CHRONOLOGY

Chronology Of Sailor Jack's=

Merchant Marine Service=

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The Merchant Marine Service is under the jurisdiction of the United States Coast Guard. One of = the regulations requires captains of merchant ship flying under the United Stat= es Flag to issue a Discharge Certificate each time a sailor discharged from a ship. This is done even though the sailor may be hired back on the same ship within a few days. On the Great Lakes, t= he requirements were slightly different.

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Jack was very conscientious about saving his discharge certificates. This has made possib= le the following chronology of his Merchant Marine service. Some dates and ship names are unclear, faded or omitted= .

Some of the commentary nay not be completely accurate.

1925

October 25

At the age of 22, = Jack enlisted in the U.S. Army at Philadelphia = and was sent to Ft. Ringold, Texas. As a Private First Class, Servi= ce # 6773795, he was attached to the 12^th Calv= ary, Troop "E".

1926

March 22

I found the date "March 22, 1926 / 26yrs" noted in Jack's = Union Membership Book that was active from 1947 to 1956. I've been unable to learn the meet= ing of the date, but believe it relates to my mother and when they met. I do know that they were married in March. I now believe this is the date Jac= k met Sybil and there with married on Ma= rch

April 27

Jack completed the Army's Bakers School at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas.<= o:p>

October 13

After serving one = year in the Army, he purchased his discharged and was mustered out in Philadelphia. In = those days it was not uncommon for an enlistee to purchase a discharge prior to t= he expiration date of his enlistment.

November 27

Shipped out on the Narcissus as 2^nd Cook. Based on Jack's discharge certificate this was his first trip as a Merchant Seaman. On his application September 27, 1= 927 in Chicago to replace his lost Army Discharge, he stated that he was a seaman prior to joining the Army. I have not found any documentation to support his claim.<= o:p>

1927

February 4

Discharged / Narci= ssus / Mobile.

This would have been the first opportunity for Jack to meet my mother, Sybil Wiggins. Although she was only 16 she had left school and started working a= s a clerk at Hammel’s Dept store. Sometime later I believe she worked as a waitress at the Azalea Grill at 200 St. Francis Street or Constantine's Cafe in the same area. <= /p>

March 29

Shipped out / Maid= en Creek.

May 23

Discharged / Maiden Creek / Gulfport, <= st1:State w:st=3D"on">MS&nbs= p;

May 24

Jack received a medical examination on this date and was listed as crew on the W= est Gotomaska, but there is no discharged certificate&nbs= p; for this time period?

From May 23 to October 13, 1927 (4 ½ months) Jack was unemp= loyed. In his later years he casually mentioned he and three other sailors plus two officers were Court Marshaled. All received Bad Conduct Discharges from the U.S. Navy at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The charge was stealing and selling Quartermaster supplies during the U.S. Marine Corps Occupation of Nicaragua (January 1, 1927 to January 3, 1933). The punishment could have brig time if two officers had not been involved. Supposedly he received a dishonorable discharge from the Navy. A time frame was never mentioned and my research turned up no documentation to support this remark. =

September 27 Jack made application for a replacement of his Army discharge. He claimed it was stol= en. He used 3811 Broadway in Chica= go, IL as his mailing address. = At the time he was 24 years old. It's not clear it he went to Chicago to file of did it by mail. There appears to be two alteration= s on the certificate, his age was originally written as 23, but it was changed to 22?

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Jack may have rode the train as a hobo to Chicago and then returned to mobile? I know he "rode the rails" a number = of times when he was out of work and traveled to another city to catch a ship.=

October 13

= Shipped out / West Kyska / 2^{nd
Cook & Baker.}

= Medical examination received

December 12

= Discharged / Pensacola, FL

December 14

On this date Jack was issued A Seaman's Certificate of American Citizenship in= Mobile, AL. Do not understand why this was necessary,&= nbsp; except he was going to foreign ports of call.<= /p>

12/24/1927

Ja= ck had medical Exam on this date and was listed as being on the Gotomaska.

12/31/1927 another medical exam but can not deci= pher name of ship

From December 13, 1927 to May 28, 1928 (4 ½ months) Jack was unemployed a= nd may have stayed around Mobile and been present when I was born on April 30<= sup>th or he could have been in the Navy in Nicaragua as he stated on one occasion.

1928

May 28

Shipped out / West Gotomska / 2^nd C= ook

July 24

Discharged / West Gotomska / Tampa, <= st1:State w:st=3D"on">FL

August 24

Shipped / West Gotomska / Cook

November 1

Discharged / West Gotomska / Gulfport. MS

November 15=

Shipped out West Gotomska / Gulfport

1929

January 17

= Discharged Mobile<= o:p>

January 22

= Shipped out / West Gotomska /<= /p>

April 3

= Discharged / West Gotomska / Gulfport, MS

May 6

Received a medical examination on this date and was listed as crew of the Eglantine, but no discharge certificate?

May 17

= Shipped out / Quistconck / 1^st Cook

= Received medical examination on this d= ate.

July 25

= Discharged / Quistconck / New Orleans, LA

August 1

= Received a medical examination on this= date for the Quistconck

August 20

= Shipped out / Quistconck

October 30

Discharged / Quistconck / New Orleans

October 30

= Shipped out / Marina

November 19

= Discharged / Marina / New Orleans, LA

November 20

= Shipped out / Marina

December 4

= Discharged / Marina / New Orleans, LA

December 5

= Shipped out / Marina / Steward

December 15

= Discharged / Marina / New Orleans

December 16

Shipped out / Marina

1930

January 1

Discharged / Marin= a / Baltimore, MD

January 1 received a medical examination this date and listed as being on the Anaco= nda but no discharged certificate?

January 17 received a medical examination on this date and list as being on the West Eldara, but no discharges certificate.

March 5

= Shipped out / (Ship name not legible)=

March 31

= Discharged / (ship name not legible) Galv= eston, TX

April 15

= Shipped out / West Hardaway / Chief Cook

June 20

Discharged / West Hardaway / Mobile, = AL

July 11

= Shipped out / 1^st Cook Shi= ps name not listed

September 6

= Discharged / West Hardaway / Mobile

Jack was unemployed from for two months at this time. He probably remained in Mobile.

November 5

= Shipped out / West Hardaway

1931

January 10

Discharged / West Hardaway / Mobile<= /st1:City>.

February 14

Shipped out / West Hardaway / 1^st Cook

April 17

Discharged / West Hardaway / Mobile<= /st1:City>

May 22

Shipped out / D.T. Waring / Chief Cook

June 27

= Discharged / D.T. Waring / Savannah, GA

Jack and another sailor, "Hamburg Whitey", bought a used 1928 Model T Ford and started driving to Mobile. They got = as for as the Tindel farm near Rose Hill, AL and the car broke down. They gave it to Grover Tindel and hitched hiked to = Mobile.

Over the next several months Uncle Grover sold parts of the car and eventually took the mules and pulled the chassis to a near by gully.

This is my first vague recollection of meeting Jack. All I can reme= mber is standing in the yard and listening to&n= bsp; the men talking about the car.

From June 2= 7 to September 10, 1931 Jack was unemployed and probably stayed in Mobile.

September 10

Shipped out / Rvan= ik? (name not clear on document)

September 28

= Sailed through the Panama Canal.

Discharged / Los Angeles, CA

September 29

Shipped out / Rvan= ik ?

October 20

Sailed back through the Panama Canal

Discharged / Baltimore

October 28

Shipped out / Rvan= ik

December 14

Discharged / Rvani= k / (city unclear)

December 30

Shipped out / City of Alma<= /st1:City> / Mobile.

The ship made one stop in <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Baltimore. When it sailed out of the harbor it was struck on the starbo= ard side by another ship. To avoid sinking the Captain ran the ship on a sand b= ar. After it was repaired they continued the trip to Eur= ope.

1932

February 6

= Discharged / Rotterdam, Netherlands=

Jack cut his thumb severely and was sent to the hospital in Rotterdam for four months.

Due to the infection, the doctors wanted to amputate his arm but he refused. Next they wanted to amputate his hand, = still he refused, then it was his thumb, he still refused. Finally the injury hea= led and he only lost his thumbnail. There is no record as to how he returned to= the states.

July 16

= Shipped out / S.S.Yaka / Chief Cook

September 6

= Discharged / S.S. Yaka / Pensacola, FL

September 15

= Shipped out / Yaka

November 12

= Discharged / Yaka / Mobile

1933

January 8

Shipped out / Yaka=

March 11

= Discharged / Yaka / Mobile, AL

Jack did not ship out for 6 months from March 11 to September 30, 1933. I believe Sibyl = and Jack were married on March 22, 1933, but I've been unable to locate any such record. In those days it was not uncommon for people in Alabama to go across the state line to Mississippi for a "quickie" marriage as blood test and a three-day waiting ti= me was not required. At this time I was brought from the Tindel farm to Mobile. We lived = at 152 S. Conception Street= in preparation for filing adoption papers was made.

<= /span>

July 24, 1933

We were living on = Canal Street. I remember Sibyl and Grandmother Willie going by bus to Rose Hill to attend t= he funeral of Betty O'Steen, Willie's stepmother. I stayed with Jack.

August 23

Jack filed a petition of adoption for me. A formal hearing was set for October 27, 1933.

September 30

= Shipped out / Yaka

October 3

= Adoption Clerk file the first report o= n the adoption

October 27

Adoption of Charles Hagan Wiggins conditionally granted. It stated the whereabouts of the biological father, Elmer Agee Wiggins, was unknown, when in fact he was living six blocks from the courthouse.

November 21

= Discharged / Yaka / Pensacola= , Fl

November 30

= Shipped out / Yaka

1934

January 30

&= nbsp; Discharged / Yaka / Pensacola,= FL

To meet residence requirements Jack stayed in Mobile for nin= e (9) months and opened a Bar on lower Government Street in Mobile. It was just a few blocks from the ship docks and frequented mostly by sailo= rs.

I have only a few memories from this period. One= day we were walking to the Bar and I told Jack I wanted a dog. A short time lat= er we run into a dog, Jack stopped at a local ice house, got a piece of rope a= nd tied in around the dog's neck and I had a dog, that is until we returned ho= me that evening and mother said "no dog".

I had one friend, name Johnny who lived near by = and we played together. Oftentimes we would go down to = Government Street across from Jack'= s bar and play on the median strip. It had a lot of statues, old cannons with sta= cks of cannon balls from old sailing ships. It also had a tower with a small weather vane. Johnny and I would climb up the tower and the local "beat" cop would chases us down. He finally got really mad and to= ok us to the bar and told Jack to keep us away or he would arrest him. One day Jo= hnny and I were playing he ran out in front of a Railway Express truck. Later I = was told he had died. It was quite an emotional experience for me. I had never known anyone who had died before.

October 29 the final adoption degree was issued this date. Charles Hagan Wiggins became Charles Hagan Carr.

November 20

Shipped out / Betterton.

Mother and I took the Greyhound bus to Harrisburg Texas and lived in a "Touri= st Court " for several weeks. Later we moved into an apartment in a private hom= e on the La Porte Hwy in Harrisburg.

1935 &n= bsp; = ;

We moved from Harrisburg to 510 Shaver Street in Pasadena. My mother rented a three- room apartment. Mr. & Mrs. Hartsfield owned the house. He was Principal of <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Pasadena High School and she was a math tea= cher in the grade school and also taught piano lessons in her home. My mother thought it would be nice for me to learn to play the piano, however after t= hree lessons, Mrs. Hartsfield said I didn't have the "talent".

1936

November 6

&nbs= p; Discharged / Betterton / Houston

November 5

Jack went on strike as a member of the International Seaman's Union ISU.

Jack joined the NATIONAL MARITINE UNION. All of the sailors that had joined= went on strike, which lasted for a year. Houston police and Texas<= /st1:State> Rangers killed a number of strikers.

When Jack wasn't walking the "picket line" and cooking for the striker= s, he was painting houses with our landlord. At night some of the strikers wou= ld drive out in the country and steal pigs and cows and any vegetables so the strikers would have food to eat.

I was attending the 2^nd grade again as we had moved from Pasadena, another= school system. At that time the State of Texas was providing free milk to all grade school age children. I was not allowed= to have milk because my father was a "striker". At the time I did not understand what was happening, I just knew I wasn't allowed to have milk.

1937

January 31

Jack applied for his Social Security Card # 467-05-0926 and listed his Father: William Jack Carr and his Mother: Wini= fred Harris. He first wrote Carr as his mother's last name, since the moher’s maiden name was required, he then changed it to Harris. This = is suspicious since it was easy to change Carr to Harris. He also gave his birthday as July = 9, 1906 and his birth place as Al= bany, NY.

February 1

&nbs= p; Shipped / Betterton

April 1

Jack had a physical exam in Bayonne, NJ and was issued a Certificate of Service. He gave his place of birth as Albany, NY. ??

Jack was on strike during June and July apparently while in New York. Then by September 21, 1937 J= ack had completed a total of 94 days of strike duty.

February 1 &nb= sp;

Shipped out / Betterton = / Houston, TX.

February 6

Discharged / Betterton / Baton Rouge, LA

September 10

Jack was issued a Seaman's Certificate of Identification at the Port of Houston

1938

February 6

Discharged / Bette= rton / Baton Rouge, LA&nb= sp;

This doesn't appear to be correct. This would indicate that he sailed on the Betterton for a year.

APRIL 30

Shipped out / Ruth Lykes / Galveston, = TX

May 25

Discharged / Ruth Lykes / Galveston, = TX

July 30

= Shipped out / Ruth Lykes / Galveston, TX

August 19

&nbs= p; Discharged / Ruth Lykes / Houston, TX

August 22

= Shipped out / Ruth Lykes / Galveston

September 12

Discharged / Ruth Lykes / Houston

September 16

Received Endorsement of Certificate of Service at Galveston, TX&nb= sp;

September 17

= Shipped out / Ruth Lykes / Galveston

October 21

= Discharged / Ruth Lykes / Beaumont, TX

October 29

= Shipped out / Ruth Lykes / Lake Charle= s, LA

November 21

= Discharged / Ruth Lykes / Galveston

November 22

= Shipped out / Ruth Lykes / Galveston

November 25

Discharged / Ruth Lykes / New Orleans

December 26

= Shipped out / Albert Watts / Houston<= o:p>

1939

January 1

= Discharged / Albert Watts / Houston

January 16

Another notat= ion about the dates between January 16, 1939 to June 1, 1939. I assume it was to cover for the time he was on strike.

April 18

&nbs= p; On strike at Houston<= /st1:City>

May 22

&nb= sp; Off strike at Houston<= /st1:City>

June 1

&nbs= p; Shipped out / Virginia Sinclair / Houston

August 24

&nb= sp; Discharged / Virginia Sinclair / Marcus Hook, PA

&nb= sp;

August 25

= Shipped out / Virginia Sinclair / Marcus Hook

September 9

= Discharged / Virginia Sinclair / Marcus Hook

September 9

= Shipped out / Virginia Sinclair / Marcus Hook

October 16

= Discharged / Virginia Sinclair / Bayonne<= /st1:City>, NJ

October 17

= Shipped out / Virginia Sinclair / Bayo= nne, NJ

= Jack was on strike from December 7, 1939 until January 26, 1940

1940

January 1

Discharged / Virgi= nia Sinclair / Jacksonville, FL

February 4 (Believe dates on this discharged were revise= d)

= Shipped out / Zephyr / Houston

February 12

= Discharged / Zephyr / Houston<= /st1:place>

February 23, found= note in Jack's papers stating "memorize time between leaving Virginia Sinclair October 16, 1939 unt= il joining the Zephyr February 23, 1940". Apparent he had lost his Certificate of Discharge, however I received a copy from the Coast Guard.

March 4

= Shipped out / Zephyr / Houston

March 12

Discharged /Zephyr= / Houston

March 13

= Shipped out / Zephyr / Houston

March 23

= Discharged / Zephyr / Texas City. TX

March 24

= Shipped out / Zephyr / Texas City

April 1

= Discharged / Zephyr / Corpus Christie, TX

April 2

= Shipped out / Zephyr / Corpus Christie

April 13

= Discharged / Zephyr / Marcus Hook, PA

April 14

= Shipped out / Zephyr / Marcus Hook, PA

May 5

= Discharged / Zephyr / Toledo, = OH

May 6

= Shipped out / Zephyr / Toledo

August 23

= Discharged / Zephyr / Detroit,= MI

August 28

&nb= sp; Shipped out / Zephyr / Detroit

December 12

= Discharged / Zephyr / Cleveland, OH

1941

February 20, 1941

Letter from the Bu= reau of Marine Inspection, Washing= ton. DC was sent to the U.S. Collector of Customs in Mobi= le requesting verification of Jack’s date and place of birth. He had lis= ted July 9,1903 and Albany, NY.

April 23

= Shipped out / Martha E. Allen

= This was Jack's first trip on the Martha E. Allen.=

He sailed continuously on the Allen as Steward until January10, 1963 for a tot= al of 22 years, except for one relief trip on the M. S. Polaris from September= 23, 1954 to October 9, 1954.

June 15

Sibyl and Charles came to Toledo by Greyhound bu= s and rented an apartment on Alb= any Street in North Toledo<= /st1:place>, just one block off Summit = Street. The Shell Oil dock was just across street on the Mau= mee River.

1963

January 10

Discharged / Marth= a E. Allen

This was Jack's last trip on the Allen. After Captain Dixon retired the ship was never the same for Jack. He, the Chief Engineer Paul Gallagher and Captain Dixon had a strong profession= al relationship that endured for 22 years.

June 22

Jack shipped out on the Amoco Indiana and S.S. Pledeides finishing out the sailing year of 1963= .

1964

Shipped out on the Sinclair Great Lakes, a relief trip on the Allen and then to the Comet until June 18, 1965.

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1965

February 15

= After being hospitalized in St. Catherine's hospital in East C= hicago,

Three weeks Sybil passed away at the age of 52. She was buried in a cemetery in <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">East Chicago.

After my mother died Jerr= ie and I remodeled a bedroom and bath in our home in Manitowoc for Jack. Ships did not opera= te on the Great Lakes during the three winter = months so we invited Jack to stay with us. He did for a while but eventually moved= to Florida and lived&= nbsp; in Angler's Hotel in Mi= ami Beach, before it became the "in place" to live.

He always came to visit for a few months in the summer. He enjoyed being with = our children when they were small.

July 7<= /span>

Shipped out on the Polaris where he remained until, April 11, 1971

1971

April 11

At the age of 69, this was Jack's last trip on the Great Lakes ending a 45 year career in the Merchant Marine. The last= 31 years on the Great Lakes of which 22 yea= rs was on the Martha Allen.

1978

September 15

Sibyl's body was removed from East Chicago and bur= ied in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Rose Hill, AL

1982

January 15

In the afternoon, = Jack wasn't feeling well and walked to the South Shore Hospital in Miami Beach, FL a few blocks from the Anglers Hotel= where he lived. Jerrie and I had ju= st arrived in Memphis= by car when we received word that Jack was in hospital. We left the car in = Memphis and flew immediately to Miami. Since he was inn intensive care,= I was only allowed to visit him for a short time. Jack died in the 2 AM at the age o= f 78.

Jack's body was returned= to Albert Lea, MN for funeral services. Then shipped by air to Montgome= ry and by Hearst to the Rose= Hill Cemetery for burial next to Sibyl.