1910 -- Census Oak Harbor WA
1911 -- Historical Insight Circus
1917 -- historical Insight WWI
Registering for Draft WWI
Nicholas Registration WWI
1917 -- married Grace Westerdyke
1919 Peace Paris Conference
1910 age 18
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Nicholas Willard Bos 1910 Census
Oak Harbor, Island, Washington |
The census was done 21 April 1910. This is sheet 3B, and we start by finding Nicholas on line 73 (red arrow), living with his parents John and Wilhelmina Bos, and two older siblings, Pete and Minnie. Interesting to note a John W. Bos, his wife Mary and their son John Wayne Bos, who is about a year old. This family has to be related to our Bos family ... hold on a second while I research.
Still searching ... loading ... and I found that relationship. John Wayne Bos' father, John M. Bos is brother to our Nicholas Willard Bos. Therefore, although they are about the same age, Nicholas is the uncle to John Wayne Bos. HAH! And you thought I couldn't figure it out!
I wanted to add some interesting photographs of this area in 1910, but couldn't find anything. So, we just have to suffer with boring print.
1911 -- Historical Insight -- Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers Circus
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Credit: Library of Congress
from Ancestry.com |
The Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers Circus exemplified the "greatest show on earth" at the turn of the 19th century. Adam Forepaugh, an innovative circus proprietor until his death, was the first to incorporate a Wild West show and have two big top tents for his circus. James A. Bailey, of Barnum and Failey fame, purchaed the Forepaugh circus before the owner's death and then partnered with the Sells Brothers during the 1890s, creating the largest circus in America. People all over the country were awed by the grand show, which boasted a largely foreign cast and exciting acts including dancing elephants, trained sea lions, clowns, cyclists, aerialists, and more. Performing in places as famous as Madison Square Garden, the show and its exotic features were wildly popular until it performed its last tour in 1911. -- from Ancestry.com Historical Insight Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers Circus.
1917 age 24
Historical Insight -- America Enters World War I
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After years of neutrality, the United States
officially entered the war on April 6, 1917,
providing much needed manpower and
financial aid to the Allied cause.
Credit: FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images
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When the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, Nicholas Willard Bos was probably living in Oak Harbor, Washington.
Historical Insight -- Registering for the Draft in World War I
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When the United States entered World War I in 1917,
a draft soon followed—by 1918, 10 million men had registered their names.
Credit: Interim Archives/Archive Photos/Getty Images
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After the Selective Service Act was signed in May 1917, Nicholas Willard Bos registered for the draft.
1917 Nicholas Bos registered for the Draft in World War I
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Nicholas Willard Bos 1917 Draft Registration for WWI |
He lists his name as Nick Bos, he is 24 years old living in Oak Harbor Washington. This is not filled out by his own hand, but I think this is his real signature at the bottom. This document is also a secondary source of birthdate for him. The writer mis-spelled Cowlitz, I think. He is a farmer, probably in dairy cattle, but I don't know that for sure. He indicates both his parents are dependent on him, and thus he claims exemption from the draft. Did he get that exemption? He is medium build and slender, with blue eyes, light hair and -- interestingly -- his is not bald.
1917 Marriage to Grace M. Westerdyke, Coupeville, Island, Washington
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Nicholas and Grace Westerdyke Bos marriage record |
This happy couple is recorded on the bottom entry, it is their first marriage. Nicholas works in agriculture, and Grace is at home. The parental names are truncated, and I didn't look for the next page. I think, since Nicholas has already been drafted for WWI in June, that this became the incentive he needed to ask Grace for her hand in marriage.
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Nicholas and Grace Westerdyke Bos Marriage Certificate |
This is the original marriage certificate, the one I like best. Why? Because Nicholas filled out his portion on the left in his own handwriting, and Grace filled out her portion on the right. They both signed the certificate, giving us a sample of their handwriting. This document also becomes secondary proof for Nicholas' birth year, since he is 24 years old, as well as for Grace and the names of each set of parents and places of birth. They were married by a Methodist Episcopal clergy, but I cannot decipher his name. Take a look at the witnesses, Cora Wolfsen and C.S. Wolfsen. Cora is actually Nicholas' sister, and her husband.
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Nicholas and Grace Westerdyke Bos Marriage Certificate
transcription |
This format is a transcript of the original document. The handwriting is exactly the same on each entry. The date it is recorded is 15 September 1917. But look at that date ... the form came pre-printed with the date 189_ but the clerk crossed it out and wrote in the entire date. So, this form is about 20 years old, and they still use the old forms. Also, one problem with transcriptions is evidenced on this document. The date of the wedding is mis-written. The license is 29th August, the marriage was 15th of September. Gotta be careful about tertiary sources, you can easily get mislead.
1919 age 26
Historical Insight -- 1919 Paris Peace Conference
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The four dominant nations at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 had different visions for the future of Europe.Credit: Library of Congress
Ancestry.com Historical Insight |
About two months after fighting ended, the four primary Allied nations came to the negotiating table with different goals for post-World War I Europe when the Paris Peace Conference began on January 18, 1919. France wanted to secure its borders from foreign invasion. Great Britain and Italy were interested in re-establishing a balance of power. And, United States President Woodrow Wilson outlined his own 14 points for peace and wanted to forge an international mediating body called the League of Nations. In his 1920 book about the conference, journalist E. J. Dillon argued that the differing goals doomed the outcome of the negotiations: “The fatal tactical mistake chargeable to the Conference lay in its making the charter of the League of Nations and the treaty of peace with the Central Powers interdependent. … The outcome of this unnatural union will be to damage the cause of stable peace which it was devised to further.” -- Ancestry.com Historical Insight 1919 Peace Paris Conference
Resources
Family Search. (2018). Island County, Washington Genealogy. Retrieved from FamilySearch: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Island_County,_Washington_Genealogy
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