Freeman

FREEMAN, GERALD

Posted By: Judy Stockham (email)
Date: 8/27/2012 at 16:02:17

I am looking for possible information about Gerald Freeman, son of Frank Freeman, born 08 Aug 1889 in Rome, Henry, Iowa. Known siblings were John (b 02 Mar 1896) and Nina (b Jun 1891). They are found on the 1900 Iowa State Census in Tippecanoe and then again in 1905 census living in Rome with another Freeman family, this time without the father. John and Nina stayed in Iowa in the Pottawattie area until at least 1919 and I found John’s death in Jul 1975 in Yountville, Napa, California but I have not been able to find anything for Gerald after 1905. It is very likely that for some reason he assumed John’s identity but kept his own birth date and left for Canada, being found in Keewatin, Ontario in the 1911 Canada Census as John. He signed attestation papers for WW1 as John but with his own birth date, birth place as Rome with next of kin as Nina, in Calgary 08 Jan 1916 and made the ultimate sacrifice, killed in action in France 18 Nov 1916. He is commemorated on our local cenotaph as well as on a couple of plaques, once again as John.

A group of us here in the Kenora/Keewatin area are working on a Kenora Great War Project where we are researching all who served during WW1 that have some connection to our area (born here, lived here at some time in their lives, or died here) with particular emphasis on those who lost their lives. We are planning an exhibit at our local museum for Aug 2014 to commemorate the start of the war. We know the person who signed up with the name of John Freeman from Rome cannot be John due to the other sources we found for John that he stayed in the States, and due to the fact that he gave Gerald’s birth date when he signed up, feel it must be Gerald. Any help in confirming this would be appreciated…perhaps something happened between 1905-1911 that forced Gerald to flee the country and assume John’s name???