PFC Joseph D. Robertson
1889 – 1947
USAR
WWI
Joseph Douglas Robertson was born August 17, 1889 in Lake Zurich, to Silas and Alida Alexander Robertson.
Robertson was elected a Village Trustee at age 23, and enlisted on May 28, 1917. As a member of the American Expeditionary Force in France, he participated in three major 1918 battles, where he received battle wounds which required the amputation of one leg. He was awarded the Silver Victory Button and Purple Heart. His November, 1919 honorable discharge from the Army certifies he was a Private First Class in Company I, 131st Infantry.
Robertson was appointed Postmaster of the Barrington Post Office in 1920, and supervised the inauguration of free mail delivery in 1927, once street signs were installed. He also directed the move of the Barrington Post Office two blocks north to larger quarters, effectively moving it from Cook to Lake County.
He married Gladys Myrtle Sempf in on May 13, 1921; they had two children.
PFC Joseph D. Robertson died September 29, 1947 – less than a month after his retirement from the U.S. Postal Service. He is buried with his wife in Barrington’s Evergreen Cemetery.
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Remember. Honor. Teach.
Courtesy of Signal Hill Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
