Edson Duncan (Kingman) Raff (1907 - 2003)

Born 15 Nov 1907 in Manhattan, New York, New York

Ancestors

Son of Lemuel Edson (Kingman) Raff and Mary Edna (Abell) Kingman-Raff

Husband of Virginia (Chaney) Raff — married 23 Aug 1937 (to about 1961) in Russell, Alabama, United States

Died 11 Mar 2003 at age 95 in Garnett, Anderson, Kansas

Problems/Questions Profile manager: John Kingman [send private message]

Biography

Edson Duncan Raff was born in 1907. He was the son of Samuel Edson Kingman-Raff and Mary Edna Abell.^[1]

Edson married Virginia Chaney, 23 Aug 1937, in Russell, Alabama.^[2] They had the following children:

1. Thomas Duncan Raff, born 14 Aug 1938 in Hawaii; died 17 Nov 1990 in China.^[3]
2. James Chaney Raff.^[4]
3. Lela Chaney Raff.^[4]

They divorced in 1961. He then married Alomah Make.^[4]

Colonel Edson Duncan Raff was a United States Army officer and author of a book on paratroopers. He served as Commanding Officer (CO) of the first American paratroop unit to jump into combat, the 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, near Oran as part of Operation Torch during World War II. His book, We Jumped to Fight, was based on his experience in that operation and was published in 1944.^[5]

The American paratroopers of World War II were an elite bunch. Colonel Raff, a graduate of West Point, was one of their first commanders, having trained at Fort Benning, Ga., in 1941, when the Army was inaugurating its jump school.^[6]

A 1933 graduate of the military academy at West Point, Col. Raff was instrumental in outfitting Special Forces Units with what would become their trademark green berets.^[4]

Edson passed away in 2003, in Garnett, Anderson, Kansas, and is buried in the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.^[7][8][9] At that time, Alomah Make survived him. Other survivors included a son, Dr. James Chaney Raff, Greenville, S.C.; a daughter, Leila Chaney Boyer, Harrisonburg, Va.; a brother, Herbert Kingman Raff, of New York; 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.^[4]

DNA

• Paternal relationship is confirmed through Y-chromosome DNA testing. John Kingman, FTDNA kit #N145956, and his 3rd cousin James Raff, match at a Genetic Distance of 0 on 67 markers thereby confirming their direct paternal lines back to their MRCA Isaac Kingman. FTDNA indicates that the probability the two share a common ancestor within the last 4 generations is 89.79% and within the last 5 generations is 94.23%. James is the son of Edson Duncan (Kingman) Raff.

Sources

1. ↑ New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909, database, FamilySearch (20 March 2015), Edson Raff Jr., 15 Nov 1907; citing Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, reference cn 59403 New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,991,835.
2. ↑ Alabama, County Marriages, 1809-1950, database with images, FamilySearch (16 July 2015), Edson Duncan Raff and Virginia Chaney, 1937.
3. ↑ Thomas Duncan Raff on Ancestry.com.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} Edson Raff Obituary in The Topeka Capital-Journal
5. ↑ Colonel Edson Duncan Raff on Wikipedia
6. ↑ Col. Edson Raff on TogetherWeServed.com.
7. ↑ Find A Grave Index, database, FamilySearch (13 December 2015), Edson Duncan Raff, 2003; Burial, Arlington, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America, Arlington National Cemetery; citing record ID 22145998, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
8. ↑ United States Social Security Death Index, database, FamilySearch (20 May 2014), Edson Raff, 11 Mar 2003; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
9. ↑ United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014, database with images, FamilySearch (16 September 2015), Edson Duncan Kingman-Raff, Kansas, United States, 18 Mar 2003; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Ottawa Herald, The, born-digital text.

See also:

• Edson Duncan Raff on the World War II Gravestone site.
• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (accessed 6 September 2016), Edson D Raff, Tract 34, Waialua Judicial District, Representative District 5, Honolulu, Hawaii Territory, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 2-186, sheet 2A, family 40, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 4589.
• Edson Raff Obituary in GreenvilleOnline. Published by The Greenville News on May 17, 2003.