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William Evans – Died of Disease at Washington, D.C., 1864
Posted By Norman Gasbarro on February 1, 2019
In 1890, the widow of William Evans was living in Tower City, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Gwendoline E. “Gwenny” [Simons] Evans was named as “Guene E.”, and she gave her husband’s 5 months of Civil War service as the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company E, as a Private. His ending date of service was “died June 1864.”
On 5 August 1864 , “Gwenny” applied for pension benefits, which she received and collected until her death, which occurred in 1907. The Pension Index Card shown above is from Fold3.
William Evans enrolled in the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company E, as a Private at Pottsville, and was mustered into service the next day. He said he was 25 years old at the time and was a recruit. The card above, from the Pennsylvania Archives, notes that William died on 22 June 1864 of chronic diarrhea at Mt. Pleasant U.S.G. Hospital, Washington, D.C.
The information on his death is confirmed in the U.S. Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, 1861-1865, shown above from Ancestry.com. The information provided repeats what was indicated on the Pennsylvania Archives card. An additional column, not shown above, names C. A. McCall, assistant surgeon, who verified the cause of death. Note: Click on any document to enlarge.
The above two document selections are from the U.S. Burial Registers, Military Posts and National Cemeteries, available on Ancestry.com. The first indicates that the home residence of William Evans was Pottsville as well as confirming his military information. The second indicates that at the time of William’s death, “Gwenney”, the widow, was living in Philadelphia [actually, New Philadelphia, Schuylkill County]. It confirms the cause of death and approximate age at death.
Some of the interesting documents from the Pension Application File are presented below. The entire file is available on Fold3.
Document #6 is a marriage certificate for Gwenney Simons, of New Philadelphia, Schuylkill County, and William Evans, of Valley Furnace, Schuylkill County, who were married 8 August 1857 by Charles William Edwards, Minister of the Gospel.
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Document #11. On 9 June 1872, the widow Gwendoline Evans married David Edmunds. As a result of the marriage, she lost the pension from her first husband, William Evans. Rev. Robert Weightman, Minister of the Gospel, attested to the marriage. The document was verified by Eugene Horn, Justice of the Peace.
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Document #13. Following the death of David Edmunds in 1888, Gwenny re-applied for benefits based on the service of her first husband, William Evans. The benefits were resumed. The document above shows that the last payment received by Gwenny was for $12 and was on 4 November 1907. She was then dropped from the rolls because of death, 20 November 1907.
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There are a total of 58 document images in the Pension Application File. Some of these are the backs of documents and show only a received stamp.
No evidence has been seen to indicate that William and Gwenny had any children.
Looking for information on five civil war veterans buried in African Methodist Episcopal cemetery, Rt. 842, West Marlboro PA–all members of the USCT, serving during the civil war.
Their names are: James Brown, 3rd Reg, John Dorsey 127the Reg, James Lansdale, 3rd Reg, Ellis Rob’t McKim and Edward Scott–the latter two unit not yet identified.
Would appreciate any information concerning these men and their service and family members in the area of Chester County PA
Thanks,
Frank Mcnally (can also be reached through e-mail addr: xs6230 @aol.com)