Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 18, 2015

Dr. Charles Buffington Fager was born on 31 March 1841 in Harrisburg and died there on 24 January 1908.  During the Civil War, it was said that he served as a medical cadet (in 1862) and as a contract assistant surgeon (in 1864).  However, no actual military service has been located for him.  The stories that attribute the medical service to him appeared after the Civil War but during his lifetime or shortly thereafter and were printed and re-printed in several places.  Very little has been found that specifically describes his actual service.

One of the earliest accounts appeared in the Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County , which was published in 1896, and compiled at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, by the J. M. Runk Company:

FAGER, CHARLES BUFFINGTON, M.D., son of Dr. John Henry Fager and Mary [Buffington] Fager, was born in the year 1841, at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  He was educated at the public schools of Harrisburg, read medicine with his father, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, medical department in 1864, and commenced the practice of his profession at Harrisburg.  He was a medical cadet in the United States Army in 1862, and contract assistant surgeon in 1864, vaccine physician of Harrisburg, 1866-67, and one of the founders of the Homeopathic Medical Society, Dauphin County, in 1866. Dr. Fager married Susan Hummel, daughter of Valentine Hummel, of Harrisburg.  He was a member of the Board of Control of the city schools in 1884, and was president of the same in 1887, 1888 and 1889.

The biographies that appeared in the Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia were usually self-submitted or sumitted by an immediate member of the family.  The information was published as presented and rarely fact-checked.  For those who died after the publication of this work, the newspapers often copied verbatim from the Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia for assistance in compiling the obituary.  Such was the case in Dr. Fager’s obituary which appeared in the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 24 January 1908:

DR. CHARLES B. FAGER DIED THIS MORNING

He Was one of Harrisburg’s Most Prominent Citizens

Dr. Charles Buffington Fager, a life-long resident of this city, died this morning at his residence, 120 Walnut Street, after a six days’ illness from pneumonia, aged 67 years.  Dr. Fager, who was one of this city’s most prominent citizens, contracted a chill last Saturday which, developed into pneumonia and resulted in his death.

The end came at 10:45 o’clock, when surrounded by his entire family, he peacefully passed away.  Dr. Fager held many public offices.  He was one of the founders of the Homeopathic Medical Society, Dauphin County, which he helped organize in 1866, and for twenty-seven years was an active member of the Harrisburg School Board, of which he was at one time president.,  He was a director of the Harrisburg National Bank, Dauphin County Historical Society, and also Director of the West Harrisburg Market House.

Besides his wife, three children survive:  Dr. V. Hummel Fager, Dr. C. B. Fager Jr, and J. H. Fager Jr.

Dr. Fager was born here in 1841 and received his education at the public schools.  He later read medicine with his father, Dr. John Henry Fager, and later was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Medical Department in 1864.  Dr. Fager’s practice was successful from the beginning.  He was a medical cadet in the United States Army in 1862 and Contract Assistant Surgeon in 1864, vaccine physician of Harrisburg from 1866 to 1867.

Dr. Fager married Susan Hummel, daughter of Valentine Hummel, a resident of this city.  Then he came into many local offices.  He was President of the local School Board from 1887 to 1889.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been arranged.

Funeral arrangements appeared the next day in the Harrisburg Telegraph, but did not feature any information about Dr. Fager’s Civil War service:

DEATHS AND FUNERALS

DR. CHARLES B. FAGER

The funeral services for Dr. Charles B. Fager, who died yesterday morning, will be held on Monday afternoon at 2 o’clock at the home, 120 Walnut Street, and will be conducted by Rev. Winfield S. Herman, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, assisted by Rev. Dr. Pfuhl, pastor of the German Lutheran Church on State Street.  The interment will be in the Harrisburg Cemetery.

The body will be open for view to all of Dr. Fager’s many friend after 11 o’clock Monday morning.

Near the end of the year in which Dr. Fager died, there appeared a tribute to him in “Old Time Notes of Harrisburg”, written by J. Howard Wert, and published in the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 20 November 1908.  At that time, Wert expanded on previously published but sketchy information on Dr. Fager’s wartime service:

Dr. Charles B. Fager

This series of “Notes”… extending over years, and covering a vast variety of topics, of necessity, must be drawn from a great variety of sources….

No one individual, perhaps, has contributed to this fund as did he whose name stands at the head of this number, whilst I still have many notes furnished by him which I hope to weave into future interesting stories….

I do not intend to attempt any biographical sketch of the friend who, in the ripeness of a busy and well-spent life, recently left us….

The only object of this article is to present three salient points that especially attracted my attention in an acquaintance extending over nearly one-third of a century…

[1] Dr. Charles B. Fager‘s Educational Zeal was the most pronounced feature of his public career, outside of his strictly professional life….  A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected, again and again, in the strongest Republican ward of the city….  When the time comes… in electing a school director, a councilman, or any similar official, the only question asked… will be… “Is he the best man for the place?”….

[2] Dr. Fager’s Intense and Virile Patriotism was the second feature of his character to which my attention was especially drawn in the many years in shich I enjoyed his acquaintance.

From 1861 to 1865 Harrisburg was keyed up to a very high point.  The interest in the great national struggle was at all times of the tensest, but it attained its most fervid conditions during the Gettysburg Campaign.  Dr. Fager, like thousands of other Harrisburgers, performed faithfully the duties of various kinds that came to his hands, both before and after the great battle which was the culmination of that campaign.

He was then a young man and very young in his chosen profession; and, when school houses, public buildings and warehouses were filled up with the wounded of both the armies that had faced each other on the rocky heights of Gettysburg, his zeal knew no bounds in ministering professionally to suffering humanity. He established many warm friendships then which lasted through life.  When, in after years, in different cities, I met veterans who had lain wounded nigh to death’s door in the cotton mill hospital, in the school house hospitals and at other points, as soon as they understood I was from Harrisburg there would be inquiries about those who, in 1863, had helped to alleviate their suffering condition.

I soon came to know that, in probably nine cases out of ten, the first inquiry would be either about Samuel Ettla and his sisters or else about a very young doctor, Charles B. Fager by name.  When in 1885, I issued my first work on the Gettysburg battle and monuments, the doctor became very greatly interested in the story, as the advance chapters appeared in the pages of the “Morning Call” and voluntarily placed me in communication with a number of parties from which I obtained some of the most thrilling new matter of that work.

[3] Closely allied with the patriotism which took in the whole of our broad republic was the third feature characteristic of Dr. Fager’s whole life… His Pride in Everything Pertaining to Harrisburg.  Born here, spending his entire life in the place of his birth, all that related to the glory, the history or the progress of our capital city touched him closely….

He had a little room in his residence, removed from the public gaze, which to me was one of the most interesting and sacred I have ever seen in our city.  In it were stored his… cherished relics of the long ago.  Here was the carbine he proudly carried as a member of Captain Jacob Eyster’s celebrated military company composed of scholars in the Lancasterian School… as was related in the article “The Passing of the Lancasterian”….

Another account of Dr. Fager’s Civil War service can be found in A Complete Handbook of the Monuments and Indications and Guide to the Positions on the Gettysburg Battle-Field, by J. Howard Wert, published by R. M. Sturgeon, Harrisburg, in 1886.  Wert credits Dr. Fager with obtaining for him an account of a Confederate soldier, J. A. Harwood, who was a patient in one of the Harrisburg hospitals in which Dr. Fager served.   However, that account is  primarily about Pickett’s Charge and only refers briefly to Dr. Fager and the care Harwood received in 1863 at Harrisburg:

Lieutenant Harwood fell beside his chieftain [Gen. Lewis Armistead, who was mortally wounded at Gettysburg] wounded almost to death, and slowly regained health and strength whilst a prisoner in the hospital at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  Through the kind offices of Dr. C. B. Fager of Harrisburg, who was at that time his attending surgeon, we have obtained from Captain Harwood the following graphic account of his personal experiences in and recollections of Pickett’s charge….

The writer and his two gallant sergeants from Erin’s Green Isle (McLees and Pierce), were removed to Harrisburg, where they received the best attention and the most skillful treatment in the hospital at that place.

As already stated, Dr. Charles Buffington Fager was the son of Dr. John Fager and Mary Hayes Buffington (1816-1893).  Mary’s great-grandfather was Benjamin Buffington (1730-1814), a Revolutionary War soldier and a pioneer settler of the Lykens Valley.

Additional information is sought about Dr. Fager’s Civil War service as well as any other pertinent information about his life and career.  Comments can be added to this post or sent by e-mail.

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News clippings are from Ancestry.com.  The portrait of Dr. Fager at the top of this post was originally published in The Evening News (Harrisburg), 14 July 1938, as part of a regular feature entitled “The Family Albums of Harrisburg.”

Category: Research, Stories | 2 Comments »
Tags: Buffington family

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 16, 2015

George Washington Etter (1838-1915) is buried at the Halifax United Methodist Church Cemetery in Halifax, Dauphin County.  There is a larger headstone on his plot which includes birth and death information for him and for his wife Catharine [Lebo] Etter, but at the foot of the plot, there is a smaller stone with a G.A.R. star (in the ground) and an American flag.  On the Findagrave Memorial for George, there is a note, that indicates he was “Civil War.”

George W. Etter died in Philadelphia on 8 November 1815 and a brief obituary appeared in the Harrisburg newspapers, followed by information about his funeral.

AGED HALIFAX CITIZEN DIES

George W. Etter, Retired Bridge Builder Succumbs in Philadelphia

(Special to the Star-Independent)

Halifax, 9 November 1915 — George W. Etter, aged 80 years, a retired bridge builder of this place and one of the most prominent residents, died last evening at the home of his son, Theodore I. Etter, Philadelphia.

Mr. Etter went to visit his son about a month ago and shortly after took ill.  He is survived by three sons, George W. Etter Jr., Camden, New Jersey; Theodore I. Etter, Philadelphia; and M. W. Etter, of this place.  No arrangements for the funeral have yet been made, but the body will be brought here for interment.  [From:  Harrisburg Daily Independent, 9 November 1915].

FUNERAL OF GEORGE W. ETTER

Special to the Telegraph

Halifax, Pennsylvania — 12 November 1915 — Funeral services of George W. Etter, who died suddenly at the home of his son, Theodore I. Etter, at Philadelphia, on Monday, took place yesterday afternoon, conducted at the home of his son, M. Wesley Etter, and at the United Brethren Church, the Rev. C. E. Rettew officiating.  Burial was made in the family plot in the Methodist Episcopal Cemetery.  Mr. Etter was 77 years old and is survived by his wife and three sons. Theodore I. Etter, of Philadelphia; George W. Etter, of Camden, New Jersey; and M. Wesley Etter of Halifax.

No mention was made in either of the above articles of Civil War service.

In the recently published Volume III of the Enders Genealogy, George W. Etter appears on page 60 as “1-7-8-1” in the Enders family numbering system.  There is no mention in the brief information given about him that he ever served in the Civil War.

In searching the Civil War-era records, a 1863 draft registration page was found for Mifflin Township, Dauphin County:

The draft information indicates that he was 24 years old at the time, was married, and was a carpenter.  However, there is no comment to note that he actually served in any regiment in the war.

There are some persons named George Etter found in the military records, and one appears to have died in Philadelphia on 16 May 1914, more than a year before the George W. Etter who is buried at Halifax.  That George Etter served in the 69th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, and two of his records are shown below:

The first record is from the Pennsylvania Archives and notes that this George Etter was mustered into service on 19 August 1861, at the age of 20.  He deserted on 7 July 1862 from Harrison, Virginia.  The age is about four years off – and other than the fact that he enrolled and mustered in at Philadelphia, there is most likely no connection.

The second record – from Fold3 –  shows the date of death of 16 May 1914 – off by about a year and a half – and the fact that a widow applied for a pension on 22 May 1914 – which she received, so it is unlikely that this is the same person who is buried at Halifax.

For the George W. Etter who is buried at Halifax, no pension index card has been located.  While it is still possible that he served in a regiment during the war – perhaps in the emergency militia – there is still no record that has been seen to confirm that.  Emergency militia records were not as carefully kept as the regular infantry regimental records, nearly all of which have been preserved and indexed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

The final document shown here for George W. Etter is his death certificate, which was found on Ancestry.com:

Note that the death certificate states that George was “Married” at the time of his death – not “Widowed.”  The funeral information from the notice that appeared in the Harrisburg Telegraph on 12 November 1915 also states that he was survived by a widow.  However, the stone at the Halifax United Methodist Church Cemetery indicates that his wife, Catherine [Lebo] Etter died in 1900.  This information is confirmed in the Enders genealogy quoted above – which only gives one wife for George.  Was George W. Etter married a second time and did that second wife survive him?

Answers to these questions are sought and if any reader of this blog post can supply information, it would be greatly appreciated!  Either add a comment to this post or send by e-mail.

Category: Queries, Research, Stories | Comments Off on George W. Etter – Was He a Civil War Soldier?
Tags: G.A.R., Halifax Borough, Mifflin Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 13, 2015

Today’s post features another Civil War soldier about whom not much is known.  On the 1890 Veterans’ Census for Tower City, Schuylkill Count (shown above from Ancestry.com), the name of Inglis V. Fairbairn appears.  He claimed service in the 18th United States Infantry (Regular Army) from 28 March 1862 through 23 May 1865.  During that time he served as a Private in Company F.  In the two note columns at the bottom of the census sheet, Inglis reported that he was a prisoner at Andersonville for 10 months and that he was wounded/shot in the foot.

A prisoner record for him has been located in Ancestry.com in the database Andersonville Prisoners of War and is shown above.  There is confirmation that he served in the 18th United States Infantry, Company F, that he was captured at Resaca, Georgia on 14 May 1864, and that he was paroled on 24 February 1865, at Northeast Ferry, North Carolina.  In the “More Information” field, the word “Yes” indicates that there is additional information about him in the records.  The death date of 2 July 1921 is also given in this database, which is generally unusual since it occurred more than 55 years after his release and probably did not have much to do with his status as a prisoner at Andersonville.

The Pension Index Card from Fold3 also confirms his death date as 2 July 1921, but notes that he died at Joliet, Illinois.  Whether “Illinois” is an error, is not known at this time.  Joliet, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, is nearly “next door” to Tower City, so it is possible that the transcriber wrote the wrong state on the card.  In any event, there is a pension application file for him under Inglis V. Fairbain, a slightly different spelling of the surname.  Inglis applied for the pension on 10 July 1878, which he received and collected to his death – with no widow applying for benefits.  The Ancestry.com version of the Pension Index Card does not indicate the state from which he applied, but that information should be in the pension application file which has not been seen in composing this blog post.

If any reader of this blog has seen the complete pension application file and or the complete Andersonville Prisoners of War database and is willing to add information to the story of Inglis V. Fairbain it would be greatly appreciated!   The information can either be sent via e-mail or added in a comment at the end of this post.   Since he was a resident of Tower City in 1890, he definitely should be recognized locally for his service and for his confirmed status as a Prisoner of War.  At the present time, he is not named on the Memorial in Tower City.

Additional information sought about him includes:  (1) birth place and date of birth; (2) family members; (3) locations where he lived; (4) stories, pictures, family reminiscences, etc.; (5) military record, including more information about how he was wounded, captured, paroled, and the time he spent at Andersonville; (6) where is he buried? and (7) what is his association with Tower City?

Category: Queries, Research | Comments Off on Who Was Inglis V. Fairbain of Tower City?
Tags: Joliet, Tower City

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 11, 2015

George Washington Ely died on 18 January 1914 in Lykens Borough, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.  As a member of the United Brethren Church in Lykens, his name was inscribed into the memorial book there and his obituary was attached to his memorial page.  The page, which is shown below, incorrectly gives his name as “George Edward Ely,” but the other other information is correct.  The notation, “His name, “George Washington Ely, mistake of printer,” also appears on the memorial page.  The grave marker in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Lykens (shown above), correctly gives his middle initial as “W” – for Washington.

Click on picture to enlarge

Text of the obituary as it appeared in a local newspaper at the time of his death:

George Edward Ely of North Street, died suddenly of apoplexy at about 4:50 p.m. Sunday while conversing with John H. Keen, of Wiconisco, in the engine room of Keen and Kniley’s Hosiery Mill.  Mr. Ely had attended the U.B. Sunday School and shortly after 4 o’clock told his wife that he would go over and talk to Mr. Keen until supper was ready, the hosiery mill being directly opposite his home.

Upon entering the mill he found Mr. Keen was doing some work on an engine and sat down on a bench near him.  After conversing for a few minutes Mr. Keen failed to hear Mr. Ely reply and spoke louder.  Then not receiving a reply he walked around to where Mr. Ely had been and saw him sitting on the floor, one arm resting on the bench.  Mr. Keen noticed that Mr. Ely had suffered a stroke of some kind and notified the family.  He was carried to his home and Dr. H. A. Spencer of Wiconisco, was summoned who pronounced that death was instantaneous and caused by apoplexy.

Deceased was born in Fishing Creek Valley, Dauphin County, on 25 December 1842, bringing his age to 71 years and 23 days.  He came here with his parents when four years of age and has resided here ever since.  In 1866 he was united in marriage with Miss Rebecca Rudisill, and the aged couple anxiously awaited the celebration of their golden wedding two years hence.  Five children were born to the couple, two having preceded him in death.  The surviving children are Anna Ely (Mrs. John Renshaw), Lykens; Ella Ely, at home; and T. Edward Ely, Lykens, who with the widow mourn the loss of a kind and indulgent father and a faithful husband.  He is also survived by two brothers, Francis Ely and Edward Ely of Lykens; and three sisters – Mrs. Sarah Myers and Mrs. Matilda Bainbridge of Lykens; and Mrs. Barbara Woland of Shamokin.  Five grandchildren also survive.

Mr. Ely was a veteran of the Civil War, having served as a Private in Company C, 13th Pennsylvania Cavalry, for a little more than a year, when he was honorably discharged on account of the cessation of hostilities. He was a member of the G.A.R., the Junior O.U.A.M., the United Brethren Church and the recently organized Bible class thereof.

The funeral services were held at his late home at 2 p.m. yesterday and were conducted by his pastor, Rev. H. S. Kiefer.  Burial was in Odd Fellows Cemetery with military honors, the G.A.R., Sons of Veterans, and the P.O.S. of A. Drill Team paying the last tribute of respect to a “departed defender of our nation.”

For expressions of sympathy and for assistance rendered, the family desire to thank neighbors and friends.

For his service in the Civil War, George Ely received a pension, which he applied for on 27 March 1885, as shown on the Pension Index Card (below, from Fold3).

The Pension Index Card also gives the date of death as 18 January 1914, and the place of death as Lykens.  Within a week Rebecca [Rudisill] Ely applied for benefits, which she collected until her death.  According to her death certificate, she died at Lykens on 20 November 1920.  She was the daughter of David Rudisill and Susan Row and was born on 12 September 1848 in Washington Township, Dauphin County.

In addition to the church book memorial, George W. Ely is also remembered on the Lykens G.A.R. Monument as a veteran who joined the Heilner Post after its organization.

Additional information is sought about George W. Ely – including photographs, stories, more information about his military service, family history, etc.  Please attach comments to this post or send the information via e-mail.

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Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Obituary of and Memorial to George W. Ely
Tags: G.A.R., Lykens Borough, Washington Township, Wiconisco

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 9, 2015

Soldiers for the Cause:  Millersburg’s ties to the American Civil War

Program to be held at Colonnade Theater

MILLERSBURG — The Historical Society of Millersburg and Upper Paxton Township invites the public to “Soldiers for the Cause:  Millersburg‘s Ties to the American Civil War.

The program will be presented November 11, 2015, at 7 p.m. at the Colonnade Theater, Center Street, Millersburg.  Admission is free.

Britt Charles Isenberg, a licensed battlefield guide and historian at Gettysburg National Military Park, who resides in Gettysburg, with his wife Suezana, is a 2004 graduate of Millersburg High School and a 2004 graduate of Millersville University of Pennsylvania.  He spends the majority of his days guiding, lecturing, researching, writing and photographing topics in Civil War history.  His greatest areas of expertise include Pennsylvania Troops at Gettysburg and in the Civil War, the Peach Orchard, and The Wheatfield at Gettysburg, and the Aftermath Story.

Isenberg will present the program how many small communities across the United States furnished soldiers to the Union war effort during the Civil War.  By the time the guns went silent and after four years of bloody struggle, Millersburg was one of those small communities that was profoundly impacted by the war years.  From heroes to legends, this program will explore some of the personalities, stories and sacrifices that connect Millersburg to America’s most defining conflict.

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The above press release from the Historical Society of Millersburg and Upper Paxton Township appeared in The Citizen Standard (Valley View, Pennsylvania), 20 October 2015.  In addition to its website, the Society is also found on Facebook.

For all past posts on this blog pertaining to Millersburg, click on Millersburg or Upper Paxton Township.

Category: Events | 1 Comment »
Tags: Millersburg, Upper Paxton Township, Valley View