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Honorable Discharges – 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I – Part 4
Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 25, 2011
Today, the blog post again continues to feature members of the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, who served the full term of nine months and received honorable discharges on 5 August 1863. The research results presented here are based on preliminary data gathering on each of the members of the company and searches for Pension Index Cards that reference the pension application files that are available at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Some of the members of this company has been previously discussed on blog posts here and reference to those posts are provided with links.
In addition, much has already been written on Benjamin J. Evitts, the elected captain of this company (click here for previous posts on Benjamin J. Evitts). Click here for previous posts on the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry.
The 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I,was a drafted militia that served for nine months. No member of this militia was reported injured as a result of a military act, so, theoretically, nearly all the pension applications should be post-1890, when “age” became the most significant factor for the veteran to receive a pension. This should be reflected in the date of application on the Pension Index Card. If the veteran died before 1890, there probably was no application made by the veteran, but it is possible that a widow applied. In the column for “Certificate Number,” if no number appears, this would indicate that an application was made, but no pension was awarded. If a number appears in the “Certificate Number” column, it can be assumed that a pension was awarded, although the date of the award cannot be determined from the Pension Index Card.
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GEORGE FEIDT (1832-1905)
George Feidt was born in 1832 in Upper Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the son of John Feidt and Mary Ann [Will] Feidt. In 1860, in Upper Paxton Township, he was enumerated as a master shoemaker and was supporting his widowed mother Mary. Also George’s sister Mary Feidt, age 22, was living with them and working as a domestic. A shoemaker apprentice, Jonathan Hoke, age 19, was also living in household. When the war came, he was drafted and served in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I. Returning from the war, and still not married, he continued to support his widowed mother and continued to work as a shoemaker in Upper Paxton Township. In 1871, at the age of 38, he married Sarah Barnhart, who was 35 years old. They had no children. By 1880, George is farming in Upper Paxton Township. He participated in the activities of the Kilpatrick Post of the G.A.R. in Millersburg and his name is recorded on the Millersburg Civil War Monument. George collected a pension for his service in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, and lived three years beyond his wife, Sarah. George Feidt is buried in the Lutheran Cemetery in Killinger, Dauphin County.
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PHILIP FURKEL (1830-?)
Philip Furkel is believed to have been born about 1830, but not much is known at this time of his parentage or where he was born. He served in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, as a Private. No Pension Index Card has been located for him.
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JOHN L. GOOD (1845-1928)
John L. Good was born in Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the son of Daniel Good, a farmer, and Margaret [Reedy] Good, daughter of Leonard Reedy, a gunsmith. Other genealogical connections for John L. Good with the Civil War are that his twin uncles, William Henry Reedy (who also served in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I) and Henry William Reedy, the brothers of his mother, both were war veterans. Leonard Reedy and his sons were featured in a previous post on Gratz during the Civil War. In addition to serving in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry as a draftee, upon return, John L. Good enlisted in the 210th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H, as a Corporal, where he was mustered in on 16 September 1864. He was wounded at Gravelly Run, Virginia, on 31 March 1865, and was eventually discharged by General Order on 31 May 1865.
After the Civil War, John married Catherine “Cassie” Schreffler and moved to Pilot Mound, Boone County, Iowa, where he worked as a farmer and raised his family of nine or ten children. By 1910, the year Cassie died, he had retired and was living on his “own income,” presumably his Civil War pension, which he applied for from Iowa and received in Iowa. He spent his last days as a boarder in Ogden, Boone County, and when he died he was buried in the Union Cemetery in Grant Boxholm.
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JOHN HOFFMAN (1837-1897)
The John Hoffman who served in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry is sometimes found in the records as John I. Hoffman or John Tobias Hoffman. He was born in 1837 in Mifflin Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the son of Johann Christian Hoffman Jr. (1799-1870) and Sarah Rebecca [Tobias] Hoffman (1802-1870). Through his father he was a direct descendant of Johann Peter Hoffman, pioneer settler of the Lykens Valley. John Hoffman married Harriet “Henrietta” Ginter and had at least one child, Sarah Hoffman, who was born in 1866. After the war, John and Harriet lived in Washington Township, Dauphin County, where he worked as a laborer. Later he moved to Hubley Township, Schuylkill County. The Pension Index Card (see above) notes that John Hoffman applied for a pension in 1892, but was not awarded one. However, upon his death, his widow applied, and she was awarded a pension. John Hoffman is buried in Peace Cemetery, Berrysburg, Dauphin County. Because of a significant number of persons with same name, all of whom served in the Civil War, it is difficult to separate the records of each, so more research has to be done to insure that the records are not co-mingled. The Gratz Historical Society has a picture in its collection that is identified only as “John Hoffman” and when the name “John Hoffman” appears on a war memorial without further designation, it is very difficult to determine who is being honored.
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ALFRED HOOVER (1815-1902)
Alfred Hoover, who was born in 1815, probably near Curtin, Dauphin County,Pennsylvania, was featured in three prior posts on this blog: (1) Hoover Family in the Civil War; (2) Pvt. Alfred Hoover – 177th Pennsylvania Infantry; and (3) Obituary of Pvt. Alfred Hoover. Research is still being conducted to determine his connection with other members of the Hoover family. Alfred Hoover married Mary Deibler in 1860 in Mifflin Township.
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The continuation of the “Honorable Discharges” of the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, will appear on Sunday of this weekend.
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I have an 1863 Confederate Draft Registration Card for a potential family member. In the column asking for “former military service” is entered: 68. E. M. M. Can you help me interpret what this means?
Thank you for thinking about this.
Clairice