Harry T. Batten
Early Life
Harry Thomas Batten was born on September 4, 1887, in Rye, New York, the son of William Batten and Catherine Ellis. He was raised in Rye in a large family, growing up alongside his siblings Theresa Selina, Sarah Moore, William Harold, Charles Albert, and Augustus George Henry Batten. His early life reflects the close-knit family structure common in Rye during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
By June 1917, Batten was living in Inwood, Long Island, New York, where he was employed as a club maker at the Inwood Country Club, a skilled trade associated with the manufacture and maintenance of golf equipment. At the time of his draft registration, he was married and described as of medium height and build, with blue eyes and dark brown hair.
World War I Service
Harry T. Batten entered military service on July 1, 1918, when he was inducted into the
United States Army at Lawrence, New York. He was assigned to Headquarters Company, 11th Battalion, Field Artillery Replacement Draft at Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky, one of the Army’s principal training centers for artillery personnel during World War I.
He was subsequently transferred to Battery C, 10th Battalion, Field Artillery Replacement Draft, and later to a detachment of the
84th Field Artillery. These units formed part of the Army’s replacement and training system, responsible for preparing artillerymen for service with combat units of the American Expeditionary Forces in France. His duties would have included drill instruction, equipment handling, and preparation of troops for deployment.
Although Batten served during the final phase of the war, there is no record of overseas deployment. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on March 25, 1918, reflecting leadership responsibilities within his unit during a period of rapid mobilization and training.
His life was also marked by the loss of his brother, Charles Albert Batten, who was killed in France during World War I in 1918, a reminder of the personal cost of the war to families in Rye. Harry T. Batten was honorably discharged on December 17, 1918, following the Armistice and the beginning of demobilization.
Life After Service
Following his military service, Batten returned to civilian life and maintained ties to Rye before later relocating to Florida. On December 29, 1922, he married Corinne E. Gustavson in Rye, New York, and the couple had one son, Harold Thomas Batten, born in 1923.
By the mid-1930s, Batten had settled in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he established himself as a property owner and businessman. Beginning in 1941, he owned and operated Batten’s Apartments, maintaining the enterprise for many years and contributing to the local economy.
Harry Thomas Batten died on June 2, 1974, in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the age of eighty-six.
At the time of his death, he was survived by his wife, Corinne E. Gustavson Batten; his son, Harold Thomas Batten; and extended family members.
He was buried in Florida, concluding a life that connected early roots in Rye with later years spent in the American South.