Biographical Sketch

James Wesley Blacketer was born 22 Mar 1894, in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, to Harrison Blacketer and Martha Jane “Mattie” Smith.^[1]St. Mary’s Church (San Antonio, Texas), Baptisms, 1914-1919, p. 457, “Wesley James Blacketer” baptism, 7 Jun 1919; browsable images, FamilySearch … Continue reading While they were unmarried at the time of his birth, his parents later married 27 April 1898, in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri, shortly after Wesley turned four.[cm_custom_footnote id=”8″]

Having moved to Cameron, Clinton County, Missouri, by the turn of the century, Wesley was raised there by both his parents. In about 1902, his sister Mildred Blacketer was born followed about seven years later by a brother, Maurice Blacketer in about 1909.[cm_custom_footnote id=”5″]

At 19, Wesley’s father gave his permission for him to marry Virginia Leach, and, on 14 December 1913, they were married by the Buchanan County Justice of the Peace. [cm_custom_footnote id=”4″] Just two short years later on 16 April 1915, Wesley’s father Harrison passed away from arteriosclerosis and was buried in Graceland Cemetery in Cameron, Missouri, the following day with Wesley being listed as the informant on his death certificate.[cm_custom_footnote id=”10″]

A few months later, Wesley and Virginia welcomed their first son Charles Blacketer to the family and two years later in 1917, their second son Lloyd Vern Blacketer was born. Not much is known about their son Charles Blacketer and his birth, but since Lloyd was born in St. Joseph, Buchanan, Missouri, and Wesley indicated his current residence was in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri, it is clear the family moved away from Cameron, Missouri to St. Joseph sometime between his father’s death in 1915 where Wesley of Cameron, Missouri, is listed as the informant on his father’s death certificate and 23 May 2017, when Wesley’s second son, Lloyd is born in St. Joseph.

The United States entered into World War I on 6 April 1917, and two months later while employed as a “cutter” for “Richardson Dry Goods Company” in St. Joseph, Missouri, Wesley filled out his draft registration card.[cm_custom_footnote id=”6″] Almost a year-and-a-half later on 23 Oct 1918, Wesley was inducted into the United States Army in St. Joseph, Missouri, and was assigned to the Detention Camp at Camp Bowie, Texas (near Fort Worth, Texas). His wife and sons did not relocate to Texas with him. Approximately two months later in December of 1918, he was transferred to the Quarter Master Corps at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Then a short two months later, Wesley was promoted to sergeant.[cm_custom_footnote id=”9″]

At this time, it is not known how Wesley met Mary Alice Velda Truitt. Mary Alice was baptized at St. Mary’s Catholic Church 5 March 1913, in San Antonio, Texas.[cm_custom_footnote id=”11″] Thus, it is likely Wesley met Mary Alice in San Antonio and approximately five months after being transferred to there, Reverend Fred L. McFadden, a Presbyterian minister, married J. Wesley Blacketer and Alice Truitt 15 May 1919, in San Antonio with a Miss Clarma de Lallier and a Miss Mammie Knight as witnesses.[cm_custom_footnote id=”1″]

About three weeks later, James Wesley Blacketer was christened at St. Mary’s Church.[cm_custom_footnote id=”2″] The timeline of events indicates that possibly Mary Alice, who had been brought up in the Catholic faith, and her family urged James Wesley to have the marriage blessed by the Catholic church, which would have required either a dispensation from the bishop to marry a Catholic and a non-Catholic, or would have required James Wesley to convert to Catholicism.

While Wesley was in San Antonio beginning his relationship with Mary Alice, his first wife and his family (mother and siblings) had no idea where Wesley was. After a one-year’s absence and with two young sons, Virginia was ready to marry again. She filed for divorce from Wesley 30 Aug 1919, and their divorce was finalized in October of 1919.[cm_custom_footnote id=”3″] Virginia then married Dewey Galen Adams 8 Nov 1919.

By 1920, her oldest son with Wesley, Charles Blacketer, who would have been five years old, does not appear on the 1920 Federal population census with Virginia, his new stepfather Dewey, and his younger brother Lloyd. This suggests that Charles had likely passed away sometime before the 1920 census was taken. Also, starting with this census, Lloyd Vern’s surname is listed as “Adams,” and in later records he continues to use the “Adams” surname. It is unknown at this time if Dewey formerly adopted Lloyd or not.

James Wesley, who now appears to use his first name on documentation instead of his middle name, and Mary Alice were making their home at 115 Panama Avenue in San Antonio, while James performed bookkeeper duties for the U.S. Government in January of 1920. A little over a month later, their first child, Mary Gladys was born on 16 Feb 1920.

Five months later, the young family moved to a home located at 203 Devine Street, and having secured employment as a bookkeeper at Transcontinental Petroleum Company in Tampico, Mexico, James Wesley applied for a passport. His wife and daughter soon follow him to Tampico. By 1924, having returned to San Antonio, James is found working as a clerk for George Clifton (an attorney who would go on to marry his wife’s aunt, Viola), and James and his family are living at 311 Callaghan Street. James Wesley and Mary Alice welcomed two more children into their family — Betty Ruth in 1925 and James Wesley II in 1926.

[To be continued.]