Benicia Arsenal Rebuild Stamps

[firstflabn]

I have an 03A3 with a boxed BA-WL rebuild stamp, so Benicia tidbits have always interested me. These bits are few and far between so far. John Beard has written that 'WL' is William Lewis. Looking at the 1940 US Census, John may be right.

Search the 1940 Census - 1940 Census

The census shows a William M. Lewis (middle name Maxon in other records), 51, as a Foreman/Armorer at Benicia. Other available records show he was born in Massachusetts (interestingly about 20 miles from Springfield in Worcester) and was drafted in WWI. He died in 1959 in nearby Yolo. Wonder if he retired early at age 62 - in 1951? Or maybe at 65 in 1954?

The 1930 census shows Lewis working at Benicia as a Foreman. Did the job title change over the next decade or did he earn additional responsibilites as his career progressed?

Most discussion is over BAWL-stamped M1903s (some with WWII dated barrels), but my 03A3 stock plus two scant stocks I have seen forum photos of show Lewis' tenure reached well into WWII. Does his Foreman job title in 1930 mean he wasn't yet inspecting or accepting stocks? Don't know, but it may be something to consider.

Besides 'WL', I have seen the following initials on Benicia rebuild stamps (periods are ignored):

JS
JPL
JL
JLC
HAB (from a description, no pic)

If there are others, please let me know and I'll go back through the census to look for candidates. I found a John P. Lewis, Armorer, in 1940 and a Joseph Santos, Gunsmith, in 1930. I didn't count all employees, but from the census responses it appears Benicia was not yet a large operation on April 1, 1940 (when the census was taken).

Did John P. Lewis arrive on the scene after 'JL' was already there (necessitating the use of his middle initial), was it personal preference, or was it perhaps a procedural change anticipating the WWII buildup?

Nothing conclusive here as ten years is a long time and workers could come and go, get sick or injured, get drafted, fired, or die off, but it does give us another small clue or two.

I also learned Benicia had an employee newspaper entitled Benicia Bomber that started in 1951. The one available issue, December, is 32 pgs. It contains no mention of any of the three named characters above. A couple of forum members have recently mentioned visiting Benicia. If they or anyone else plans a trip, it would be interesting to inquire at the library or historical society whether other issues of the magazine or perhaps an earlier equivalent version are available. Always the long shot of finding a descendant in the neighborhood as well.

On the other end of the country, didn't Massachsuetts publish a roster of their WWI troops? If so, or if someone is in the Worcester area, it would be interesting to learn what unit William Lewis served in.

Further, city directories may show Lewis' arrival and/or retirement date. For the young folks, city directories were around before the telephone and as they included an address, were used to find people. They usually also included occupation. So, if Lewis retired in, say, 1949, the 1948 directory could show him as Armorer and the next issue might show him as retired (or working in some other occupation). This might allow us to determine the latest and/or earliest dates for use of the rebuild stamp.

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