William Chitwood
William Chitwood (Sept. 23, 1896 – Oct. 23, 1918) was a Winfield man who died of Spanish flu during World War I.
See Also: Scott Countians killed in war
Biography
Born Sept. 23, 1896 in Elk Valley, William Chitwood was the son of Lindsey B. Chitwood (1858-1921) and Armelda Baker (1855-1949). He had 11 siblings: John Quincy Chitwood (1877-1959), Barney Chitwood (1879-1955), Riley Chitwood (1882-1930), Daniel C. Chitwood (1887-1917), Maggie Stephens (1888-1918), Ewell Swag Chitwood (1890-1970), Betty Cordell (1893-1956), Rachel Chitwood (1896-1896), Linsey Brassfield Chitwood (1897-1935), Isaac Chitwood (1899-1978), and John L. Chitwood (1902-1987).
William was descended from Revolutionary War veteran James Chitwood, the first settler of Winfield, who was his second-great-grandfather. His maternal grandfather, William Hiram Baker, was a Civil War veteran.
William married Ruby O. Trammell (1899-1970), whose second-great-grandfather was Revolutionary War veteran Dennis Trammell. The Trammell family settled the Winfield area at about the same time as the Chitwood family. Her grandfather, James Marion Trammell, was a veteran of the Civil War.
World War I
Pvt. Chitwood enlisted in the U.S. Army on Sept. 6, 1918 at Huntsville and trained at Camp Wadsworth in Spartanburg, S.C. He sailed to Europe on Sept. 29, 1918, and arrived on Oct. 7, 1918. He was assigned to Co. D, 57th Infantry Pioneer.
Pvt. Chitwood developed pneumonia and died at an American Red Cross hospital in Chaumont, France on Oct. 23, 1918.
Aftermath
Pvt. Chitwood’s wife, Ruby, was informed of his death by the U.S. Army. He was initially buried at the American Military Cemetery in France, but his body was returned stateside and buried at the Chitwood Cemetery in Winfield.
Ruby remarried to Edward “Edd” Chitwood in 1923. He and William were not closely related. They had three daughters: Lana Davis, Robertine Potocki and Lorene Wolsey; and three sons: Jack Chitwood, Robert Chitwood and Eddie Chitwood.
Pvt. Chitwood’s name is not inscribed on either the VFW Post 5669 Memorial Wall in Oneida or the Veterans Memorial Wall in Huntsville.