Early Years in Crothersville (1891–1909)
Born 8 May 1891, John entered a bustling household in Crothersville, Indiana. His father, George W. Applegate, worked as a drayman, and his mother, Serilda White, kept the family together. The 1900 census shows a home brimming with siblings, an aunt, and visiting friends — a lively, close-knit environment.
By 1906, there’s a hint that John may have tried life in the city, possibly working as a brakeman in Indianapolis alongside his father.
Young Adulthood and First Marriage (1910–1917)
In the 1910 census, John is still in Crothersville but with a stepmother, Sarah A. (“Silence”) Applegate. His first marriage came in 1912 to Reva R. Robinson in Indianapolis. By the time he registered for the draft in 1917, he was a salesman, supporting both his wife and his mother — a man already carrying responsibility.
Service and Second Chances (1917–1921)
The 1917 draft card tells us more than his birth date — it reveals his war injury, the missing fingers on his right hand. Despite this, he enlisted in March 1918, serving until May 1919. That same year, his first marriage ended, and in August 1917, he married Rebecca C. Wood.
By 1920, recently discharged, he was boarding in Indianapolis, perhaps between jobs and looking for his next foothold.
Third Marriage and Merchant Life (1921–1929)
In September 1921, John wed Margaret Schilling, listing himself as 31 and working as a salesman. But by 1929, he was in Ohio, marrying Mary E. Webb. This record calls him a widower and a merchant, living in a hotel — a man in midlife still seeking stability.
Middle Years and the War at Home (1940s)
The WWII draft registration of 1942 shows John at age 51, living in Marion County, Indiana, and unemployed.
His fourth marriage came in June 1949 to Maude Bell Harbaugh in Fulton County, Indiana.
He worked as a sales manager for Stewart Bakery, though by the 1950 census, illness or injury kept him from working.
Final Marriage and Arizona Years (1961–1977)
In April 1961, John married Myrtle Edna Avery in Phoenix, Arizona. By then, he was 69, far from his Indiana roots, living under the wide desert skies. He spent his final years in Phoenix, passing away there on 14 October 1977.
Legacy
John’s life spanned eras of change — from horse-drawn drays to the jet age, from small-town Indiana to the desert Southwest. He carried war scars, personal losses, and the restless spirit of a man who kept searching for his place.
Want to help fill in the gaps in John’s story?
Visit John William Applegate’s Introduction Page to share your memories, family stories, or photographs. Your contributions can help bring this chapter of our family history to life.
That’s all for now,
~Kris
Revisited by Bones
🕯 John William Applegate
The Man of Many Chapters | Survivor of War and Work | Keeper of Quiet Roads
John William Applegate’s story is a lesson in persistence. Born in the warm bloom of May 1891 in Crothersville, Indiana, he grew up in a home where kin, boarders, and the occasional visiting cousin filled the rooms. From hauling goods as a brakeman’s son to navigating the big city’s hum, John’s early life hinted at a man who could adapt to anything.
By the time the First World War came calling, John was a salesman for Armour & Co., already marked by a significant injury — the loss of four fingers on his right hand — yet determined to serve. His wartime years, brief but impactful, gave way to a postwar life of reinvention: a sequence of marriages, career shifts, and relocations that carried him from Indiana’s farmland to Ohio’s city streets, and later, Arizona’s sunbaked neighborhoods.
Through it all, he kept moving forward — a salesman, a veteran, a husband more than once, a man who endured losses both personal and professional. By the time his journey ended in Phoenix in 1977, John had written a story in quiet resilience, each chapter a testament to surviving change.