Talented Tuesday - Uncle Lute (Yes I know it's not technically Tuesday)

Luther Paul VanGilder (1896-1986)

I decided to use GeneaBloggers.com's blogging prompts for a post.



Out of my relatives, my Great Great Uncle Lute ( or plain Uncle Lute as I've always called him) is one of the ones I know the most about, but also is one of the most mysterious. 



Uncle Lute was born Luther Paul VanGilder in 1896, in West Virginia, the youngest of nine children. His parents James VanGilder and Miriam (Molly) Brane VanGilder were both born in Virginia (now West Virginia) a few years before the American Civil War started. From birth to age 14 there is not much documentation other than the US censuses.

Uncle Lute has a draft registration card on file, other than what is listed on the card I don't know much about his military history. (One thing that I would like to do is to get my rear in gear and request his records.) Another interesting item listed is is occupation. He says he is employed with the moving picture show with C.L. Gillis in Clarksburg, WV.

Luther Paul VanGilder possibly Luigi Paule Sabatino at this time - Head shot Dec. 1937

From what my maternal grandmother (Lute's niece) says, he helped with the construction of the Pentagon. There are no records (as of yet) that prove this, but I believe it to be true. Also family lure says that Uncle Lute may have been in the CIA. This is not hard to believe when you look at the big picture.

The 1930 US Census is a strange one when it comes to Uncle Lute. His mother (or I'm pretty sure it's her) is found in Dallas, TX three years after her husband died after being run over by a wagon. Ancestry.com mistakenly has her with another household, but when you look at the digital copy, it is clear that she is the head of a separate household. Within her home are two men; one named Lewis P. VanGilder and the other Andra A. Carter. Both are 31 years old and both are listed as artists being employed by the "general public". From what I can surmise, Lewis is Uncle Lute.



A small painting by Uncle Lute. The family has more of his paintings. If I can get pictures I'll put more up.



Somewhere between 1930 and 1942 Uncle Lute legally changed his name to Luigi Paule Sabatino. Again my grandmother says that he changed it because he fell in love with an Italian woman and her parents wouldn't let her marry a non-Italian man. To be honest, I never asked if it worked or if they got married. All I know is he didn't change his name back and he never had children. He was also buried as Luigi Paule Sabatino and registered for the WWII draft under the same name.

So for Talented Tuesday, I have an uncle who was an artist, acted, and helped construct a US icon.

When the 1940 US Census comes out I hope to find some more information. I also haven't been able to find him in the 1920 US Census.

If anyone has information about Luther Paul VanGilder or Luigi Paule Sabatino, C.L. Gillis in Clarksburg, WV, how to find if someone worked on the Pentagon, or how to find out if someone worked for the CIA please comment.





1. United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.

2. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.

3. Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration