World War I
Chauncey Bryant was one of those Osmond veterans whose name I didn’t remember seeing before. He was born in Lawrence, KS, in 1897, to Wellington and Lucy Bryant. Lucy died in 1901 at age 22, when Chauncey was about 3½ years old.
Wellington, also known by his middle name, Walton, was an attorney. He married two more times, to Grayce from 1903 to about 1910, and then to Dorothy in 1911, with whom he had another son, Robert, who was Chauncey’s half-brother.
According to his obituary, he attended Kemper Military Academy and other schools in Kansas and Missouri. I actually found his enlistment papers in which he stated he attended Kemper for one year and was in the Signal Corps for six months.
He enlisted in the Army on Aug. 17, 1917, at the age of 20, and served with Company F, the 110th Engineers. He was listed as a private on the transport ship Great Northern leaving for overseas on May 2, 1918.
From what I discovered, a combat engineer's job was often one of the most dangerous around. It included clearing the way for infantry to advance. This could mean cutting through masses of barbed wire, installing pontoon bridges, or repairing roads. The engineers were often at the front lines of battle.
The information I found about the 110th says that the 110th Engineer Regiment fought in the Meuse-Argonne offensive in the closing months of World War I, arrived at the port of New York on 19 April 1919 aboard the USS Von Steuben and was demobilized on 3 May 1919 at Fort Riley, KS, which is when Chauncey was discharged.
In a history of the 110th that I found, it says they also fought in the battle of Gerardmer and the battle of Sommedieue. It also says that the regiment was entitled to silver bands, although I couldn't find out any information about what those were.
Although his obituary doesn’t mention her, he married Lucile Spillman about 1926. That same year, Chauncey entered the rural mail service. He and Lucile had two children, Chauncey Jr. and Virginia, before divorcing between 1940, when they were together on that census, and 1942 when he married Marie Mero, who was 22 years younger.
Chauncey and Marie had seven children: Dennis, Ann, Jean, John, Patrick, Michael and Donna.
According to his obituary, Chauncey carried mail for 35 years in seven states: Kansas, Minnesota, New York, South Dakota, Missouri, West Virginia and Nebraska. Therefore, his oldest five children with Marie were born in various places, with the younger two – Michael and Donna – born at Osmond.
Sometime before 1948, when Michael was born here, is when the family moved to this area. They actually lived in Knox County and most of the children went to Wausa schools and graduated there. For some reason, Michael did go to Wausa schools, but graduated from Osmond High School in 1967.
Chauncey died Jan. 30, 1971, at Osmond General Hospital from complications following a light heart attack and related illnesses. Last rites were conducted at the Stanosheck Mortuary by Dr. H. J. Timmer, former pastor of the First Presbyterian Church here, with graveside rites conducted at the Osmond City Cemetery by American Legion Post 326.
Two of Chauncey’s boys, as far as I found, were also in the military:
Chauncey Jr., who was in the Navy and served during World War II, and Patrick, who was in the Army.
