Life History

Notes

• "I found the marriage of Bessie to a man named John Monsinger.  I knew I had see that record of her married to a much older man.  They married 12 September 1921.  He is listed as widowed and 59 years old. She was just 21.  It lists her name as Bessie Mae Gaddy and her parents as S. T Gaddy and M B Walton.  That is the first verification of their initials.  She is listed as a musician and he is a farmer.  Their residence is Sawtelle, Los Angeles County.  I put the record in my gallery, but it is hard to read.  She lists Steve as being born in VA instead of NC and Mollie as being born in OK."
  --  "dferg1200," Ancestry Messaging to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 12 September 2016
  
  John fought in the Spanish American War.
  
  U.S., Spanish American War Volunteers Index to Compiled Military Service Records, 1898
  Private John Monsinger
  1898 California
  Battery C, 1st Battalion, California Heavy Artillery
  
  He reenlisted twice.  He was discharged from his second service inm 1902, and reenlisted soon after to serve another 2 years.and again in 1902.
  
  U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914
  John Monsinger
  Enlistment at Salt Lake, Utah
  Age 39 yrs 8 mos
  Birth abt 1862 Wayne County, Michigan
  Brown Eyes, Gray Hair, Ruddy Complexion, Height 5' 4 3/4"
  Last Service Co I, 18th Infantry, Discharged 15 Feb 1902
  3rd Enlistment 14 March 1902
  Co H, 11th Infantry, Discharged 3 May 1904 at Ft D A Russell, Wyoming
  Private, Service Excellent
  
  John was living in a disabled veteran's home at the time he married Bessie Mae Gaddy.
  
  U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938
  John Monsinger
  Birth abt 1862, Wayne, Wayne Co Mich
  Age 54, Married
  Height 5'4", Dark Complexion, Gray Eyes and Hair
  Nearest Relatives unknown
  Admitted 1916, Sawtelle, Los Angeles County, California
  Released and readmitted three times, 1918, 1920 and 1921
  Last discharged 30 December 1921
  Pacific Branch
  
  The home was named Sawtelle Veteran's Home, and is referred to in references as being in Los Angeles.  But a 1918 city directory entry for John Monsinger indicates it is in Santa Monica.
  
  "The Sawtelle Veterans Home was a care home for disabled American veterans in what is today part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area in California in the United States.  The Home, formally the Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, was established in 1887 on 300 acres (1.2 km2) of Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica lands donated by Senator John P Jones and Arcadia B de Baker.  The following year, the site grew by an additional 200 acres (0.81 km2); in 1890, 20 acres (0.081 km2) more were appended for use as a veterans' cemetery.  With more than 1,000 veterans in residence, a new hospital was erected in 1900.  This hospital was replaced in 1927 by the Wadsworth Hospital, now known as the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center."
  --  "Sawtelle Veterans Home," Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawtelle_Veterans_Home
  
  Note that John's last release from the Volunteer Solidiers Home was in December 1921.  John and Bessie Gaddy married in September 1921.  On their marriage record, the residence of both was reported as Sawtelle.
  
  California Marriage License
  Bessie May Gaddy, Musician, age 21, blind
  Parents S T Gaddy b Okla & M B Walton b Virginia
  John Monsinger, Farmer, widower, age 59
  Parents John Monsinger b France, mother Phoebe Crispee b France;
  Both residents was Sawtelle in LA County
  Marriage 12 Sep 1921 Los Angeles County, California

Sources

• 1. U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938
• 2. California Marriage License
• 3. Ancestry Messaging
• 4. U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914
• 5. U.S., Spanish American War Volunteers Index to Compiled Military Service Records, 1898
• 6. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
  • Santa Monica, California, City Directory, 1918, p 219