Otho Kenney Farrell was born on November 5th, 1896 in Weir, Kansas. His father, Thomas, worked in a coal mine. By 1898 the Farrells had moved to Joplin, Missouri and the family grew. In 1902, Thomas and Nancy Farrell moved with their now three small children to farm a plot of land near Tucumcari, New Mexico. It was a hard life. The soil was poor and within a year the family relocated to Raton, New Mexico where Thomas could find work in another coal mine.

Amarillo

Whether it was through the connection with coal or because of a family connection, Thomas got a job with the Santa Fe railroad in Raton. When Otho was twelve, the family moved to Amarillo, Texas. During that time, Amarillo had about 10,000 inhabitants, which was easily twice as large as Raton. It was also the regional headquarters for Santa Fe and Thomas and the Farrells began to have a stable life there. They lived on the 500 block of Johnson Street.

In Amarillo Otho attended grammar school and surely considered himself a Texan. His family, especially Nancy, was active in the First Baptist Church on Polk Street. A serious-looking youth, he was photographed working the soda fountain at a local drug store.

Waynoka

In 1913 Thomas was transferred to another hub in the Santa Fe system, Waynoka, Oklahoma, where he was a car foreman. At this point Otho was nearing sixteen, and one can imagine his disaffection with the move. Along with school, he also began work at Santa Fe. Otho started his railroading career as a Call Boy, delivering messages in town.

Whatever his feelings of being uprooted from his Texas hometown, he did not fail to notice his little sister’s best friend from school, Gladys Loper. Once the two Gladyses (Otho’s sister was also named Gladys) came home late one evening as Otho was returning from work and he walked the young lady to her house.

Setting out

Putting his social interests aside, Otho gathered up his savings and, on the eve of his eighteenth birthday, moved back to Amarillo. He didn’t ask his parents for money. As soon as he arrived, he worked for the railroad and went to business college where he learned stenography, bookkeeping and typing. Otho Farrell was focused and hardworking. Most of all, he was at liberty to make his future.

It was fall, 1914. All of Europe was going up in flames.

May 1917

Herbert Hammond Renshaw enlisted in the U.S. Navy on February 19, 1914. He was seventeen. By spring 1917 Seaman Renshaw was serving on the minesweeper U.S.S. Thornton. On May 22nd, when the Thornton was on war patrol off the coast of South Carolina, Seaman Renshaw was washed overboard and drowned in rough seas. His body was never recovered. Renshaw was one of the first U.S. servicemen to die in action in World War I.

One hundred years later, Seaman Renshaw was finally recognized as one of at least 4,423 American servicemen Missing in Action in the World War I era. (Read more of the effort to locate and remember them here.)