Last April I came across a dusty old photo of a soldier, his dog tags, and a medal, in an antique shop in Edinboro Pennsylvania. The soldier's name was inscribed on the medal. A Google search turned up the life of Chester C. Waller, a physician and skilled surgeon from Vermont. He went to war in France in May of 1918. Before the war, Dr. Waller attended the Methodist Seminary in Montpelier Vermont, attended medical school in Burlington Vermont, and graduated from the Baltimore Medical College in Maryland in 1898. He had 3 children, his first wife died in 1911, a few years after his daughter was born. He remarried in 1913. From there I know little else about Dr. Waller.The photo on the left is of Dr. Waller in profile, I found it while doing a Google search. My painting is on the right. I am still working on that. Some day I may learn what became of the good doctor and his family.
Great job, Todd, both in the painting and in the research.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ski!
ReplyDeleteChester Curtis Waller is my great uncle, brother of my grandfather, Halley Templeton Waller. Chester was the eldest of four brothers, the others Henry A., Halley T. and Percy H. Their father, Henry, died of measles at age 38, in 1880. His wife, Josephine Bogue Waller, died 60 days later, from -- folks said -- of a broken heart. Henry was a storekeeper in Barton Landing, nowadays known as Orleans, Vt. The orphaned boys, ranging in age from 7yrs to 13 mos, were taken in by branches of the family. Percy was adopted by the Dr. Templeton and his wife Ada Bogue, sister of of the deceased Josephine. Dr. Templeton's example and aid inspired all four of the orphaned boys to study medicine. Your Chester discovery is of great interest to me; he served well, continued to practice after the war but I don't know where, and died in 1924. He had been widowed in 1910, remarried in 1913, but I do not have the name of his 2nd wife. Let me know, please, where you found the information. The younger brother, Percy Waller Templeton became a beloved country doctor in Irasburg, VT, and was also a renowned diagnostician often called in to Boston on unusual cases. Halley also studied at the Baltimore Medical College after being graduated from Brown University, but opted not to pursue medicine in favor of working as a Y secretary, first in Providence, then Cambridge, MA and finally in Akron, OH.
ReplyDeleteI am so interested in Chester's war record. Anything you can tell me would be most valued.
Incredible. I have heard from one other person about Chester. I found an old photo of Chester an antique shop in Edinboro PA. The picture, his nedal and dog tags may still be there. There are only two antique shops. I think I found the picture at Lady Gray Antiques. I got all of my info on your uncle by searching Google.
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