Author Archives: Dorothy Oksner

Segoine, Jesse, Brigadier General, 111th New York Infantry

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Jesse Segoine formed and led the 111th New York Infantry during the Civil War. His enlistment dates were 20
Aug 1862 – 03 Jan 1863 when he resigned due to illness.
Family

Jesse Segoine photo

Jesse Segoine

Jesse Segoine was born in Long Island, New York on January 6, 1804. His father was also named Jesse Segoine.
Family records indicate that his mother was Charlotte Crooker. Family lore indicates that the Segoine family line were French Huguenots (Calvinist Protestants) who immigrated to Long Island and Staten Island in the 1700s. The family lived in Brooklyn New York and Jesse became a cabinet maker.

According to Jesse’s obituary, his grandfather (John Jean Segoine – name not verified by records) served in the French War under General Wolfe and fought at the Plains of Abraham in Quebec. The same obituary indicates that Jesse Segoine Sr. was a member of the 1st New York Artillery.

In 1822, Jesse Segoine enlisted in the infantry portion of the 11th Regiment of the N.Y. State Artillery. In 1825,
the N.Y. military organization was changed and the infantry portion of the 11th Regiment became the 27th
Regiment of National Guards. Jesse served in this regiment until 1830.

Jesse Segoine married Priscilla P. Fowler on 18 Jul 1824 in New York. Priscilla was born in 1806 in New York.
No information has been located on Priscilla’s family other than her sister Mary Fowler lived with Jesse and
Priscilla for many years. Jesse and Priscilla had 7 children: William F. Segoine (1829-1854); Charles Segoine (1834-1865); Henry Segoine
(1837-1915); Edward Eugene Segoine (1839-1853); Mary Francis Segoine (1843-1872); Charlotte F. Segoine
(1847-1922); and Jesse Irene Segoine (1849-1906). The member of Laura Belle Stoddard Tent 22, Daughters
of Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861-1865 descends through Jessie Irene Segoine who married James
Artemus Donahue on 27 Jan 1875 in Auburn. James Donahue also served in the 111th New York Infantry during the Civil War.

In 1836, Jesse and his family moved to Auburn in Cayuga County New York. He used his cabinet maker skills to
become a partner in the firm of Parsons, Hewson, and Segoine. That firm made furniture in the Auburn Prison
using contract labor.

In 1840, Jesse formed the Auburn Guard (Militia Company) and was their Captain until the New York Governor appointed Jesse Segoine as Brigadier General of state militia in 1853 in charge of the 23rd Brigade. In 1857, Jesse went to Michigan to run a furniture manufacturing plant and was appointed Major General in the Michigan Guard in charge of the Second Division.

Jesse Segoine returned from Michigan to Auburn New York before the Civil War. He was involved in local
businesses, including cabinet/furniture manufacturing, and also ran a farm. Jesse was active in recruiting
soldiers in the updated New York area. He helped muster and train the 19th, 33rd, and 75th infantry regiments.
Jesse died 14 Aug 1895 and Priscilla died 15 Apr 1893. Both were buried in the family plot in the Fort Allegan

Section of Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn New York. Priscilla’s sister and all of Jesse and Priscilla’s

headstone

Headstone for Jesse Segoine from Find a Grave

children except Jesse Irene Segoine Donahue are also buried in the family plot in Fort Hill Cemetery.

 

 

 

 

 

Civil War Service

On 19 July 1862 at the age of 58, Jesse Segoine was authorized to raise a regiment in Auburn New York, and
surrounding areas. This regiment became the 111th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Jesse Segoine
mustered in as Colonel and was commissioned on 9 Sep 1862.

Between July 14 and July 26, 400 volunteers had been enlisted. The volume of volunteers in that short time
was attributed to the fear of a draft. Generous bounties were also offered in some areas for volunteers to join the new regiment. By the time the regiment left Auburn for Baltimore and then Virginia, it had about 1,000 officers and soldiers. The 111th New York Regiment was instrumental in holding the Union line at Harpers Ferry. However, the commanding Colonel Dixon Stansbury Miles, who was fatally injured during the battle surrendered approximately 12,500 Federal troops to Confederate General “Stonewall” Jackson on Sept 15, 1862. Jesse Segoine was one of the soldiers made Prisoner of War as a result of this surrender. The regiment was paroled and sent first to Annapolis, Maryland, and then to Camp Douglas, Chicago, Illinois.

The regiment was exchanged on November 23, 1862. Jesse returned to duty after the prisoner exchange, but due to age and ill health, resigned from his commission 03 Jan 1863.

Jesse Segoine was one of several officers who testified before Congress about the mismanagement of the battle at Harper’s Ferry. The surrender was done without consultation with a majority of the Union leaders.

photo of Jesse Segoine in uniform

Jesse Segoine in uniforn

References:
The 111th New York Volunteer Infantry, Martin W. Husk, McFarland & Company, Inc.; 2010 Colonels in Blue Union Army Colonels of the Civil War; New York; Roger D. Hunt; Schiffer Military History Series; 2003
https://civilwarintheeast.com/us-regiments-batteries/new-york-infantry/111th-new-york; article printed 09- 29-2023
https://antietam.aotw.org; article on Colonel Jesse Segoine; printed 01-07-2024
https://www.findagrave.com; Jesse Segoine; printed 01-07-2024
https://www.forthillcemetery.net/Notables/segoine/segoine.html; printed 09-29-2023
https://museum.dmna.ny.gov/unit-history/infantry-2/111th-infantry-regiment; printed 01-07-2024
Wikipedia; 111th_New_York_Infantry_Regiment; printed 01-07-2024
Signposts from Harper’s Ferry National Park – “We Began Firing at Will: The 11th New York Regiment” and
“From Skirmish Line to Burial Ground” – both found along the Union Skirmish line at Harper’s Ferry National
Park.

Young, Robert Johnson – Sgt – Co K – 27th PA Infantry

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Robert – or Rob, as he was called – was born February 24, 1834, in East Fallowfield Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. His ancestors had lived in Chester County since the mid-1600s when they immigrated to the Colonies from England and Ireland. Rob’s grandfather, whom he was named after, had served in the Continental Army as a Wagon Master during the Revolutionary War.

Rob’s parents were George Washington Young (1790-1865) and Jane Elizabeth Bratton (1797-1872). They married in East Fallowfield Township on 25 Dec 1817 and had 11 children. Rob was the 9th, and it is from him that descends this line to the member of Laura Belle Stoddard Tent 22, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861-1865.

In the 19th century, East Fallowfield was mostly rural farmland. In the census of 1860, a year before the Civil War began, George Young’s occupation was listed as “Farmer,” his land valued at $7,000. Like most of his neighbors, George grew wheat, rye, Indiana corn, and oats. He also had milking cows, swine, oxen, and other cattle. According to the same census, Rob lived and worked at home as one of his father’s farm laborers.

In the summer of 1862, President Lincoln put out a desperate plea for 300,000 more volunteers. After losing several key battles, the Yanks were disgusted, discouraged, and demoralized. The War they’d assumed would be over in a month had lasted well over a year – with no end in sight. To make matters worse, the Rebs were now marching into Maryland, heading for the U.S. Capitol in Washington City…

Rob answered Lincoln’s call. He enlisted in Company B, 12th PA Infantry Volunteer Militia, mustering in as a private on September 13, 1862. He received little to no training and saw the elephant four days later at the Battle of Antietam.

The Battle – and carnage – began at 5:30 a.m. in drizzly daylight. At 8:40 a.m., Rob was one of 7,000 Union soldiers (most of them raw recruits) who pushed through the Confederates who had held the East Woods. From there they entered what would eventually be known as The Bloody Cornfield.

Within an hour, 8,000 Rebs and Yanks lay dead there. Union General Joseph Hooker would later note in his report:

“In the time that I am writing, every stalk of corn in the northern and greater part of the field was cut as closely as could have been done with a knife, and the slain lay in rows precisely as they had stood in their ranks a few moments before. It was never my fortune to witness a more bloody, dismal battlefield.”

The Battle of Antietam remains the bloodiest single day in America’s history with 22,270 casualties.

Rob was promoted to Corporal and, with the emergency easing and the Rebs skedaddling out of Union territory, he mustered out on September 27th, 1872. He then marched home to East Fallowfield, where in late November he married his 19-year-old sweetheart Emma Meade Sommers. Emma was the oldest of 6 children born to Jacob Sommers and Elizabeth Flowers. Jacob was a farmer and merchant, with property valued at almost $20,000. Emma was a talented seamstress who worked as a milliner before her marriage.

In March of 1863, Rob and Emma’s first child, Howard Ellsworth Young, was born.

The following June, the Rebs were closing in on the capitol of PA. Governor Andrew Curtain begged the young men of his state for assistance. He said: “The enemy is approaching! I must rely upon the people for the defense of the State and have called the militia for that purpose. The time of service will only be while the danger to the State is imminent.”

So Rob re-enlisted, joining Company K, 27th PA  Infantry Militia, mustering in on June 19th, along with his younger brother George Franklin and his cousin Samuel.

Nine days later, Rob assisted at the burning of the Wrightsville/Columbia PA Bridge. Civilian volunteers from Columbia had set explosives under the bridge from the Wrightsville side, hoping to plunge the entire 200-foot span into the Susquehanna River. But when they detonated the charges, the support arch merely splintered in a few sections. The span remained passable.

The 27th took immediate action. They saturated the structure with crude oil from

A Columbia refinery. Then, as the Confederates advanced onto the bridge, the regiment set it afire, preventing the Rebs from entering Columbia. Mission completed, Rob and his company were then free to march on to Gettysburg.

The 27th’s commander would later write in his field report:

“On the 3d of July, the regiment continued in position on Cemetery Hill…when ordered to the assistance of a corps momentarily overpowered – and was for three hours

exposed to a terrific artillery fire…“During the night, Company K pushed into the outskirts of the town, and on the morning of the 4th, the Twenty-

Seventh was among the first to enter Gettysburg, to the great joy of the inhabitants.

 “What a morning was that for the people of this beleaguered town! For three wearisome days of battle had they, with bated breath, awaited the issue of the conflict. In the grey dawn, they beheld with uncontrollable

gladness the soldiers of the national army advancing on all their streets!”

 As soon as this “emergency” ended, and Rob’s three-month service was completed, he was promoted to Sgt. and mustered out. But a year later, in September of 1864 he was drafted. This time, though, he would not be released from duty in three months. This time, he had to sign up for three years or the duration of the war – however long that might be.

Weary of the dangers he’d faced previously in the Infantry, Rob joined the 18th PA Cavalry, Co. E. He had to start over as a private but was soon promoted to Corporal, taking part in both Grant’s Overland Campaign and Sheridan’s Shenandoah Campaign. He fought with the cavalry in the following engagements:

Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia; Battle of White Oak Swamp; Battle of Globe Tavern and the Weldon Rail Road; Battle of Charles Town, West Virginia; and the Battle of Shepherdstown, WV.

In August of 1864, on the way to the next battle at Harper’s Ferry, WV, Rob was wounded. Among other injuries, he lost a finger and was sent to the Sandy Hook Field Hospital “with remittent fever” where he was under the care of Dr. James Willard until February of 1865. Never well enough to ride again, Rob spent the remaining months of the war doing patrol duty and was discharged for injuries by General Order No. 77 A.G.O. on July 8, 1865 at Cumberland, Maryland.

After the war, Rob moved back to Chester County with his wife and son, where he worked as a carpenter. In 1866, Emma gave birth to twin daughters: Jennie Francis and Anna Cora. When the twins were age 2 and Howard was 5, the family left Philadelphia and traveled more than 1,000 miles – first by train, then covered wagon – to begin a new life in El Dorado, Kansas.

In 1862, Congress had passed the Homestead Act, which encouraged white Americans, former slaves, and poor immigrants to move to the West to claim 160 acres of ‘free’ land. Robert decided he would earn his living by helping these people travel from Philadelphia to the Wild West. Unfortunately, things did not go well for the Young family. Rob spent most of his time traveling, leaving Emma alone to care for Howard, Jennie, Cora, and a newborn son, George. After two years, the children were still fearful of the local Native Americans, Emma desperately missed her family, and George had died of Diphtheria.  In 1870, Rob and his family left the prairie, returning to Chester County where he opened a paper mill.

Jennie died in 1877 at age 11, but Howard and Cora were soon joined by two more siblings Frank and Emma.

In later years, the family moved to Philadelphia, where Rob worked as a contractor and carpenter. He also became a proud member of the Grand Army of the Republic, joining the General George G. Meade Post #1 in Philadelphia. He filed for his pension on October 17th, 1871, Application Number 170,216, Certificate Number 356,366.

Rob died on November 19th, 1907 in Philadelphia, PA, and was buried at the Hephzibah Baptist Church Cemetery in East Fallowfield Township, Chester County, PA. His war buddies from the GAR served as pallbearers. They said Rob liked to brag about how his horse had been shot out from under him as he rode into Harper’s Ferry. His family said Rob used to love to sing old camp war songs around the house.

Emma filed for her Widow’s Pension on December 31, 1907, Application Number 882,182, Certificate 639,148. She continued to receive Rob’s pension until she died in 1920.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donahue, James Artemus, 1st Lt — 111th NY Infantry

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 James Artemus Donahue served in the 111th New York Infantry during the Civil War. His enlistment dates were 09 Aug 1862 – 04 Jun 1865.

1st Lt James Donahue

Family
James Artemus Donahue was born in either Webster, Monroe County, New York, or Victory, Cayuga County, New York on March 12, 1847. Records are inconsistent concerning his birthplace. Most of the records list Webster as the place of birth.

Family lore indicates that his lineage traces from Ireland migrating to Scotland because of religious wars. They appear to have moved to England and then to America. The family lore does not provide a name for James’ father. James’ father and brothers (Benjamin and William) settled in Virginia and then moved to New York where James’ father married a woman named Mary Cartwright. No records have been found to prove the information in this paragraph.

Sometime after James was born, it appears that all of his immediate family died possibly from illness or an Indian raid. No information has been located on either his parents or Uncles.

The first census that we have found James in is the 1860 US Federal Census. He is listed under the household of John Hawes in Victory, Cayuga County, New York. The census indicates James was 14 and attending school at the time. Recent discoveries indicate that John Hawes’ wife, Miranda Cartwright, was James’ mother’s sister. However, additional research is necessary to confirm this relationship.
James married Jessie Irene Segoine (born 23 Apr 1849 in Auburn, Cayuga County, New York) on 27 Jan 1875 in Auburn. Jessie was the daughter of Jesse Segoine (Colonel 111 NY Infantry) and Priscilla Fowler.
James and Jessie had four children: Segoine Hyatt Donahue (1881-1967); Tena Irene Donahue (1885-1976;
married Ralph Grey Benton, from whom descends the member of Laura Belle Stoddard Tent 22, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861-1865; Edward Arthur Donahue (1888-unknown); Priscilla Segoine Donahue (1892-1969).

After the Civil War, James owned a dry goods store in Auburn, New York, and lived in a house that was still standing as of 2019. James sold the dry goods store in 1903-1904 and moved the family to Riverside,

James Donahue gravestone

California. Jessie died 29 Mar 1906 and James died 14 Mar 1910. Both were buried in the Evergreen Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Riverside California.

Civil War Service
James Donahue enlisted in Auburn, New York as a Private in Company C of the 111th New York Infantry on August 9 1862 for a term of 3 years. The enlistment papers describe him as 21 years old, 5 feet 4 inches tall; light complexion, gray eyes, and dark hair with an occupation of Farmer. Note that he was only 15 years old when he enlisted. All other records such as censuses confirm that he was 15 when he enlisted.

In a memoriam from the Grand Army of the Republic, his service record indicates that he was wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness; promoted to First Sergeant, and afterward to First Lieutenant. He also acted as Captain of the company. The memoriam indicates that he fought at battles from Harpers Ferry to Appomattox except for when he was hospitalized. James was mustered out of the Army on June 4 1865 at the end of the Civil War.

The 111th New York Regiment was instrumental in holding the Union line at Harpers Ferry. However, the
commanding Colonel Dixon Stansbury Miles, who was fatally injured during the battle surrendered
approximately 12,500 Federal troops to Confederate General “Stonewall” Jackson on Sept 15, 1862. James
Donahue’s records indicate that he was one of the soldiers made Prisoner of War as a result of this surrender. The regiment was paroled and sent first to Annapolis, Maryland, and then to Camp Douglas, Chicago, Illinois. The regiment was exchanged on November 23, 1862. The regiment went on to fight at Gettysburg and Appomattox.

Montague, Samuel Hungerford Pvt. — Company D, 1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics

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Samuel Hungerford Montague, my great-grandfather, was born in Westminster Township, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada, 19 Jan 1834, to James Montague and his wife Laura Hungerford. His grandfather William immigrated with his family from Somerset, England, to Boston, Massachusetts, about 1800 and after seven years in the Boston area, settled in Biddeford, Maine, where Samuel’s father James was born in 1810. With the outbreak of the War of 1812 and hostility there toward the English, this English family left Biddeford for Buffalo, New York, where they lived during the war. William went to Canada to support the British. He was a metal worker doing fine forging and he worked in Canada repairing British guns and armament. He was at the Battle of Lundy’s Lane. After the war, William collected his family and moved to Canada settling in Westminster Township near London, Ontario. There at age 57, he took up farming.

When land opened up in Michigan, Samuel’s father as well as some of his brothers moved into Michigan to settle and farm. The James Montague family settled in Vergennes Township, Kent County, Michigan, in 1837 and Samuel grew up there. In the late 1850s, the family continued the westward movement. James moved his family to Mecosta County, Michigan, and left his eldest son Samuel on the home farm in Vergennes. At Vergennes on 2 May 1861 at the age of 27, Samuel married Merinda Whitehouse, age 16, the daughter of Maria (Underhill) Whitehouse Grindell. Their first son was my grandfather George Lehman/Lyman Montague from whom descends the member of Laura Belle Stoddard Tent 22, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861-1865. He was born at Vergennes on 9 February 1862. Their second son, Charles Henry, was born at Vergennes 15 April 1863.

On 18 Dec 1863, Samuel enlisted as a private at Lowell, Michigan, in Company D, Michigan 1st Engineers and Mechanics and was mustered in 5 Jan 1864. The Conscription Act of 1863 required all able-bodied men between 20 and 45 to register for military service. Draftees were selected by lottery. It is unknown if Samuel was drafted or enlisted voluntarily. However, it is more likely he was recruited. In 1862 Congress passed an act recognizing all volunteer engineer organizations mustered into the U.S. Service and placing them on the same footing as the corps of engineers of the regular army. This allowed the 1st Regiment of Michigan Engineers and Mechanics to have twelve companies of 150 men each. In the winter of 1863-4, each company sent recruiting parties home and by their work secured 913 more recruits. One of these was Samuel Montague.

Also enlisted as a private on 24 Dec 1683 and mustering into the same company on 5 Jan 1864 was Samuel’s father-in-law, his wife’s step-father, Andrew John Grindell, who was 55 years old but stated he was 45 at his enlistment. Andrew Grindell was an experienced soldier. He had enlisted at age 22 in the 3rd Artillery Co H on 28 May 1830 at Bangor, Maine, for 5 years and re-enlisted 23 Sep 1835 at Savannah in the 2nd Artillery Co. E for 3 years. He fought in the Seminole Wars in Florida, prior to his discharge 30 Sep 1838 at Fort Niagara, New York, which is where he met and married Samuel’s mother-in-law, Maria (Underhill) Whitehouse in 1845.

The 1st Michigan Mechanics and Engineers facilitated the movement of the great armies of Sherman, Thomas, and Rosecrans. The services to the union army they provided included the construction of bridges, pontoons, boats, forts, blockhouses, sawmills, and the destruction of the enemy’s railroads and other infrastructure deemed important to the enemy. They built bridges over rivers and chasms utilizing the resources of the local forests. They repaired and built roads to facilitate the movement of army wagon trains and troops. They often worked all night ahead of the army to facilitate the movement forward at dawn. They had two regimental commanders during the war: Colonel William P. Innes and Col. John B. Yates. Both were highly respected civil engineers. The men in the regiment were those who had cleared land, built homesteads, and had the construction and mechanical skills required for this work.  Samuel Montague was a blacksmith.  In June 1864, the regiment took up the march with the army of General Sherman on his advance into Atlanta. On Nov 2, 1864 Companies D and K were sent to Chatanooga where, joined by Company C, built pontoon and trestle bridges at Chatanooga and a pontoon bridge at Brown’s Ferry across the Tennessee River, opening up the well-known “cracker line” from Chattanooga to Bridgeport. “During the hottest and thickest of the fight, when the shells were falling thick and fast all around him, Captain Fox, Company D, Michigan Engineers and Mechanics, in command of three companies of that regiment, with forty of his men and ninety-eight of the 21st Michigan, volunteered to place the pontoon bridge in proper position across the river at the contested point, which they accomplished in just three hours, without the loss of a man; only eleven hours having been consumed in the construction of fifty-two pontoon boats and their transformation into a serviceable bridge.”

After the fall of Savannah, the regiment embarked for Beaufort, S.C. and started the long march to Goldsboro, N.C. During this march a vast amount of public property was destroyed, the men worked all night repairing and building bridges and roads so the army could march in the morning. The regiment was in front of the 17th Army Corps when Johnson surrendered to Sherman. After the surrender of Johnson, the regiment proceeded to Washington, D.C., where it took part in the grand review on May 24. The regiment was then sent to Nashville, Tennessee, until September 24 when it was mustered out of service.

During the time Samuel was in service in Company D, the regiment participated in battles at Atlanta, GA, July 22 to Sept. 2, 1864; Savannah, GA, Dec. 11-21, 1864; Averyboro, N.C., March 16, 1865; Bentonville, N.C. March 19, 1865. During the history of the regiment:

Total enrollment ………………………………………………..2920

Killed in action …………………………………………………….2

Died of wounds ……………………………………………………4

Died in confederate prisons …………………………………2

Died of disease …………………………………………………….280

Discharged for disability (wounds/disease) ………….279

 

Unfortunately, Samuel died of disease and did not survive the war. He fell sick in Washington, D.C. where he died 18 July 1865 in the Washington General Hospital of Bright’s disease (kidney failure). He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His wife’s step-father, Andrew John Grindell, survived and was mustered out in Nashville, Tennessee on 22 Sep 1965. Samuel also lost a brother to the war: George Washington Montague died 25 Aug 1865 in Tennessee. He was in Company F, 15th Michigan Infantry.

Samuel’s death significantly impacted his family. His wife, Merinda married Allen D. Watkins, a Civil War soldier, on 4 May 1866 at Grand Rapids. This marriage apparently was not good and by 1870 she was living with her half-sister’s brother-in-law James Frank Booth, who was also a veteran of the civil war, as his wife. Samuel’s mother was ill with malaria when word of her sons’ deaths reached her. She never fully recovered and died 5 Dec 1870 followed very shortly by Samuel’s widow Merinda who died 18 Feb 1871 at Lowell. Without his wife James Montague could not take his grandsons so he supported their maternal grandmother Maria Grindell in obtaining their guardianship. As a result, the boys grew up amidst the Underhill family and lost contact with their Montague family. As a young man, George was invited to join an Underhill cousin in Bellaire, Traverse, Michigan, in business and so moved there and lived among the Underhill family.

There are no known photos of Samuel Hungerford Montague, Merinda Whitehouse, or Maria Underhill. A photo does exist of James Montague and his wife Laura Hungerford.

Stoddard, Charles S., Private, MN 2nd US Cavalry

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STODDARD, CHARLES S, Private, Minnesota 2nd US Cavalry, 1864-1865 Officially Unassigned to a Company, Fort Snelling, Minnesota

Born: October 23, 1846, in Hampshire, Illinois,

Married: Laura Belle Gossard, 14, September 1875

Charles and Laura Belle had 2 sons. The youngest son, Harry, was born in 1881.  Harry married Myrtle Rolph and had 3 children. The oldest son, Rolph, had 3 children from whom this member descends.

His father was a Tanner who emigrated from England in 1837 and died when Charles was only 5 years old in 1851.

Personal Life and Military History:

Shortly after the death of his father in 1853, his mother, Catherine, married her second husband, Thomas Smith, and moved to Minnesota with Charles and his younger sister, Martha.    Thomas was a farmer and Charles worked on the family farm until he was 16.

At that time, he tried to enlist in 1863 in the Union Army but was turned down on account of his age.

As a result, Charles went back to help work on his uncle’s farm in Northern Illinois who was away in the Union Army.

He finally obtained his mother’s consent and voluntarily enlisted again in Hastings, MN on July 30, 1864. He was mustered into the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry as a Private assigned to the Company of Captain C. C. Hunt at Fort Snelling, Minn. His duration of service was for one year.  He was responsible for guarding draftees at the garrison who were being mustered into the regular Union infantry, trained, and then sent off for active duty elsewhere. Occasionally he would go out on patrol of the Sioux Indian tribes that were camped just outside the Fort to keep the peace. He wrote in his diary at the time of the suffering he witnessed of the Indians and fellow soldiers who were dying of typhoid fever.  He mustered out of the service on May 11, 1865, with an honorable discharge.  He decided without delay that his life goal was to become a doctor to help heal the suffering of others.

He first saved his soldier’s pay and bought corner lots in Farmington, Minnesota, and then later sold them for a profit. With the proceeds, he made a down payment on a farm near his mother’s home near Castle Rock, Minn. From the earnings of his summer farming, he was able to afford to attend Hamlin University in Redwing, Minnesota for one year.

He then entered Jennings Seminary in Aurora, Illinois, as a university student for 4 years while working on the local farms during the harvest season.  After graduating, he was given a teaching certificate for 1 year and taught school nearby in Castle Rock, near his mother.  He then began the study of medicine in a doctor’s office in Owatonna, MN.  In 1872 he started his first formal medical school training at Bennett Medical College in Chicago, IL, and later graduated from there in 1874. During his visits back to Owatonna, to work for the local doctor in between semesters he met a schoolteacher, Laura Belle Gossard.  She was the daughter of Reverend T.M. Gossard, Pastor of the Methodist Church in Northfield, Minnesota.  After a two-year engagement, they were married on September 14, 1875.

In that same year, he was elected Surgeon of Weiser, MN Post #31 of the G.A.R. and later became its Commander.   From 1876-1878, he was elected Medical Director of the Minnesota Division of the Grand Army of the Republic.  He then became Senior Vice Commander for all of Minnesota.  He was also selected to be the Examining Surgeon for Pensions at Scott and Carter Counties, in 1877.

He practiced medicine for the next few years in southern Minnesota. By then he had become a father of two sons, Thomas born in 1878 and Harry born in 1881.

To further his education and residency he attended to patients at the famous Bellevue Hospital in New York City and graduated from there in March of 1883 with an MD diploma and board-certified Surgeon.

In 1886, he moved with his wife Laura Belle, and his young family to Santa Barbara to set up a medical practice.  Charles served as a beloved physician for 42 years before his death in 1928. His wife Laura Belle became prominent in the local community as one of the founding female members of the board of directors of the Cottage Hospital.  They both were active members of the Grace Methodist church in town. Charles served as a patron for the CA/NV Department of the daughters of Union Veterans, Commander of the local Starr-King Post #52 as well as Department Commander for the CA/NV G.A.R. He also served as the President of the Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Public Health.  He examined the sanitation at local dairies and inspected prisons for safety. He even held a position as a trustee on the Santa Barbara School board in 1898.

After the death of his wife, Laura Belle in 1915, he suggested in 1921, that the local Starr-King chapter of the Women’s Relief Corp name the new Tent #22 in honor of his late wife, Laura Belle, who spent countless hours donating her time to the Relief of Civil War veterans, just as he did.

So, from then on, for over one hundred years, Tent # 22 has been so named in LAURA BELLE’s honor!

He died on May 18, 1928, and is buried in Santa Barbara Cemetery in Montecito, overlooking the Pacific Ocean alongside his wife, Laura Belle. It is said that flags flew at half-mast throughout the city and hundreds showed up for his funeral.

In 1931, 250 persons honored the memory of Dr. Charles S. Stoddard at the dedication of a Redwood tree and plaque that still stands to this day over 100 feet tall on the lawn of the First Methodist Episcopal Church on the corner of Anapamu and Garden Streets in Santa Barbara.  The presentation was made by the representatives of the Starr King chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Women’s Relief Corps auxiliary of the GAR, and the Laura Belle Stoddard Tent #22 of the daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War.

Pamela Stoddard DeWeerd.

 

Purdy, Erastus, Pvt. Co. B, 19th Michigan Infantry

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Born April 12, 1832, in Lockport, Niagara, New York. Erastus Purdy served in Company B 19th Infantry Michigan. He enlisted on 11 August 1862 in Allegan, Michigan. He mustered in as private on 5 September 1862 at Dowagiac, Michigan, for three years at 30 years of age.

Erastus Sebastian Purdy was farming in Vermont in 1860 before he entered service as a Union soldier.

Erastus married Amelia Wilson on 24 Dec 1857.  Amelia was born on 28 August 1840 in Monterey Township near Allegan, MI. They had thirteen children, 7 sons, and 6 daughters.  At the time of her death September 28, 1917, she was seventy-seven with 10 surviving children:  Lily Jane, Elenora, Alfred, Albert, Grace, Edward, and Murrey, from which child descends this line to the member of Laura Belle Stoddard Tent 22, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861 -1865, Melissa, Lue, and May.

After Erastus mustered in on September 5th in Michigan, his regiment moved to Danville, Kentucky December 12, 1862, and duty there was until January 26. 1863, then to Louisville, Kentucky.

On board transport from Louisville to Nashville, Tennessee in February 1863, Erastus suffered from inflammation of the lungs which progressed to typhoid pneumonia on March 1, 1863.  He was sent to Nashville General Hospital No. 15.  Recovering somewhat he went to his regiment where they went through to Atlanta, Georgia.

At Atlanta, he was disabled with kidney disease and diabetes and was sent back to Chattanooga, then to Hospital No.2 in Nashville.  April 1, 1865, he was at the General Hospital in Jeffersonville, Indiana. His wife Amelia visited him there.

He was then sent to Detroit where he was honorably discharged as private and came home in poor health. He mustered out on 23 June 1865 in Detroit, Michigan.  One hundred and sixty enlisted men in his regiment died of disease.

After the war, the family moved to Naugatuck, Michigan along with his brother James K. Purdy and family and sister Jane Purdy Clark and her husband Francis H. Clark and family.  Erastus and brothers James and Philetus owned and farmed large tracts of land.

In 1885 Erastus received a $2.00 a month pension which was increased to $12.00 in 1890 and paid quarterly.

Erastus and Amelia moved in 1895 to the northeast of Hopkins Station where they lived on 40 acres.

He died January 25, 1907, at Hopkins, Allegan, Michigan, MI.  He was 74 years, 9 months, 13 days.  He is buried at Maplewood Cemetery in Hopkins, MI.

His parents are Benjamin Purdy and Margaretta Murrey. His great-grandfather Benjamin Purdy Jr. b. 18 Oct 1743 in Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut served in the American Revolution with Captain Nathan Smith’s Vermont Militia. He died in Manchester, Bennington, Vermont, on 11 Dec 1828.

             

Shirlie Clark Carter

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Shirlie Clark Carter 1926-2022

On Saturday, October 22, 2022, Shirlie Carter, loving grandmother, and four-time great-grandmother passed away on her birthday, having just turned 96 years old.

Shirlie was born on October 22, 1926, in Santa Monica, CA to Robert Clark and Agnes Carhart. She was married to her high school sweetheart, Ed Carter, following the end of WWII, on October 13, 1946, at the age of 19—a marriage that lasted over 63 years until Ed’s passing in 2009. They had one son, Joe, who was raised in Santa Barbara.

Shirlie was a long-time employee with the Santa Barbara Country Public Works Department as an administrative assistant; she retired in 1988.

Shirlie was known for her wit, sense of humor, and personality as colorful as the award-winning orchids she grew. She was passionate about family, gardening, genealogy, history, traveling, square dancing, painting, and giving back to the community through volunteering.

Shirlie was preceded in death by her husband, Ed, and her son, Joe. She is survived by her two grandchildren, Vanessa, and Ed, and her four great-grandchildren, Aria, Ava Shirlie (her namesake), Cora, and Joey. In lieu of flowers, consider a donation in her honor to The Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens.

Deborah Drew Kaska 1941-2022

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Debbie Kaska Oct. 18, 2022 at a DUV 100th Anniversary

Debbie Kaska Oct. 18, 2022, at the DUV Luncheon

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Deborah Irene Drew Kaska, 81, who died after a fall on December 27, 2022. Debbie’s entire family was with her in her last days celebrating life at the beach. Her children were by her side when she passed. Debbie is preceded in death by her beloved husband William C. Kaska and brother Donald E. Drew.

Debbie was born in Berwyn, Il to Harvey and Irene Drew (nee Genke). She enjoyed playing clarinet and oboe and spent her summers at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. After graduating from Glenbard High School, she attended the University of Michigan earning her BS/MS in Biology. As a student and Phi Mu Sorority sister Debbie earned extra money washing equipment for the Chemistry Department. It was there that she met her future husband, Bill, who was a graduate student. The couple later settled in Goleta, California and raised four children.

In 1980, Debbie earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). In collaboration with researchers at the Univ of Oulu Finland, she studied many aspects of green algae. Later she served as the Academic Coordinator at the UCSB Department of Biological Sciences overseeing the Introductory Biology lab. Debbie conducted research on a broad variety of topics, including bird songs, vision, pine roots, and the genetic diversity of the Channel Islands Ironwood trees.

After retiring from UCSB in 2002, Debbie (affectionately known as, “Maka” to her grandchildren) traveled to visit her family and friends and explored the world. She played oboe with the SB Prime Time Band and volunteered with the SB County Genealogy Society, serving as the board secretary and editor of Ancestors West. She was also skilled in translating old German script and spoke German fluently. Debbie was involved in several organizations, including serving as VP, Patriotic Instructor, and President of Tent 22 for the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War and as Chapter VP for the Colonial Dames of America SB Chapter. She was also a member of the Mission Canyon Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her community involvement and curiosity never wavered and her friends and neighbors benefitted from her many gifts.

Debbie is survived by her children, Serge Kaska, Kristin Woolley (Douglas), Marya Darabont (Tibor), and Kathleen Perez (James), as well as seven grandchildren. A memorial mass will be held in her honor on Thursday, January 26, 2023, at 10:30 AM at San Roque Catholic Church, 325 Argonne Circle, Santa Barbara, California with a 12:30 PM reception to follow at the Glen Annie Golf Club, 405 Glen Annie Rd. Goleta, California. Donations in her honor may be sent to the Prime Time Band, P.O. Box #92055, Santa Barbara, CA 93190.

Wells, Joseph Perry, Pvt. Co. A, 82nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry.

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Born 14 July 1830 Graham Township, Jefferson County, Indiana. Joseph Wells served in W.Y. Monroe’s Co. A, 82nd Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He enrolled and mustered in as private, on 30th August 1862, at Camp Emerson, Indiana, for three years at 32 years of age and 6’ 1-1/2 “ tall. Joseph was a farmer when he entered service as a Union soldier.

He married Nancy Jane Howell on March 2, 1852.  In 1860 they had three children 7, 3, and 1.  He had 9 children with Nancy.

Wells headstone

Joseph Perry Wells was buried in the GAR area of the Springdale Cemetery, Madison Township, Jefferson, Indiana

Joseph’s regiment was ordered to Louisville, Kentucky September 1st and pursuit of Bragg October 1-15, 1862.  They were at the Battle of Perryville, Ky. October 8.  They marched to Nashville, Tennessee October 16- November 7.  They had duty there until December 26 and advanced to Murfreesboro Dec 26-30.  The Battle of Stone’s River was December 30-31 and January 1-3, 1863. Along the way, Joseph became very ill and was sent to Gallatin Hospital. The rest of his regiment continued on and mustered out on June 9, 1865. Wells was discharged as private, on 2 January 1863 at Gallatin, TN. by reason of a Surgeon’s Certificate of disability. After the war, Joseph Perry Wells returned to farming and became a lawyer and helped veterans obtain pensions.

After his wife, Nancy died he married his second wife, Elizabeth Cope on July 9, 1873.  They had one child, Roger W. Wells, from which child descends this line to the member of Laura Belle Stoddard Tent 22, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861-1865.

Elizabeth died of typhoid fever on  August 9, 1881. Joseph’s third marriage was on August 10, 1882, to widow Talitha M. Myers.  There were no children born into this marriage. He died of Phithsis and heart disease on 12 Dec 1893 in Jefferson Co., Indiana, and was buried at Springdale Cemetery, Madison Township, Jefferson, Indiana.

Hall, Henry Pvt., Co. I, 10th WV Infantry

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Henry Hall was born about 1833 in Hardy County, Virginia. His parents were James Hall, born in 1775 in Virginia, and Juda Taylor born in 1795 in Virginia. He had four siblings and the 1860 Census shows him, age 27, living at home with James, his widowed father, working as a laborer. At that time, in the “neighborhood” resided Simon Ritchie born in 1795 in Virginia, a farmer, and his wife Elizabeth born in 1811 in Virginia. Their daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was born in 1841 in Virginia and was age 19 at the time of the Census.

Henry and Mary Elizabeth were married in 1862 and together had one child, David Henry Hall, born May 7, 1863, at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, from which child descends this line to the member of Laura Belle Stoddard Tent 22, Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861 – 1865.

All the pre-Civil War activities were going on in Henry’s “backyard.” Abolitionist John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry arsenal was October 16 – 18, 1859. Henry Hall enlisted on June 21, 1863, at New Creek, Virginia for a “3-year” stint, a mere 45 days after his infant son, David Henry was born. He was assigned to the 10th West Virginia Infantry. Records show his age at 25, 5’9” tall, with blue eyes, black hair, and a light complexion. Five foot, nine inches was tall for the time and the gene for tall height has descended to the current generation.

This regiment was recruited by T.M. Harris, a practicing physician at the beginning of the war. Dr. Harris visited Governor Pierpont in 1861 and obtained consent to recruit a regiment for Union service. He traveled the state gathering suitable men for recruits. The 10th Regiment was organized from May 1862 through June 1864 and served mostly in West Virginia. It was so
particularly well-adapted for the area that the governor did not want to release them to other areas of service. The local area was important due to the number of mines as well as crisscrossing railroad lines.

On January 3, 1864, 25 men from the 10th West Virginia Regiment were guarding a wagon train bound for New Creek. At a location known as Moore Field Junction, Virginia, Confederate troops attacked the wagon train. This battle was known as the Battle at Moore Field Junction. Private Henry Hall, age 30, was taken prisoner and was “in the hands of the enemy” per Union records on January 3, 1864, at Moore Field Junction.

Approximately 20 men were transferred to the notorious Camp Sumter in Andersonville, Georgia, thereafter, was known as “Andersonville Prison.” This Confederate prison was considered one of the worst prisons during the Civil War. It was overcrowded and there was not enough food or shelter for the inmates. They had to build their own shelters out of sticks or whatever material was available or slept in the open or under tents made of rags. Sickness and malnutrition ran rampant among the men. Many died of typhus due to poor sanitary conditions. There was scant fresh water and unfortunately, Henry died there on August 14, 1864, the same month as the “miraculous” emergence of Providence Spring due to the lightning strike but was not in time to save Henry. His son, David Henry, was 15 months old at the time of his death. He is buried in Andersonville Prison, Georgia Plot F-5469.