Roland Oliver Toevs was born 6 Dec 1893 in Salem, Oregon, the middle child of three sons of Franz “Frank” Francis and Christina (Dettweiler) Toevs.
On his father’s side of the family, Roland’s ancestry is Dutch Mennonite that has been traced back to the 1700s in Prussia. His paternal grandparents Johann and Maria (Rempel) Toevs emigrated from southern Russia and settled in Kansas in 1874. Roland’s maternal grandparents, Jakob and Elizabeth (Jotter) Dettweiler, came to the U.S. from Germany in 1871, settling in the Newton, Kansas area.
Roland’s parents met and were married in Kansas in 1888, soon after moving to Oregon, first settling in Turner, where their first son, Monroe, was born in 1892. Both Roland and his younger brother, Arthur John, were born in Salem.
From Roland’s World War I draft registration, it is known he spent three years prior to 1917 with the Oregon National Guard Coast Artillery Corps. (Note: on his WWI and well as his WWII draft registrations, Roland's year of birth is recorded as 1894.)
At age 23, on 27 Nov 1917, Roland enlisted at Fort McDowell, Angel Island, California, and was assigned to the Army 181st Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas.
[In 1917, flight training occurred in two phases: primary and advanced. Primary training took eight weeks and consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills. After completion of their primary training, flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training.]
How long he was stationed at Kelly Field and if he was assigned elsewhere for the duration of his enlistment is not known, but the 181st was transferred to Eberts Field, in Arkansas the following March. U.S. involvement in WWI ended 11 Nov 1918, and Roland’s release date from the military was 25 Jan 1919.
The 1920 Census notes that Roland was working as welder in Los Angeles. By the following year, he and Jessie Frances Moss were married and living in Redondo Beach.
In the 1930 Census, he and Jessie were living in Assembly District 65 of Los Angeles. A nephew, Charles P Moss, age 10, was living with Roland and Jessie. Charles Jr. was one of seven children orphaned when Jessie's brother, Charles Patrick Moss and his wife Anna May died four months apart in 1927.
Roland and Jessie lived for a time in Fresno, California according to the 1940 Census. By 1942 they were living at 2004 Marshallfield Lane in Redondo Beach, and Roland was employed at Bechtel-McCone-Parsons as a welder.
Although they had no children of their own, it's possible that Jessie's nephew Charles lived with Roland and Jessie until his graduation from Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles in 1937.
Roland and Jessie would have been married 63 years at the time of her passing in Jun 1984.
Bio compiled by LittleDutchman from researching Roland and Jessie's family on Ancestry.com. and posted to Roland's Find A Grave Memorial #85534368 on June 9, 2015.
On his father’s side of the family, Roland’s ancestry is Dutch Mennonite that has been traced back to the 1700s in Prussia. His paternal grandparents Johann and Maria (Rempel) Toevs emigrated from southern Russia and settled in Kansas in 1874. Roland’s maternal grandparents, Jakob and Elizabeth (Jotter) Dettweiler, came to the U.S. from Germany in 1871, settling in the Newton, Kansas area.
Roland’s parents met and were married in Kansas in 1888, soon after moving to Oregon, first settling in Turner, where their first son, Monroe, was born in 1892. Both Roland and his younger brother, Arthur John, were born in Salem.
From Roland’s World War I draft registration, it is known he spent three years prior to 1917 with the Oregon National Guard Coast Artillery Corps. (Note: on his WWI and well as his WWII draft registrations, Roland's year of birth is recorded as 1894.)
At age 23, on 27 Nov 1917, Roland enlisted at Fort McDowell, Angel Island, California, and was assigned to the Army 181st Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas.
[In 1917, flight training occurred in two phases: primary and advanced. Primary training took eight weeks and consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills. After completion of their primary training, flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training.]
How long he was stationed at Kelly Field and if he was assigned elsewhere for the duration of his enlistment is not known, but the 181st was transferred to Eberts Field, in Arkansas the following March. U.S. involvement in WWI ended 11 Nov 1918, and Roland’s release date from the military was 25 Jan 1919.
The 1920 Census notes that Roland was working as welder in Los Angeles. By the following year, he and Jessie Frances Moss were married and living in Redondo Beach.
In the 1930 Census, he and Jessie were living in Assembly District 65 of Los Angeles. A nephew, Charles P Moss, age 10, was living with Roland and Jessie. Charles Jr. was one of seven children orphaned when Jessie's brother, Charles Patrick Moss and his wife Anna May died four months apart in 1927.
Roland and Jessie lived for a time in Fresno, California according to the 1940 Census. By 1942 they were living at 2004 Marshallfield Lane in Redondo Beach, and Roland was employed at Bechtel-McCone-Parsons as a welder.
Although they had no children of their own, it's possible that Jessie's nephew Charles lived with Roland and Jessie until his graduation from Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles in 1937.
Roland and Jessie would have been married 63 years at the time of her passing in Jun 1984.
Bio compiled by LittleDutchman from researching Roland and Jessie's family on Ancestry.com. and posted to Roland's Find A Grave Memorial #85534368 on June 9, 2015.
Roland Oliver Toevs was born 6 Dec 1893 in Salem, Oregon, the middle child of three sons of Franz “Frank” Francis and Christina (Dettweiler) Toevs.
On his father’s side of the family, Roland’s ancestry is Dutch Mennonite that has been traced back to the 1700s in Prussia. His paternal grandparents Johann and Maria (Rempel) Toevs emigrated from southern Russia and settled in Kansas in 1874. Roland’s maternal grandparents, Jakob and Elizabeth (Jotter) Dettweiler, came to the U.S. from Germany in 1871, settling in the Newton, Kansas area.
Roland’s parents met and were married in Kansas in 1888, soon after moving to Oregon, first settling in Turner, where their first son, Monroe, was born in 1892. Both Roland and his younger brother, Arthur John, were born in Salem.
From Roland’s World War I draft registration, it is known he spent three years prior to 1917 with the Oregon National Guard Coast Artillery Corps. (Note: on his WWI and well as his WWII draft registrations, Roland's year of birth is recorded as 1894.)
At age 23, on 27 Nov 1917, Roland enlisted at Fort McDowell, Angel Island, California, and was assigned to the Army 181st Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas.
[In 1917, flight training occurred in two phases: primary and advanced. Primary training took eight weeks and consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills. After completion of their primary training, flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training.]
How long he was stationed at Kelly Field and if he was assigned elsewhere for the duration of his enlistment is not known, but the 181st was transferred to Eberts Field, in Arkansas the following March. U.S. involvement in WWI ended 11 Nov 1918, and Roland’s release date from the military was 25 Jan 1919.
The 1920 Census notes that Roland was working as welder in Los Angeles. By the following year, he and Jessie Frances Moss were married and living in Redondo Beach.
In the 1930 Census, he and Jessie were living in Assembly District 65 of Los Angeles. A nephew, Charles P Moss, age 10, was living with Roland and Jessie. Charles Jr. was one of seven children orphaned when Jessie's brother, Charles Patrick Moss and his wife Anna May died four months apart in 1927.
Roland and Jessie lived for a time in Fresno, California according to the 1940 Census. By 1942 they were living at 2004 Marshallfield Lane in Redondo Beach, and Roland was employed at Bechtel-McCone-Parsons as a welder.
Although they had no children of their own, it's possible that Jessie's nephew Charles lived with Roland and Jessie until his graduation from Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles in 1937.
Roland and Jessie would have been married 63 years at the time of her passing in Jun 1984.
Bio compiled by LittleDutchman from researching Roland and Jessie's family on Ancestry.com. and posted to Roland's Find A Grave Memorial #85534368 on June 9, 2015.
On his father’s side of the family, Roland’s ancestry is Dutch Mennonite that has been traced back to the 1700s in Prussia. His paternal grandparents Johann and Maria (Rempel) Toevs emigrated from southern Russia and settled in Kansas in 1874. Roland’s maternal grandparents, Jakob and Elizabeth (Jotter) Dettweiler, came to the U.S. from Germany in 1871, settling in the Newton, Kansas area.
Roland’s parents met and were married in Kansas in 1888, soon after moving to Oregon, first settling in Turner, where their first son, Monroe, was born in 1892. Both Roland and his younger brother, Arthur John, were born in Salem.
From Roland’s World War I draft registration, it is known he spent three years prior to 1917 with the Oregon National Guard Coast Artillery Corps. (Note: on his WWI and well as his WWII draft registrations, Roland's year of birth is recorded as 1894.)
At age 23, on 27 Nov 1917, Roland enlisted at Fort McDowell, Angel Island, California, and was assigned to the Army 181st Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas.
[In 1917, flight training occurred in two phases: primary and advanced. Primary training took eight weeks and consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills. After completion of their primary training, flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training.]
How long he was stationed at Kelly Field and if he was assigned elsewhere for the duration of his enlistment is not known, but the 181st was transferred to Eberts Field, in Arkansas the following March. U.S. involvement in WWI ended 11 Nov 1918, and Roland’s release date from the military was 25 Jan 1919.
The 1920 Census notes that Roland was working as welder in Los Angeles. By the following year, he and Jessie Frances Moss were married and living in Redondo Beach.
In the 1930 Census, he and Jessie were living in Assembly District 65 of Los Angeles. A nephew, Charles P Moss, age 10, was living with Roland and Jessie. Charles Jr. was one of seven children orphaned when Jessie's brother, Charles Patrick Moss and his wife Anna May died four months apart in 1927.
Roland and Jessie lived for a time in Fresno, California according to the 1940 Census. By 1942 they were living at 2004 Marshallfield Lane in Redondo Beach, and Roland was employed at Bechtel-McCone-Parsons as a welder.
Although they had no children of their own, it's possible that Jessie's nephew Charles lived with Roland and Jessie until his graduation from Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles in 1937.
Roland and Jessie would have been married 63 years at the time of her passing in Jun 1984.
Bio compiled by LittleDutchman from researching Roland and Jessie's family on Ancestry.com. and posted to Roland's Find A Grave Memorial #85534368 on June 9, 2015.
