Category: Biography

Lena Roy was born on 10 November 1893 in Quebec, one of five children of Thomas Roy and Alexandria Mousseau. Her mother spoke French exclusively, so Lena grew up speaking French in her home. The family moved to Idaho in 1897,  where she went to school and her father became a US Citizen. She attended…

Ms. Anna Adline Kinney Graffitt was a member of the US Army Signal Corps in France during World War I. Formally called the Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit, these women known as the “Hello Girls” became the unsung heroes of communication. Recruited to operate switchboards in France, Ms. Kinney and her comrades connected calls…

(2 April 1889 – 24 May 1975) Group 2 Operator Marjorie Thomas was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1889, the eldest daughter of Emmet and Nellie (Hodgsdon) Thomas. She was educated, along with her sister, Evelyn, at St. Patrick’s Academy. Following high school, she lived with her parents in their lavish home on Michigan Avenue.…

(23 July 1893 – 23 October 1984) Group 2 Operator Mary Evelyn Thomas was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1893, one of three daughters of Emmet and Nellie (Hodgsdon) Thomas. She went by “Eveyln” as an adult. She does not appear to have used Mary during or after the war. Evelyn’s father, Mr. Emmet Thomas,…

Born: 19 Nov 1898 Died April 1977 Seventh Group Operator Marguerite Monnet Wolf was born in the winter of 1898 in New York City, the daughter of Caesar and Catherine (Wespiser) Monnet. The Monnets had both immigrated from the Alsace region, which historically has shifted between French and German control. They both were French by…

(27 August 1885 – 18 September 1972) Group 7 Records differ about the birthplace of Operator Alisse Lambert. Her Army records state that she was born in Paris, while various census records claim French Canada was her birthplace. She was the youngest child of Pierre Lambert and Virginie Baillargeon and grew up speaking French at…

(31 July 1898 – August 1966) Group 7 Operator Yvonne Regina Haas was born in 1898 in Wauconda, Illinois, the daughter of Joseph and Regina (Copie) Haas. Her mother passed away when she was young. Yvonne was sent to France to be educated and live with her father’s mother, Marie (Milla) Haas. In 1917, following…

(18 July 1895 – 8 December 1952) Group 7 Operator Elsa Freeman was born in Manhattan, New York, the eldest child of John and Mary (Billups Freeman. In the early 1900s, the family moved to Chicago, where Mr. Freeman was a representative of the American Hard Rubber Company. Elsa attended Hyde Park High School and…

(31 July 1882 – November 1967) Group 7 Marguerite Derlis Schulze was born in 1882 in France, the child of Joseph Derlis of Avignon. Her father had overseen the Telephone and Telegraph in Avignon, although she had not worked as a telephone operator prior to joining the US Signal Corps. She attended Avignon College in…