William Perry Hankins was the only one of Thomas Leander Hankins and Samantha Angeline Petty’s children not born in Hopkins County, Kentucky.¹Hopkins Co., KY, Marriages, 12-1920–6-1921: 79, Hankins-Hill, 1921; Hopkins Co. Clerk, Madisonville; Perry’s full name, birthplace Webster Co., and parents’ names. He was born on 17 October 1898.²“U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925–1970,” digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2375 : accessed 21 December 2012), Perry Hankins, serial no. 1556832; from Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774–1985, Record Group 92, NARA, Washington, D.C. According to information provided for his marriage bond twenty-two years later, he was born in Webster County, Kentucky.³Hopkins Co., KY, Marriages, 12-1920–6-1921: 79, Hankins-Hill. When Perry was born, the family lived in Dalton in Hopkins County, which is only a few miles from the Webster County line. While there is no explanation for why he would have been born in Webster County, that marriage bond is the only record located to date that identifies Perry’s birthplace.

Eleven-year-old Perry worked as a farm laborer while attending school in 1910.⁴1910 U.S. census, Hopkins Co., KY, population schedule, District #3, enumeration district (ED) 90, sheet 7A & B, dwelling 143, family 146, Tom L. Hankins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884 : accessed 8 Jan 2010); from NARA microfilm T624, roll 481. In April 1912, when Perry was thirteen and his youngest brother, Jimmy, was eleven, their best bird dog contracted rabies and attacked them. On 20 April, the boys were out on the road with the dog in the Grapevine area of Hopkins County where they lived. The dog had been acting strange for several days before it turned on them. According to the report published in The Hustler, one of the boys carried a shotgun and was able to shoot and kill the dog after a desperate fight.⁵“Local News of Interest,” Hustler (Madisonville, KY), 26 Apr 1912, p. 5, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 20 Jan 2021).

Six months before the United States entered World War I, Perry enlisted in the U.S. Army on 3 October 1916 at Madisonville, Kentucky.⁶“U.S. Headstone Applications for Military Veterans 1925–1963,” Perry Hankins. When he sailed to France on 2 October 1918, Perry was with the 149th Infantry, 38th Division. They left New York City aboard the RMS Aquitania, an ocean liner in the Cunard Line used to transport troops during World War I.⁷“U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910–1939,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61174 : accessed 10 Jan 2021), Outgoing > Aquitania > 12 Sep 1918–10 Oct 1918 > image 515, entry for Perry Hankins, serial no. 1556832; from Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985, Record Group 92, NARA, College Park, MD. Brothers Jimmy and Elvie also joined the U.S. Army and the three brothers all spent time in France during the war. They were together there in 1918, at least long enough to have a picture taken.⁸James Bailey, Albert Elvie, and William Perry Hankins photograph, 1918, from James Bailey Hankins’s album, privately held by Martha Carver Abbott, Greenville, KY; abt. 1972, J. B. gave his photo album to his McCauley nieces in Greenville during one of his last trips to KY, Elizabeth McCauley Carver held it, Martha received it from Elizabeth (her mother) abt. 2003; image digitized by Linda McCauley 23 Jul 2013; annotated AEF-1918. AEF = American Expeditionary Forces.

Perry returned from France aboard the USS Pretoria, sailing from Brest on 24 May 1919. He arrived in Hoboken, New Jersey, on June 6th.⁹“U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910–1939,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61174 : accessed 10 Jan 2021), Incoming > Pretoria > 28 Apr 1919–25 Aug 1919 > image 198, entry for Perry Hankins, serial no. 1556832; from Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985, Record Group 92, NARA, College Park, MD. After his discharge on 31 July 1919, Perry re-enlisted on 5 August. At the time of his discharge, he was in the 144th Infantry, 36th Division. During his second enlistment, Perry served as a corporal in the 15th Recruit Company, G.S.I.¹⁰“U.S. Headstone Applications for Military Veterans 1925–1963,” Perry Hankins. He was discharged on 4 or 5 August 1920 in Oteen, North Carolina.¹¹“U.S. Headstone Applications for Military Veterans 1925–1963,” Perry Hankins; discharge date 4 Aug 1920. “U.S., National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866–1938,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1200 : accessed 22 Mar 2010), Perry Hankins, no. 12603, Johnson City; from Records of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; NARA, Washington, D.C.; discharge date 5 Aug 1920 at Oteen, NC.

Perry went to work for the railroad when he returned to Hopkins County.¹²Hopkins Co., KY, Marriages, 12-1920–6-1921: 79, Hankins-Hill. He was probably the Perry Hankins boarding with William Johnson in Williamson, Mingo County, West Virginia in 1920. Perry was not listed in his father’s household in Hopkins County. The Perry Hankins in Johnson’s household was the right age, was born in Kentucky, had served in the World War, and worked for the railroad as a car repairer.¹³1920 U.S. census, Mingo Co., WV, population schedule, Williamson, enumeration district (ED) 118, sheet 17A, dwelling 265, family 320, William Johnson; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 5 Sep 2019); from NARA microfilm T625, roll 1965.

On 12 April 1921, Perry married Margaret Hill in Earlington. Father L. E. Clements, Catholic Priest for the Immaculate Conception Church, performed the ceremony.¹⁴Hopkins Co., KY, Marriages, 12-1920–6-1921: 79, Hankins-Hill. Margaret was born on 19 November 1895 in Earlington to George Hill and Ollie Coomes.¹⁵“Florida, U.S., Death Index, 1877–1998,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7338 : accessed 10 Oct 2010), Margaret Bixler, 1971, Orange Co.; from FL Death Index, 1877–1998, FL Dept. of Health, Office of Vital Records; Margaret’s DOB. “Mrs. Margaret Bixler,” Orlando (FL) Sentinel, 10 Dec 1971, p. 7-B, col. 2; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jan 2021); Margaret’s birthplace and parents’ names. She had worked for the H. D. Coward store.¹⁶“News of the Town,” Bee (Earlington, KY), 27 Jun 1916, p. 3, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Mar 2021); mentioned Margaret worked at the H. D. Coward store.

Perry and Margaret had little time together. Two weeks after their wedding, Perry required treatment for tuberculosis (TB). He entered the Mountain Branch of the U.S. National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Johnson City, Tennessee, on 26 April.¹⁷“U.S., National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866–1938,” Perry Hankins. The influenza epidemic during World War I resulted in many soldiers developing TB. Soldiers who were gassed also became victims of the disease. The constant damp and rainy weather in France often resulted in the development of pneumonia, another factor in activating TB.¹⁸“Army Treatment of Tuberculosis,” New York (NY) Times, 27 Jun 1920, Editorial Section, p. 3, col. 1, online archives (https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/06/27/96360108.html?pageNumber=23 : accessed 23 Mar 2010).

Perry returned home to Hopkins County after his release from the Johnson City facility on 27 July 1921.¹⁹“U.S., National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866–1938,” Perry Hankins. His and Margaret’s only child, William Perry, Jr., was born on 11 January 1922 in Hopkins County.²⁰“Kentucky, U.S., Birth Index, 1911-1999,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8788 : accessed 28 Jan 2021), birth certificate no. 02438 (1922), William P. Hankins; Kentucky Birth, Marriage, and Death Databases: Births 1911-1999, Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. By February 23rd, Perry was again receiving treatment, this time as a patient at the U.S. General Hospital #19 in Oteen, North Carolina. On that day, he wrote a letter to his eight-year-old niece Helen, who was back home in Hopkins County.²¹Perry Hankins (Oteen, NC) to his niece, Helen Hankins (Madisonville, KY), Letter, 23 Feb 1922; privately held by Sue Morgan London, AZ, copy provided to Linda McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY, 2004.

In that letter, Perry urged Helen and her brother to visit Bill, who was not yet two months old. He asked her to write to him after they saw the baby, adding, “I think he is the stuff.” He said the weather there was beautiful, just like a spring day at home. Perry talked about plans for when he returned home that summer, telling Helen to tell her daddy (his brother John) to plant a big watermelon patch and they would “tear it up for him.” He said he could see the Blue Ridge Mountains “every way you look,” and that he spent most of his time in bed writing letters.²²Perry Hankins to Helen Hankins, Letter, 23 Feb 1922.

By early October 1922, Perry was continuing TB treatment at Fitzsimons General Hospital (formerly known as U.S. General Hospital #21) in Aurora, Colorado, near Denver.²³“Perry Hankins Dies At Denver, Colorado,” undated clipping, ca. Dec 1922, from unidentified newspaper (possibly Bee (Earlington, KY) or Madisonville (KY) Messenger), privately held by Sue Morgan London, AZ, copy provided to Linda McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY, 2004; Perry was in Denver seven weeks before he died. Encyclopedia Staff, “Fitzsimons General Hospital,” Colorado Encyclopedia, last modified 8 Feb 2020 (https://www.https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fitzsimons-general-hospital : accessed 10 Mar 2021); facility originally General Hospital No. 21, changed to Fitzsimons General Hospital in 1920, located in Aurora, CO near Denver. This facility and the one at Oteen were the main army hospitals for tuberculosis treatment at that time.²⁴“Army Treatment of Tuberculosis,” New York (NY) Times, 27 Jun 1920. Whether Perry had been home between his stay at Oteen and entering Fitzsimons or moved directly from one facility to the other is unknown. If he got to go home, it was not for more than a few months.

Perry had been in Denver about seven weeks when he died on 1 December 1922.²⁵“Perry Hankins Dies At Denver, Colorado,” undated clipping from unidentified newspaper; in Denver seven weeks. “U.S. Headstone Applications for Military Veterans 1925–1963,” Perry Hankins; Perry’s DOD. His body was returned to Earlington from Colorado on the train.²⁶ “Perry Hankins Dies At Denver, Colorado,” undated clipping from unidentified newspaper. Perry was buried in Earlington Cemetery (then called Catholic Cemetery) near Margaret’s father.²⁷ Earlington Cemetery (Oakwood Ave., Earlington, Hopkins Co., KY), Perry Hankins marker, photographed by Linda McCauley, 13 Sep 2018.

By 1928, Margaret had married Arvin Garnet Bixler. They lived in Frankfort, Kentucky, and had a daughter together.²⁸Caron’s Directory of the City of Frankfort, KY for 1928-1929-1930 (Louisville, KY: Caron Directory Co.), p. 54, entry for Arvin G and Margaret Bixler; digital image, Ancestry, (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469 : accessed 2 Nov 2020) > Kentucky > Frankfort > 1928 > Frankfort, Kentucky, City Directory, 1928> image 29. 1930 U.S. census, Franklin Co., KY, population schedule, Frankfort, enumeration district (ED) 37-5, sheet 13A, dwelling 299, family 299, A. G. Bixler; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224 : accessed 10 Jan 2021); from NARA microfilm T626, roll 751; daughter. Arvin died on 21 January 1953 and was buried in Frankfort Cemetery.²⁹“Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1222 : accessed 10 Jan 2021), death certificate no. 548 (1953), Arvin Garnett; from microfilm 7016130–7041803, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. Margaret died on 8 December 1971 in Orange County, Florida.³⁰“Florida, U.S., Death Index, 1877–1998,” Margaret Bixler. She was buried beside Arvin in Frankfort Cemetery.³¹Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com : viewed 2 Jan 2021), memorial 59764361, for Margaret H. Bixler, (Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, KY), digital image, 18 Oct 2010, by Tina Toles Wingate.

William Perry Hankins, Jr.

Bill was born on 11 January 1922 in Earlington, Hopkins County, Kentucky. By 1928, his father had died, and his mother had remarried. He grew up in Frankfort, living with his mother, step-father, Arvin Garnet Bixler, and half-sister.³²1930 U.S. census, Franklin Co., KY, pop. sch., Frankfort, ED 37-5, sheet 13A, dwelling 299, family 299, A. G. Bixler. “William Perry Hankins,” undated clipping, ca. 1940, from unidentified newspaper (possibly The State Journal (Frankfort, KY), privately held by Sue Morgan London, AZ, copy provided to Linda McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY, 2004.

On 21 May 1940, Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was discharged on 1 April 1943.³³“U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850–2010,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2441 : accessed 10 Jan 2021), William Hankins, SSN 406097392; from Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File, U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C. Bill married Lucy Ford, and they had five children.³⁴“Lucy Ford Hankins,” Times Advocate (Escondido, CA), 12 Oct 1986, p. 11, col. 3; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jan 2021). They divorced in December 1966 in Lake County, Florida, and Bill married twice more.³⁵“Florida, U.S., Divorce Index, 1927–2001,” digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8837 : 10 Jan 2021), William P. Hankins, Sr. and Lucy L. Ford, vol 1212, certificate no. 25861, Dec 1966; from Florida Divorce Index, 1927–2001, FL Dept. of Health, Jacksonville. He married Marjorie Naomi Lundgren in March 1967 and later married Iwana Jane Boggess on 26 February 1980. Both weddings took place in Osceola County, Florida.³⁶Florida, U.S., Marriage Indexes, 1822–1875 and 1927–2001, database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8784 : 10 Jan 2021), William Perry Hankins Sr.-Marjorie Naomi Lundgren, Mar 1967, Osceola Co., and William Perry Hankins Sr.-Iwana Jane Boggess, 26 Feb 1980, Osceola Co.; from Florida Marriage Index, 1927-2001, FL Dept. of Health, Jacksonville.

Bill died on 12 December 1997 in Lake County, Florida, and was buried there in Umatilla Cemetery.³⁷Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com : 10 Jan 2021), database, memorial 101283517, for William P. Hankins Sr., (Umatilla Cemetery, Umatilla, FL); no image.