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Samuel H. Sharron – 1890 Millersburg Veterans’ Census, But Not Civil War?
Posted By Norman Gasbarro on August 11, 2017
Occasionally a post-Civil War veteran’s name appears in the 1890 Census along with regiment and dates of service. Usually though, the military service given begins late in 1865 and ends about three years later, which was the usual term of enlistment in a United States infantry regiment. In the case of Samuel H. Sharron, who lived in Millersburg in 1890, the service reported began on 11 September 1878, and, according to the information given at the bottom of the census form, he was “discharged [on a] Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability.”
Who was he, why was he enumerated in the 1890 Census, and did he serve in the Civil War?
The top and bottom portions of the form are shown above (from Ancestry.com, click on image to enlarge). Samuel H. Sharron joined the 22nd U.S. Infantry, Company K, as a Private on 11 September 1878.
According to the history of this regiment, it was formed as the 22nd U. S Infantry on 22 September 1866 from the 13th U. S. Infantry of the Civil War. In the years after the Civil War, the regiment was involved in the Indian Wars. The following passage is from the Wikipedia article:
After the American Civil War and garrison duty in the East, the regiment was transferred to the Northern Plains and served in frontier forts. The regiments’ efforts included keeping civilians out of the Black Hills of Dakota Territory that had been ceded to the Lakota Sioux in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. In 1869, the 22nd Infantry was involved in actions at the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, in South Dakota.
After 1870, the United States Army allowed Black Seminoles from Mexico to serve as army scouts for the United States. These scouts were formally attached to the 22nd, but often served independently. The Seminole Negro Indian Scouts fought in the Texas Indian Wars of the 1870s. The scouts were well known for their tracking abilities and feats of endurance. Four of the 22nd Infantries’ Seminole Scouts were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. After the Texas Indian Wars, the scouts remained stationed at Fort Clark in Brackettville, Texas.
On 8 January 1877, Companies E, and F of the 22nd Infantry fought at the Battle of Wolf Mountain on the Tongue River in Montana Territory, and on 7 May 1877, Companies E, F, and G were present at the Battle of Little Muddy Creek. In 1888 the 22nd Infantry’s regiment headquarters were moved to Fort Keogh, Montana, and would remain there until 1896. In December 1890, and January 1891, the regiment participated in repressing the Ghost Dance on the Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, and in 1891, and 1892 patrolled throughout Montana.
A person named Samuel Sharron has been located in the database of United States Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865. That Samuel Sharron, who was also known as Samuel Sharrar, served in the 147th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company B, as a Private, but according to information on Steve Maczuga’s database of Pennsylvania Civil War soldiers, he was mustered into service on 1 November 1861 and died at Rectortown, Virginia on 15 May 1862. That same person has a note on his General Index Card (Fold3) that he also served in the 28th Pennsylvania Infantry.
A person named Samuel H. Sharron was found in a New Jersey regiment as shown by the General Index Card (below from Fold3).
That Samuel H. Sharron, who was also known as Samuel H. Sherron, served in the 7th New Jersey Infantry, Company F, as a Private.
According to the database, U.S. Civil War Soldiers Records and Profiles (shown above from Ancestry.com), he enlisted on 22 August 1861 as Private in Company F of the 7th New Jersey Infantry and was mustered out on 6 November 1864, whereupon he then transferred (?) to Company F of the same regiment and was mustered out on 17 July 1865.
Since the soldier who served in the 147th Pennsylvania Infantry (and perhaps the 28th Pennsylvania Infantry) died in the war, it is unlikely that he is the same person who appeared in the 1890 Veterans’ Census for Millersburg.
However, it is still possible that the soldier who served in the 7th New Jersey Infantry is the same person in that 1890 Census.
On 24 November 1864, the above marriage notice appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer:
SHERRON-NEIMAN — on the 10th instant, by the Rev. R. Jeffery, at the residence of the bride’s mother, Mr. SAMUEL H. SHERRON, United States Army, of Salem to Miss SALLIE C. NEIMAN, of Philadelphia.
This clue could be further explored, especially since there is a Salem in New Jersey.
Finally, three return sheets (U.S. Returns from Regular Army Infantry Regiments, 1821-1916) have been located in Ancestry.com for Samuel H. Sharron. They prove Samuel’s service in the 22nd U.S. Infantry in the time period he indicated to the 1890 Census, but they contain very little genealogical information and do not mention Civil War service. The three documents are presented below and can be enlarged by clicking on the images.
If any blog reader is able to figure out this mystery, please feel free to comment!
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