresh start, alone, for some reason. His parents and siblings all left California and settled in Washington within just a few years after Charlie's disappearance.
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This ad ran in the Lost & Found section of the San Bernardino County Sun
from August 31 - September 7, 1911,
from Newspapers.com.
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UPDATE! Thanks to a reader hint, I now have a photo of him as a young man! This photo was attached to the 1911 missing person report in Tulare County, California. Charlie would have been about 18-19 years old in this photo.
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Ancestry.com. Tulare County, California, U.S., Sheriff's Office and Jail Records, 1874-1963 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.
Original data: Sheriff's Records. Textual records. Tulare County Sheriff's Office, Visalia, California, USA. |
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Page 1 of the San Bernardino County Sun, Aug 31, 1911,
from Newspapers.com |
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Page 2 of the San Bernardino County Sun, Aug 31, 1911,
from Newspapers.com
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In 1913 and 1914, Lexon was found in San Bernardino City Directories and shown as employed by the County Hospital. The excerpt below tells us he was working as an ambulance driver.
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From the San Bernardino County Sun, October 2, 1914.
This clip, from newspapers.com, lists warrants paid to County Employees. |
On June 5th, 1917, Lexon registered for the draft. No longer an ambulance driver, he worked for I. L. Lyon & Sons Ranches in irrigation and was living in Redlands, San Bernardino, California. This document gives his birthdate as October 3, 1895, but it looks like something else was written under the five...maybe a 2? Most records say 1892. Regardless, this tells a little about what he'd been up to. In addition to his address and occupation, it says he was a sailor in the Navy for 6 months, was single without dependents, and on the back, it includes a basic physical description.
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WWI Draft Registration card for Lexon Charlie Cavanaugh.
Image from Ancestry.com. |
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Conscripts from Redlands Precinct 7 include Lexon Charlie Cavanaugh.
From the San Bernardino County Sun, 12 Jul 1917, p.13, found on newspapers.com. |
Lexon was one of the conscripts from the Redlands Precinct 7 that was examined by the Exemption Board in the summer of 1917. Finding no cause for exemption, he was chosen with six other men from Redlands to serve in the first contingent. There was a big reception given for the men before they left to undergo training. The townspeople were proud of their soldiers and an enthusiastic crowd of about 3000 showed up to offer support. There were speeches, patriotic music, and readings offered in the outdoor amphitheater. I imagine Lexon was overwhelmed and honored by the reception.
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Reported in the L.A. Times, 5 Sep 1917.
Redlands Honors Its Selected Men.
Seven men, including L. C. Cavanaugh, were honored at an outdoor
reception with over 3000 people in attendance.
Clipped from newspapers.com. |
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Soldiers leaving on September 5, 1917, to American Lake Training Camp, include
L.C. Cavanaugh from Redlands.
San Bernardino County Sun, 2 Sep 1917, front page.
Clip from newspapers.com. |
The American Lake Training Camp was located at
Camp Lewis, now Fort Lewis, in Tacoma, Washington. Lexon was among the first recruits to arrive and train at the newly constructed National Army training camp for draftees from Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, and Montana. It was the largest training camp in the United States at the time. When the men first arrived, they began training in their own clothes, as uniforms were still being processed for them. The men were part of the 91st Division, also called the Wild West Division. Lexon, with Company H of the 364th Infantry, departed Camp Lewis in late June 1918 by train for New Jersey. From Hoboken, New Jersey, they boarded ships to cross the Atlantic and set sail on July 12, 1918. After an almost two week voyage by sea, they arrived on English soil and then crossed the English Channel into France.
The soldiers made their way across France, mostly by train, until they arrived on the front lines on September 25, 1918, at La Cigalerie Butte, near Eclisfontaine, France as part of the Argonne Offensive. They pushed hard through constant fire during several days of "do or die" fighting. There was a high number of casualties, both dead and wounded, by the time the 91st Division was relieved from the front line and placed in Corps Reserve on October 3, 1918 - Lexon's birthday. The Argonne Offensive has been called the greatest effort of the American Expeditionary Forces, and Lexon was there at the beginning with the 364th Infantry.
When the war ended on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. Lexon was still in France and remained there for four more months. On March 25, 1919, he left
St. Nazaire, France on the ship Orizaba bound for the United States. He was listed on the passenger list with Company H of the 364th Infantry, rank Private First Class of Redlands, California. His next of kin was Henry Huckaby, a friend. Was "Charlie" still out of touch with his parents? Or maybe he just felt more comfortable listing someone he knew well and who lived nearby.
Decades later, in 1945, Lexon completed his WWII draft registration. On the back, it says he was discharged just two days before, on July 26, 1945, after serving 25 years in the Army. This discharge date is also written on his death certificate, along with his Army serial number, 2267287 and his rank, Corporal.
I have not been able to find Lexon in 1920, 1930 or 1940 census records. I have looked and looked, searching page by page in case there was an indexing error. So far, I've not had any success. For the time period of 1920-1945, during his enlistment, he may have been living on base somewhere, possibly overseas, and may be why I can't find him on census records. I have some more searching to do in his military records to try to fill in this big gap.
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WWII Draft Registration card, front, dated July 28, 1945.
Image from ancestry.com. |
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WWII Draft Registration card, back, dated July 28, 1945.
Image from ancestry.com. |
On January 12, 1949, Lexon's mother died in Yakima, Washington. On her funeral home record, "Charlie" is listed with her children, his residence California. Finally, some proof that they did find him and didn't spend their whole lives wondering what had happened to their son. Lexon died just four months after his mother, on May 31, 1949, in King County, Washington. I believe he traveled to Washington for his mother's funeral and hadn't returned to California. His death certificate says his usual residence was Sacramento, California, but he was a transient. He died as a result of injuries to his chest, back and skull when he was hit by a train while resting on the tracks near Kent, Washington. One article I saw said he was traveling to Seattle, perhaps to find transport back to Sacramento. Another said he had been working in an orchard nearby. If that's true, he may have been working to earn his return fare. Whatever situation caused him to be near Kent and resting on the tracks that day is irrelevant. His death was tragic, regardless of what led to him be there that day.
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| Lexon Charles Cavanaugh Washington State Death Certificate. |
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Article found in the The Post-Register, Idaho Falls, Idaho from 1 Jun 1949.
Image from newspapers.com. |
Lexon's body was transported back to Yakima County where he was interred in the same cemetery as his mother. Their graves are not near one another, though, as Lexon was placed in the Veteran Section. Fitting, I think, for a man who devoted such a chunk of his life to the U.S. Army.
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Lexon C Cavanaugh is buried in the Veteran Section
of the Tahoma Cemetery in Yakima, Washington. |
