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| Eugene Gressot via ancestry.com |
Here are Ancestry messages between me and Emily Borges, a high school student in Shelton, CT, about Uncle Ernest Gressot.
Linda Hricz-Borges
Jun 26, 2019
Hello:
My name is Emily Borges. I am a student at St. Joseph High School in Trumbull, CT and live in Shelton, CT. I am honored to be one of 15 students in the state of Connecticut to have been chosen to participate in an international public service project "Digging into History-Connecticut's role in WW I" that is being sponsored by the CT Library Association, the State of CT and Connecticut Heritage Foundation. We will soon be going to Seichprey France to work with French students and assist in the restoration of the American trenches. It is in this town that the Connecticut troops from the 102nd infantry came under attack and the first German offensive against American troops during WW I took place.
An additional part of this project includes students researching and commemorating a soldier from their hometown.
I have chosen Ernest E Gressot and through my research on ancestry.com (my Mom Linda's account) I have come across content that you posted about Ernest and the Gressot family.
I was hoping you might be able to provide me with additional information about this soldier and/or his family.
Any assistance you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Respectfully,
Emily Borges
Jun 27, 2019
Sounds like an exciting project. Ernest Gressot was my great-uncle on my mother's side. Her mother was Amelia Jennie Gressot, my grandmother. I remember all Amelia's sisters and their half-brother Seraphin but I don't remember their brother Ernest. They all visited us on the farm in Seymour. I only remember my great-grandmother Josephine visiting once. I have a dim memory that Ernest lived in a veterans home (that may have been in New York because I did find a New York death record for him on Ancestry). He was wounded in the war, again I'm not certain but he may have been victim of a chemical attack, possibly mustard gas. Ernest's family came from France and lived in Salisbury originally before living in Derby and Shelton. I'm told that Ernest's father, Celestin, was a small man who had a hard time adjusting to life in Connecticut. He was an iron worker and the other workers in Salisbury were hard on him. Ultimately he returned to France. My Mom said he gave her some money that she used for her education at the U-Conn nursing school in the 1930s.
Ernest was a first-generation American. It's ironic that he went to war in his parents' home country. They came from Mignavillers, Haute-Saone, Franche-Compte, France. My cousin Debra Rossignol who lives in Connecticut has visited our relatives in Mignavillers. She goes by Deb Ra on Facebook.
I'm sorry I don't have many details about Ernest beyond what is on Ancestry. There are two living cousins on Ancestry who could possibly have more information: Karen Stankye and Renee Revaz.
Your project invites thoughts on the impact of War, at least to me having served two tours in Vietnam as well as 4 years in Germany and one in Korea as well as learning of my ancestors' service in the Revolution and that awful Civil War. My take is that winners won't be winners long unless they apply the Golden Rule with respect to the vanquished. That did not happen after WW I when harsh reparations were demanded. It led directly to WW II. At the end of WW II the Allies had learned their lesson, and the Marshall Plan led to great outcomes. Lest we forget today!
Best wishes, Emily, on your great adventure.
Linda Hricz-Borges
Jun 28, 2019
Dear Mr. Warnock:
Thank you very much for your response!
The story of your family is very interesting and will be very helpful to my project. I appreciate the names of your cousins and I will certainly reach out to them.
I am very happy to have learned a bit more about Ernest and his family as it will help me to honor him and commemorate his service and sacrifice for our country and the people of France.
There will be several events following our trip which will allow us to present our research, discuss our experiences and share our soldiers' story. It would be an honor to have you and your family members present. I will keep you posted.
The following link may be of interest. It is for the Connecticut State Library and has more details on the trench restoration project and Connecticut in WWI:
https://ctinworldwar1.org/
Thank you once again for your help and most especially for your service and sacrifice to our country.
Best Regards,
Emily Borges
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