Individual Details

Wiley Onyx Barton

(1 Jun 1890 - 9 Aug 1979)

Wiley Onyx Barton was born in 1890 in Sugar Grove, Virginia, the oldest of John and Mattie (McCarter) Barton&s nine children. He worked on the family farm in Smyth County until the beginning of WWI when, at the age of 27, he enlisted as a private in Co. D, 317th Infantry on 14 Nov 1917. His military records describe him as 5&4” with dark hair, blue eyes, a ruddy complexion, and a medium build.

Because the 80th Division drew from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia it was nicknamed the “Blue Ridge Division.” The entire division of 23,000 troops landed in France on June 8, 1918. The 80th saw action in the Battles of the Somme and Saint-Miheil, and all three offensives of the Meuse Argonne. Nearly a year later Wiley returned home on the U.S.S. Nansemond and was discharged from Fort Lee on 12 Jun 1919 missing a left limb.

On 19 Jan 1920 he was enumerated with his family in St. Clair, Smyth, Virginia. He was not working and likely still recovering from his war wounds.

Sometime before 1927 he moved to Bluefield, West Virginia where he was working as an electrician. It is likely that between 1920 and &27 that he attended the two years of college that show up on later census records.

On 23 Apr 1930 he was enumerated in the household of his brother Walter in St. Clair, Smyth, Virginia and still working as an electrician.

In 1931 in Wyoming, West Virginia he married 36-year-old Bessie Ziola Davis who had lived most of her life in Wise County, Virginia. On 12 Sep 1931 their only child, Harriet Ann, was born Ohio while Wiley was in a Veteran&s home seeking care for neuritis related to his amputation.

A month after Harriet&s birth, the family returned to West Virginia and made their home at 111 Bland Street in Bluefield where Wiley continued to work as an electrician.

In 1942 Wiley appears in Baltimore, Maryland working for the Glen L. Martin Company as part of the war effort. He gave his brother Ennis in Sugar Grove as his next of kin and never returned to Bluefield, so he and Bessie must have separated at this time.

Bessie remained at their home in Bluefield and in 1956 their daughter Harriet, a school teacher, married soldier Richard Dippong in Norfolk, Virginia. After the wedding they returned to his home in Minot, Ward, North Dakota.

Wiley made no appearances in city directories after 1948 suggesting that he returned to rural Virginia. Sometime prior to his death in 1979 he moved to be near his daughter, son-in-law, and five granddaughters.

He died on 9 Aug 1979 at age 89 in Minot, North Dakota. No obituary could be found.

Bessie died in 1983, also in Minot, and was buried near her parents in Laurel Grove Cemetery in Norton, Wise, Virginia.

Events

Birth	1 Jun 1890	Sugar Grove, Smyth, Virginia
Residence	1900	Saint Clair Bottom, Smyth, Virginia
Residence	1910	Working on the family farm. - Saint Clair Bottom, Smyth, Virginia
Military	14 Nov 1917	Date he enlisted.
Departure	26 May 1918	Norfolk, Virginia
Military	26 May 1918	On a troop transport the Mongolian to Norfolk, Virginia. There were 3431 enlisted men and 125 officers of the 80th or "Blue Ridge" Division. The entire 80th division of 23,000 troops landed in France on June 8, 1918. - Newport News, Virginia
Military	20 May 1919	Private Co. D 317 Infantry, 80th Division. Sailed on the U.S.S. Nansemond from Brest, France to Camp Stuart. - Newport News, Virginia
Military	12 Jun 1919	Discharged. - Fort Lee, Prince George, Virginia
Residence	19 Jan 1920	Returned from war, not employed. - Saint Clair Bottom, Smyth, Virginia
Residence	1927	Lived at 617 Raleigh and was working as an electrician. - Bluefield, Mercer, West Virginia
Residence	23 Apr 1930	Living with his brother Walter and working as an electrician. - Saint Clair Bottom, Smyth, Virginia
Marriage	1931	Wyoming County, West Virginia - Bessie Zeola Davis
Residence	1932	Married and living at 111 Bland Street. Spending a few months in a veterans home in Dayton, Ohio. - Bluefield, Mercer, West Virginia
Residence	1934	Bluefield, Mercer, West Virginia
Residence	1935	Bluefield, Mercer, West Virginia
Residence	1936	Bluefield, Mercer, West Virginia
Residence	1 Apr 1940	Electrician with two years of college. - Bluefield, Mercer, West Virginia
Residence	1942	Living at 4400 Wrenwood Ave. and working for the Glen L Martin Company. He was described as 5' 4", 140 lbs with gray hair, blue eyes, and a ruddy complexion. He was missing a left limb. - Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland
Burial	1979	Sugar Grove, Smyth, Virginia
Death	9 Aug 1979	Was living with his daughter in Minot at the time of his death. - Minot, Ward, North Dakota

Families

Spouse	Bessie Zeola Davis (1895 - 1983)
Child	Harriett Ann Barton (1931 - 1992)

Father	John Mathias Barton (1859 - 1928)
Mother	Martha "Mattie" Sedalia McCarter (1867 - 1951)
Sibling	Walter Greear Barton (1891 - 1989)
Sibling	Anna Belle Barton (1894 - 1977)
Sibling	Frank McCarter Barton (1895 - 1985)
Sibling	Robert Donald Barton (1898 - 1938)
Sibling	Eva Lillian Barton (1900 - 1995)
Sibling	Laura Eunice "Ennis" Barton (1902 - 1997)
Sibling	John Paul Barton (1907 - 1973)
Sibling	James Max Barton (1909 - 1989)

Endnotes

1. , 1910 Federal Census [Smyth County, Virginia] (N.p.: n.p., n.d.).

2. , Social Security Death Index (N.p.: n.p., n.d.).

3. , U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942; (Old Men's Draft) (N.p.: n.p., n.d.).

4. Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004), Year: 1900; Census Place: Williams, Smyth, Virginia; Page: 1; Enumeration District: 0087.

5. Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006), Year: 1910; Census Place: St Clair, Smyth, Virginia; Roll: T624_1649; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0092; FHL microfilm: 1375662.

6. Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Year: 1920; Census Place: St Clair, Smyth, Virginia; Roll: T625_1914; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 123.

7. Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002), Year: 1930; Census Place: St Clair, Smyth, Virginia; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 0012.

8. Ancestry.com, U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007).

9. Ancestry.com, U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2014), Number: 719-01-6398; Issue State: Railroad Board (Issued Through); Issue Date: Before 1951.

10. Ancestry.com, U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011).

11. Ancestry.com, U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005), Registration State: Virginia; Registration County: Smyth; Roll: 1991163.

12. Ancestry.com, U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), The National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War II Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) for the State of Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System, 1926-1975; Record Group Number: 147; Series Number: M1939.

13. Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012), Year: 1940; Census Place: Bluefield, Mercer, West Virginia; Roll: m-t0627-04428; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 28-4.

14. Fridley, Beth, Smyth County, Virginia Births, 1885-96 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999).

15. Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012).