WILLIAM A. ENGEMAN, IV, ENS, USN

William Engeman, Jr. '22

Date of birth: May 12, 1901

Date of death: October 20, 1924

Age: 23

Lucky Bag

From the 1922 Lucky Bag:

WILLIAM ALBERT ENGEMAN, IV

Flemington, New Jersey

"Slim," "Bill," "Long," "Napoleon."

"NOW, lissen here, son, I'm gonna say 'they wuz' if I want to even if Webster does say 'they were'." That's him all over, original and different. "Bill" is absolutely the most highly tolerated and versatile performer in his Class. Here's what he can do—he says so himself, so it must be true:

He has Ring Lardner backed off the map when it comes to handing out a line; he writes short stories better than O. Henry; he draws like Howard Chandler Christy; he sings now and then; plays any musical instrument whatsoever, and can dance and jig with the best of them; in his leisure moments he plays football, tennis, swims, and wrestles; outside of that his favorite occupation is boning for re-exams.

Modesty is absolutely "Bill's" highest quality, but even with all these abilities he really is a good, kind-hearted chap and is perfectly willing to go on a Dutch treat with anyone.

Wrestling Squad (3, 2); Swimming Squad (4); Class Football Numerals (2); Log Staff (4); Masqueraders (4).

WILLIAM ALBERT ENGEMAN, IV

Flemington, New Jersey

"Slim," "Bill," "Long," "Napoleon."

"NOW, lissen here, son, I'm gonna say 'they wuz' if I want to even if Webster does say 'they were'." That's him all over, original and different. "Bill" is absolutely the most highly tolerated and versatile performer in his Class. Here's what he can do—he says so himself, so it must be true:

He has Ring Lardner backed off the map when it comes to handing out a line; he writes short stories better than O. Henry; he draws like Howard Chandler Christy; he sings now and then; plays any musical instrument whatsoever, and can dance and jig with the best of them; in his leisure moments he plays football, tennis, swims, and wrestles; outside of that his favorite occupation is boning for re-exams.

Modesty is absolutely "Bill's" highest quality, but even with all these abilities he really is a good, kind-hearted chap and is perfectly willing to go on a Dutch treat with anyone.

Wrestling Squad (3, 2); Swimming Squad (4); Class Football Numerals (2); Log Staff (4); Masqueraders (4).

Loss

William was lost on October 20, 1924 when the plane he was piloting crashed in Pensacola Bay, Florida. He was a student pilot; it doesn't appear there was anyone else aboard.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

William was born in Brooklyn, New York.
William's father was a contractor in 1915 in Flemington. He and William's mother divorced; he remarried Cora Evans. According to his 1900 passport application, he was over 6 feet tall with blue-grey eyes, black hair, and a large nose. He died sometime before 1920.
His mother was Frances. In 1920, she remarried to George Large, a lawyer. Also in 1920 she was a member of the Republican State and County committees. She was vice chairman of the Hunterdon County committee. They held a rally in Newark on May 4, 1920, to get women to join the Republican Party. She died in March 1971.
His sister was also Frances who was born in Brooklyn in 1902 and who became an insurance agent. She died in 1973.
His brother George was a member of the Class of 1927; he resigned from the Naval Academy in 1925 and became a newspaper editor. George named one of his sons William and died in 1974.
Another brother Charles died as an infant in 1907.
Letters between William and George are in the collections at The Hunterton County Historical Society in Flemington, New Jersey. The collection also includes George’s articles and publications written for the Bordentown Military Institute, the U. S. Naval Institute, and Baltimore Sun.

William is buried in New Jersey.

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.