By: Mark Holtsberry
William Arthur Henry Dempsey was born August 6, 1892 in Van Wert, Ohio. He was a member of the “Moxley family”, but William was adopted and raised by Willis H. and Mary Belle Dempsey (I’m not clear of the year William was adopted). Willis H. Dempsey was born in 1849, his wife Mary Belle was born in 1851. By 1880, the Dempsey’s were living in Washington Township. Interesting facts about the census, listed the Dempsey family as “Mulato”, and listing them as farmers.
By 1900, the Dempsey family was raising a niece named, Etta Booker, as well as William. He helped on the farm to make a living. William, working on the farm, found the time to meet a girl named Lola Mae Phillips. Lola Mae was born, May 18, 1890, the daughter of Loyd and Georgeanna Phillips.
William and Lola Mae were married on October 23, 1909 in Paulding, Ohio. They became the parents of a son named, Floyd Wilbur Dempsey. By 1910, it seems because of Willis’s age, William was running the farm. As the world was drawing itself into war, the draft was installed on June 5, 1917, William had signed up for the draft, listing him as slender build, brown eyes and black hair, also listing himself as “Negro”, but the interesting note from the draft records indicate that he was single.
I do not know for sure what happened to his marriage to Lola Mae. On August 3, 1918, William was selected to serve in the army. On September 2, 1918, William was sent to serve with 40th Company, 10th Training Battalion, 158th Depot Brigade. Then on September 29, 1918, William was sent to serve with, 16th Company, Automatic Replacement Draft to serve with the engineers.
As a proud member of the American Expeditionary Forces, William was doing his duty. On September 29, 1918, leaving Hoboken, New Jersey, William left on the ship Leviathan. William caught bronchopneumonia, and died, October 12, 1918.
His father, Willis, was notified of his death and William was buried in Middle Creek Zion Baptist Cemetery, New Section, Row 1, Grave 51. William’s wife, Lola Mae, remarried a guy named, Edgar Martin Elliot on August 25, 1923 in Allen County, Indiana. That marriage did not last either. Lola Mae passed away, April 26, 1952 and was buried in Middle Creek Zion Baptist Cemetery. Edgar remarried and he passed away in 1996 and was buried in Lindenwood Cemetery, Ft. Wayne, Indiana. As for Floyd Wilbur, I could not find what happened to him after 1940.
