Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 5, 2016

This is some of what is known about Adam Jury who was born near Millersburg and died while a Prisoner of War at Salisbury Prison in North Carolina.  He is another of the many veterans ignored by the Millersburg Soldier Monument, although there are two men with the Jury surname who are included on the plaque.

The following is based on a biographical sketch of Adam Jury (1814-1865) which was written more than 40 years ago and published in Portrait of Our Ancestors – Jury.  Some editing is provided from the original in order to supplement the information and correct a few of the errors.

Adam Jury, was the son of Abraham Jury (1780-1860), the grandson of Samuel Jury (1751-1816)  the immigrant from Switzerland, and the great-grandson of Abraham Jury (1718-1785), also an immigrant from Switzerland.  The family settled in Upper Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, after arrival in America. At that time, Upper Paxton Township included what is now Washington Township, and Mifflin Township.

Adam was born on 2 June 1814 in Upper Paxton Township, near Millersburg, to parents Abraham Jury (1780-1860) and Anna Maria [Weise] Jury (1791-1845).  Sponsors at his baptism were his mother’s parents, Adam Weise (1751-1833) and Margaret Elizabeth [Wingert] Weise (1749-1818).

At some point prior to the 1840 Census, Adam Jury moved to Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, with his parents.

Adam first married Elizabeth Wetzel in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania some time prior to 1840.  Supporting evidence for this marriage includes Adam’s second wife’s pension application form:

And she further declared that her said husband was previously married and had children as follows, viz., Eveline Jury, born 5 March 1840; Mary E. Jury, born 12 October 1841; Albert Jury, born 15 March 1848, now deceased; Barbara E. Jury, born June 1844; Lorenzo D. Jury, born 16 January 1846, now deceased; Sarah I. Jury, born 18 May 1848; Elmira Jury, born about 20 September 1849; and Katuras Jury, born 20 October 1851.

In the 1850 Census of Girard Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, Adam Jury is enumerated as Adam Shurey as follows:  Adam Jury, age 36, farmer, $800; Elizabeth Jury, age 38; Evaline Jury, age 10; Mary Jury, age 8; Albert Jury, age 5; Barbey Jury, age 4; Lorenzo Jury, age 3; and Elmira Jury, age 5/12.

There is evidence that Elizabeth, the first wife of Adam Jury was probably ill for some time before her death.  In the 1850 Census, seven of her children with Adam are listed with her sister Mary [Wetzel] Heise and brother-in-law George Heise in household #548, Girard Township, Clearfield County.  Additionally, daughter Sarah Jury was living with Peter Lamm in 1850 and the last child, Keturah Jury, was raised by Thomas Leonard and went by the Leonard surname.

Elizabeth [Wetzel Jury died on 2 December 1851 at age 39 years, 3 months, and 16 days.  She is buried at Congress Hill Cemetery, Lecontes Mills, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.  Additional information about her is found at her Findagrave Memorial.  Note that her death occurred less than two months after giving birth to the last child, Keturah Jury, mentioned in the pension record above.

After the death of his first wife, Adam Jury married second to Sarah Ann [Hoop] Carr in 1852.  She was the daughter of Joshua Hoop and Sarah [Gibbony] Hoop.

In the 1860 Census of Girard Township, Clearfield County, the Adam Jury household consisted of the following:  Adam Jury, age 46, laborer; Sarah Ann Jury, age 42; Lorenzo Jury, age 14; Benjamin Jury, age 6; Pascaline-Paulina Jury, age 4; Newton Jury, age 2; and John Carr, age 18, the son of Sarah Ann by her first marriage.

Then came the Civil War.

At the time of the writing of the Jury history, research into the records of Civil War veterans was much more difficult than today.  It sometimes involved corresponding with state and federal agencies and waiting weeks for a reply.

Around 1957, a family member who was a descendant of Adam’s brother John Frederick Jury, gave information that when he heard that his brother Adam was in a Confederate prison, he immediately enlisted and was also taken prisoner.  There was a family legend that Adam starved to death in captivity.

She wrote to the Department of Military Affairs, Adjutant generals Office, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and received a response on 25 September 1957.

It is hereby certified that records on file in the Department of Military Affairs, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, indicate the military service of Adam Jury in the Pennsylvania Volunteers (Civil War) to have been as follows:

Enrolled as Private G, 35th Regiment Infantry, 6th Reserves at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 16 January 1864.  [35th Pennsylvania Infantry]

Mustered into service at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 16 Jan 1864.

Captured:  Died at Salisbury, North Carolina, 4 January 1865.

SEAL             A.J. Drexel Biddle, Jr, The Adjutant General

Based on the above information, she sent for the military records, which were pictured in the Jury history.

What was not told by the information received from the Adjutant General was that Adam Jury was transferred to the 191st Pennsylvania Infantry on or around 31 May 1864.  However, the records in the card file of the Pennsylvania Archives notes that.

The first card (above) indicates the Bates reference “1-714” (Volume 1, Page 714) and the second card with difficult to read handwriting, indicates the Bates reference “5-319” (Volume 1, Page 319).  These Bates reference can be checked by clicking on the hyperlinks in this paragraph.  For further information about the 5 volumes of Bates, see:  Bates – History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865.

On 3 November 1866, Sarah A. Jury applied for widow’s pension benefits and on 3 June 1869, a guardian, G. F. Hoop, applied for benefits for the minor children.  According to the Pension Index Card, shown above from Ancestry.com, the benefits were received.  Sarah collected them until her death which occurred either in 1867 or October 1868. The minor children collected through their guardian, a relative of Sarah.

Fortunately, 45 pages of Sarah’s pension application have already been uploaded to Fold3 and may be downloaded by researchers with a paid subscription – or free at a local library that has Fold3 service.  A small portion of one of those pages is shown above in describing Adam Jury‘s first marriage and the children born to it. [Note:  Of course they also can be obtained by going to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., or applying for and paying for copies by mail].

At this writing, the Findagrave Memorial for Adam Jury pictures Elizabeth’s grave marker and gives her date of death.  Perhaps a reader can get this corrected and locate Adam’s correct place of burial.

Finally, Adam Jury should be added to the list of Millersburg area Civil War veterans.  He is definitely not named on the Millersburg Soldier Monument, one of more than several hundred veterans not included although they did have a connection with Millersburg.

Category: Overviews, Research, Stories | 1 Comment »
Tags: Mifflin Township, Millersburg, Washington Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 1, 2016

Another Memorial Day has gone by and the grave of Edward Crabb, an African American Civil War soldier buried in Gratz Union Cemetery, continues to be un-decorated [no G.A.R.-Star-Flag-Holder and Flag].  In addition to being un-decorated, the Crabb family plot is one of the worst maintained in a cemetery which is known for its manicured grave sites and magnificent views of the Mahantongo Mountains to the north.  In the family plot photograph above, taken on Memorial Day 2016, two of the stones are broken and one is tipped so that it can not be easily read.  The broken stone at the left is for Lydian [Schoffstall] Crabb, later Witman, who was married to Henry Crabb (1817-1856), brother of Edward Crabb, and was the mother of a Civil War soldier, William P. Crabb.

The stone at the right, shown below in detail (also taken on Memorial Day 2016), is for Civil War soldier Edward Crabb.

These broken stones have been evident for many years.  Could it be that these grave sites were desecrated by vandals who knew that this was an African American burial plot?

It is not surprising that this has happened in a community that for at least the last 20 years has had a bigot as the chief interpreter of its history.  The disgraceful result of the promotion of her erroneous view that Blacks never lived in Gratz, is that a native of Gratz, a veteran, who happened to be African American, lies unrecognized, except for a damaged stone, near the front of the only cemetery in town!

Following a history of the honorable record of this Civil War veteran, a remedy will be proposed – which will include proper recognition of Edward Crabb at his gravesite in Gratz – and the removal of the bigots who are illegally operating the Gratz Historical Society.

Edward Crabb was born on 12 November 1832 in Gratz.  He was the son of Peter Crabb (1787-1860), an African American who was one of the first settlers in Gratz shortly after the town was laid out by Simon Gratz in the early part of the 19th Century.  The descendants of Peter Crabb were numerous. By the time of the Civil War, Gratz had one of the highest populations of free Blacks in the Lykens Valley area.  Some of the sons and daughters of Peter Crabb married into the White families of the area, but others chose to marry into the numerous other African American families in a broader region – to Line Mountain in the north and to Peter’s Mountain in the south – a large triangular area which represents the geographical reach of this Civil War Research Project.  Most of the descendants who married White ended up passing, while those who married Black were usually unable to do so.  Edward Crabb was one of those who married Black and did not pass.

William P. Crabb, the Civil War soldier mentioned in the first paragraph of this blog post, was previously profiled in in a blog post here on 15 May 2015.  The conclusion of that post was that although he was the grandson of Peter Crabb, the African American pioneer settler of Gratz, because his mother was White and he was light-skinned enough to pass, he and his descendants chose to refer to themselves as White.  William died in 1917 and is buried at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Elizabethville.

In 1850, Edward Crabb, a laborer, is found in the household of Samuel Umholtz, a farmer of Lykens Township.  In that census, he was listed as mulatto.

By 1863, Edward had learned the craft of shoemaking and registered twice for the Civil War draft – once in Coal Township, Northumberland County, and once in Lykens Township, Dauphin County.  In both cases, he was listed as colored.

A few days after the draft registration, Edward Crabb was in Harrisburg with his company and regiment, ready to serve for the Emergency of 1863, Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania.  The 36th Pennsylvania Infantry Militia, Company C, was composed primarily of men from Lykens Township and Gratz and served from 4 July 1863 through 11 August 1863.  Prior to the Civil War, both Edward Crabb and his brother John Peter Crabb were listed among the members of the Gratztown Militia, a home guard unit that was organized under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  It was this Gratztown Militia that became Company C.  Edward and his brother John Peter were the only known African Americans in the company that consisted of about 76 men.  It is important to note here that these emergency forces were under Pennsylvania command, not Federal command and therefore there were no racial restrictions on the service of African Americans.  Most of the men knew each other from their “home guard” militia service and no evidence has been seen to suggest that there was any discrimination against the brothers who served in Company C.  Note:  The Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Card, shown above, is from the Pennsylvania Archives.

The brief history of this militia regiment in the war is recorded in Bates, Volume 5, page 1257, Pennsylvania’s official Civil War history, and therein is included the name of Edward Crabb.  The responsibilities of the 36th Pennsylvania Infantry Militia included the cleaning up of the Gettysburg Battlefield, which was hazardous due to the large number of decomposing bodies that needed to be properly buried as well as the un-exploded shells remaining there.  Bates reports specifically on the activity of the 36th Pennsylvania Infantry Militia beginning on page 1228 of Volume 5:

So rapid were the movements of the armies, and so soon after call for the militia was made the decisive battle fought, that the men had scarcely arrived in camp [at Harrisburg], and been organized, before the danger was past….

The militia was, however, held for some time after this, and was employed on various duty.  The Thirty-Sixth Regiment was sent to Gettysburg, and its commanding officer, Colonel H. C. Alleman, was made Military Governor of the district, embracing the battle-ground. It was engaged in gathering in the wounded and stragglers from both armies, in collecting the debris from the field and sending away the wounded as fast as their condition would permit.  Colonel Alleman, in his official report, gives the following schedule of property as having been collected from the battle-field:  “Twenty-six thousand six hundred and sixty-four muskets, nine thousand two hundred and fifty bayonets, one thousand five hundred cartridge boxes, two hundred and four sabres, fourteen thousand rounds of small-arm ammunition, twenty-six artillery wheels, seven hundred and two blankets, forty wagon loads of clothing, sixty saddles, sixty bridles, five wagons, five hundred and ten horses and mules, and six wagon loads of knapsacks and haversacks.”  The ordinance stores he shipped to the Washington Arsenal, and the remainder of the government property he turned over to an agent of the War Department.  From the various camps and hospitals on the battle-field, and in the surrounding country, he reports having collected and sent away to northern cities, “twelve thousand and sixty-one wounded Union soldiers, six thousand one hundred and ninety-seven wounded rebels, three thousand and six rebel prisoners and one thousand six hundred and thirty-seven stragglers….”

Following the Civil War, Edward Crabb returned to Gratz where he married Catherine “Rossie” Jones and began raising a family.  Rossie was a descendant of another of the many African American families of the Lykens Valley area.  Their first son, William Morris Crabb, was born in Gratz on 8 December 1866.  His death certificate, 30 December 1934, shown below, confirms his birthplace as Gratz, his race as Negro, and the names of his parents as Edward Crabb and Rossie Jones.

Click on document to enlarge.

In the Census of 1870, the family appears in Gratz. Edward is a shoemaker and his race is mulatto.

In the Census of 1880, the family is in Hubley Township, Schuylkill County, where Edward was then working as a coal miner.  His race was given as Black.  It is not known at this time when the Edward Crabb family moved from Gratz to Hubley Township or why they moved.  In the post-Civil War years attitudes of the dominant population of Whites toward Blacks began to change in the Lykens Valley area and gradually, those Black families who had pioneered in the region, began to disappear, or if they were able to pass, some chose to remain.  Thus today, there are descendants of the pioneer Peter Crabb still living in the Lykens Valley, but all as White.  The erroneous view that African Americans never lived in Gratz could not have developed until after the last African Americans lived there – perhaps some time just after Edward Crabb moved to Hubley Township in the 1870s.

Following his death on 26 October 1886 in Hubley Township, Edward Crabb was buried in Gratz Union Cemetery (also known as Simeon’s Cemetery).  Two of his children are also buried in the same plot.  There is no evidence to suggest that he was ever recognized at his grave site as a Civil War veteran – by the G.A.R. (which in Gratz did not permit Blacks as members), by the American Legion, or by the current V.F.W.  More research must be done to determine when this racial discrimination first occurred and who was involved in promoting it.

So, the question now is, “Why isn’t Edward Crabb recognized as a Civil War soldier?”  He is recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as such.  He also is recognized as such in the “official” history of Gratz, page 341, which was published in 1997.  However, that Gratz history does not mention any race or national origin for the the Crabb family.

It can now be stated unequivocally that Edward Crabb is not recognized because he was an African American.  There has been a deliberate effort on the part of one person at the Gratz Historical Society, Lois Schoffstall, to hide and erase the fact that some of the earliest settlers of Gratz were African Americans and their sons and grandsons served honorably in the Civil War.  While Lois Schoffstall, who has only lived in Gratz for about forty years, cannot be credited with originating the erroneous idea that the Gratz area only ever had White people as residents, she must be blamed for perpetuating it. In the opinion of some in the area, she is the chief interpreter of local history.  But, the views she is promoting are racist and dangerous and a close examination of them reveals that she is anything but credible.

When this Civil War Research Project began [in 2009], a specific statement was made by Lois Schoffstall that it was not to be reported by the Project that the Crabb family was African American.  This led to the initial dispute between the Project and Lois Schoffstall which eventually erupted into the separation of the Project from the Society and the exposure by the Project of the then-discovered [2013] illegal activities at the Society conducted by Lois Schoffstall and her husband Charles Schoffstall.  The revealing of how the Schoffstall’s illegally seized control of the Society and its assets can be found in two prior posts on this blog.  See:  (1) The Illegal Takeover of the Gratz Historical Society, and (2) “Cooking the Books” at the Gratz Historical Society.  Those posts showed how the Schoffstall’s have been using the Gratz Historical Society for their own bigoted and financial purposes for the past 20 years.  Now, there is at least $30,000 missing from an endowment fund set up to perpetuate the Society.  This fact is denied by Charles Schoffstall, but is proven by the annual financial statements that he has himself issued and signed.  In addition, over the past 20 years, Charles Schoffstall has failed to collect and submit State Sales Tax on thousands of dollars of consumer transactions, has claimed that the Society is a 501(c)3 organization when it is not, has falsified annual financial statements which grossly underestimate the worth of the Society, and has presented falsified information to the Gratz Bank in order to maintain his personal control of the Society accounts.  All the while, the Society has not paid property and school taxes on two commercial real properties it owns.  It is also appalling that in the most recent annual financial statement of January 2016, the net worth of the Society is only given at about $141,000, when it it believed by many area residents that when all assets are accounted for, the net worth should be well over $500,000.  Where are the missing assets, why aren’t they accounted for in the official records, and why is no one concerned?

Despite the fact that the illegal takeover and the financial falsifications have been known in the Gratz community for almost three years, the Schoffstall’s remain in complete control of the Society and there does not appear to be any effort by anyone to remove them.  As recently as as this current week, the personal phone number of the Schoffstall’s was given in the local newspapers as the official phone number of the Gratz Historical Society.  Thus, there is no hesitancy to publish it here – (717) 365-3342.   Lois Schoffstall should be called and asked why she refuses to state that African Americans were among the pioneer settlers of Gratz.  But more importantly, for the purposes of the recognition of a native of Gratz who served honorably in the Civil War, why Edward Crabb‘s grave in Gratz goes un-decorated each Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Veterans’ Day.  Lois Schoffstall also should be asked whether the “shrine” to the Ku Klux Klan that she personally approved continues to be part of the Society museum and whether the offensive video which depicts a “Heil Hitler” salute to the Ku Klux Klan “shrine”, which she also approved, is still being sold.  See:  Why Are There Ku Klux Klan Uniforms in Gratz?

The Schoffstall’s are not the persons who, going forward, should correct this problem.  They should be removed from their control of the Gratz Historical Society, whether by the Society members or the law or both, and held accountable for what they have done – including re-payment of all missing money.  And, anyone who has supported them actively or by allowing their names to be used as members of a sham Board of Directors should also be held accountable.  Any further activities of the Gratz Historical Society conducted by the Schoffstall’s – from the date of this blog post-  will be questioned as to why the Schoffstall’s are allowed to continue to represent themselves as officials of the Society and who has allowed them to do so. This includes the use of any town facilities, including the Gratz Community Center, which they have scheduled for a program on Thursday evening, 7 July 2016.

Members of the Society and residents of the Lykens Valley area should stop supporting these bigots and their white supremacist interpretations of local history.  And, an effort should be made by decent members of the Gratz community to correct and repair the damage the Schoffstall’s have done – including giving proper recognition to the only known African American Civil War soldier buried in the Gratz Union Cemetery.  This includes the repair or replacement of his grave marker and that of his sister-in-law, who was the mother of a Civil War soldier.  But at this point, only a public act of reconciliation, including an apology to the extended family of this veteran, will suffice.

Constructive comments will be accepted by either adding them to this blog post or by sending them via e-mail to the Project.

Note:  Previously, the brother of Edward Crabb, John Peter Crabb, has been the subject of many posts here on this blog – including his service in the U.S. Colored Troops, his helping to charter a Colored G.A.R. Post in Harrisburg, and his role as a political and Civil Rights leader in the post-war years in Harrisburg.  He also has been recognized by at least one author who studied the Civil War pension system and how African American soldiers were able to become part of it. Like his brother Edward, John Peter Crabb was born in Gratz, and while he also served in the 36th Pennsylvania Infantry Militia, his longest Civil War service was in the United States Colored Troops, a fact not mentioned in the official history of Gratz – and he collected a pension as a result of that latter service.  To state that he served in the Colored Troops, would clearly identify him and his family as African American – precisely what Lois Schoffstall does not want known.

Category: Overviews, Reflections, Research, Stories | Comments Off on Edward Crabb – Victim of Bigotry in Gratz
Tags: African American, Elizabethville, G.A.R., Gratz Borough, Hubley Township, Lykens Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on June 29, 2016

John Kerstetter was born 16 February 1839 in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, the son of Michael Kerstetter, a farmer and laborer, and Elizabeth [Martz] Kerstetter.  The family lived in Coal Township in 1840, 1850, and 1860.

On 30 September 1861, at Lykens, John enrolled in the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was mustered into Company B as a Private at Harrisburg on 7 October 1861.  At some point in his service, he was promoted to Corporal.  At his enrollment, he was 22 years old, he was 5 foot, 8 inches tall, had light hair, a fair complexion, and hazel eyes.  He was a laborer and a resident of Northumberland County.

In the book, Yankee Cavalrymen, by John Rowell, a history of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry based on the diary of William Thomas of Lykens, a brief mention is made of John Kerstetter:

Sunday 1st [December 1861]

We crossed the river this morning to Jeffersonville Indiana went to camp Joe Bright located On the Confiscated property of Jessie Bright About a 1/2 mile east of town – we drawed new Sibley tents  5 tents for each company – Some of the boys are fetching in the Horses from the boat – The ground all wet and mud –   We seperated into Bunks again –  i went into Bunk no 3.  name of it Savage tribe  – name of the boys that are in the bunk Seargt Wm. Keiser [William Keiser]  John Kerstster  [John Kerstetter] George Schreffler  [George Schreffler] Wm. Kreiger  [William Kreiger] Hen Feindt [Henry Feindt]  James Witman   [James Whitman] John L. Matter [John L. Matter] D. I. Erb  [David Erb] P Messner  [Philip Messner]Hen Pell  [Henry Pell] Cyrus Mark [Cyrus Mark]  Frances Feindt  [Francis Feindt] H. H. Hoffman  [Henry Hoffman] Rich. Martz [Richard Martz] and myself Wm. Thomas [William Thomas] –  Disagreeable camp.  [page 32].

At the time of this writing, not much more is known about John Kerstetter‘s military service except that he died on 7 April 1864 at Cleveland, Tennessee.

On North Second Street in Lykens Borough, there is a G.A.R. Monument to the men who served in the Civil War from the Lykens-Wiconisco area.  On the table of that monument, under the category of men who served who were not members of the Heilner G.A.R. Post is the name of John Kerstetter. The triangle symbol following his name indicates that he died of disease during the war.

At the time of this writing, no actual military or medical records have been seen to confirm John Kerstetter‘s death as a result of disease.  Perhaps a reader of this blog has obtained his military records from the National Archives and would be willing to share those records by adding a comment to this post or by sending an e-mail to the Project?

At the time of his death, John Kerstetter was apparently not married since no widow applied for pension benefits.  However, 20 years later, on 20 June 1884, John’s mother, herself then a widow, did apply for benefits.

The Pension Index Card, shown above from Ancestry.com, confirms that the application was successful and that she was awarded benefits based on her son’s service and sacrifice. The application file, available from the National Archives in Washington, D.C., was not consulted for this blog post.  If any reader has obtained the file, hopefully he/she would be willing to share it with readers.  Either add a comment to this post or send the information via e-mail.

Note:  For readers who wish to obtain copies of pension application files, there is an expense involved –  either in going to the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and copying the documents, or by requesting the documents by mail.  It is beyond the scope and budget of this Project to obtain these records for every one of the nearly 3000 veterans who applied for these benefits and thus the Project relies on family members or other researchers to obtain the documents and share them.  A project of Fold3 is to upload to that site the widow’s pension application files, but this is a slow process and relies heavily on volunteers.  At the present time, done in chronological order of application, pension files from 1867 are being added to the site.  Once uploaded, the complete files can be downloaded by any subscriber to Fold3, or by any patron of a library that has a subscription to Fold3.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on John Kerstetter – Died of Disease in Tennessee, 1864
Tags: G.A.R., Lykens Borough, Wiconisco

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on June 27, 2016

On 14 December 2014, the story of Henry Kemble was presented here in a post entitled, Farmer of Northumberland County. Another obituary of him was recently located in the Mount Carmel Item of 6 January 1922:

THE DEATH OF HARRY KEMBLE

Harry Kemble, brother of the late Isaac Kemble of Mount Carmel, died at ten o’clock last night on the old Kemble homestead, located near Kneass Station and Herndon.

On Christmas Day, Mr. Kemble went to the Zartman United Evangelical Church to build a fire in the heater.  He slipped on the ice and sustained an injury to his ankle, and had great difficulty returning to his home.

Mr. Kemble was a a veteran of the Civil War, having serve two complete enlistments in the Federal Army.  He was a member of the Mahanoy Lodge of Odd Fellows for the past  fifty-five years, and was one of the oldest and most faithful members of the Zartman U. E. Church.

Although he lived on the farm all his life, except during the time he served in the Army, Mr. Kemble was a writer and poet of note, and was one of Northumberland County’s best informed men.

The immediate survivors are a sister, Mrs. Mary K. Baum, Herndon, and a stepbrother, Jacob Drumheller, residing at Supply House, between Mount Carmel and Kulpmont.

The funeral will be on Monday, burial to be made in the Zartman Church Cemetery.

The news article is from Newspapers.com.

Category: Resources, Stories | Comments Off on A Slightly Longer Obituary of Henry Kemble
Tags: Herndon

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on June 24, 2016

During the Civil War, Isaac Kemble served with the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company C, as a Corporal, enrolling at Sunbury, Northumberland County on 19 August 1861, and mustered into service in Harrisburg, 2 September 1861.  At the time he was 22 years old (born 1839), was employed as a surveyor, and resided at Sunbury.  He stood 5 foot, seven inches tall, was of light complexion, had grey eyes and light hair.

Isaac’s enrollment was for three years, and at the end of his service, he chose to be discharged rather than re-enlist.  The card above, from the Pennsylvania  Archives, notes that on an unknown date, he was reduced in rank to a Private.

From Beauford, South Carolina, on 4 September 1862, Isaac Kemble wrote to his friend Emanuel Kawel in Berrysburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania:

Dear Brother Kawel,

I don’t know whether I owe you a letter or you one. I forgot to note it in my diary. But I know it is the time to for me to write.  We had a great time out on picket.  We [Companies A, F, D, I, C.]  went out on the 20^th of August and came in on the 1^st September.  We were about – miles from Camp, stationed along the bank of the Coosaw.  Our company occupied a good house for Headquarters.  The time was very rainy and sometimes disagreeable.  The gnats and mosquitos were dreadfully bad.  Had to slap and flap about like cattle in flytime, but the devil can’t chase these little gnats and the bite is extremely annoying. We saw only a few men on the rebel side of the river, though the other companies were shooting over all the time.  We had to be on post every blessed night, no chance to sleep, and if we had chance, the critters would….

[Note:  a portion of the letter is missing at this point].

By the last news from home, I learn that Brother Harry and nearly all the boys at home are off to the war.  Well, good for that.  We must have help to kill the rebellion and a good deal of help we need. I am sorry to hear that father is left all alone to do his work but the country must be saved at any risk or sacrifice.  It was bad enough before this, but now almost all the boys are gone.  Oh! My! won’t there be many sorrowful hearts indeed.  I sometimes pity their case.  Tell one in your next letter whether you could make use of some $40 or $50 — need it I may perhaps send it to you at the pay day following the next, sometime in November. I want all the money I have to spare used by my friends. I know that your taxes may be heavy, so if I can help you any I will cheerfully do so.  But perhaps you will have to go yet if Pennsylvania has to be subject to a draft.  How would you like that?  Then I would pity Harriet and Beckie and all the others.

Well, how are you all getting along now?  Are you all well and happy?  Hope you are.  I am pretty well now, only subject to dyspepsia, which is sometimes very annoying, but I have done my duty every since in South Carolina.

Please excuse this short letter, as news is out of date now.  We have no late news from the North.  Write soon.  Give my love to all.

Your sincere friend,

Isaac Kembel

On 26 September 1870, Isaac Kembel married Matilda Bickel.  One source indicates that the marriage took place at the Oakdale Church in Washington Township, Dauphin County.

In 1891, Isaac applied for a pension (see card above from Ancestry.com), which he received and collected until his death, which occurred on 19 August 1909.  Then, his widow applied and she received benefits until her death, which occurred in 1915.

Isaac and his wife Matilda are buried at the Herndon Cemetery in Jackson Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.  Additional information about him can be found at his Findagrave Memorial.

On 19 August 1909, the Daily News, of Mount Carmel, Northumberland County, ran his obituary:

ISAAC KEMBEL CALLED HOME

VETERAN, TEACHER, SOLDIER, ENGINEER AND CITIZEN SUCCUMBS TO HEART FAILURE

Isaac Kemble died at 8:50 o’clock this morning at his home on East Avenue.  Mr. Kemble died in the harness, almost literally, for he worked at his profession on the Oak Street paving until a few days ago, and ceased then because of the extreme heat and the importunities of his family.  Heart failure is given as the cause of his death.  The funeral will be held on Saturday, the interment being made at Herndon.  Arrangements will be announced tomorrow.

Mr. Kemble is survived by a widow and six children, of the seven that have been part of the household.  The children are:  Edward B. Kemble, Manager of the Item, William Penn Kemble, Editor; Miss Lydia Kemble and Miss Laura Kemble, of our city; Dr. Adam Kemble of Washington, D.C.; and Frank Kemble, a student at West Point Military Academy.

Isaac Kemble was born in Jackson Township, this county [Northumberland], on 12 May 1839.  He was educated in the public schools of the county and at the Old Pennsylvania College at New Berlin, of which institution he was a graduate in the classical and civil engineering course.  He taught school a years prior to completing his course in college and for a number of years afterward in this state and in Iowa and Illinois, nearly thirty years in all.  His authority to teach in this state was that of a permanent certificate.

He enlisted in the War of the Rebellion and served in the 47th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers for three years and one month, nearly all of the time in the far South, being in a number of hot contests between the competing forces.  After returning from the South, he spent a few years in the West, teaching and in mercantile pursuits.

Isaac Kemble and Matilda Bickel were married at Tower City, 25 September 1870.  He came to Mount Carmel 26 years ago.  In this community he has served the borough as its engineer a number of years and has been the official surveyor for many of the  municipalities in the region.  He was the President of the Mount Carmel Item Publishing Company, and was always active in the business of that publication.  He was a member of Swatara Lodge, No. 267, F. and A.M. at Tremont, of Tremont Chapter No. 221, and the Prince of Peace Commandery, No. 39, at Ashland;  He was Past Grand of Tower Lodge, No. 755, I.O.O.F., of Tower City, and Post Post Commander of Burnside Post, No. 92, G.A.R.  He was a member of the United Evangelical Church and a trustee of the association here.  He was a member of the church from boyhood before he enlisted for the war.

As a man, Isaac Kemble ranked high.  He had the very laudable faculty of attending his own business to the exclusion of meddlesomeness in other people’s affairs; he was dignified in his association with his fellow men; he was kindly disposed toward everybody; he was diligent in the prosecution of his business interests; he was a good husband and a kind and indulgent father; he was an honest man.

Th news clipping is from Newspaper.com.  The portrait of Isaac Kembel at the top of this post and a copy of the letter sent to Emanuel Kawel are from Project files.  The surname is found as Kemble and Kembel in the records.

Category: Overviews, Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Isaac Kemble – “The devil can’t chase these little gnats….”
Tags: Berrysburg, G.A.R., Herndon, Jackson Township, Tower City, Tremont, Washington Township