Roy Aspen
Photo taken: 1943
Photo found: Appalachian Antiques - Berkeley Springs, WV
Status: returned to family
During my last visit to Appalachian Antiques in Berkeley Springs, WV (which I have just recently found out no longer has a physical store, but all items can be bought on their Ebay shop!) I picked up a ziploc bag filled with WWII-era photographs, each labeled with names and divisions.
Some photos include notes on the back which read 'donated by [name]' indicating that perhaps they were one once displayed in a museum of some sort?
Our first subject is Roy Aspen:
Luckily, the labeling on this photo told us not only where it was taken, but where exactly Roy was from: Terraville, South Dakota.
There were a few Roy Aspen search results that came back on FamilySearch, but the first one that gave Terraville as the exact location was a 1936 school enrollment record:
It gave his birthdate as February 2, 1922, and his mother's name as Ida Aspen. With those two details, we can easily find Roy.
Roy was the youngest child born to Andrew and Ida Aspen, two immigrants from Norway who settled in Lawrence County, South Dakota. Andrew worked as a gold miner in the 1930 census but passed away before the next census was taken, leaving Ida a widow. I had first assumed it was due to a mining accident, but it appears Andrew had been ailing for quite some time before his death:
Roy was recruited by the Navy in October 1942 as one of 46 men who enlisted through the Deadwood, SD substation. Only one year after recruitment, he graduated from the Navy's school for radiomen:
This Newspapers.com article finally sheds some light on what Roy was doing in Oxford, OH at the time his photo was taken in 1943 - it was the same year he had graduated.
Roy returned home to South Dakota a few years after graduating, and married Jean Miller in 1947.
Roy died on September 25, 2010 and left two sons and a number of grandchildren to whom we will try to return this photo.
Photo found: Appalachian Antiques - Berkeley Springs, WV
Status: returned to family
During my last visit to Appalachian Antiques in Berkeley Springs, WV (which I have just recently found out no longer has a physical store, but all items can be bought on their Ebay shop!) I picked up a ziploc bag filled with WWII-era photographs, each labeled with names and divisions.
Some photos include notes on the back which read 'donated by [name]' indicating that perhaps they were one once displayed in a museum of some sort?
Our first subject is Roy Aspen:
Luckily, the labeling on this photo told us not only where it was taken, but where exactly Roy was from: Terraville, South Dakota.
There were a few Roy Aspen search results that came back on FamilySearch, but the first one that gave Terraville as the exact location was a 1936 school enrollment record:
It gave his birthdate as February 2, 1922, and his mother's name as Ida Aspen. With those two details, we can easily find Roy.
Roy was the youngest child born to Andrew and Ida Aspen, two immigrants from Norway who settled in Lawrence County, South Dakota. Andrew worked as a gold miner in the 1930 census but passed away before the next census was taken, leaving Ida a widow. I had first assumed it was due to a mining accident, but it appears Andrew had been ailing for quite some time before his death:
 |
| Lead Daily Call, 19 September 1935 |
Roy was recruited by the Navy in October 1942 as one of 46 men who enlisted through the Deadwood, SD substation. Only one year after recruitment, he graduated from the Navy's school for radiomen:
 |
| Deadwood Pioneer-Times, 27 April 1963 |
Roy returned home to South Dakota a few years after graduating, and married Jean Miller in 1947.
Roy died on September 25, 2010 and left two sons and a number of grandchildren to whom we will try to return this photo.
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