The
Family of Wesley Blauss and Mary Loretta Jones
Wesley "Dutch" Blauss (John, Israel) was born 6 FEB 1888 in Brooklyn, New York. Following WWI, fearing anti-German sentiment, he changed the pronunciation of the name Blauss to "Bloss" instead of "Blouse". He died 24 DEC 1944 in Whitman, MA.
He married Mary Loretta Jones, who he met along his many travels, in MAY 1923. She was the ex-wife of one of his shipmates, John McCann. She was born 14 AUG 1893 in South Boston, MA. She was the daughter of Welsh immigrant Jeremiah Jones and Irish immigrant Catherine "Kate" Morrison. Following their marriage, she and Dutch moved to Whitman, MA and began their "Snug Harbors" farm. She died 4 JUL 1964 in Whitman, MA.
Wesley Blauss joined the US Navy on 1 AUG 1904 at the age of 16, faking his age as 17.5. He served on the Great White Fleet aboard the USS Maine from 1907-1908. In 1909 he sailed aboard the USS Chattanooga for the Philippines. In 1910, Dutch volunteered to be a part of trial tests for the USS Adder, a small submarine. In 1912 he joined the battleship USS New Jersey, which patroled the eastern seaboard, and served in Mexico following the Mexican Revolution in 1913. In September 1916, Captain J.C.Van deCarr, the former captain of the USS Adder, requested Dutch to be transferred to the submarine USS L-10, where he joined as a Chief Gunner's Mate. Throughout World War I, they searched for German U-boats off the coast of the UK. After the war was officially over, Wesley volunteered to go on a mission to return the surrendered German U-111, which they feared would be booby-trapped with pressure bombs. They safely returned the u-boat aboard the USS Von Steuben.
Wesley Blauss and Mary Loretta Jones had the following children:
i. Richard Wesley Blauss was born 25 MAR 1925 in Whitman, MA.
ii. Donald George Blauss was born 10 APR 1929 in Whitman, MA.
John Marbrook McCann and Mary Loretta Jones were married 12 DEC 1912 at the Gate of Heaven Church, South Boston, MA. They divorced in 1920.
John Marbrook McCann and Mary Loretta Jones had the following children:
i. Virginia C. McCann was born DEC 1913 in Boston, MA.
ii. Geraldine M. McCann was born about 1915 in Boston, MA.
iii. Unnamed McCann was born about 1915 in Boston, MA. She was the twin sister of Geraldine and died in infancy.