No. 13035
Photograph in a collection of photographs and service records maintained by Dr. Nathaniel Royal Perkins. During World I, Dr. Perkins was employed by the draft registration board to examineyoung men for the draft. During this job, he befriended many servicemen and kept track of their military service during the war. Dr. Perkins died in 1922, and his widow, Clara, donated the collection to the Dorchester Historical Society in 1924
Ray C Campbell USN Enlisted Dec. 26, 1917 Naval Aviation Force France
Ray was born April 13, 1893, in Boston to David B. and Lavinia M. Campbell, both of whom had immigrated from Nova Scotia, Canada. In 1910, he lived with his parents and siblings on Hillside Terrace in Dorchester. His father was a carpenter and his mother a homemaker. He had three older sisters and two younger brothers. At age 17, he worked in the cement industry. He’s described as being of medium height and build, with brown hair and gray eyes.
He enlisted Dec. 26, 1917 and served with the Aviation Force in France as a Carpenter’s Mate 2nd Class. The photo shows him in naval uniform. The Naval Aviation Force predated the modern Air Force.
On returning from the war, he married Sarah Adams Boyle, known as Sadie, on July 3, 1919. They apparently lived with his parents on Clermont Street in the Ashmont neighborhood of Dorchester, but later bought a home on Sawyer Avenue in Savin Hill. They had two sons, Ray A., Jr., and John R., and Sadie’s brother William also lived with them.
Ray died November 24, 1957, while living on Franklin Road in Lexington. Services were held at his home.
References:
Ancestry.com:
US Federal Census, 1910, 1920, 1930
US WWI Draft registration, 1917-1918