Daniel Webster Zeising

Daniel’s ancestral roots were in Germany and his family had strong ties to books. His father was a printer and publisher most of his life, and two of his three older brothers worked over 40 years as a bookbinder and photo engraver. Daniel grew up in the Delaware County borough of Rutledge, six miles southwest of Mount Moriah Cemetery, where he and a twin sister were born. Sadly, she died at age 3 of pneumonia.

After high school he became a bookkeeper. Following his father’s death in late 1916, Daniel and his mother went to live in Philadelphia with one of his brothers. Six months later, the United States came to the aid of Great Britain and France in declaring war on Germany. Daniel wanted to enlist but was rejected due to a slight heart murmur. He tried to enlist in the Naval Reserves but was turned down there for the same reason. By August of 1918 the Army had loosened their requirements and he was inducted on September 4.

He was sent to Camp Greenleaf, Georgia, a medical officer training camp  just south of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was created at Chickamauga National Battlefield Park as part of Fort Oglethorpe during World War I, under a program that utilized national park and battlefield land for military training. Daniel was assigned to Motor Company 12 in the Medical Corps but he had no experience in either medicine or motors. Because of his background, he became the company clerk, and someone took the ” snapshot” shown above where he was working.

 Unfortunately, the camp was a good environment for spreading the influenza virus, which became a global pandemic. Most victims didn’t die from the virus but from bacterial pneumonia which followed the viral infection. That was Daniel’s diagnosis on October 6 and his cause of death seven days later. Ironically, it was the same disease that took his twin sister’s life 20 years earlier.

This gravestone pays tribute to Daniel and two of his brothers and their wives. The other side marks the passing of his parents and sister.