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Joseph Gee of Donaldson – Died “Unwept, Unhonored, & Unsung,” 1902
Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 1, 2019
A sad story of an immigrant, wounded veteran who served honorably throughout the Civil War and who died alone at the county poorhouse, is told through newspaper stories, available military records, and other genealogical resources.
From the Pottsville Republican, 5 November 1902:
Poor Old Soldier
Communicated
Died at the Schuylkill County Almshouse, November 4, 1902, Joseph Gee, unwept, unhonored, and unsung. When a youth he enlisted, August 22, 1861, as a Private in Company A, 96th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers [96th Pennsylvania Infantry], while the regiment was being organized at Lawton’s Hill. Two grievous wounds he received during his term, one in the neck and the other in the left side. After serving well and faithfully he was transferred with the 96th Battalion [sic] to the 95th Pennsylvania Volunteers [95th Pennsylvania Infantry] (Goalane’s Zouaves), in which he served as a Sergeant of COmpany E until veteranized, after which he was honorably discharged January 4, 1864 [sic].
His old comrades of the 96th knew nothing of his condition until this morning at Capt. Hendler’s funeral when the announcement was made, too late to make preparations for his interment.
The survivors of the regiment will meet this evening at the office of Davis Mellon, Esq., to take action relative to his case. He was a good soldier and deserves a better fate than to have his remains consigned to the dissecting table.
From the Pottsville Republican, 6 November 1902:
Burial of Old Soldier
Under frowning skies, without wail of bugle, roll of muffled drum or sob of fife, unattended by a single citizen, in an undertaker’s wagon and only escorted by the firing squad of Post 23, G.A.R., under Capt. Smeltzer, Quartermaster A. W. Schalck, and a bare corporal’s guard of his old companions in arms, the battle-scarred remains of Sgt. Joseph Gee, of Company A, 6th Pennsylvania Volunteers [6th Pennsylvania Infantry] Volunteers; Company A, 96th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers; Company E of the re-enlisted Pennsylvania Volunteers; and thereafter of the Veteran Reserve Corps, were consigned to earth in the old soldiers lot in the Odd Fellows Cemetery yesterday afternoon. The burial services were fervently pronounced by the Rev. Ephraim Potts, of the Methodist Church of Cressona, himself an old soldier, who kindly offered his services after the arrival of the body from the almshouse. Mr. Shalck feelingly read the G.A.R. ritual for the dead, and Capt. J. T. Boyle, of the 96th spoke briefly of the services of the deceased and of his utter friendliness he being as a stranger in the country which he had sacrificed himself to help preserve and which had entirely forgotten him and his services. The pall bearers were Capt. J. T. Boyle, and Squire D. M. Mellon, of the the 96th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and Comrades A. W. Sands, M. M. Clarkson, George Blank, James Candy. The undertaker was J. M. Weiser of Minersville.
On 6 November 1902, J. W. Sallade of Auburn, Schuylkill County, filed for Letters of Administration for the Estate of Joseph Gee. The document (above) is from Ancestry.com.
The estate of Joseph Gee was estimated at $67, which in 2018 dollars, would be be about $2930.67. See: CPI Inflation Calculator.
The Civil War service of Joseph Gee is documented through readily available, on-line records:
On 22 April 1861, at Llewellyn, Schuylkill County, Joseph Gee, a 27-year-old miner from Donaldson, Schuylkill County, enrolled in the 6th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company G, and was mustered into service the same day at Harrisburg as a Private. Upon completion of this 3-months service, he was mustered out with his company in August 1861.
Then on 22 August 1861 at Pottsville, he enrolled in the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry as a Corporal but immediately was promoted to Sergeant and was mustered into Company A of that regiment, also at Pottsville about a month later on 23 September 1861. At the time he joined this new regiment, he claimed he had been born in England, was about 28 years old, and was working as a cabinet maker. He was 5 foot 4 inches tall, had light hair, a fair complexion, and light blue eyes. On 14 February 1864, he re-enlisted at Brandy Station, Virginia, and on 18 October 1864, he transferred into Company E, of the 95th Pennsylvania Infantry, remaining as a Sergeant. This transfer was a result of the consolidation of the 96th into the 95th. On 17 July 1865, with the war over, he was mustered out of service with his company.
The above two Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Cards from the Pennsylvania Archives show that Joseph Gee served the duration of the war, from April 1861 through July 1865. However, the cards do not indicate any injuries received as a result of his service.
On 27 May 1879, Joseph Gee applied for a disability pension based on his service in the 6th Pennsylvania Infantry and the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry. The card above from Ancestry.com indicates he received the pension. The actual application for the pension was not consulted for this blog post due to the cost of obtaining it from the National Archives. However, the nature of any of the injuries received by Joseph Gee would be found in that application. For some unknown reason, the service in the 95th Pennsylvania Infantry was not claimed in applying for the pension.
The version of the Pension Index Card available at Fold3 gives essentially the same information, but records his death date as 4 November 1902.
The next available military information is from the Veterans’ Census of 1890, when Joseph Gee was enumerated on the sheet for Reilly Township, Schuylkill County, but with a post office address of Swatara. Two cuts from that census are shown above. Here, he only reported his service in the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry. His injuries from that service were given as “shot in leg twice.”
The final military document available on-line is the record page of the Soldiers’ Home at Hampton, Virginia. In the military history portion, shown above from Ancestry.com. it is stated that the disability incurred was “gunshot wounds in neck,” although it is not specifically stated where this occurred. The final discharge received was at Halls Hills, Virginia.
In the domestic history portion of the home record, it is stated that Joseph Gee was born in England, that he was 64 years old, nearly 5 foot 6 inches tall, with a light complexion, grey eyes, brown hair, and was literate (could read and write). His occupation at time of admission to the home was laborer, and that his residence subsequent to discharge was Tremont, Schuylkill County. He was single, and his closest relative was a Mrs. Elizabeth Minning, of Joliett, Schuylkill County. Unfortunately, there is no indication in the home record as to how Mrs. Minning was related to him.
The final portion of the home page gives the “home history.” Joseph Gee was formally admitted on 25 April 1898. He was then receiving $12 a month in pension. The date of discharge is curious, because 14 April 1903 is more than five months after his death. The reason for discharge is that he was “dropped (AWL)” meaning “absent without leave.” He should have been in the Soldiers’ Home at the time of his death. It is not known how he ended up in the Schuylkill County Almshouse.
Much of the early and later history of Joseph Gee is elusive. Here’s what is known or not known from the genealogical records:
- He was an immigrant from England, but the date and place of entry have not yet been located.
- He is found in the 1860 Census for Frailey Township, Schuylkill County, a single miner, age 26, living in the household of Thomas Harrit, a 50-year-old miner, also born in England.
- As of this writing, he was not yet located in either the 1870 or 1880 censuses.
- As previously stated, he was living in Schuylkill County at the time of the 1890 Census.
- He also has not been located in the 1900 census, but presumably he should have been at the Soldiers’ Home at Hampton, Virginia.
Newspapers provide some further evidence of his activities from the time he received his pension to his death.
From the West Schuylkill Press & Pine Grove Herald, 16 April 1881:
Mr. Joseph Gee, private in the 96th Pennsylvania Volunteers, is to receive a pension of $375. He expects it on Wednesday.
Note: The amount received in one initial payment was for back payment to the date of application. Records indicate that the most he ever received per month was $12.
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From the West Schuylkill Press & Pine Grove Herald, 4 July 1896:
PENSION GRANTED – Joseph Gee, of Swatara, has been granted a pension of $12 per month. Mr. Gee served as a Sergeant in Company A, 96th Pennsylvania Volunteers and participated in over a score of battles. He was wounded and has a soldier record which would make many a man feel proud. This pension was granted through Squire Mellon’s Agency.
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From the West Schuylkill Press and Pine Grove Herald, 2 July 1898:
Joseph Gee, a veteran of ’61, writes from the National Soldiers Home, Virginia, what he likes his new home. He ordered a copy of the PRESS to be sent to him. Joe contemplates a visit to his former home about December.
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From the West Schuylkill Press and Pine Grove Herald, 17 November 1900:
Joseph Gee, an inmate of the Soldiers’ Home at Fortress Monroe, paid his annual visit to West End friends this week. Mr. Gee has been on furlough the past three months but elects in a week or two to return to the Home.
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From the Pottsville Republican, 25 September 1902:
Joseph Gee, of Hampton Roads, Virginia, a survivor of the gallant 96th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, is visiting comrades in Pottsville.
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It may have been that Joseph Gee was on one of his visits to Schuylkill County from the Soldiers’ Home when he took ill, and no one knew he was officially residing at Hampton, Virginia, so had him committed to the Schuylkill County Almshouse, where he died on 4 November 1902.
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Additional information is sought about this veteran who died alone at the almshouse and whose remains were rescued from the medical dissecting table. He apparently was well-liked by his comrades, who saw that he had a fitting heroes burial.
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News clippings are from Newspapers.com.
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