Private Julius Ceasar Devolder

1. Private (Army). 1917-01-04 to 1917-04-05
2. Private (Army). 1916-07-31 to 1917-01-04
3. Pioneer, 123rd Battalion, Infantry (Army). 1915-11-17 to 1916-07-06

Son of Adolphus Devolder and Marie Amelia Devolder (nee Snauwaert); husband of Alida 'Emma' Devolder (nee Depauw) married October 10, 1908; father of Charles, Marguerite, Resar and Remi Devolder. Some documents suggest that his middle name may have been spelled 'Caesar'.

There are two attestations for Pte. Devolder - the first (1915) is transcribed above. He served as a Pioneer with the 123rd Battalion but was discharged July 6, 1916 as Medically Unfit due to chronic rheumatism. He reattested in the 238th Battalion on July 31, 1916 (Service No. 1034651) and mobilized to England with the 238th, but was discharged April 5, 1917 as Medically Unfit, again due to rheumatism.

His address is given as 38 Empire Avenue Toronto, and his wife, Emma Devolder, at 2601 Logan Blvd., Chicago, Illinois. His service file indicates that he had not been living with his wife, Emma for two years. Some of the forms in Devolder's service file suggest that his wife's name was Alida Marie Devolder, and it is assumed that she went by the nickname 'Emma'.

A detailed report was published on Pte. Devolder's story in the Toronto Star on 05 April 1916 entitled "To Avenge His Kin / Belgian Soldier's Whole Family Almost Wiped Out--He Enlists Here". In this report it was noted that he had a married sister named Emma (married name Vanderslack) in Chicago. The service file also indicates that he had an unmarried sister named Trina also living in Chicago.