Private, Co I, 311th Infantry, 78th Division.
Died October 26, 1918 of wounds received in action near Grandpré, France. Distinguished Service Cross. Age 28.
Town: Batavia (also Ontario County and Wayne County; see text)
Burial: Grand View Cemetery, Grace Lawn section, Batavia, Genesee County, New York
Edward Wilson Barry was born on January 6, 1890, in Farmington (Ontario County), New York. At the time he registered for the draft in Canandaigua (Ontario County), on June 5, 1917, he was working in Manchester (also Ontario County) while living in Palmyra (Wayne County). The 1892 NY State Census shows Edward living in Farmington with his parents, William and Cora R Barry, and an older sister (Catherine, listed as Kittie). The 1900 US Census shows the family, with Cora listed as head of the household, living in Manchester; Edward and Catherine are listed with two additional siblings, John and Francis.
However, according to the December 7, 1918 Batavia Daily News, Edward Barry was living and working in Batavia (Genesee County), employed by the Carroll Carting Company, before leaving the city on March 30, 1918, and entering the Army with an Ontario County draft contingent two days later, on April 1. In his Distinguished Service Cross citation in History of the Seventy-Eighth Division, his residence at enlistment is given as 35 Columbia Avenue, Batavia. In addition, Edward apparently had spent several earlier years living in Batavia. The 1905 NY State Census shows him at age 15 (listed as Eddie) and siblings John and Francis living with their mother, now married to William W Babcock, at 128 Summit Street in Batavia. In the 1910 US Census, Edward, at age 20, and his brother John are shown as boarders at 102 Jackson Street; Cora and Francis are listed at 98 Park Place. Edward’s mother and two sisters were still living in Batavia at the time Private Barry was killed.
Edward Barry can be legitimately claimed as an Ontario County, Wayne County, and Genesee County soldier. His residence at registration was in Wayne County and probably for that reason he’s listed in the NY Roll of Honor as a Wayne County soldier. He was “from” Ontario County and entered the service there. But he lived a number of his formative years in Genesee County, and at the time he was inducted his home and place of employment was Genesee County.
There are discrepancies regarding the date of Private Barry’s death. His Distinguished Service Cross citation and most newspaper articles published in 1919 or later say that he was killed in action on October 25, 1918. However, his NYSS, initial 1918 newspaper reports (which were based on government casualty notices), and all documents in his Burial Case File state that he died on October 26 of wounds received in action. October 26 is also the death date on Private Barry’s tombstone. (His casualty listing in History of the Seventy-Eighth Division, the same book that contains his DSC citation with the date October 25, gives his death date as October 28; this is likely an error.)
The preponderance of official sources give October 26, not the 25th, as Barry’s death date, so that is the date used here. But given the 311th Infantry’s actions on both days, Barry could’ve been mortally wounded on either date; he may well have received his wound on the 25th and died the following day. On October 25, the 311th’s 3rd Battalion, which included Barry’s Company I, attacked from the crest of Talma Hill, near Grandpré, and into the southern edge of the Bois de Bourgogne against stubborn enemy resistance from machine-gun and shell fire. On October 26, the battalion was ordered to consolidate and extend its line despite continued strong artillery and machine-gun fire and infantry counterattacks.
In either case, Private Barry’s actions speak for themselves. His Distinguished Service Cross citation reads: “For extraordinary heroism in action near Grand-Pré, France, October 25, 1918. Acting as stretcher bearer, under heavy machine-gun fire, he was wounded, but, disregarding his own injuries, he went to the aid of another wounded man, and while attending him was killed by shrapnel.”
On September 11, 1921, Private Edward W Barry was buried in Batavia’s Grand View Cemetery following a service at City Hall attended by, according to the September 12, 1921 Batavia Daily News, “hundreds of Batavians standing with bared heads to do final reverence to the dead soldier.”
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December 7, 1918 Batavia Daily News p7 c3
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February 18, 1919 Batavia Daily News p1 c6
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Distinguished Service Cross Citation, History of the Seventy-Eighth Division, p 195
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September 12, 1921 Batavia Daily News p2 c5
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Identity Tag in Edward W Barry Burial Case File, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92, National Archives – St. Louis, Missouri
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Source: New York Service Summary from Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917-1919, NY State Archives, Albany, New York
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Source: Burial Case Files, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92, National Archives — St Louis, Missouri
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Source: Burial Case Files, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92, National Archives — St Louis, Missouri
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Source: Burial Case Files, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92, National Archives — St Louis, Missouri
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Edward W Barry headstone, Grand View Cemetery, Grace Lawn section, Batavia, Genesee County, New York
GPS Coordinates: Lat 42° 59’ 59.709” N, Long 78° 9’ 4.95” W (DD: 42.999919 -78.151375)
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Edward W Barry Sources:
– County Lists 1, 4; also BHR
– Dec 7, 1918 BD p7 c3*
– Dec 14, 1918 BT p2 c2
– Feb 18, 1919 BD p1 c6
– Feb 21, 1919 BD p9 c3
– Feb 22, 1919 BT p2 c2
– Sep 9, 1921 BD p1 c6
– Sep 12, 1921 BD p2 c5
– “New York State Census, 1892.” Online index and images, FamilySearch.org. Entry for Edward W Barry, age 3, citing Census Records, Farmington, E.D. 01, Ontario, New York; page number 2.
– “United States Census, 1900.” Online index and images, HeritageQuest.com. Entries for Cora Barry (head) and Eddie Barry (son, age 10), citing Census Records, Manchester, Ontario, New York; sheet number 1A, line numbers 14 and 16, microfilm series T623, Roll 1139, page 41.
– “New York State Census, 1905.” Online index and images, FamilySearch.org. Entry for Eddie Barry, stepson, age 15, in household of William W Babcock, citing Census Records, Batavia, E.D. 01, Genesee, New York; page number 35, line number 20.
– “United States Census, 1910.” Online index and images, HeritageQuest.com. Entry for Edward Barry (boarder, age 20), citing Census Records, Batavia, Genesee, New York; sheet number 13, line 48, and sheet number 4, line 19, microfilm series T624, Roll 951, page 153.
– “United States Census, 1910.” Online index and images, HeritageQuest.com. Entry for Cora Barry (head), citing Census Records, Batavia, Genesee, New York; sheet number 3, line 27, microfilm series T624, Roll 951, page 97.
– NYSS
– Roll of Honor (NY State), p 168
– World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Ancestry.com)
– 78th Division, Summary of Operations in the World War, pp 32-34
– History of the Seventy-Eighth Division, pp 131, 195, 231
– United States Army in the World War 1917-1919 (Vol. 9), pp 325-30
– Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross and the Distinguished Service
Medal, p 431
– BCF
– Grand View Cemetery tombstone transcriptions, A-E listings, online, access from USGenWeb, “Genesee County NY Cemeteries” Table of Contents (http://www.usgwarchives.net/ny/genesee/cemeteries/cemeterytoc.htm)
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Click for Key to Source Abbreviations. See the Bibliography for complete title, author, and publisher information, with links to online access when available.