Cattaraugus County
Veterans of the Great War
1917-1918

As I was surfing the different Cattaraugus genealogy sites, it came to me that there were many Civil War resources, but few with World War One rosters. I remembered in my father's papers, there was a list, or roster of some of the people with whom he served . Wonder of wonders, I found it! Turned out, it was the " Emergency Address " list complete with next of kin's address, for platoons one through four of Company "I" of the 108th Infantry, 54th Infantry Brigade, 27th Division of the U.S. Army.

Susan Edmonds, a relative of Gerald Donigan, a casualty in Company I, has furnished me with some newspaper clippings of obituaries of some of the men, as well as list of casualties. Some of the names now have links to additional information about that individual. Thanks Susan.

For those of you who may have had ancestors or relatives in the Great War from Cattaraugus and Erie County there may be some "connections" in these lists. They not only list the soldiers name, but his next of kin, and their address and relationship. Many from Olean, Buffalo, Allegany, and a few from NYC and elsewhere.

The origin of these documents is unclear. They are typed carbon copies. The paper appears to have been provided by the Y.M.C.A with a YMCA logo with the word "on active service with the American Expeditionary Forces" on the backside. It sort of looks like something the YMCA may have provided the troops to use when writing home. My best guess is that these were typed by a company clerk, who may have used whatever paper was available. It is also possible that somehow the YMCA may have been a participant in the generation of this next of kin list. Whatever the source, from this point forward, they shall remain in the public domain, in memory of those who served. If this site helps you out, let me know, it would make the effort worth it - Richard Allen