Genealogical Gems

On a recent trip to the Hephzibah Baptist Cemetery in Chester County , I stumbled upon – literally – the grave of Davis Perry. There are actually lots of veterans buried there but something about this one just compelled me to go see who it was. I should probably note here that the night I went to visit was Halloween or Samhain. I was there hoping to receive some sort of guidance from my 4 th great grandmother Margaret Still, who is also buried there.   Sunday my girls and I went back over to get his name since all I could remember was Perry. I HAD to find out his story.    Prior to the Civil War Davis Perry was born on 8 November 1820 in Pennsylvania .   The 1850 Census shows Davis living in East Fallowfield Township with his wife Mary Ann and their four children. He was a paper maker. The children were: Phebe, age 7; Alexander, age 4;   Anna M, age 3; and Henry M., age 1. The Davis family lived just three house down from my Margaret St...

Enoch S. McCarty missed his fellow servicemen. He placed an ad in the Lancaster Daily Intelligencer on 24 October 1881.   The article read: Enoch S. McCarty, of Kimble, Luzerne Co., PA, desires to know the post office and whereabouts of any or all of the following: John R. Martin, Henry W. Shultz, Samuel McIntyre, Mahlon P. Eckman, who, during or after the war, lived at or near this city. They belonged to the same company with McCarty.   Mahlon Eckman happened to be my husband’s “1 st cousin 4x removed” according to Family Tree Maker. So, of course this one caught my attention!   He was born in 1831 to Henry and Susan Longnecker Eckman. Henry's parents were John Martin Eckman and Elizabeth Sides. Henry's sister, Elizabeth, is my husband's 3rd great grandmother!       Mahlon had a brother, Hiram, who was three years younger. In 1860, he married Margaret Jane Armstrong. They would have five children together: Cyrus, Henry, Jo...

Soldiers head to Philadelphia On This Day in 1864 after a day of riots in Baltimore . A riot broke out yesterday at the Provost Marshal’s office involving some 200 men of the 23 rd Pennsylvania Regiment. Many of the men were at Soldiers’ Rest and were drunk. The PM’s guard arrested many. Others got upset and a riot broke out. Approximately a dozen men on each side were injured.    Source The Evening Telegraph. ( Philadelphia , PA ), 24 August 1864. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.    On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Union General Ulysses S Grant led an attack on the Weldon Railroad at Globe Tavern in Virginia . His goal was to crush the Weldon and Petersburg Railroad which ran to Weldon , NC . The Union was successful in capturing a section of the railroad On This Day in 1864. However, the battle lasted five days.    Many units were naturally involved in that particular battle, including the 90 th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Infantry. My 4 th great uncle Benjamin Franklin Van Horn was among those serving with that unit. Sadly, he was captured by the Confederates and taken prisoner on the 20 th . He served out the remainder of the Civil War at Belle Island in Richmond .       Source: Union attacks railroad at Globe Tavern. History.com, 18 August 1864.        On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jean...

Over a thousand men were taken prisoner over the five day battle at the Weldon Railroad in August 1864. The National Republic out of Washington , DC reported that the number of men captured by the Confederates was 1,500. Union General Ulysses S Grant led an attack on the Weldon Railroad at Globe Tavern in Virginia beginning on 18 August. The Weldon Railroad ran from Virginia to Weldon , NC . The battle continued five days.    My 4 th great uncle Benjamin Franklin VanHorn was among those at that battle. He served with the 90 th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Infantry and was among those 1,500 men taken prisoner.    The National Republican, out of Washington , DC , gave a detailed report of the accounts and the captures. The rebels charged between the 5 th and 9 th corps. In doing so, they captured a large number of Union soldiers. At the same time, a heavy column charged the western lines. The lines broke and again the Confederates captured several...

W. Henry Williamson and Lt. Samuel Williamson, Civil War soldiers, are buried together in the Cheyney Burial Grounds. The cemetery is located in Thornbury Township , Chester County . The Cheyney land, including the university that now stands there, crosses both Delaware and Chester Counties .   William Henry enlisted in the Co. D 124 th Regt. Pennsylvania Infantry. He was, according to his stone, just 19 when he died at the Stafford Court House in Virginia on 3 February 1863. He was also known as William Henry and William Harry, according to the National Park Service (NPS), which lists his rank as musician.   Samuel was a lieutenant with Co. D 5 th Pennsylvania Calvary (65 th Volunteers). He was, according to his stone, just 20 when he was killed on 7 February 1863 in an engagement in Williamsburg , Virginia .   Samuel enlisted as a Sergeant on 30 July 1861. He was promoted up to Full 2 nd Lieutenant on 26 January 1862 and to Full 1 st Lieutenant o...

It was On This Day in 1862 that the Confederates captured the St. Nicholas on the Chesapeake Bay . The plan, laid out by George Hollins and Richard Thomas Zarvona, was to take the St. Nicholas and use her to marshal other Union ships.   Zarvona recruited a band of pirates who boarded the St. Nicholas as passengers. Hollins boarded separately. They surprised the crew and took the ship. Their original plan was to then take the Pawnee , a Union gunboat, but it had been called away. Instead the took three commercial ships.   Source: This Day in History.   History.com. 28 June 1862.    On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

The National Civil War Museum will hold a Community Free Day Saturday, 20 June. The newest exhibit, titled “The Life and Times of Congressman Robert Smalls,” will honor Smalls.   After the Civil War, Robert Smalls became a businessman. He served in the South Carolina State House and Senate and became a United States Congressman. Smalls was born a slave in South Carolina . He piloted eighteen slaves to freedom on a boat in Charleston Harbor in 1862. During the Civil War, he helped the Union Army and Navy. He died in 1915.    Tonight (Friday, 19 June) his great, great grandson Michael Boulware Moore will present "The Life and Legacy of Robert Smalls," offering additional insights and personal, family recollections on his accomplishments at the Museum’s wine and cheese reception.  "The Life and Times of Congressman Robert Smalls," a traveling exhibit on loan from the Robert Smalls Collection and managed by the South Carolina State Museum , will open f...

The Ninth Pennsylvania Calvary held a reunion On This Day in 1880. Attending from Lancaster City were: Samuel Swenk, Thomas C Reynolds, James Aument, A. F. Shenck, William Leonard, John Creshbach, and William Roehm. The men met in Harrisburg annually.    Source: Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. ( Lancaster , PA ), 3 June 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt I started this month to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

The death of Civil War soldier Simon Goss was reported On This Day in 1881. Goss had served with as a Private in Company F, in the Ninth PA Calvary. He had been wounded at Dandridge, East Tennessee. He died 25 May at his home at Locust Valley , located between Strasburg and Lampeter.  Goss, 42, left a wife, Fannie, and six children. He was buried at the Mennonite burying ground in Strasburg.   Find a Grave however lists his service information as having enlisted in Company K, 10 th Infantry.   Source: Find A Grave. Simon B Goss   Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S. , Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo , UT , USA : Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.    Lancaster daily intelligencer. ( Lancaster , Pa. ), 26 May 1881. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt I started this month to further explore histor...

I stumbled upon Osborn Still while researching my Still line. He is one of two Stills listed on Find A Grave as being buried at the Romansville United Methodist Church Cemetery . The other still is the wife of my 4 th great grand uncle David Still. Her name is Agnes Armstrong Still. David is buried over at Hepzibah Baptist Cemetery . The entry for Osborn Still is brief. His birth and death dates are unknown. However there is an inscription on his stone. It reads, “ Co. C, 22 U.S.C.T.”   USCT stands for US Colored Troops and indicates he served the Union in the US Civil War. A search on the National Park Service did not show any results for an Osborn Still. I did however find several other Stills who served in the U.S.C.T.    Other Stills in the U.S.C.T. are: Thomas – 24 th Regiment Thomas – 5 th Regiment Moses – 88 th Regiment Josiah – 3 rd Regiment George W. – 26 th Regiment George – 25 th Regiment Clayton – 41 st Regiment Britton –...

John P. H. Van Vladricken served in the Civil War with the 71 st New York Regiment . Like so many young men, he was killed at Gettysburg . It was the second day of the battle and his regiment charged another. At that time, he had already served one three year enlistment and was in his second three year term.   When he re-enlisted, his wife followed. Mary Van Vladricken became a field nurse in Sickle’s Brigade. She served as such even after her husband’s tragic death. Mary served thru the remainder of the war.    According to her obituary, she had been captured by the Confederates at one point. Several officers and men who she had cared for at one time recognized her. She was treated then with consideration until being recaptured by General Kilpatrick. She passed in January 1900. She was 70 at the time of her death, putting her birth about 1830. Her obituary mentions too that her maiden name was Deyoe and that she “belonged to a titled Holland family.” ...

Bells tolled across the nation yesterday in remembrance of the end of the Civil War. It was 150 years ago that Robert E Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S Grant, thus ending a four year battle which had set brother against brother. Blog posts worth reading: Find My Past did a nice write up recalling Lee’s surrender to Grant 150 years ago. The Civil War had been going on for four years at that time. Generation’s Gone By also focused on the end of the Civil War this week. She singled out a few soldiers and focused on them. A good read! Reflections From the Fence also focused on the Confederate Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse 150 years ago. Carol reflected on her 2x great grandfather Solomon B. Eley. The 52 Ancestors Challenge continues strong. The Week 14 Recap was for Favorite Photos. The Ancestry Insider is a great blog to bookmark for anyone into genealogy, but especially those of us who use Ancestry.com. Ofte...

My 4 th great uncle, Benjamin Franklin Vanhorn served in the 90 th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Infantry. He is a collateral relative but he fascinates me, being the only family member thus far I can confirm actually served during the Civil War on my side of the family. A single man, he would have been 20 years old when he enlisted on 2 September 1863 as a Private. The 90 th PA Infantry spent its days in Virginia . He fought at Mine Run, Wilderness, Laurel Hill, the Spotsylvania Court House, Petersburg , and the Weldon Railroad. It was at the Weldon Railroad, on 20 August 1864, that he was captured, taken prisoner, and confined at Liberty Belle Island in Richmond .   The National Archives recently shed a little more light on that day.     Benjamin was admitted at the Regimental Hospital on 18 August 1864 for “diarrhoea”. How embarrassing right? I suppose though it would be hard to march or fight while you constantly stopping to go to the bathroo...

The first Union prisoners arrive at the infamous Confederate prison at Andersonville , Georgia On This Day in 1864. The prison only existed for 14 months, just a little over a year. In that time, more than 45,000 Union soldiers were held there. Today Andersonville is preserved as a National Historic Site .     On This Day is a prompt I started this month to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

  The US Civil War was fought throughout the nation. Reenactments are still held on battlefields and in woodlands. Did you know there was also a naval aspect to the Civil War? In fact, it was On This Day in 1863 that the Confederate sub HL Hunley attacked and sunk the USS Houstanic. The attack happened in the Charleston Harbor in South Carolina .     On This Day is a prompt I started this month to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

After camping for nearly two months at Munfordville, the 79 th Pennsylvania left camp to head to Bowling Green . It was On This Day in 1862 that the Lancaster County Regiment started the tough march on rough roads in the winter. The next day they received orders to return to Munfordville The 79 th Pennsylvania Infantry had been organized in Lancaster . The men were mustered in on 19 September 1861 for an expected three year enlistment under Colonel Henry Augustus Hambright. They were mustered out on 12 July 1865.     On This Day is a prompt I started this month to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

By now, in 1861, several states had seceded from the Union . It was On This Day that delegates from those states formed the Confederate Government. The convention was held in Montgomery , Alabama . Seven states attended that convention. They were Alabama , Florida , Georgia , Louisiana , Mississippi , and South Carolina .     On This Day is a prompt I started this month to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Did you know the King of Sam offered war elephants to help fight the Civil War? Elephants! Can you just imagine for a moment Sherman ’s march on elephants? The letter, according to the National Archives , is dated 14 February 1861 and in it King Mongkut offers then President Buchanan a gift of elephants. The King thought the elephaints might fair well in the woodlands. President Buchanan was out of office before the letter arrived and it was President Lincoln who responded. It was On This Day, almost a year later, that President Lincoln refused the generous offer, according to CivilWar.org . Siam , by the way, is current day Thailand .   Photos: Dreamstime   On This Day is a prompt I started this month to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

It was On This Day that POW Private S.E. Barrell died while in US custody. Barrell served in Company F of the 12 Tennessee in the Confederate Army. He had been captured 27 December 1862 at Stone’s River during the Battle of Murfreesboro, TN.    A quick Google search did not reveal any personal information about Barrell. From a Northern perspective, we so rarely discuss Confederate POWs and I have to be honest, while going through the database, I was surprised how many Confederate POWs there had been. Barrell is not family but merely someone who just caught my eye for whatever reason. Sources: Ancestry.com. Civil War Prisoner of War Records, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo , UT , USA : Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.    Captured Confederate Soldiers http://www.tennessee-scv.org/Camp33/captured_confeds.htm   National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Co...