The Yeager Family in the Civil War (Part 8)

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on June 12, 2015

In 1912, the Hon. James Martin Yeager wrote and published A Brief History of the Yeager, Buffington, Creighton, Jacobs, Lemon, Hoffman and Woodside Families and Their Collateral Kindred of Pennsylvania. Yeager was formerly the President of Drew Seminary for Young Women of Carmel, New York as well as a former Member of the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania and a Marshal of the Middle District of Pennsylvania. On pages 82-85, he presented a list of Pennsylvania soldiers he identified with the Yeager surname who had fought in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865. In addition to the names of the soldiers, he named the regiment and company in which they fought. Sixty-three veterans were thus identified. A free download of Yeager’s book can be obtained at the Internet Archive.

There is much information still to be discovered about each of the veterans. Readers of this blog are urged to add information to what is provided below – particularly genealogical information about each of the men, including the names of their parents and their decent from the earliest Yeager’s who arrived in Pennsylvania. Additional stories about the Civil War service of these veterans is also sought, particularly if readers have access to the pension application files and military records from the National Archives. Pictures are especially welcome! Comments can be added to this post or sent by e-mail.

This post continues a multi-part series on these Pennsylvanians with the Yeager surname who served in the Civil War.

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Elias Yeager was born 3 January 1843 and died 26 February 1911. He is buried at Charles Evans Cemetery, Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania. He first enrolled at Reading in the 46th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company F, as a Private and was mustered into service on 4 September 1861. He claimed to be 18 years old and employed as a bricklayer. The military records state that on 21 July 1864, he re-enlisted at Reading, but at an unknown date, he transferred to the 4th United States Artillery. On 19 August 1890, he applied for pension benefits, which he received and collected until his death. On the Pension Index Card, there is a reference to another soldier of the same name and in the same regiment and company – but the two are “not identical.”

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John H. Yeager enrolled at Reading in the 128th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H, as a Private and was mustered into service on 15 August 1862. He served until honorably discharged on 19 May 1863. He was born on 16 December 1845 in Pennsylvania and died on 25 November 1926 and is buried at Mount Hope Cemetery, Myerstown, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. John H. Yeager married Amanda Spayd. He applied for pension benefits on 28 July 1890 and collected until his death. More information about him can be found at this Findagrave Memorial.

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John Yeager was born about 1818 and died of disease at the General Hospital #23 in Nashville, Tennessee. He served in the 78th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, as a Private, from 12 September 1862 until his death. He had enrolled at New Salem Pennsylvania at about age 44 and was mustered into service at Harrisburg. On 15 April 1863, a guardian applied for pension benefits for minor children. John’s widow, married John Riley, a Civil War soldier in Company A of the 45th Pennsylvania Infantry and the 13th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company G. John Yeager is buried at the National Cemetery in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee. For more information about him, see his Findagrave Memorial.

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Ellis Yeager was born about 1830. When he enlisted in the 34th Pennsylvania Infantry (also known as the 5th Pennsylvania Reserve) in Northumberland County, he claimed to be 31 years old, a resident of Milton, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, and working as a miller. His date of muster in at Camp Tennally, Washington, D.C., was not recorded in the records, but on 5 August 1861, he was discharged on a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability.

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Henry S. Yeager was born about 1838 and reported as missing in action at White Oak Swamp, Virginia, on 30 June 1862. He had enrolled at Philadelphia in the 36th Pennsylvania Infantry (a.k.a. 7th Pennsylvania Reserves), Company G, as a Private, and was mustered into service at Washington, D.C. on 27 May 1861. Since he was never found, his date of death is recorded as the day he went missing. When he joined his regiment, he claimed to be a 24 year old resident of Philadelphia who was working as a gilder.

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Jacob Yeager, whose name is also found in the records as Jacob Yager, was born in Pittsburgh about 1840 and was a farmer at the time of his enlistment in the 78th Pennsylvania Infantry. He was mustered into service in Company F as a Private at Pittsburgh on 28 February 1865 and served until he was discharged with his company on 11 September 1865. He applied for pension benefits on 6 September 1892, and after his death on 5 June 1910, his widow Mary W. Yeager applied on 1 July 1910. He is buried at Chartiers Cemetery, Carnegie, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. For more information about him, see his Findagrave Memorial.

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