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Who Was Thomas Williams (Mulatto) of Girardville?
Posted By Norman Gasbarro on September 16, 2018
Previously on this blog, it was noted that Thomas Williams, a mulatto, was one of the first to volunteer as a soldier from Girardville, Schuylkill County:
In his compilation of articles on the History of Pottsville and Schuylkill County, Joseph H. Zerbey provided the following about the Girardville volunteers….
The first contingent from Girardville included: David Levan; Charles Hower (a young boy of 17 years); Bill Klingerman; and Thomas Williams, a mulatto.
They were accepted as members of the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry, under the command of Major Thompson. They were driven to Pottsville to enlist by John Hower.
Thus far, efforts to find out more about Thomas Williams, who he was (other than being referred to as a mulatto), and whether he actually served in the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry, have produced no positive results.
Only one person with the name Thomas Williams served in the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry.
Thomas Williams, Company I. He was born in Wales, and was mustered in on 3 September 1861. HE deserted on 30 September 1863 at Maryland.
There were three persons of the name William Thomas who served in the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry. They were:
WIlliam Thomas, Company A. He was born in Wales, was 17 when he enrolled at Pottsville on 28 September 1861, and was discharged on 28 September 1864.
William H. Thomas, Company C. He enrolled at Troy, Pennsylvania, and was mustered in there on 18 February 1864. On 20 June 1864, he was captured and sent to Andersonville, where he died on 10 July 1864.
William Thomas, Company I (found in some records as William Thomar). He was born in South Wales, and was mustered in on 3 September 1861. He deserted at Jeffersonville, Indiana, January 1862.
It is unlikely that any of the above men named Thomas Williams or William Thomas was the “mulatto” mentioned in the Girardville story.
The contingent from Girardville, included David Levan, Charles Hower, and Bill Klingerman, all of whom enrolled at Pottsville on the same day – 22 October 1861. No person named Thomas WIlliams enrolled at Pottsville on that day. The 3 named members of the group from Girardville were accepted into Company F. As for Thomas Williams, it is possible that he did travel to Pottsville with the others, but was rejected because he was an African American.
Note: On the above, there was a C. B. Clingerman who served in the same company and regiment. He was mustered into service in September 1861. Most likely, the “Klingerman” referred to was William R. Klinger, who was mustered into Company F on 22 October 1861, the same day as Levan and Hower. See below, for pension information.
Information found on the Veterans’ File Cards at the Pennsylvania Archives is that David Levan and Charles Hower re-enlisted during their term of service with the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry and were mustered out on 23 August 1865. Bill Klingerman did not re-enlist and was discharged on 28 November 1864 following completion of his original commitment. It is believed that the Bill Klingerman referred to in the Veteran’ File Card is actually WIlliam R. Klinger (see below).
On pension information the following was discovered in an examination of the Pension Index Cards available from Fold3:
David Levan applied for a pension on 14 October 1889, which he received and collected until his death, whereupon a widow then collected. He died on 19 April 1913 in Kansas.
Charles S. Hower applied for a pension on 4 October 1890, which he received and collected until his death which occurred on 27 June 1921 at Sidney, Nebraska. There was no widow.
William R. Klinger applied for a pension on 1 November 1892, which he received and collected until his death, which occurred on 9 June 1912 at Valley View, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. This William R. Klinger was previously profiled on this blog. See: Descendants of Johann Philip Klinger. and was previously included in the Veterans List.
A card was also located for the C. B. Clingerman, previously mentioned. He applied for a pension on 14 April 1879, which he received and collected to his death which occurred at Montgomery, Pennsylvania, 20 December 1915. It is unlikely this is the person from Girardville referred to in the Zerbey story.
No Pension Index Card was found in Company F for Thomas Williams.
A preliminary search of the 1860 census for Girardville and the surrounding area didn’t result in any possible matches for Thomas Williams.
The other name mentioned in the Zerbey article was Major Thompson. At the time of the Civil War, this was most likely Heber Thompson, who during his service was promoted to the rank of Captain of Company F.
Research is on-going on the man named Thomas Williams, referred to as a mulatto, who was in the first contingent to volunteer from Girardville. Any reader with information is urged to submit it either as a comment to this post or via e-mail.
Maybe delving into the WEINHOLD genealogy would produce some results, several names sound familiar to that line.