Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 2, 2015

On 21 November 1878, Philip Hoffman of Lykens Borough, Dauphin County, was killed in a mine accident at Short Mountain Colliery.  The notice of his accidental death appeared in the Lykens Register and was reprinted in the Harrisburg Telegraph of 25 November 1878:

Killed in the Mines.

The Lykens Register of Friday says:  “Mr. Philip Hoffman of this borough, was almost instantly killed in Short Mountain Colliery, about four o’clock yesterday afternoon, by a fall of rock.  He was working in the east lower level, putting in a ‘jugular’ at the time.  His body was horribly crushed and life was extinct before he could be conveyed to his home, which was reached about five o’clock.  deceased has been employed in the Wiconisco mines from boyhood, having been born and raised in Lykens.  He was an industrious man, whose death will be generally regretted, and prove a severe shock to a devoted wife, who survives him.  He leaves no children”  Coroner Porter held an inquest on Friday, the jury rendering a verdict of accidental death.  The funeral took place yesterday from the Lutheran Church at Lykens.

 

Several comments can be made about the what is included or not included in the obituary:

First, Philip Hoffman was a Civil War veteran, not mentioned in the obituary.  As shown by the Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Card (above, from the Pennsylvania Archives).  On 16 February 1864, he enrolled at Harrisburg in the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company B, as a Private and was mustered into service the same day.  At the time, he claimed to be 18 years old, was about 5 foot, 5 inches tall.  He had black hair, brown eyes, and a fair complexion.  He was a farmer.  He state that he was born in Dauphin County and resided in Dauphin County.

For his service in the Civil War, he was recognized on the Lykens-Wiconisco G.A.R. Monument which was erected in the early part of the 20th Century.  However, since his death occurred in 1878, he was no a member of the Heilner Post at Lykens.

On 27 August 1878, Philip Hoffman applied for a Civil War pension, which according to the Pension Index Card (above, from Ancestry.com), he received.  However, we know that Philip died on 21 November 1878., so with the usual time lag between application and the actual awarding of the pension, Philip most likely never knew that the pension was awarded and the payment was collected by his widow as a lump sum and terminated the day of his death.  The obituary also stated that he was married and had no children.  Why then did no widow apply and why was a minor’s application submitted on 18 July 1890?  To answer that question we must research the guardian, Catherine Woland.

Catherine Woland was Catherine “Katie” Rickert (1844-1909).  She was the wife of Philip Hoffman and was left his widow when he was killed in the mines in 1878.  At that time she was pregnant (not mentioned in the obituary), and a daughter, Hattie Hoffman was born in March 1879, several months after her father’s death.  In order to support the child, Katie [Rickert] Hoffman married John Woland (1830-1910).  Pension rules at the time prevented a widow who re-married from collecting benefits for herself and she would have to prove that any minor child born to herself and the deceased soldier actually was a legitimate child of the soldier and her.  However, she applied as guardian for her daughter Hattie, but was denied benefits.  A check of the minor’s application file (which has not been consulted for this post) will most likely give the reason for the denial.  There were no known children between John Woland and Katie, but John Woland was known to have had a daughter with his first wife who died in 1884.  That daughter, Mary Alice Woland, was an adult when her father remarried, and in fact, in 1884, had married Norman Seiler Manley.  John Woland was not a veteran of the Civil War so he was ineligible for a pension.

The final issue is the birthplace and parentage of Philip Hoffman.  The only possible census records in the Lykens-Wiconisco area show a Philip Hoffman who was born in Germany, not in Pennsylvania.  There is no direct evidence that the Philip Hoffman who died in the mines is the same person as the German-born Philip Hoffman named in the census.  The main Hoffman family in the Lykens Valley area was descended from Johann Peter Hoffman, an early settler – but there were other Hoffman’s, some of whom were relatively recent immigrants from Germany.  Perhaps a reader of this blog can answer this mystery – was the Philip Hoffman who died in the mines born in Pennsylvania or Germany and who were his parents?

Fortunately, the Harrisburg Telegraph reprinted the obituary as it appeared in the Lykens Register.  Previously on this blog, on 7 January 2014, Jake Wynn posted an article entitled “Fire Destroys Lykens Register, 1900.”  Nearly all the back issues of the Lykens Register were destroyed in that fire and now, for the most part, only those articles that were picked up and reprinted by other newspapers are among those that were saved.

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The obituary clipping is from Newspapers.com.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Philip Hoffman – Killed in Mines, 1878
Tags: G.A.R., Hoffman family, Lykens Borough, Wiconisco

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on September 29, 2015

The above Pennsylvania Veterans’ Index Card from the Pennsylvania Archives give some of the information that is know about John Donnelly (sometimes referred to the records as John Donnely).

John Donnelly was about 24 years old (born about 1837) when he enrolled in the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H, as a Private, at Tremont, Schuylkill County, on 21 October 1861.  On the same day, he was mustered into service at Pottsville.  At some point during his service he was transferred to the Battery (Artillery) of the same regiment.  His discharge date is not stated on the index card.

From the 1890 Veterans’ Census (available on Ancestry.com), the same regiment and muster date is given, but the discharge date of 22 October 1864 is noted – indicating that John Donnelly served the full three years of his enlistment and then chose to be discharged rather than re-enlist.  From the history of that regiment, it is known that those who did re-enlist were consolidated into the 95th Pennsylvania Infantry.  John did not report any Civil War-related disabilities to the 1890 Census and he gave his post office address as Joliett, Schuylkill County.

From the Pennsylvania Memorial at Gettysburg, we learn that John Donnelly served as a Corporal at the Battle of Gettysburg.

From the two versions of the Pension Index Card, the following is determined:

1. The Ancestry.com version notes that John Donnelly applied for a disability pension from Pennsylvania on 1 August 1890, which he received, and his widow Mary Donnelly applied on 9 March 1905.  She also received the pension, which she collected until her death.
2. The Fold3 version confirms John’s application date and granting of the pension, notes that a widow applied (without giving her name) and also received a pension until her death, and gives the year of 1905 as John’s death.

For those who wish to research John Donnelly further, the pension application file numbers on the two above cards are necessary for locating the files at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.  Perhaps a reader of this blog has already obtained the pension application files and would be willing to share the information in those file with others – by adding comments to this post or by sending an e-mail to this Project.  Any other information about John Donnelly, from any source, will be greatly appreciated!

 

Category: Queries, Research | Comments Off on Who Was John Donnelly of Joliett?
Tags: Joliett, Tremont

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on September 26, 2015

On this occasion of the visit of Pope Francis to the United States, occurring 22 September 2015 – 27 September 2015, a prior post on this blog is recalled.  That post of 8 April 2012 was entitled, Easter 1862 – Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Philadelphia.  It featured the opening of the Basilica for its first Mass on Easter 1862.  Pope Francis celebrates Mass at the same Basilica today, and tomorrow he celebrates Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway with Logan Circle (formerly Logan Square) between the altar and the Basilica.

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Easter 1862 – Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Philadelphia

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on 8 Apr 2012

Easter, celebrated on 20 April 1862, was the first opportunity of Philadelphia’s Roman Catholics to worship in the nearly completed Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul on Logan Square. This Easter marks the 150th anniversary of the first time the building was used for worship.

The picture of the basilica is from around 1970 and is part of the archives at PhillyHistory.org.

Articles appearing in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the North American and United States Gazette heralded the first use of the building:

THE NEW CATHEDRAL of St. Peter and St. Paul in Logan Square, though still unfinished, will be opened on Easter Sunday for prayers commencing at 3 o’clock.  Right Reverend Bishop Wood will officiate.  The building will remain open to the public on the following Monday and Tuesday and then be closed for the continuing work.  The Catholic Clergy of the Diocese of Philadelphia will appear on the occasion in full canonicals.

ST. PAUL’S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH — The work upon this edifice is now progressing quite rapidly.  The cross for the front of the building has been erected.  It is entirely gilded, and about ten feet in height.  The one upon the cupola is also gilded, and is eighteen feet long and nine feet wide.  Work will be immediately commenced on the interior, and it is hoped that it will be ready for worship by the first of July.  A fair will be commenced in Sansom Street Hall on Easter Monday, and will continue for two weeks, the proceeds to be dedicated to the completion of the church.

THE NEW ROMAN CATHEDRAL CATHEDRAL – On Easter Sunday (next Sunday afternoon), services will be held in the monster Roman Catholic Cathedral on Logan Square.  The interior, though very far from completed, is so nearly finished that an idea can be gained on its wonderful beauty when all is done.  For the purposes of the Easter service the workmen are now removing the scaffolding and five thousand people will be admitted.  At a given signal to the multitude outside, at vespers service, Bishop Wood will impart the pontifical blessing.  While five thousand persons can obtain admittance, the probability is that thrice that number will throng the outside of the building, and signal will be made so that these can know the moment when the much appreciated blessing is to be pronounced.  The scene is likely to be remarkable.  On Monday and Tuesday the church will be open to visitors, after which it will again be closed until the interior is wholly finished.  The building, as to its interior, will be very beautiful, more so than any Catholic church in the United States.

The Cathedral Basilica was a dominant feature of Logan Square during the Civil War as can be seen from the picture of the United States Sanitary Fair which was held in Philadelphia in June 1864.

The color picture of the United States Sanitary Commission Fair is from the web site of the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia which has an excellent article on the Civil War fair held at Logan Square.  The black and white picture of the Sanitary Commission Fair is from an engraving found on the Civil War Research Engine of Dickinson College.  Different versions of the picture, including those for sale in print form (various sizes) can easily be found by searching for “Sanitary Commission Fair” images via any search engine.

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A prior post also featured the relationship between the Vatican and the United States during the Civil War.  See:  Pope Pius IX – The Vatican, Lincoln and the Civil War.

Some of the previous blog articles on the Catholic church in Pennsylvania and Catholic citizens in the Lykens Valley area can be located by clicking on the titles below:

Sacred Heart of Jesus Church and Cemetery, Williamstown

Gov. William Alexis Stone  (James Cardinal Gibbons role in Coal Miners Strike)

Williamstown-Williams Township Historical Society (Budd Family role in establishment of church in Lykens Valley area)

Dalmatia Civil War Veterans (Roman Catholic mission to Dalmatia)

Easter 1861 (celebration of Easter in Philadelphia)

The Execution of Deserters and an All-Denominational Funeral

Pennsylvanians in the Irish Brigade

Views of the Old Catholic Cemetery at Williamstown

Rev. Hugh A. Loague – Catholic Priest at Williamstown

Mary Kilraine of Williamstown – Civil War Laundress

Monuments at Gettysburg – 116th Pennsylvania Infantry

Events of the World: December 1864

Why Are There Ku Klux Klan Uniforms in Gratz?

Williamstown G.A.R. Post Severely Rebuked for Bigotry

Events of the World: June 1863

Civil War Records in the Published Schuylkill County Archives Series – Volume 3

Events of the World: May 1863

Civil War Records in the Published Schuylkill County Archives Series – Volume 1

Reconsider This: Gangs of New York

The Gettysburg Address

W. J. Ferguson – “I Saw Booth Shoot Lincoln”

Death of Widow of William Budd

Death and Funeral of Capt. Richard Budd

The Journey of the Bloody Dress of Laura Keene

Laura Keene Arrested at Harrisburg

Soldiers’ Monument of Schuylkill County – Unveiling & Dedication

G.A.R. Heilner Post Activities, 1901

Jewish-American U.S. Civil War Veterans

Pennsylvanians in the Irish Brigade

Capt. Richard Budd – 96th Pennsylvania Infantry

Pennsylvania Dutch & the Civil War – Religion

Christmas Day 1860

To access a list of all blog articles which have included information about the Catholic Church, use the search term “Catholic.”

 

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Pope Francis Visits Philadelphia
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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on September 25, 2015

Henry Dietrich (or Dietrick), who was born about 1836, was previously mentioned in a post here on 21 April 2012 as a discovered addition to the Civil War Research Project.  Since that time, one error was discovered in that prior post. The Henry Dietrich who was married to Bridget was not the same person who was profiled at that time, and with the finding of the Pension Index Card for him on Fold3, it is now known that Bridget was the widow of a Henry Dietrick who fought in the Spanish-American War, and died in 1898 of disease contracted in that war.

What we do know about the Henry Dietrich who served in the Civil War is the following:

Henry Dietrick, a resident of Millersburg, enrolled in the 10th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company F, as a Private in Lykens Borough, Dauphin County.  He was 24 years old at the time of his enrollment and was working as a clerk.  He was mustered into service at Harrisburg on 26 April 1861.  He was mustered out with his company on 31 July 1861.

For a second enlistment, on 14 September 1861, at age 25 at Lykenstown (Lykens Borough), he joined the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company B, as a Private.  He was mustered into service on 7 October 1861 at Harrisburg.  Personal information about him is that he was 5 foot, 7 inches tall, had hazel eyes, a fair complexion and light hair.  He gave his residence as Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.  On 10 October 1861, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.  However, his name does not appear on the muster out roll.

Prior to the Civil War, no record has been seen which clearly identifies this Henry Dietrich.

And, after the Civil War, Henry Dietrich seems to disappear from the records.

His name is not mentioned in Yankee Cavalrymen, a history of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, based on the Diary of William Thomas, who was also a member of Company B.

No Pension Index Card has been located for him.  This is an indication that he died prior to 1890 when the pension rules were relaxed – and also an indication that if he was married, his wife died before him.

The only Dietrich named on the Millersburg Soldier Monument is T. E. Dietrich.  Although Henry Dietrich claimed residence in Millersburg at the time of his first Civil War enrollment, his name is omitted from the memorial.

Henry Dietrich is also omitted from the Lykens G.A.R. Monument.  This is even more strange that the omission from the Millersburg Monument in that the person who was responsible for the compiling of the names for the Lykens Monument was Henry Keiser – who served in the same 10th Pennsylvania Infantry regiment as Henry Dietrich.  Henry Dietrich twice enrolled at Lykens indicating that he lived in the area later covered by the Lykens-Wiconisco Heilner G.A.R. Post which was responsible for the erection of the monument.

If any reader of this blog can provide any answers to the question of what happened to Henry Dietrich, please do so by adding a comment to this post – or by sending the information by e-mail.

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Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Cards are from the National Archives.

 

 

 

 

Category: Queries | 2 Comments »
Tags: G.A.R., Lykens Borough, Millersburg, Wiconisco

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on September 23, 2015

On this occasion of the visit of Pope Francis to the United States, occurring 22 September 2015 – 26 September 2015, a prior post on this blog is recalled.  That post of 27 February 2013 was entitled, Pope Pius IX – The Vatican, Lincoln and the Civil War.

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Pope Pius IX – The Vatican, Lincoln and the Civil War

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on 27 February 2013

With the recent resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, amid controversy and speculation, another historical time period and another papacy is brought to mind, that of Pope Pius IX, the longest reigning pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic Church (1846-1878), and the pope who was the contemporary of Abraham Lincoln.  Pius IX was the last pope to rule as the sovereign of the Papal States and was caught up in the nationalistic movements taking place in the world, particularly in the unification of Italy, an event that was unfolding at the same time as the American Civil War.  Pius IX‘s whole papacy was a balancing act between the trending forces of liberalism vs. conservatism, modernism vs. traditionalism, democracy vs. totalitarianism, and secularism vs. the sacred.  His reaction to those forces – the reforms he instituted as well as his failures – are a good subject for study as part of the international dimensions of our own Civil War.  Likewise, the growth of the Catholic Church in the United States, as well as the discrimination against it, can be analyzed in the context of his papacy.

Pius IX was born 13 May 1792 in Italy and was chosen as pope on 16 June 1846.  His election came amidst the growing nationalistic fervor that was taking place in Europe at the time, and he was seen as a liberal and sympathetic to the causes of the people and the faction of cardinals who wanted reforms in the church.  But shortly after his rise to power his Minister of the Interior was assassinated and he was forced to flee Rome for a short time – which led to his increasing skepticism of the liberal and nationalistic movements.  In the 1850s and 1860s, the Italian nationalist armies made significant gains against the Papal States, those territories over which the pope was sovereign, finally resulting in 1870 in the seizure of Rome and Pius IX‘s confinement to Vatican City, a small territory within the city of Rome, and the pope’s self-declared epithet, as “the prisoner of the Vatican.”

Despite the fact that he was besieged during his entire papacy, Pius IX is credited with major reforms in the Roman Catholic Church.  The doctrine of “papal infallibility,” although an anti-democratic change, came about as a the result of a major democratic reform – the calling of a Vatican Council in 1869.  The financing of the Vatican, the Roman Curia, and the works of the Church, was assured through the institution of “Peter’s Pence,” a levy on Catholics throughout the world that replaced the support previously given by the Papal States which were lost in the Italian unification. And, the dogma of the “immaculate conception,” which helped place Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the position of one of the paths to redemption and salvation, was instituted during his papacy.  These changes and reforms contributed to the centralization of power in Rome and in the papacy itself – changes that would not face any serious challenges in the years ahead.

The changes were not without controversy, especially in how they were perceived outside the Catholic church, and in particular, in how the papacy was seen in other countries.  While the aims of Pope Pius IX were to insure that Catholics could freely practice their religion in any country on earth, he often ran afoul of political realities in places such as Russia and the Ottoman Empire.  His fight against anti-Catholic views in Italy, France and Germany, was noteworthy and there is a history of positive relations with some Latin American countries during his reign.

But the educational policies of Pius IX were criticized in that they continued to neglect the natural sciences; primary education was not mandatory in the Papal States and was generally left to the religious orders or to private concerns.  He was, however, a patron of the arts (art, architecture, painting, sculpture, the theatre, etc.), and in particular the restoration of churches and the protection of the Colosseum and other Roman relics.

It was in the Americas, and his attempts to meddle in the affairs of Mexico, that caused concern in Washington – and may have been directly responsible for the development of anti-Catholic sentiment in the United States.  During the Civil War, the French-supported Maxmillian I, who, with the blessing of Pius IX before he set off for Mexico, attempted to establish a Second Mexican Empire.  Lincoln, preoccupied with saving the Union, was unable to help the Mexicans or to stop what was clearly a violation of the Monroe Doctrine – the interference of European powers in the affairs of the Americas.   The fact that this intervention was supported by the pope was known at the time, and after the Civil War, the United States supported the Mexicans and Maxmillian I was overthrown.  Part of this story was told in an earlier blog post entitled, Cinco de Mayo, the Confederacy and Gen. Jo Shelby.  The connection of the papacy with the Confederacy was also not lost on Americans.  Pope Pius IX was the only foreign ruler who gave any level of diplomatic recognition to the Rebel government.  A conspiracy theory also emerged in the years after Lincoln’s death, that Pope Pius IX was somehow involved in the assassination – in directing it or assisting in it – and was fueled by a number of factors, not the least of which were that Mary Surratt, the convicted conspirator who was hanged, and her son John Surratt, who was wanted as a conspirator but fled to the protection of the Vatican, were both Catholics.

One of the difficulties in researching and writing on the subject of this blog post – “the Vatican, Lincoln and the Civil War” – is the lack of primary resources.  Much of what is done in the Vatican is and was in secret and the hope of ever having any of those documents come into light (it they even exist) is very remote.  Thus, any historical treatise that is produced will be incomplete and based mostly on speculation – or on what is openly known and found in official, public pronouncements.  Writing on this subject could also brand the writer as an publicist for the church if he/she ignores obvious paths of inquiry – or as anti-Catholic if too hard on the church and the pope.

Three resources are presented below, each of which looks at some aspect of “the Vatican, Lincoln and the Civil War.”  All three are readily available and each is not without its own controversies (which will not be discussed at this time).

Charles Paschal Telesphone Chiniquy, Fifty Years in the Church of Rome.  This book, by a former priest, is available as a free download (click on title) from Google Books.  The last section of this book deals with Chiniquy’s relationship with Abraham Lincoln.

Emmett McLoughlin, An Inquiry Into the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  Also by a former priest, this out-of-print book is currently available from used book sellers such as Amazon.com.

William Hanchett, The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies.  Chapter 8, entitled “Reductio ad Absurdum,” looks at both the views of Chiniquy and of McLoughlin.  The book is available, new and used, from booksellers such as Amazon.com.

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Readers are invited to suggest other books and articles which discuss the relationship between the Vatican, Lincoln and the Civil War.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Pope Francis Visits the United States
Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Assassination