Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on June 27, 2014

In 1911, the United States Government approved the removal of the bodies of the victims of the Great Shohola Train Wreck, Pike County, Pennsylvania, from the site of the wreck to the Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira, New York.  Official documents related to the re-interment were presented here in the blog post entitled, Moving the Remains from Shohola to Elmira in 1911.

The above cut from an 1872 map of Pike County, can be enlarged (click on map) to show the location of the wreck and the properties of the two local men who contributed to finding the actual burial site.  In the center of the map (circled in red) is the property of “V. Hipsman” (Valentine Hipsman).  From his home a red line is drawn slightly northeast to the site of the wreck and the property of “J. Vogt” (John Vogt).  It was on the property of John Vogt that the original interment took place.  In an article that appeared in the Honesdale Citizen, 3 November 1909, it was reported that the bodies were buried on Vogt’s property.  Vogt disputed the contention of Edward H. Mott who wrote in Between the Ocean and the Lakes, that some of the bodies had been washed away by floods on the Upper Delaware, and that he [Vogt] had personally  placed stakes at the ends of the burial trench.  According to Vogt, “the bodies [were] still there.”  The Citizen article went on to state that it was “Valentine Hipsman, a veteran, who had lost an arm in the war,” who led visitors to the site by walking the mile-and-a-half from the village of Shohola, where he was then living.

While John Vogt, a track foreman for the Erie Railroad, was not an actual witness to the wreck itself, he claimed to have heard the sounds of the crash, and immediately headed to the scene offering what assistance he could including the use of his home as an emergency hospital.

Valentine Hipsman, whose home in 1864 was less than two miles from the wreck site, was the individual who led the workers to the burial site in 1911 when the bodies were exhumed and removed to Elmira.  It is a matter of speculation as to whether he was at his home in July 1864 when the wreck occurred (see below).

By 1909, both John Vogt and Valentine Hipsman were living in the village of Shohola.

Click on document to enlarge.

Some personal information about Valentine Hipsman can be gleaned from his death certificate (above, from Ancestry.com).  He was born in Germany on 2 January 1840, the son of George F. Hipsman and Elizabeth [Weisenborn] Hipsman.  He was a farmer.  He died in Shohola  at the age of 83 years, 10 months, 7 days on 9 November 1923 of vascular disease of the heart caused by hardening of the arteries.  At the time of his death, he was married.

Click on document to enlarge.

At the time of the 1863 Civil War Draft (see above from Ancestry.com), Valentine registered from his home address in Shohola [Township].  He was 23 years old, married, and gave his occupation as laborer.  He did not indicate at that time that he had prior military service.  The record card from the Pennsylvania Archives (see below) shows otherwise.

Valentine had enrolled on 15 September 1862 at Milford, Pike County, Pennsylvania, and on 18 October 1862, he was mustered into Company B, 151st Pennsylvania Infantry, as a Private at Harrisburg.  His occupation was farmer, but other than his age, no other personal information about him is found in this record.  As for the remarks about his service, it is noted that he was “wounded at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1 July 1863, and sent to [the] hospital.”

The nature of his wounds were apparently sufficient to give him a discharge on a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability, but that fact is not noted on the card – nor is the date on which he was discharged.

The pension application date of 21 December 1863 (shown on the card above, from Ancestry.com) is proof that Valentine had been released from the hospital as of that date – and was most likely at his Pike County home (see map at top of post) when the wreck occurred on 15 July 1864.  However, no “eyewitness” account has been seen where Hipsman describes what he was doing on that date or whether he heard the sounds of the wreck from his property.  It is very likely that full details of the nature of his injures can be found in the pension application file which is available at the National Archives.

In the 1890 Census of Veterans and Widows (cuts shown above from Ancestry.com), Valentine gave his date of discharge at 27 July 1863 and the nature of his injury as “loss of right arm (shoulder).”  In that the discharge took place only 26 days after he was wounded at Gettysburg, probably meant that he returned to his home and wife shortly after – and could mean that he was at his home about a year later when the wreck occurred.

In the 1870 census, Valentine Hipsman was a “switch tender” for the railroad. His wife, Elizabeth Hipsman, age 27, was in the household with children Emma E. Hipsman (born about 1867), Margaret “Maggie” Hipsman (born about 1868), and Josephine Hipsman (born about 1869).

By the 1880 census, Valentine was a farmer and had re-married to Josephine Keller, age 40, who had been previously married and had at least 3 children by that marriage who were then living in Valentine’s household: Frank Keller; Justina Keller; and Carrie Keller.  Two additional children were in the home:  Bertha Hipsman (born about 1876) and Catherine Hipsman (born about 1878).  It is not clear whether the latter two were children of Elizabeth or Josephine with Valentine.

By the 1900 census, Josephine is still the wife of Valentine and he is working as a farmer.  Josephine is the widow who survived Valentine as shown by the Pension Index Card (above).

Much more information on Valentine Hipsman can be obtained by utilizing the Pension Application Files as well as the Military Index Cards available at the National Archives. Those sources were not consulted for this blog post.

It is ironic that five key sites in the life of Valentine Hipsman were in Pennsylvania: Shohola Township, where his farm was located; Harrisburg, where he was mustered into service in the 151st Pennsylvania Infantry; Gettysburg, where he was wounded and lost his arm; the site of the Great Shohola Train Wreck about 1.5 miles from the village of Shohola; and the village of Shohola, where he spent his last days.  The Civil War played such an important part of the full life of this German immigrant – with constant reminders in both his physical condition and geographic location.

Valentine Hipsman is buried at German Hill Cemetery, Pike County, Pennsylvania, not far from where he lived and worked  For further information, see his Findagrave memorial.

He is also forever remembered on the plaque of the 151st Pennsylvania Infantry, Company B, at the Pennsylvania Memorial at Gettysburg.

More information is sought on this veteran who led the government officials to the site of the wreck in 1911 thus participated in the exhuming of the bodies of the victims and their re-interment at Elmira.  Because he lived to 1923 and had a number of children, it is possible that somewhere a picture exists of him and/or his family.  Readers are invited to submit information by adding comments to this post or by sending a e-mail to the Project.

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For a listing of all other posts in this series, with direct links, click on ShoholaTrainWreck.  Special thanks to Jane Butler, Minisink Valley Genealogy, for the link to her recent article, “An Imperishable Fame” –  Company B, 151st Pennsylvania Volunteers and for the direct URL to the 1909 article which appeared in the Honesdale Citizen.

Category: Research, Stories | 1 Comment »
Tags: Railroad

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on June 25, 2014

Jacob Shiro was born in Wittenberg, Germany, on 19 February 1843, the son of Jacob Shiro and Susan [Bellon] Shiro. He arrived in the United States around 185 at the age of eight.  During the Civil War, he served in Company G, 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry, as a Private, from 14 March 1865 through discharge on 25 June 1865.

Late in life, Jacob Shiro had his picture taken in his G.A.R. uniform with three surviving Civil War veterans from Gratz.   From left, the photo shows Jacob Kissinger, Jacob Shiro, and John W. Hoffman.  The photo at the top of this post of Jacob Shiro in his 1865 Civil War uniform was found in the effects of Hannah [Rickert] Riegle, widow of Lykens Township farmer and Civil War veteran Harrison Riegle, a friend and neighbor of Jacob Shiro, who served in the same regiment and company.

In 1955, on the occasion of the Sesquicentennial of Gratz Borough, Dauphin County, a biography appeared in the souvenir book issued for that occasion (page 176-177):

Jacob Shiro… was about one year old when his father died.  At the age of six he began to attend school at Wittenberg, and was at school three years.  In the spring of 1852, with his mother, step-father and the other members of his family, he emigrated to America.  They embarked at LeHavre, France, in a sailing vessel, and after a rough voyage of twenty-nine days, during which they were in the peril of large icebergs, they landed in New York and came directly to Wiconisco where they decided to make their home and where the stepfather, Henry Snyder, at once found employment in the mines.  Young Jacob attended the English schools in Wiconisco for four terms and this completed his education.

At the age of thirteen years, he began work in the mines, picking slate at $8 per month, and was employed in the mines for over twenty years.

Mr. Shiro enlisted 10 March 1864 at Harrisburg in Company C, 103rd Pennsylvania Volunteers, under Capt. C. A. Harper.  The regiment was ordered to Roanoke Island by way of Fortress Monroe and Norfolk, Virginia, where they were assigned guard duty for six or eight months.  They were then ordered to New Bern, North Carolina, to guard the Weldon Railroad.  While they were here, a malignant fever broke out among the soldiers, from which as many as a hundred died per day.  Mr. Shiro was attacked by the disease, but his sound constitution and his indomitable spirit enabled him to resist the fatal effects of the contagion.  He wasn’t going to give up so soon.  Although very ill, he continued on duty, and proceeded on the march.  He and other comrades hired an old colored man with a cart to carry their knapsacks and equipment, but the rickety vehicle proved inadequate to the strain, and their baggage was dumped on the road.  Mr. Shiro determined to push on at all hazards, and resuming his burdens, he continued the march.  One of his comrades fell by the wayside and died.  Much dispirited and worn in body, they finally reached New Bern, where they rested a short time, and then they pushed on to Morehead City, and boarded the steamer for Baltimore, where they arrived 4 July 1865.  They reached Harrisburg 7 July 1865, and on that date were still suffering from the effects of the fever, and he remained in Harrisburg two weeks before he was sufficiently recovered to go home.

During this time his physician at times despaired of his recovery.  But he was finally restored to health, and retired to his home.  He soon assumed work in the mines, where for four years he held the position of mine foreman.

In 1867, having accumulated $2,000, Mr. Shiro removed with his family to Coles County, Illinois.  There he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, intending to try the life of farming.  As there was an unexpired lease on the farm, he could not obtain possession until autumn:  he therefore rented the adjoining place for the season.  He would have continued to live there but for the loss of his wife, whose death occurred in 1870.  This made him homesick, and he returned to his home in Pennsylvania in the fall of that year.  He located on a farm in Gratz Borough and in 1872 sold his Illinois farm for $6,000.  In 1886, Mr. Shiro opened a general store in Gratz.  After the Klinger brothers moved to their new store, Mr. Shiro located in the Odd Fellows Hall.  There he successfully conducted a store until he retired from the business, and Abe Gross took over the general merchandise business.  Mr. Shiro then operated the North Side Colliery on Short Mountain, known as Shiro’s Mine.  Some of the remains can still be seen.  Even the rock and dirt bank has been screened for the remaining coal.  In the early 20th century the farmers used to visit the place every year before the oats harvest to spend the day in search of the good old mountain huckleberries, to treat themselves in the cold winters to a good huckleberry pie.

Jacob was married three times.  In 1862 he married Amanda Moyer.  They had two children:  Annie Shiro, Mrs. John Schriener, who resided in Illinois; and Carrie Shiro, Mrs. Schild, who resided in Pueblo, Colorado, and later in Gratz.  Mrs. Amanda Shiro died in 1870.

In his second marriage in 1872, he was united with Miss Lizzie Deibler, by whom he had one daughter, Lizzie Shiro, wife of Morris Schreffler, Mifflin Township, Dauphin County, later a retired farmer in Berrysburg.  Mrs. Lizzie Shiro died in 1875.  Mr. Shiro later married Mary Gise, daughter of Benjamin Gise, of Gratz.  They had one child, Jacob B. Shiro.

Jacob was a strong Democrat.  He served as postmaster of Gratz for several years, having been first appointed under President Garfield.  The Gratz mail in that day was not large, and so was laid out on the counter.  Later, as the mail increased, the mail box came into use.  He was a member of Lodge No. 563m I.O.O.F. at Gratz, and the G.A.R. Encampment at Gratz; also of Lykens Valley Lodge, No. 365, K. of P. at Gratz.  He was a member of the Evangelical Church.

While there are some similar statements and information, the text of the biographical sketch of Jacob Shiro that was printed in the Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County, page 893, is presented here:

Jacob Shiro, merchant, Gratz, Pennsylvania, was born in Wittenberg, Germany, 19 February 1843. He is a son of Jacob Shiro and Susanna [Bellem)] Shiro.  Jacob Shiro Sr., was born in France, and was a soldier in the French army, with which he crossed into Germany during one of the wars of religions. At the close of the war he married and settled in Wittenberg, where he conducted a public tavern until his death which occurred about 1844. His children are: Mina Shiro, Mrs. James Bocker of Harrisburg, and Jacob Shiro Jr. His widow married Henry Snyder; she died in 1893. Mr. Snyder survives her and resides in Lykens Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania where his wife died. The children of her second marriage are: Angeline Shiro, Mrs. Daniel Reichert, Williamstown, Pennsylvania; Rose Shiro, first married Adam Frederick, deceased, and is now Mrs. Samuel Boke; Henry Shiro, farmer, Gratz, Pennsylvania; Amanda Shiro, Mrs. John Coleman, Gratz, Pennsylvania, and John Shiro, farmer, Lykens Township.

Jacob Shiro Jr., was about one year old when his father died. At the age of six he began to attend school in Wittenberg, and was at school three years. In the spring of 1852, with his mother, stepfather and the other members of his family, he emigrated to America. They embarked at Havre, France, in a sailing vessel, and after a rough voyage of twenty-nine days, during which they were in constant peril from the neighborhood of large icebergs, they landed in New York and came directly to Wiconisco, where they decided to make their home and where the stepfather at once found employment in the mines. Young Jacob attended the English schools in Wiconisco for four terms, and this completed his school education. At the age of thirteen years he began work in the mines, picking slate at $8 per month, and has been employed in the mines for over twenty years.

Mr. Shiro enlisted 10 March 1864, at Harrisburg, in Company G, One Hundred and Third Pennsylvania Volunteers [103rd Pennsylvania Infantry], under Capt. C.A. Harper. The regiment was ordered to Roanoke Island by way of Fortress Monroe and Norfolk, where they were assigned to guard duty for six or eight months. They were then ordered to New Bern, N.C., to guard the Weldon railroad. While they were here a malignant fever broke out among the soldiers, from which as many as a hundred died per day. Mr. Shiro was attacked by the disease, but his sound constitution and his indomitable spirit enabled him to resist the fatal effects of the contagion. Although very ill he continued on duty, and proceeded on the march. He and other comrades hired an old colored man with a cart to carry their knapsacks and equipment, but the rickety vehicle proved inadequate to the strain, and their baggage was dumped on the road. Mr. Shiro determined to push on at all hazards, and resuming his burden, he continued the weary march, on which one of his comrades fell by the wayside and died. Much dispirited and worn in body, they finally reached New Bern, where they rested a short time, and then pushed on to Morehead City and boarded the steamer for Baltimore, where they arrived 4 July 1865. They reached Harrisburg 7 July 1865 and on that date were honorably discharged from the service. Mr. Shiro was still suffering from the effects of the fever, and remained in Harrisburg two weeks before he was sufficiently recovered to go home. During this time his physician at times despaired of his recovery. But he was finally restored to health, and retired to his home. He soon resumed work in the mines, where for four years he held the position of mine foreman.

In 1877, having accumulated $2,000, Mr. Shiro removed with his family to Freeport, Illinois, and from that place to Coles County, Illinois. There he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, intending to try the life of a farmer. As there was an unexpired lease on the farm he could not obtain possession until autumn; he therefore rented the adjoining place for the season. Mr. Shiro remained three years in Coles County, and was successful as a farmer. He would have continued to live there but for the loss of his wife, whose death occurred in 1880. This decided him to return to his old home in Pennsylvania, which he did in the fall of that year. He located on a farm in Gratz, and in 1882 sold his Illinois farm for $6,000. In 1886 Mr. Shiro opened a general store in Gratz, Pennsylvania which he has successfully conducted since that time. He also operates the North Side colliery on Short Mountain.

Mr. Shiro has been married three times. In 1862 he married Amanda Moyer. They had two children: Annie Shiro, Mrs. John Schreiner, residing in Illinois, and Carrie Shiro, Mrs. Shield, residing in Pueblo, Colorado. Mrs. Amanda Shiro died in 1880. In his second marriage, in 1882, Mr. Shiro was united to Miss Lizzie Diebler, by whom he had one daughter, Lizzie Shiro, wife of Morris Schreffler, Mifflin Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.  Mrs. Lizzie Shiro died in 1885. Mr. Shiro is now married to Mary Gise, daughter of Benjamin Gise. They have one child, Jacob B. Shiro.  Mr. Shiro is a strong Democrat. He served as postmaster of Gratz for several years, having been first appointed under President Garfield. He is a member of Lodge No. 563, I.O.O.F., at Gratz, and of the Encampment at Gratz; also of Lykens Valley Lodge, No. 365, K. of P., at Gratz. He is a member of the Evangelical church.

Finally, a biographical sketch of Jacob Shiro appeared in A Comprehensive History of the Town of Gratz Pennsylvania, pages 33-35, which was published in 1997:

On 14 May 1870, Jacob Tallman sold his farm to Jacob Shiro who was also an immigrant from Germany and a distant relative.

Jacob Shiro was born 19 February 1843, in Wurttemberg, a son of Jacob Shiro Sr. and his wife Susanna [Bellon] Shiro.  The father, Jacob Shiro Sr., was born in France, and was a soldier in the French Army.  While in the army, he crossed into Germany during one of the religious wars.  At the close of the war, he settled in Wurttemberg where he operated a public tavern until his death in 1844.  He left a wife and two young children:  Mina Shiro, who in later years married James Bocker and lived in Harrishurg; and Jacob Shiro, who later lived in Gratz.

After here husband died, Susanna [Bellon] Shiro was married to Henry Snyder.  They remained in Wurttemberg for several years, but in the spring of 1852 the family emigrated to America.  They embarked from LeHavre, France, and after a voyage of twenty-nine days they landed in the port of New York City.  From there, they came directly to Wiconisco, perhaps living in that area for a few years.  Henry Snyder became employed in the mines.  When he was thirteen years old, Jacob Shiro also beame employed at the mines. Jacob picked slate and was pain eight dollars per month.

Henry Snyder and Susanna Snyder lived in Lykens Township.  They had a small log house and bank barn surrounded by a few acres of ground.  It was located quite a distance off the westerly end of Indian Trail Road near the base of the mountain.  When Jacob Shiro opened his mine on the Gratz side of Short Mountain, Henry Snyder worked for him for at least a brief time.

After Susanna Snyder died of blood poisoning, Henry went to live with their son John.  He remained in good health and helped with the chores on his son’t farm.  The day of his death, Henry ate a hearty dinner and then went to the barn to do some work.  It was there that he died suddenly, and was found a short time later….

Jacob Shiro was a veteran of the Civil War.  When he came home from the war he married Amanda Moyer.  Several years later, about 1867, Jacob and Amanda, accompanied by her parents Christian Moyer and Elizabeth Caroline Moyer, moved to Illinois.  Several other families went “west” about that time.  In 1868, Jacob purchased a farm of one hundred-sixty acres and the family planned to settle there….

In 1869 Amanda died in childbirth.  Jacob became so disheartened that he sold the farm immediately and came back to Gratz.  He left the two young daughters with their Moyer grandparents, where they remaine for most of their young life.

After he came back to Pennsylvania, Jacob lived in Lykens Township with his mother and stepfather and found employment as a miner, but soon purchased the fifty-six acre farm in Lykens Township from Jacob Tallman.  He accumulated more tracts of land until he had a total of about 106 acres.  The land runs from the Indian Trail Road to the road leading from Gratz to Loyalton, minus a few acres sold off for lots.

The setting of the farm is serene and beautiful.  Its location with easy access to the creek lens itself well to water power.  As early as 1834, a saw mill had been located on the land.  Saw milling continues on the property for many years, through several ownerships.  It became known as the “saw mill place.”  Harry Shiro Sr. described the saw mill owned by Jacob his grandfather, as the “up and down” type with one-fourth inch blades.  In 1897 Jacob Shiro purchased a shingle mill.

Jacob Shiro built the first grist mill on the property about 1870, east of the present day woods.  Today the site is barely traceable.  A devasting flood in 1913/1914 completely destroyed the mills, and the breast of the dam.  Since then, other severe floods have slightly changed the position and location of the dam.

The house itself dates to a very early period, probably about 1832.  The south wall of the house contains early original logs.  Jacob Shiro constructed the south wing of the house from boards used in the sawmill.  Other additions were added over the years.

On 22 October 1877, Jacob Shiro and Frederick Coleman signed a contract to lay about 300 feet of wooden pipes from the mountain spring through the land of Coleman to the Shiro property.  This continuous flow of water from the mountain has been the source of supply for the barn and house, as well as the dam for the past 120 years – not a small fete.

Jacob Shiro had many other enterprises in addition to farming.  In 1886 he opened a general store in Gratz.  During the years of 1896 and 1897 he was busy hauling wooden poles to various customers.  In May 1896 he delivered a seventy-foot pole to the Lykens Brewery.  That same year he had a contract with Standard Oil to deliver poles for installation along their new oil line east of Gratz.  He also contracted with Lykens Valley Telephone and Telegraph Company to supply 250 poles when it began operation in this area in 1897.  In 1886, Jacob Shiro became superintendent of a coal operation on the Gratz side of Short Mountain….

In  later years, Jacob Shiro and his wife moved to a house on Market Street in Gratz.  They lived in that place for the remainder of their lives.

The property belonged to the Shiro family for 115 years.  Jacob Shiro Sr. sold it to his son Jacob B. Shiro.  He in turn sold it to his son Harry Shiro.  After Harry Shiro died, the farm was sold at public auction in November 1987 to Robert Rodichok.  The house has very recently taken on a different look.

Jacob Shiro died on 25 October 1920 at Gratz.  The cause of death was given as valvular heart disease.  The informant for the death certificate was his son Jacob.

Click on document to enlarge.

Pennsylvania Death Certificates are available on Ancestry.com for the period 1906-1926.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Jacob Shiro – Farmer, Merchant & Postmaster of Gratz
Tags: Berrysburg, G.A.R., Gratz Borough, Loyalton, Lykens Borough, Lykens Township, Mifflin Township, Wiconisco, Williamstown

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on June 23, 2014

Christian Zimmerman was born 17 September 1820 and died 25 April 1907.  During the Civil War he served in the 210th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A, as a Private, from 7 September 1864 thorough discharge with his company on 30 May 1865.  In April 1865, he received a bullet wound in his left arm.

The Pennsylvania Veterans’ Index Card for Christian Zimmerman (above) from the Pennsylvania Archives provides no personal information.

On 24 November 1854, in Dauphin County, Christian married Eva Kolva (1829-1890), the daughter of Jacob Kolva (1803-1832) and Hannah [Buffington] Kolva (1808-1890).  Eva’s mother was a direct descendant of the first Buffington settlers in the Lykens Valley.  The marriage record (above) was provided by Christian Zimmerman to the Pension Bureau in support of his initial pension application, 7 March 1883.  At least five children were born to Christian and Eva.

The Pension Index Card from Fold 3 confirms that Christian survived his wife Eva (no widow’s pension application), and that Christian died in 1907.  After his death, he was buried in Straw’s Cemetery, Enders, Dauphin County, and his grave marker is pictured at the top of this post.  Also, the grave marker confirms both the birth date and the death date of 17 September 1820 and 25 April 1907 – which is consistent with other records.  Although the Pennsylvania Death Certificates for 1907 are now available on-line through Ancestry.com, his death certificate has not yet been located.

Click on document to enlarge.

In his claimant’s affidavit submitted for an increase in pension benefits, Christian gave all his injuries and disabilities that he believed were connected to his military service:  he had a gunshot wound to his right index finger, date and place not remembered; he dislocated his left knee at Gravelly Run, Virginia, in April 1865, when he fell as he was running down a hill with a load on his back; he had an injury to his left arm by a bullet at Gravelly Run; and generally, he was suffering from exposure from laying on wet and damp ground and he had heart failure ever since his army service.  The above affidavit also confirms his service in the 210th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Click on document to enlarge.

Also found in the pension file was a document which further described Christian’s disabilities and how and where he received them.

Contracted chronic diarrhea and fever while in the line of my duty and was treated by the doctor of my regiment which I was treated by the doctor three weeks on or about 6 April 1865 I received a hurt in my left leg near the knee and my back between Hatchet’s Run and Gravel Creek and keep on duty with disability.

Was treated by the regimental doctor and stearded [stayed?] in my regiment until my discharge from the service….

Click on document to enlarge.

Finally, another document found in the pension application file (see above) gives Christian’s physical characteristics:  He was 5 foot 10 inches tall, dark complexion, gray eyes, brown hair, and was employed as a millwright.  He also indicated that he was born in 1829, which was inconsistent with other data, and his birthplace was Jackson Township, Dauphin County.

Any family members and/or researchers who wish to contribute additional information about Christian Zimmerman my do so by sending an e-mail or adding comments to this post.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Christian Zimmerman – 210th Pennsylvania Infantry
Tags: Enders, Jackson Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on June 20, 2014

Thanks to shared information that was reported on this blog and posted on Ancestry.com, additional information has been obtained about George Samuels (1841-1914), who served as a Private in Company B of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry.

In a post entitled, Who Was George Samuels?, all the known information about him was presented and several questions were posed.  Similar information was compiled and posted on Ancestry.com.

In a message sent through the Ancestry.com system, Adrienne Usher, Researcher for the Shapell Manuscript Foundation, wrote:

We got the name of a George Samuels from the Hebrew Union Veterans Association (HUVA) minutes book. We didn’t have a regiment or anything else to go on until I received a photo of tombstone in Bayside Cemetery in Queens, NY this morning. The death date on the tombstone led me to your George Samuels.

For the Civil War Sesquicentennial, the Shapell Manuscript Foundation is updating Simon Wolf‘s listing of Jewish-American Civil War Soldiers.  In 2011, in a post entitled, Jewish-American U.S. Civil War Veterans, the Simon Wolf listing was discussed with the need to need to update it clearly expressed.  The Shapell Foundation expects to publish that updated listing in 2015.  Their project is described at:  About the Shapell Roster.  Note:  For a free GoogleBooks download of Simon Wolf‘s work, click on title: The American Jew as Patriot, Soldier and Citizen.

The photo of the grave marker (top of post) is available on Findagrave, but finding the name of someone named Samuels in a cemetery in the New York area where he died is like finding a needle in a haystack.  Now it it known that George Samuels is buried in Bayside Cemetery, Queens County, New York.  It is clearly the same person who has been included in the Civil War Research Project as having a connection to the Lykens Valley area – and the same person who is named on the Lykens G.A.R. Monument.  The grave marker confirms that George Samuels was a Jewish-American.

Adrienne Usher is also researching the story of a Civil War flag that George Samuels presented to the Hebrew Union Veterans Association (HUVA) in 1897.  In accepting the flag, the HUVA authorized the procurement of a flag pole to display it.  Anyone knowing the origins of this flag can contact Adrienne directly by e-mail.

Further information on Pennsylvania Civil War Flags can be obtained at the website for the Capitol Preservation Committee.

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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on June 18, 2014

In researching the military records of William F. Bowman (1838-1870), it was discovered that he did not apply for a pension, but a widow did apply.  She was Mary A. Bowman and she made application on 30 January 1880, nearly ten years after William died.  She did not receive a pension based on the service of William F. Bowman.

The two Pension Index Cards shown above tell part of the story and give some clues as to where to look next.  The first card, from Ancestry.com, notes the name of the widow as “Mary A. Zerbe“, gives the pension application date and number #259345, and with no certificate number noted, it is assumed that she was denied.  The second card, from Fold3, adds the death date of 8 April 1871 (slightly incorrect from other records which state that he died on 15 April 1870).  The application number and service record matches the first card.  However, at the “Remarks” section, there is the name of Isaac Zerbe, who served in the 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company L.   This is an indication that Mary was also the widow of Isaac Zerbe and her widow’s pension records can also be found in the file for Isaac Zerbe.

The only Pension Index Card available on-line for Isaac Zerbe is from Ancestry.com and is shown above.  Isaac applied for a pension on 17 July 1877.  His military records indicate that he was discharged from service on 10 April 1863 on a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability.  The widow’s pension application, made by Mary A. Zerbe, occurred on 11 April 1916, less than a month after Isaac’s death which occurred on 30 March 1916.  Mary did receive a widow’s pension based on Isaac’s service in the 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry.  [Note: Many of the Pension Index Cards  for the higher numbered Pennsylvania cavalry regiments have not yet appeared on Fold3].

Click on document to enlarge.

The death certificate for Isaac Zerbe (above) only notes that a “Mrs. Isaac Zerbe” was the informant.  The date of death is given as 30 Mar 1916 and the place of death was Sunbury, Northumberland County.  [Note:  Pennsylvania Death Certificates have recently been placed on Ancestry.com, starting with 1906, with plans over the next year to include to complete the scanning and uploading through the early 1960s].

The final set of readily available records on Mary A. Zerbe can be found  by looking at the census returns.  The above census for Sunbury Borough for 1910 note that he marriage to Isaac Zerbe took place 22 years prior (or about 1888, that this was her third marriage, and that she gave birth to 12 children, 8 of whom were still living.  A daughter (presumably the daughter of Issac and Mary), Mary Emma Zerbe, age 21, unmarried, was living in the household and working as a dressmaker.  The daughter would have been born in 1889, just after “Mary A.’s” marriage to Isaac Zerbe.  The Census of 1910 gives similar information about Mary and Isaac’s marriage year, and the number of children Mary had given birth to.

Mary A. Bowman-Zerbe was born about 1846 or 1847.  Assuming she began having children at the age of 18 (or about 1864), she possibly had several children with William F. Bowman before he died in 1870.  Then, after he died, she may have married again – and had more children.  That second husband possibly died around 1880 and he was most likely not a Civil War veteran or she would have applied for a widow’s pension based on his service.  Left with many minor children and no means of support, she married Isaac Zerbe, who himself was a recent widower (his wife Elizabeth [Reichenbach] Zerbe, died in 1879 in Dalmatia, Northumberland County).  She remained married to Issac Zerbe until his death in 1916, when she applied for a pension as his widow – which she received.

The speculation in the above paragraph can be confirmed by consulting the 1916 widow’s application.  At that time she would have had to confirm all prior marriages and give proof that those husbands were dead.  Also, in the pension file would be proof that Isaac Zerbe was previously married to Elizabeth and that she had died in 1879.

One final note.  William F. Bowman was found in the book, A Comprehensive History of the Town of Gratz Pennsylvania, page 121, in the genealogy of the Bowman family.  He was the older brother of Cyrene T. Bowman who was from Gratz and also served in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry, but the genealogy did not mention that William was a Civil War veteran – only that he was buried in Hebe.  It took some “connecting of the dots” to confirm that the William in the genealogy was the same William F. Bowman who was a Civil War veteran – and in the process of doing so, “Mary A.” was discovered as well as her last husband – Isaac Zerbe.

Additional information is sought on Mary A. Bowman-Zerbe.  What was her maiden name?  Who was her other husband?  When did she die?  Where is she buried?  Are there any living descendants?  Some stories, pictures, and other records are surely out there somewhere – with eight surviving children in 1910, someone must have more information on her.  Comments, as always, are appreciated.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Who Was Mary A. Bowman-Zerbe?
Tags: Dalmatia, Gratz Borough, Hebe, Women