Private First Class (PFC) Abner Francis “Aberdeen” Ashworth, Company I, 327th Infantry was inducted into the U.S. Army on April 7, 1918, in Covington, Tennessee. He was wounded in combat on October 9, 1918, at Meuse Argonne, France by machine-gun fire in his right thigh. He was discharged on May 27, 1919.
Abner’s Tipton county army buddies were Bob Graves from Randolph, John McBride and Chesley Bowden from Covington. “Aberdeen” was born in Gates, Tennessee. His father, James Andrew was a section foreman for the Illinois Central railroad. They moved to Kerrville in 1898. Aberdeen attended school in Kerrville and moved to Wilkinsville in 1915. The family farmed 75 acres and ran the Wilkinsville crossroads store until 1927. He continued to live in Wilkinsville until his death in 1977.