About
World War I (1914-1918)
Francis James Dowdell was born in Bennington, Vermont, on August 7, 1896. By 1907, he had moved with his family to the city of Schenectady. He received training in the plumbing trade and made connections with several of Schenectady's top plumbing companies.
On August 15, 1918, Francis was drafted into the United States Army. He completed his basic training in Spartansburg, South Carolina. In September 1918, he was sent overseas aboard the U.S. Army troopship Aeolus. On April 5, 1919, Francis died after falling off a moving truck. He is buried in the Park Lawn Cemetery in Bennington, Vermont.
Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Find A Grave, Ancestry