'S. G. FitzSimons Is Laid To Rest' — The State, 28 July 1932 (death of Samuel G. FitzSimons the WWI aviator)
Book 4, Page 22 ·1932
Transcription
S. G. FITZSIMONS IS LAID TO REST
Funeral Services at Charleston for Attorney and World War Aviator.
Charleston, July 27—(AP)—Funeral services for Samuel G. FitzSimons, Charleston attorney and World war aviator, who shot and killed himself on a highway near Hendersonville Monday, were conducted today at Magnolia cemetery here. The Rev. S. Cary Beckworth, rector of St. Philip’s Episcopal church, officiated.
Mr. FitzSimons was 38 years old. He served with the Charleston Light Dragoons on the Mexican border and was among the first to go overseas when the United States entered the World war. He had several planes shot from under him and was cited for extreme bravery. On one occasion it is said that his plane was shot down but fell within the American lines and the first thing he said as he emerged alive, to the astonishment of the Americans, was “This is a long ways from Charleston, S. C.”
On another occasion, on an aerial raid, his companion, Henry Stevens, was shot down and he went back over the enemy’s lines to look for him. When he first went overseas, he was placed in training with the Royal Flying corps. He served overseas about 20 months, with the rank of first lieutenant, and was wounded several times.
Mr. FitzSimons attended the high school of Charleston and attended the United States Military academy at West Point one year.
He was unmarried. Surviving are, besides his father, three brothers, W. H. FitzSimons, Jr., of Greenville; J. C. FitzSimons of Flat Rock, and a sister, Mrs. Robert Preston of Charleston.
Source: The State (Columbia, S.C.), Thursday 28 July 1932, page 7. AP wire dated Charleston July 27. Image from newspapers.com, image 748248794. Public-domain newspaper. The source PDF is archived in this repository under additionalDocumentation/The_State_1932_07_28_7.pdf.
AI Notes
The State (Columbia), Thursday 28 July 1932, page 7 — AP wire from Charleston dated 27 July. The death of Samuel G. FitzSimons (b. c.1894, d. 25 July 1932), age 38, by suicide on a highway near Hendersonville, N.C. This is the WWI-aviator FitzSimons cousin — distinct from Samuel Gaillard FitzSimons Sr. (Amy’s father, 1856–1930) and from Samuel Gaillard FitzSimons Jr. (Amy’s brother, 1904–1961). The deceased here was a son of W. Huger FitzSimons (Sr.) the Charleston attorney (d. 1939; see book-001/p481) by his wife Annie Cain — making him the album compiler’s first cousin. W. Huger’s children in the family record are listed as ‘Gavin, William Huger, Samuel Gaillard, Marguerite’ — the ‘Samuel Gaillard’ in that list is the deceased of this 1932 obit. The piece supplies major new biographical detail: he served first with the Charleston Light Dragoons on the Mexican border (1916), then was among the first overseas with the AEF when the U.S. entered WWI; trained with the Royal Flying Corps; had ‘several planes shot from under him’ and was cited for extreme bravery; on one occasion was shot down inside American lines and reportedly emerged saying ‘This is a long ways from Charleston, S. C.’ On an aerial raid his companion Henry Stevens was shot down and the deceased flew back over enemy lines to look for him. Served overseas about 20 months at the rank of First Lieutenant; wounded several times. Education: high school of Charleston + one year at West Point. Was unmarried; survived by his father, two brothers (W. H. FitzSimons Jr. of Greenville and J. C. FitzSimons of Flat Rock), and a sister (Mrs. Robert Preston of Charleston). Two notable cross-references: the listed brother J. C. FitzSimons of Flat Rock is not ‘Gavin’ in the family roster — either J. C. is an additional brother previously unrecorded or ‘Gavin’ is a nickname for a J. C.; and the sister Mrs. Robert Preston of Charleston has the surname Preston here, where the family record has the W. Huger daughter Marguerite marrying ‘Dr. Robert Pringle’ — Preston vs Pringle is a substantive difference worth verifying.
**The “three brothers” count appears to be a typo for “two brothers” — only two are named (W.H. Jr. and J.C.). The W. Huger Sr. + Annie Cain children list (Gavin, William Huger, Samuel Gaillard, Marguerite) has four children total; with the aviator deceased and one a sister, the two named brothers are presumably Gavin (under the initial ‘J. C.’?) and William Huger Jr. — or J. C. is an additional unrecorded brother. The Preston / Pringle surname discrepancy for the sister is also unresolved.
Mode of death. The obit reports the death as suicide on a highway near Hendersonville — a striking and tragic detail, especially in tandem with the WWI service record. Hendersonville / Flat Rock NC was the family’s traditional summer-residence area; both Maj. Theodore G. Barker (great-uncle, book-004/018) and W. Huger Sr. (father, book-001/p481) died at their respective summer residences in the same district. The aviator’s death there in 1932 — by his own hand — is the third Hendersonville-area death in this family in fifteen years.