1. From a taped interview with Beatrice Wakenshaw, Feb 2002: “The brother’s name was Albert. He was in the Canadian Army during World War I and got his arm “off” somehow. And I remember when he came to Kentucky (see, as a child you remember these things), he had an artificial hand, and he always had like a glove on.”

2. Was living in Canada in 1934. [204]

3. In an email from Claire Sloop of Salinas, Monterey, CA., 10 May 2004, she writes:
“He sure was a colorful character. For example, in 1905 while in the military stationed in Monterey, California he had a few too many drinks and walked out of a local restaurant without paying his bill of $1.30 for his steak and eggs. He was eventually court-martialed for this and sentenced to 2 years hard labor in Alcatraz Island.”

4. A timeline of Albert’s military service from Claire Sloop, June 2004:
29 May 1899. Enlisted in U.S. Army at Springfield, IL. Assigned to Co. B, 12th Inf. Participated in Philippine Insurrection. Per Request for Army Information, Veterans Administration, 23 Oct 1939.

17 Nov 1901. Hospital admission, Manila, Philippine Islands for malarial fever. Per Request for Army Information, Veterans Administration, 23 Oct 1939.

22 Nov 1902. Hospital admission, Corregedn, Philippines Islands for chronic dysentery. Per Request for Army Information, Veterans Administration, 23 Oct 1939.

28 May 1902. Honorable discharge at Ft. Douglas, UT. Per Request for Army Information, Veterans Administration, 23 Oct 1939.

29 Dec 1903. Re-enlisted in U.S. Army at Kansas City, MO. Assigned to Co. I, 12th Inf. Per Request for Army Information, Veterans Administration, 23 Oct 1939.

10 Jan 1905. Transfer to Co. D, 15th Inf. Per Request for Army Information, Veterans Administration, 23 Oct 1939.

18 May 1905. Dishonorable discharge at Presidio of Monterey, Monterey, CA. Per General Court Martial on May 12, 1905. Sentenced to serve 2 years hard labor at Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, CA. Per U.S. Army Special Orders, No. 101 (extract) 12 May 1905

NOTE: Albert was in Alcatraz during the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906. He told mom that he was in SF and that the building collapsed and jammed the door of his bedroom so he couldn’t get out. He really was stuck in his room... but NOT from the earthquake!

1907. Under care of Dr. Evans, Searchlight, Clark Co, NV for mine explosion injuries. Per Veterans Application For Disability, 2 Oct 1939. (Not verified) Is this how he hurt his hand?

1912. Under care of Dr. Ewing, Lincoln, Logan, IL for stomach. Per Veterans Application For Disability, 2 Oct 1939. (Not verified)

1916. Under care of Dr. Rembe, Lincoln, Logan, IL for stomach. Per Veterans Application For Disability, 2 Oct 1939. (Not verified)

5. I received the following email from Albert Comstock’s son, John Davis Jr., in June 2008 regarding his father’s military records...

Dear Mark,
 
I want to correct where Claire Sloop reported an application my father, John W. Davis AKA Albert Ross Comstock, indicated that he was single without children. He also said that he suffered from an explosion in a mining accident that damaged his left arm 1907. His employment history and his medical history on this application was not accurate or true. As the result of this application, he finally was approved for a pension from the American Government. I believe it began in 1939 or 1940.  He failed to tell them about his Canadian Service in WWI that he performed under the name, John W. Davis. He also failed to tell them about his family which he had under the same name. During the great depression we were poor and desperate to find jobs and or relief from a lack of housing and food.  My family spent the period going from one place to another in the quest for employment. Our family consisted of my parents with five children all under twenty years of age. My father had a pension of about $80 per month which was more than a large majority of families. My father had served in the Canadian Army during WWI and was wounded and gassed in France in 1917 and he received the pension from Canada. We traveled up and down the West Coast from Canada to Mexico and between California and Mississippi looking for work wherever we could find it.  We did a lot of camping and finding shelter in abandoned buildings. My parents, however, made sure that the children attended school where ever we would happen to be at the time. For example I attended over 20 elementary schools and two high schools during this period, we all graduated from High School. I have copies of the documents my father submitted to the War Department to apply for a pension for his service in the American Army during the Spanish American War under his birth name Albert Ross Comstock. He claimed he was a single man physically unable to work. That he had no children and that his wounds on his left arm and side were the result of an explosion in a mine in Neveda when actually they were acquired in France during WWI, when he was in the Canadian Army under the Davis surname. His pension was finally approved which he received under the Comstock name and after his death my mother also received a widows pension until her death by proving that Albert Ross Comstock and John W. Davis were the same man. I have included a photo of my father in the Canadian uniform taken in 1918. I hope this will clear up some of the discrepancies in the family history.

Sincerely,
John W. Davis