Florence K. Zergiebel Military Service Report

A Four-Hour Research Project

Subject:            Florence K. Zergiebel, randomly selected from “Women from Marion County, Indiana Who Served in World War I”, a membership-dependent, database resource of the Indiana Genealogical Society (IGS). This database contains only the names of females who served with the military during WWI, with no additional information listed.

Goal:                    To discover any and all information available online regarding the military service of Florence K. Zergiebel during World War I.

Summary of Findings:   

Florence K. Zergiebel (1893-1948) was born and raised in Mount Vernon, Indiana, where her parents had a farm. She graduated from high school, attended one year of college, and became a registered nurse. During the First World War, she served in the Army Nurses Corp (ANC), assigned to the Base Hospital at Camp Custer in Michigan, where she treated soldiers and other military personnel who were returning from the front as well as those who were in training and awaiting deployment. There are no indications that she served overseas and likely spent the as-yet-unknown duration of her ANC service at Camp Custer. The discovery of additional sources may support or disprove these assessments.

 Detailed Findings:

We first find Florence Zergiebel in the 1900 Federal Census, living in Black Township, Posey County, Indiana, along with her parents, George and Emma, and her brother Charles. September and 1893 appear as the month and year of Florence’s birth, explaining why no federal census record prior to 1900 is discoverable.[1] 

Florence was born prior to the institution of state-level reporting of county births, and therefore no birth certificate exists. However, the records of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) compiled during the 1930s and 1940s contain an indexed entry for Florence, reporting her birth date as September 24, 1893.[2]

On September 19, 1919, the wedding announcement for Victor M. Salb, of Jasper, Indiana, and Florence Zergiebel, of Mount Vernon, Indiana, appeared in The Herald (Jasper, Indiana) and notes: “The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Zergiebel of Mt. Vernon. She served during the war in the Army Nurses Corp in Camp Custer.”[3]

Located about five miles south of Battle Creek, Michigan, Camp Custer was among 16 bases established by the U.S. Army during World War I (WWI). Construction began in 1917 and continued into the post-war period. Temporary facilities were utilized until permanent structures were completed, including Base Hospital facilities. Base personnel and soldiers returning from overseas were treated at the Base Hospital, which additionally served as a training facility for military medical staff prior to deployment.[4] Regardless of when Florence assumed her position at the base, she would have witnessed much of the construction of Camp Custer, which took shape during her tenure.

The Army Nurses Corp (ANC) was established in 1901, and when the United States entered WWI on April 16, 1917, the ANC consisted of just 403 active duty and 170 reserve nurses. By the war’s end, more than 21,000 nurses made up the ANC. All were civilian nurses and most were recruited by the American Red Cross. While Army Nurses were considered part of the U.S. Army before and during WWI, they were not trained soldiers, nor were they commissioned personnel or officers. Instead, they were part of the Army Medical Department, a civilian service, and were appointed by the Surgeon General. [5] [6]

At the start of WWI, an ANC nurse had to be between the ages of 25 and 35, female, white, single, an American citizen, and a registered nurse. She specifically had to have completed her training at a school that offered “theoretical and practical nursing”.[7] While the 1940 Federal Census reports Florence’s highest level of education as a single year of college[8], there is no other record available at this time to discern where she received her education or the length of the training program she completed.  

Due to the civilian status of ANC nurses during the WWI era, there are no digitized enlistment, military death index, or other official Army service records to consult. The records of ANC and other civilian personnel associated with WWI military activities may still exist, but they are not easily discoverable online at this time. It is therefore impossible, given the information on hand, to outline the dates of Florence’s posting at the Base Hospital at Camp Custer or to determine if her service with the ANC took her overseas.

Post Military Life:

As already stated, Florence married Victor Salb in 1919. The couple had two known children – one son and one daughter – and lived first in Jasper, Indiana[9], later moving to Indianapolis. Like many women of her time, Florence’s work outside the home ended upon marrying, with the 1930 and 1940 U.S. census records listing no occupation for her.[10] Florence spent her last days at St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove, Indiana, where she died of breast cancer on Aug. 3, 1948 at the age of 54.[11]

Sources:

[1] Florence K Zergiebel. Year: 1900; Census Place: Black, Posey, Indiana; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0041; FHL microfilm: 1240398, George F Zergiebel household; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com, accessed 22 January 2021)

[2]Ancestry.com. Indiana, U.S., WPA Birth Index, 1880-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com  Operations Inc, 2000. Index entry of Zergiebel; father George F; mother Emma Gossker; Posey County, Indiana; citing Index to Birth Record, 1850 - 1920 Inclusive Volume 1, Book H-3, page 97

[3] “Victor Salb Married To Young Lady Of Mt. Vernon.” The Herald (Jasper, Indiana), 19 Sep, 1919, Fri, page 1, digital image, Newspapers (https://newspapers.com, accessed 22 January 2021)

[4] Camp Custer, MI - U.S. Army Center of Military History. (2021). Retrieved 22 January 2021, from https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/wwi/pt02/ch09/pt02-ch09-sec02.html

[5] Contributions of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in WWI. (2021). Retrieved 22 January 2021, from https://e-anca.org/History/Topics-in-ANC-History/Contributions-of-the-US-Army-Nurse-Corps-in-WWI

[6] Army Nurse Corps Collection Finding Aid. (2014). Retrieved 22 January 2021, from https://www.army.mil/article/124742/army_nurse_corps_collection_finding_aid

[7] Contributions of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in WWI. Retrieved 22 January 2021, from https://e-anca.org/History/Topics-in-ANC-History/Contributions-of-the-US-Army-Nurse-Corps-in-WWI

[8] Florence Salb. Year: 1940; Census Place: Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana; Roll: m-t0627-01125; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 96-125, Victor Salb household; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com, accessed 22 January 2021)

[9] Florence K Salb. Year: 1920; Census Place: Bainbridge, Dubois, Indiana; Roll: T625_431; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 39, Victor M Salb houseold; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com, accessed 22 January 2021)

[10] Florence K Salb. Year: 1930; Census Place: Jasper, Dubois, Indiana; Roll: 586; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0003; Image: 78.0; FHL microfilm: 2340321, Victor M Salb household; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com, accessed 22 January 2021)

    Florence Salb. Year: 1940; Census Place: Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana; Roll: m-t0627-01125; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 96-125, Victor Salb household; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com, accessed 22 January 2021)

[11] Indiana Archives and Records Administration; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Death Certificates; Year: 1948; Roll: 09, certificate of Florence Kathlene Zergiebel Sald; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com, accessed 22 January 2021)