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Remember...Alva Dallas Nestor
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Alva Dallas Nestor was born on January 7, 1899, at Hovatter in the Licking District of Tucker County, West Virginia. His parents were Alexander (�Alex�) and Amanda E. Bolyard Nestor. Hovatter is an unincorporated community originally settled by the pioneer family of Christopher Hovatter.
Alexander C. Nestor and Amanda E. Bolyard were married on November 11, 1897, and were the parents of three sons: Alva Dallas, Asa Roy and Archie Lee. Amanda died of typhoid fever on September 25, 1904, and is buried in the Nestor Cemetery at St. George, Tucker County, West Virginia. Archie died in 1908 and is buried in the Nestor Cemetery.
Alexander C. Nestor's second wife was Ina Elizabeth Shahan, whom he married on October 3, 1907. They were the parents of the following children: Bertha May (married to Okey Elton Phillips), Ruth Belle (married to Claude Willis Digman), Ruby Mary (married to George C, Thompson), Elsie Ora (married to James Elmer Shrout), Eliason Samuel, Woodrow Charles, Riley Harper, and Ira Dale. Alexander Nestor died in 1944 and is buried in the Nestor Cemetery. Ina Elizabeth Nestor died in 1969 and is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio.
Alva's grandfather, David Nelson Nestor, was a Confederate Civil War veteran who served in Company D of the 34th Virginia Cavalry. The 34th saw action at Gettysburg, as well as campaigns in the Shenandoah Valley and East Tennessee. Great-great-great-grandfather, Jacob Nester, served during the American Revolution in the 3rd Battalion, Berks County, Pennsylvania Militia.
World War I, the "War to End All Wars," began in 1914 when a Serbian nationalist assassinated the heir to the Austrian-Hungarian throne. On April 6, 1917, following the sinking of American merchant ships by German submarines and an attempt by Germany to engage in a military alliance with Mexico, President Woodrow Wilson reluctantly committed the United States to join the Allied countries in the war against Germany.
During World War I, Fort Wadsworth was a military installation on Staten Island in New York. It had been captured during the American Revolution by the British and was known as Flagstaff Fort. In 1865, it was renamed in honor of Brigadier General James Wadsworth, who was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness during the Civil War. At the outbreak of World War I, Fort Wadsworth was outfitted as the largest fort guarding New York City against foreign invasion.
| When Alva Dallas Nestor entered the U. S. Army, he was temporarily stationed at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York. Later he was transferred to Fort Wadsworth to complete organization and training as a member of Battery D of the 70th Coast Artillery Corps. That unit was scheduled to depart from Hoboken on July 15, 1918, for combat duty in France. However, while suffering from tubercular meningitis, Alva died on July 5, 1918, and his body was returned to Tucker County for burial on July 11 in the Nestor Cemetery at St. George. |  Alva Nestor's gravestone in the Nestor Cemetery is showing signs of age. Fortunately, it is preserved in this Find A Grave photo (Memorial # 68273428). Used with permission. |
Article prepared by Leon Armentrout
August 2019
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
