Sergeant William Luther Ogden
United States Army, World War I
360th Infantry Machine Gun Company – 90th Division
February 9, 2026 - On Monday, October 14, 1889, William Luther was born in the far east Texas county of Shelby, where just four years earlier, a brand new Irish castle-style courthouse had been built and inaugurated on the square in the town of Center. His parents Betty Sebelle Smith and William Charles Ogden were married there on December 23, 1888, by the Rev. R. M. Champion and then moved into a house in the James Community that her father Levi Smith had built for them as a wedding present. All ten of their children were born in that house which included William Luther, the oldest; Joseph Levy (1891); Minnie Ethel (1894); Edward Monroe (1896); Margaret Belle (1898); Mamie Ruth (1901); Lila Duetta (1904); John Eugene (1906); Lovell Smith (1908); and Mary Alma (1910). William Luther’s birth year is called into question as the family show it as 1890 while two other documents that he would have provided that information for reflect 1899.
William L. Ogden, World War I Draft Registration, June 5, 1917
The United States entered the World War on April 6, 1917 and two months later the first mandatory military draft registration occurred for men ages 21 to 30. William, who was employed by the Petroleum Refining Company of Galena, Texas, registered at Precinct 16 in Houston on June 5. A few simple questions made up the registration card (Form 1) that included: address, 807 Travis, Houston; natural-born citizen; employed as a pipe fitter; single; Caucasian; no prior military service and he claimed an exemption to the draft due to a “physical disability.” Physically he was described as tall and of medium build with blue eyes, light color hair, and not bald.
Three months later William received his draft notice and took the oath of enlistment on Saturday, September 8 becoming US Army Private Ogden, serial # 2227775. He and the other inductees of the day were then entrained to Camp Travis, San Antonio, Texas to begin basic training with the 165 Depot Battalion. Following basic. William was assigned to the Machine Gun Company of the 360 Infantry Regiment, 180 Infantry Brigade, 90 Division that had just been organized at Camp Travis composed of draftees from the states of Texas and Oklahoma. After months of training and more training, the 360 boarded the RMS Olympic on June 14, 1918, and steamed out of the port of New York, bound for the war in France. His father William of Center, Texas was listed as his next of kin in the event of an emergency.
William now serving in the grade of Sergeant, was among the first soldiers of the 90 Division to arrive in France, and they were immediately sent to the Department of Côte-d’Or for training. The 360 Infantry then saw combat service in the Villers-en-Haye Sector, the Saint Mihiel Offensive, the Puvenelle Sector, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive that ended the war on November 11, 1918. During operations, the 90 Division took 1,876 prisoners and suffered 7,277 casualties. Following the armistice, the division was assigned to the Army of Occupation and crossed into Germany on December 6.
The troopship, USS Mongolia was no doubt a welcome sight to Sergeant Ogden and the men of the 360 Infantry as they boarded her on May 27, 1919. As with the journey over he listed his Father William C. as the next of kin. Upon docking at the port of Boston, Massachusetts on June 7 with 4,547 officers and men, they were then transported to Camp Devens in Middlesex County for physicals and discharge processing. After twenty-one months of military service, Sergeant William L. Ogden was honorably discharged on June 20, 1919, and awarded the World War I Victory Medal.
Following the war, William returned to Texas where he found work in the refinery oil business in the Houston area. He and Miss Martha Ruth Sharon were married in 1922 and blessed with the birth of three children, Geraldine Lillian (1924), Jack Corliss “Sonny” (1926), and Helen Marie (1932). On April 27, 1942 William again registered for a military draft and although not called to serve, he would see another world war begin and end in his lifetime. It appears that around this time a divorce occurred and William later married a lady named Ida Mae O’Leary who had also been previously married and brought a son Raymond Boyd Thurman into the marriage. William Luther died on May 27, 1973, at the age of 83, in Hot Springs, Garland County, Arkansas. He was buried in Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Hot Springs where his wife Ida Mae joined him in 1980. Day is done, God is nigh
Sources:
(1): Shelby County Historical Commission, History of Shelby County, Texas 1988
(2): Registration State: Texas; Registration County: Harris
(3): "Texas, World War I Records, 1917-1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9MN-HS1T-F?cc=2202707&wc=3342-YWL%3A1560656702%2C1561099101 : 26 March 2015), Enlisted men > Nowlin, Joe C-Palmer, Louis Jr, 1917-1920 > image 1107 of 4340; Texas Military Forces Museum, Austin.
(4): The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 516
(5): Brief Histories of Divisions, US Army 1917-1918. Historical Branch, War Plans Division, 1921.
(6): The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 209
(7): Year: 1940; Census Place: Harris, Texas; Roll: m-t0627-04055; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 101-41
(8): https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7756645/w-l-ogden
