The Hayes Family History Site

On November 23, 2008, Jim’s wife, Liz, surprised him with a 70th Birthday party at the Stonebridge Restaurant in Milford, CT. About 50 friends and family attended.  Everybody had a great time

View The Photo’s From The Party

I know there are many relatives who served our country that are not yet on this list. By next year, I hope that I can find you and add you to our little tribute.

From Philip Sr., Colleen, Philip Jr. and Kevin…. THANK YOU!

On Veteran’s Day we honor Soldiers who protect our nation. For their service as our warriors, They deserve our admiration. Some of them were drafted; Some were volunteers; For some it was just yesterday; For some it’s been many years; In the jungle or the desert, On land or on the sea, They did whatever was assigned To produce a victory. Some came back; some didn’t. They defended us everywhere. Some saw combat; some rode a desk; All of them did their share. No matter what the duty, For low pay and little glory, These soldiers gave up normal lives, For duties mundane and gory. Let every veteran be honored; Don’t let politics get in the way. Without them, freedom would have died; What they did, we can’t repay. We owe so much to them, Who kept us safe from terror, So when we see a uniform, Let’s say “thank you” to every wearer. By Joanna Fuchs

Private Ralph Yerks b. 1894 d.1918 World War I, US Army, 9th Infantry, 2nd Division Killed in Action and is buried in Thiaucourt, France at the St. Mihiel American Cemetery. Genealogy Note: Colleens Great Uncle Second Lieutenant Harry W. Lewis b.1892 d.1972 World War I, American Expeditionary Forces Served on the United States Expeditionary Force in France. Stay an extra year after the Armistice was signed and played tennis for the AEF team assigned to rebuild relations in war torn Europe. Genealogy Note: My Grandfather James Tierney b. 1894 d.1931 World War I, American Expeditionary Forces Company M, 307 Infantry James served in France and saw many friends die in Europe. We have a letter from him, to his brother Frank, while in France. Genealogy Note: My Great Uncle Lloyd Lewis b.1928  d. 2000 Korean War Conflict Served in a “secondary” MASH unit in Japan.� Genealogy Note: My Uncle Colonel Robert E. Dunn, US Army b. 1892 d. 1974 Served in both World War I and World War II. In WWII Colonel Dunn lead a black Division of Engineers on Okinawa. Genealogy Note: Husband to Grace Elinor Tierney, my Great Aunt. James Leroy Yerks III b. 1938 Non-Wartime Served in the U.S. Navy Genealogy Note: Colleen’s Father. William B. Yerks b. 1891 d. 1960 World War I William fought in World War I and survived a Mustard Gas attack, only to die of complications of it some years later. Genealogy Note: Colleens Great Uncle and brother of Private Ralph Yerks. Jonathan J. Foley b. 1896 d. 967 Genealogy Note: Husband of Agnes Beattie, my Great Aunt. Brian Hogan Gulf War 1990 -1991 Genealogy Note: Husband to my cousin, Patty Brady Hogan. John W. Dunn b. 1930 d. 2000 USAF Active Duty 1948-1953 Korea 1950-1952 USAF AIR Guard – Berlin Wall Conflict 1961-1962 Retired USCG reserves 1979 Genealogy Note: Son of Edna V. Hone, a distant cousin to Colleen. John E Dunn 1985-1990, USAF Active Duty Genealogy Note: Another distant cousin to Colleen. William Sheehan Fred Barnes George Condos Nick Condos

After a series of sudden ideas and strange coincidences, the next generation of Yerks family unfolded before me within hours.  This generation has been troubling me for a long time, as I was unable to find the parents of George Oakley Yerks as listed on his death certificate.  I think the officials may have guessed and filled in some names because they did not know who the parents really were.  But after some careful detective work, I am extremely comfortable stating that the next Yerks Generation mystery has been solved!  To solve this mystery, I worked backwards.  But for the sake of clarity, I’ll tell the story moving forward.

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In one last act of desperation to find some type of mention of Ralph Yerks at a War Memorial,  I emailed the Rye Historical Society to ask them if there was a War Memorial in Rye.  Rye was the only town that I had had not visited because I was unfamiliar with it.  Within 12 hours, I received an email back from Dr. Ruth Smalt, Executive Director of the Rye Historical Society.  She took the time out of her busy day to walk across the street from her office to the war memorial located at the intersection of Rt 1 (Boston Post Rd) and Purchase St.  It is opposite the Village Green, and directly across from the Square House Museum front door where her office is.  She wrote:

“I just took a look at the WWI monument outside the Square House and sure enough, there is Ralph Yerks.  There is also a William Yerks, who served but survived the war.”

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Ralph Yerks (born April 4, 1894 in Bedford Hills, New York) served and died for his country in World War I, yet we cannot find a memorial in Westchester County that recognizes him.

Ralph Yerks, Private, U.S. Army

9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Division

Entered the Service from: New York
Died: September 13, 1918
Buried at: Plot C Row 8 Grave 36
St. Mihiel American Cemetery
Thiaucourt, France

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Below is the found Marriage License of William B Yerks & Myrtie Gant, brother of James L. Yerks I.  This is the link to our new found relatives in New Jersey.  Click on the image below to see a larger copy.

Well, I made my first trip to the New York City Archives today, located in downtown Manhattan, next to City Hall.  I took the train in from Springdale, CT to Grand Central and then jump the 4,5,6 subway from Grand Central to Centre Street (City Hall area).  It was quick and easy trip without any trouble.  In fact, I got there 20 minutes early.

Once I got in, I quickly found myself lost in “oodles” of microfilm data.  It took me about 45 minutes to learn the process, but once I got going, it was really quite easy to find the data I was looking for.

Since the place closes at 1 PM on Fridays, I restricted my search to just a few records I knew I could find.   The first one, which I was excited about, was the father of James Yerks I. Since nobody living knew anything beyond James, the first, it would be a real eye opener. On an earlier expedition to the Westchester County Archives, we found his wife’s  Will and Probate papers; which allowed us to pull her Death Certificate from the Village of Port Chester; which led us to her burial place in Rye, New York.  She, Annie Cutler Yerks, was buried with her husband George Oakley Yerks, but there was no  birth or death year information on the headstone.  The Cemetery office staff  pulled his info card and advised me that he had died in Brooklyn!  I would never have guessed that.  So armed with the death year and location, I looked him up in the Index of Brooklyn Deaths in the year 1939.  He was the only Yerks listed there.  So I wrote down the certificate  number and looked up the actual Death Certificate in another roll of microfilm.  Once I had it, I submitted a slip summarizing the info found and the microfilm to the office staff, who printed the Death Certificate for me.  Lo and behold, George Yerks’ father was…. George Yerks.  He was married to  an Elsie Donlap.

So the records I obtained on this trip include:

• Death Certificate: George Oakley Yerks, 1/12/1939
• Death Certificate: Henry William Lewis, died 8/9/1899
• Death Certificate: James F. Tierney, died 11/6/1896 at age 29
• Death Certificate: Jonathan J. Beattie, died 1/8/1913
• Death Certificate: Mary Beattie, died 1/19/1913