Lawrence Leslie Staggers

The following profile was researched and compiled by Candice L. Buchanan and Glenn J. R. T. Toothman III, for publication in "The Rain Day Boys: The Greene That Lay Near Grimpettes Woods" (2017). Learn more at www.RainDayBoys.com.

Birth: 18 November 1896 Greene County, Pennsylvania[i]

Parents: James Ellsworth Staggers and Amanda McVay[ii]

Residence at time of enlistment: near Bristoria, Jackson Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania (in 1918, they utilized the post office in Harveys)[iii]

Physical description: 5 feet 5 ½ inches tall, dark complexion, brown eyes, black hair[iv]

Death: Killed in action 29 July 1918 Cierges, Picardie, France[v]

Age at death: 21 years old

Last resting place: 27 July 1921 Staggers Family Cemetery, Jackson Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania[vi]

Military rank: Serial No. 1241559. Private First Class. Company K, 110th Infantry, 28th Division.

Witness account of death: Statement given by Sgt. James Kane. “I was lying in skirmish line beside Lawrence Staggers in a open field in front of the Grimpette woods just beyond the Ourcq river. This happened on the morning of July 29th about 6 o’clock. He was hit by machine gun bullet. He called to me for a drink of water but before I could crawl to him he died.”[vii]

Additional information:

Lawrence grew up on the family farm in Jackson Township and worked for the Sheridan Oil and gas Company in Bristoria, near his home, before enlisting in the military.[viii] He was one of ten children, six boys and four girls. Candid photographs of Lawrence with his brothers give a glimpse of him in early life.

As surviving soldiers made their way home from Europe, details of the war and the fallen were shared with the community. One such story surfaced about Lawrence and was published in the Waynesburg Republican in early 1919:

Lawrence L. Staggers Had Refused to Be Discharged

Brave Greene County Soldier Who Fell at Chateau-Thierry Said He Wanted to Fight to the Finish.

After bravely refusing to take his discharge from the One Hundred and Tenth Regiment, Regimental Mail Carrier Lawrence L. Staggers of Bristoria, Greene County, was killed at Hill 220 [sic 212] on July 29, according to information given out by C. R. Johnson of the same town and regiment, who, with three machine gun bullet wounds in his leg and suffering from the effects of Hun mustard gas, was a guest in the Fort Pitt hotel, Friday, says the Pittsburgh Gazette Times. He has just returned from the front.

Young Staggers had undergone an operation for appendicitis. He was told by his superior officer that he would be discharged and could go home. The youth begged to be permitted to stay, saying that he wanted to fight to the finish, Private Johnson said. The boy's plea was granted and in a gallant charge during the seven day's heavy fighting a machine gun bullet struck him in the lungs and another in the stomach.

Private Johnson said that it was the most terrible fight he was in, and that the whole regiment will receive the red keystone insignia for the left shoulder for the gallant action in those terrible seven days. This hill is on the Chateau Thierry front. Mr. Johnson's brother, D. H. Johnson, is in Co. H, 111th Regiment, now at the front.[ix]

Lawrence was buried in the family cemetery,  with his parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, as well as many other relatives.[x]

In 1934, James E. Staggers, Lawrence's father, was granted $10.00 a month for 20 months, as part of the Pennsylvania Veteran’s Compensation Act, on behalf of his son.[xi]

 

[i] Amanda McVay Staggers obituary, Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 19 February 1931.

James B. Staggers obituary, Democrat Messenger, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 12 November 1940.

"WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60884 : accessed 9 October 2017), James E. Staggers, father of Lawrence L. Staggers - application no. 134075; citing World War I Veterans Service and Compensation File, 1934–1948 (RG 19, Series 19.91), Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

[ii] "WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com, James E. Staggers, father of Lawrence L. Staggers - application no. 134075.

[iii] "United States, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=6482 : accessed 17 November 2017), Lawrence L. Staggers draft card, serial no. 8, Local Draft Board, Jackson Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania; citing National Archives microfilm publication M1509, FHL roll 1892940. Lawrence listed his birthplace, present address, and workplace as Bristoria, PA. He also registered in Jackson Township.

"United States, Army Transport Service Passenger Lists 1910-1939," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=61174 : accessed 14 October 2017), Lawrence L. Staggers entry, line 113, page 34 (stamped), Ausonia, box 373; citing Lists of Outgoing Passengers, 1917-1938. Textual records. 255 Boxes. NAI: 6234477. Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985. Record Group Number 92. National Archives, College Park, Maryland. The ledger lists an emergency contact person and address for each passenger. Lawrence listed his father, with whom he likely lived at the time of his enlistment. He gave his address as “Harvey's, PA.”

"WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com, James E. Staggers, father of Lawrence L. Staggers - application no. 134075. James listed Lawrence’s last address as Harveys, Pa. He listed his own current address as Holbrook, Pa. Both of these are in Center Township, which indicates the Staggers family handled mail in that direction as opposed to Jackson Township, where they physically resided.

[iv] "PA National Guard Veterans' Card File, 1867-1921," digital images, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), Pennsylvania State Archives Records Information Access System (www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/archive.asp: viewed 12 November 2017), Lawrence L. Staggers, Private, Co K, 10th Inf., P. N. G.; citing Pennsylvania State Archives, series #19.135.

[v] "WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com, James E. Staggers, father of Lawrence L. Staggers - application no. 134075.

[vi] "Bodies of Company K Men Laid to Rest" article, Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 28 July 1921.

Staggers Cemetery (Jackson Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania), Lawrence L. Staggers tombstone; personally read by Candice Buchanan, 17 August 2002.

[vii] "WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com, James E. Staggers, father of Lawrence L. Staggers - application no. 134075.

[viii] "United States, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," digital images, Ancestry.com, Lawrence L. Staggers draft card, serial no. 8, Local Draft Board, Jackson Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania.

[ix] "Lawrence L. Staggers Had Refused to Be Discharged", Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 2 January 1919, page 1, column 1.

[x] "Bodies of Company K Men Laid to Rest" article, Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 28 July 1921.

Staggers Cemetery (Jackson Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania), Lawrence L. Staggers tombstone; personally read by Candice Buchanan, 17 August 2002.

[xi] "WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com, James E. Staggers, father of Lawrence L. Staggers - application no. 134075.