LEWIS W. "Lew" GOSS

Lew Goss was born December 26, 1894 in Pueblo, CO. He had a fraternal twin sister born with him, but she lived only a day or two.

The 1900 U.S. Census, his first, placed him at age five at Pueblo living with his parents John William and Nellie. His father was a farmer. In 1910, the Census located him again at Pueblo living with his parents. Three farm laborers shared the house. His father was identified as a "Stock Raiser."

As WWI was winding down, Goss was already in the Army serving and training at Fort Riley, KS when he was called to the draft. His draft card, dated May 29, 1917, is below. He was 23 years old, of medium height, slender build, grey eyes and dark hair.

L.W. Goss, WWI Draft Card, May 29, 1917 (Source: ancestry.com)

As with many things, the details are in the fine print. If you look carefully at the diagonal printing at the lower left of this card, the text says, "If person is of African descent, tear off this corner." Some things change; some things remain the same. Goss stayed with the military for at least a decade, achieving the rank of captain by 1927.

A few months after he filled out his draft card, Goss was married on November 12, 1917 to Cecile Neblock Hull of Colorado Springs, CO. She died the next year, probably during childbirth, because she is identified as "Mom" at ancestry.com. If this is so, there is no mention of a child in any of the records related to Goss.

Curiously, Goss appeared twice on U.S. Census tabulations for 1920. On January 15, 1920, his first Census that year, he was identified at age 26 living in a rooming house in Dallas, TX with 15 other people who, except for children, were all in their 20s. His marital status was cited as widowed on that Census form. His occupation was identified as "Automobile Agent." Then his second Census, tabulated six months later on June 21, 1920, places Goss living in Pueblo with his parents and working as a farm hand. Also in the house was his two younger siblings Carl L. (6) and Mary E. (5). We can only imagine the stress he was under for the three years between his marriage and the 1920 Census forms.

In 1923, Goss married Eva Faye Mingus (6/21/1896-1/05/1991) in Denver, CO. He was about age 27 and she was 26. In the 1930 U.S. Census, his occupation was identified as "Asst. Supt." of an "Airport." Interestingly, he and Faye lived at 410 South Olive St. in Alhambra, CA. Just down the street at 414 Olive lived fellow Register pilot Harlan Hull and his wife Zalaine. They shared the same 1930 Census form with Goss.

A year after the Census, Goss appeared in the Grand Central Air Terminal (GCAT) Register once, on Friday, April 10, 1931 at 3:53PM. He and his unidentified co-pilot carried three unidentified passengers in the airplane that tower Operator A.J. Lygum identified as the T.W.A. Fokker F-10 (10A?) NC8048. They had arrived from Kansas City, MO, but Lygum didn't identify a destination.

The 1936 Burbank city directory identifies his and Faye's address as 121 Evergreen St., Burbank, CA. Goss, in an administrative role, can be seen at the link in a 1937 photograph awarding a ten-year service pin to fellow Register pilot and T.W.A. employee Silas A. Morehouse.

According to the 1940 U.S. Census, Goss (age 45) lived with his wife, Faye (42), at 121 Evergreen St., Burbank, CA. They owned their home, valued at $4,500. Goss was employed as a "Transport Superintendent" for the "Air Transport Traffic Division" of T.W.A. He earned "$5,000+" in his position, an excellent salary for the time. Fay was not in the work force.

In 1942, as for many men of his demographic cohort, he was called again to the draft. His draft card is below. He was 47 years old. I do not know what his role was during WWII, or whether he re-enlisted or was in the reserves. This and many other gaps exist in Goss' early record. If you can help fill them in, please let me KNOW.

L.W. Goss, Draft Card, 1942 (Source: ancestry.com)

In 1943, Goss received his 15-year pin for service with T.W.A. Below, from the May, 1943 issue of Skyliner, the T.W.A. internal magazine, Goss is shown at right at the award ceremony, age 49. His job title is identified as "Western Division superintendent of operations."

L.W. Goss Fifteen Year Pin, T.W.A. Skyliner, May, 1943 (Source: Woodling)

The Skyliner of August, 1943 featured Goss again, below, this time with a biographical cartoon and sketch of his life and interests. The text fills in a few of the blanks in his military and early life, cited above.

L.W. Goss, Skyliner, August, 1943 (Source: Woodling)

Goss died November 23, 1990. I have no information about his life from the end of WWII to the time of his passing. If you can help fill in the blanks, please let me KNOW. Faye passed away not two months later on January 5, 1991.

---o0o---

SPONSORED LINKS

THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 03/02/16 REVISED: 03/03/16, 02/22/18