Robert Sterling Andrews (1889 - 1949)

Born 4 May 1889 in Cleveland County, Arkansas

Ancestors

Husband of Ida Guynn — married 15 Nov 1907 in Cleveland County, Arkansas, USA

Husband of Annie Ferrand — married 23 May 1915 (to before 1920) in Arkansas

Husband of Mary Lee (Bostian) Andrews — married 24 Jul 1920 in Bradley County, Arkansas

Descendants

Died 2 Apr 1949 at age 59 in Warren, Bradley County, Arkansas

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Joyce Henley [send private message]

Robert Sterling Andrews, or Sterling, as my grandmother called him, was the younger of two sons of Robert Burns and Sarah Sterling Andrews. His elder brother was John Burns; his sisters were Mary Emma and Eugenia Isabel(le). He also had a half-sister, Bertha. He was born in the Orlando community of southwest Cleveland County, Arkansas, where his parents resided when they married.

I was initially uncertain as to which Cleveland County community Grandpa Sterling was born in since the Andrews family also had property in the Rye community in southeastern Cleveland County, but upon reexamining his WWI Registration Card, I saw Orlander was given as his place of birth - "Orlander" being the local southern pronunciation of the community. The Rye and Orlando communities were about nine miles apart east to west, with the Saline River in between. Incidentally, his father would later purchase a land patent of about 64 acres on that river in 1916, which may have been where he docked his houseboat.

Robert Sterling had three marriages, well, actually four but the fourth was to the same woman - Mary Lee. He first married his Uncle James A. Andrews' widow, Ida Guynn Andrews, who was listed on their (Robert and Ida) marriage record as being twenty years older than him. At that time, Ida had small children and I inferred from my grandmother's (Robert Sterling's 3rd/4th wife) recollections that this was initially from compassion for his uncle's family, but they apparently had a normal marriage otherwise. I think my grandmother also mentioned that Ida died in childbirth, but I may be wrong about that memory.

His marriage to second wife, Annie Ferrand, was also short-lived and ended in divorce.

My research on my grandparents, Robert Sterling and Mary Lee, unveiled that they had in fact married each other twice, as mentioned above, so I'm assuming they had divorced at some point. Their first marriage was in 1920, the second in 1931. My grandmother never mentioned it to me, and I don't know if any of their children knew, though I assume some were old enough to remember the 1931 marriage. My father, who was born in '34, died before I found the second marriage record and had a chance to ask him, so I don't think he knew about it since he never mentioned it. His siblings had died before him. All I can guess as to why they divorced and remarried is that possibly the death of their first son Robert (d. ca. 1929) had put a heavy strain on their marriage and they later reconciled. But that's just a guess. Their second marriage took place in Hot Spring County, AR, probably at Malvern.

Robert Sterling worked as a carpenter, and he also worked for the Rock Island Line Railroad at one point. He was also a barber in El Dorado, AR, for a period of time. He worked as a night watchman, though I can't recall for what company. A grandson still has his night stick.

Just prior to and during WWII, he worked as a carpenter for the US government in the Canal Zone (Panama Canal). This carpentry work for the government also took him to Maryland and eventually to Hanford, Washington.

Grandpa was working in the Canal Zone when the Pearl Harbor attack took place. He embarked that same day, December 7, 1941, on the S.S. Santa Marta at Cristobal, CZ, arriving back in the states at the Port of New Orleans on December 15.

Another reentry record listed Grandpa as a passenger aboard the S.S. Imperial as he again sailed back from Cristobal, CZ, the ship setting sail July 5, 1942, and arriving at New Orleans probably mid- July (unstated in the record, excepting for a notation mentioning July 27 at the bottom, which probably wasn't the arrival date). This was just weeks prior to a German U-boat being sunk by the patrol ship PC 566 under the command of Herbert G. Claudius, after the U-boat sank the the passenger ship Robert E. Lee, which was being escorted by Claudius' ship. The sinkings happened near the mouth of the Mississippi River.

According to the National Geographic article about that battle (see link below), over 70 ships had been sunk in the Gulf of Mexico by U-boats between 1942 and 1943, but it was largely hidden from the American public. I wonder if Grandpa had an inkling of how risky his commutes to work were. I'm sure MawMaw never knew! Then there were risks they did know of-

Daddy told us Grandpa was once robbed in Panama, where he was hit on the head and knocked out, waking up with his clothes and shoes gone. As my dad put it, "He got rolled." My grandmother had to mail him a pair of shoes - I think leather goods were scarce there in the "Zone".

Grandpa took his family with him when he went to Hanford, Washington to work as a carpenter at what was then the site of the beginnings of the nuclear production facility. My grandmother also would work in the Mess Hall setting tables. My dad would tell us stories about "Yacky-maw" (Yakima) and "Panty-maw" (Panama) which was delightful to hear in his southern drawl! He talked of cherry orchards and spending much time at the matinee watching westerns, something a country boy found novel and entertaining. While living there, Grandpa and several members of the family, including Daddy, took a trip by train to the northwest coast and caught a ferry to Vancouver Island for a day. It's likely that while on that trip, he first saw Mt. Ranier. Upon seeing it in the distance, he told his father he wanted to stop and climb that mountain. His father tried to explain to his young son just how big it was and how far away it was (about 50 miles) but it made no difference - he wanted to climb it!

Daddy's adventures in Washington were over before his father's job was done when an ear infection and tonsillitis burst his eardrum and he, his mother, and younger sister headed home to Arkansas where he would have his tonsils taken out by a doctor known to them. My grandmother would not trust a doctor there to do the surgery, probably because she had lost a son to meningitis years before at about the same age, and wanted a doctor she knew and trusted to care for him.

Grandpa died of a stroke in April of 1949 when my father 15 years old. Grandpa would have been 60 years old the next month if my math is correct. Daddy said his father also suffered from an inguinal hernia which I don't think was ever repaired. My grandmother was 46 years old when she was widowed, but never remarried. -jah

Sources:

• Memories of son, John Herbert Andrews

• [1] 1900 United States Census

• [2] Marriage of Ida Guinn and J A Anders, July 2, 1885, Bradley County, Arkansas, USA.

• [3] Marriage of R S Andrews and Mrs Ida Andrews, November 15, 1907, Cleveland County, Arkansas, USA.

• [4] 1910 United States Census.

• [5] Marriage of R S Andrews and Annie Ferrand, May 22, 1915, Bradley County, Arkansas, USA.

• [6] United States World War I Draft Registration Card 1917 - 1918 (dated June 5 1917)

• [7] 1920 United States Census

• [8] Marriage of R S Andrews and Mary L Bostian, July 24, 1920, Bradley County, Arkansas, USA.

• [9] 1930 United States Census

• [10] Marriage of R S Andrews and Mrs Mary Lee Andrews, June 16, 1931, Hot Spring County, Arkansas, USA.

• [11] 1940 United States Census

• [12] Louisiana, New Orleans, Passenger Lists, December 15, 1941.

• [13] United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942.

• [14] Louisiana, New Orleans, Passenger Lists, July 19, 1942

• [15] U-boat sinking 30 July 1942

• [16] Find A Grave memorial for Robert Sterling Andrews