Print Bookmark

Richard Blynn “Dick” Varnum

Male 1892 - 1921  (28 years)


Personal Information    |    Media    |    Notes    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Richard Blynn Varnum 
    Nickname Dick 
    Birth Oct 1892  Belding, Ionia, MI Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Census 22 Jun 1900  Leroy, Calhoun, MI Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Blynn, age 7, born Oct 1892 in MI, living with parents 
    Census 29 Apr 1910  Jerome, Lincoln, ID Find all individuals with events at this location 
    age 17, born MI, helper, living with parents 
    Census 6 Jan 1920  North Jerome, Jerome, ID Find all individuals with events at this location 
    age 27, born MI, living with parents 
    Death 6 Mar 1921  Paris, FRA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Burial 14 Mar 1921  Suresnes American Cemetery, Duresnes, FRA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I6683  Family Tree | Descendants of Francis & Elizabeth (Peck) Perkins
    Last Modified 2 Apr 2013 

    Father Cyrus Abram Varnum,   b. 9 Feb 1859, N Dorchester, ONT Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 16 Apr 1939, Los Angeles, CA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 80 years) 
    Mother Sarah Luella “Sadie” Tyler,   b. 9 Dec 1864, Ira, Cayuga, NY Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 22 Mar 1949, Los Angeles Co, CA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 84 years) 
    Marriage 30 Apr 1891  Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, MI Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F2183  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Headstones
    Richard B Varnum Gravestone
    Richard B Varnum Gravestone
    From American Momuments Commission database:
    Richard Varnum, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
    US Army Air Service
    Entered the Service from: Idaho
    Died: March 16, 1921
    Buried at: Plot B Row 19 Grave 8
    Suresnes American Cemetery in Suresnes, France
    Plot: Plot B, Row 19, Grave 8

    Histories
    Excerpts from Ward-Munger, Varnum-Martin Genealogy
    Excerpts from Ward-Munger, Varnum-Martin Genealogy

  • Notes 
    • From The Harvard graduates' magazine, Volume 29 (Jun 1921), pg 662
      Richard Blynn Varnum died at the American Hospital in Paris on March 6. He was a holder of one of the American Field Service Fellowships for French Universities, and was studying International Law at the University of Toulouse when he became ill with malarial fever, which he had first contracted in war service in the Balkans. Then, suffering from supposed bronchitis, he was sent, Dec. 5, to Biskra, in Algeria, where it was hoped the dry atmosphere would help him. But his condition became worse, and although late in February he was able to be moved to Paris, the disease could not be checked. He was born in Belding, Mich., Oct. 25, 1892. His father, a retired Methodist Episcopal minister, Rev. C. A. Varnum, lives in Jerome, Idaho. Varnum had spent two years in Hillsdale College, Mich., before entering Harvard with the Class of 1919, where he made a splendid record. The late Frederick Schenck called him "a brilliant pupil," and a letter from Barrett Wendell said, "He has impressed me as a faithful worker and an honest man." He had already been earning his own living as a stenographer for some years before coming to Harvard, and he was working his way through College when, in February, 1917, he sailed to join the American Ambulance Field Service in France. He served with Section Three in Serbia and Albania, until October, when he returned to France, and enlisted in the United States Air Service. He trained at Tours and Issoudun, and made an enviable record. Upon being commissioned a first lieutenant, in April, 1918, he was retained, much against his wishes, as an instructor at one of the aerial centers until after the Armistice. Then, however, he was assigned to the 166th Aero Squadron and sent with it into Germany. He did not return to America until August, 1919, for discharge, and immediately thereupon reentered Harvard. He was a factor in the flying activities of the University, took part in the intercollegiate aero meet in June, 1920, and was granted an American Field Service Fellowship for his "scholastic record, fine character, and dependability."

      From "Bulletin of the American Field Service Ass'n", #4, July 1921
      Varnum, Richard Blynn, S. S. U. 3, an American Field Service Fellow, died of tuberculosis in Paris, March 6, 1921.

      "DICK" VARNUM
      RICHARD BLYNN VARNUM, a holder of one of the American Field Service Fellowships for French Universities, died March 6, 1921, from consumption at the American Hospital in Paris, France. A Harvard man who received a war degree in 1920, VARNUM was studying international law at the University of Toulouse when he became ill with malarial fever, which he had first contracted in war service in the Balkans. Then, suffering from supposed bronchitis he was sent on December 5th to Biskra, in Algeria, where it was hoped the dry atmosphere would help him. But consumption developed rapidly and, although late in February he was able to be moved to Paris, the disease could not be checked. Plans were made to send him to Switzerland, but before they could be carried out, he died. In February, 1917, Richard VARNUM joined the American Field Service and served with Section Three in Serbia and Albania until October, when he returned to France and enlisted in the United States Air Service. In April, 1918, he was commissioned First Lieutenant.