Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 29, 2014

Today’s post on the Shamokin Cemetery’s Soldiers’ Circle features nine graves in the outer circle, fourth quadrant, beginning with photograph 60.  The photographs in this segment are numbered 60 through 68.  All of the stones in this section are sequenced in the order of the death of the veteran.  For each of the veterans, the best determination of the name is given and where possible some information about the military record.  Some errors may be noted where the information on the stone may not match other records.  Each grave photograph may be enlarged by clicking on it, and in some cases, readers may be able to identify or clarify some of the unknown information.  Comments can be added to this post or sent by e-mail to the Civil War Research Project.  The collected information on soldiers buried in the circle (including some military records, pension files, photographs, etc.) is available free-of-charge to veterans organizations, historical societies, and other non-profit groups.  Inquiries may be sent by e-mail or by regular mail, to the attention of Norman Gasbarro, P.O. Box 523, Gratz, PA  17030.

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#60 – S. F. Hower

The name on this stone is clearly “S. F. Hower” and the regiment appears to be 191st Pennsylvania Infantry.  In the records, the closest match comes up as “Sebaltes F. Hower” but the given name is also found as Sylvester as well as variations on Sebaltes such as Sebaldis, Sebaldus, and Sebaltis.  The surname could also be Hoover.  One possible enlistment could be in the 35th Pennsylvania Infantry (6th Pennsylvania Reserves), Compoan A, as a Private, from July 1861 through June 1864.  This enrollment was in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, with mustering in at Washington, D.C.  The 191st Pennsylvania Infantry service was in Company F, as a Private, from 8 July 1861, with a notation that he was absent at muster out.  It is possible that two different men are confused here – but is that likely with such an unusual name?  Two women are found in the records as possible wives:  Mary E. Hower and Harriet Hower.

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#61 – Daniel Morgan

Daniel Morgan was born in January 1833 in Wales and emigrated to America some time prior to the Civil War.  He died on either 18 or 19 September 1893 in Shamokin.  His service was in the 1st Pennsylvania Artillery (Light), Company or Battery I, as a Private.  His enrollment was at Troy, Pennsylvania, where he was also mustered into service on 5 October 1864, with service concluding at discharge on 1 July 1865.  After the war he worked as a miner in the Shamokin area.  His pension application was made on 26 July 1890 and about that time he is found as a resident at the National Soldiers’ Home in Dayton, Ohio.    His widow, Elizabeth Morgan, applied for his pension on 11 January 1898.

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#62 – Sunken Stone – Unreadable

This stone needs to be carefully excavated and placed on a sturdy foundation.  It is currently too sunken in the ground to read.  It is possible that the name and regiment can be determined.  From the burial sequence in the circle, this veteran’s death occurred between mid-September 1893 and early July 1894.

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#63 – Adam Fisher

Also partially sunken, this stone may have some readable information beyond the name of the veteran, Adam Fisher.  If this a correct match, then Adam was born on 23 March 1814 and died on 6 July 1894, but more information is needed to determine his Civil War service.

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#64 – Unreadable

This is still another unreadable stone in the Soldiers’ Circle.  This veteran probably died in July 1884 since he buried between veterans show died on 6 July and 27 July.

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#65 – Nathan Kessler

Nathan Kessler (or Kesler) was born about 1846 in Schuylkill County and died on either 27 or 28 July 1894.  During the Civil War, he enrolled at Pottsville, and was mustered into the service of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, as a Private (also at Pottsville) where he gave his age as 19, and his occupation as carpenter.  His service in this regiment lasted from 12 March 1864 through 17 July 1865.  He applied for a disability pension on 13 June 1892, and following his death, the widow, Mary A. Kessler also applied on 15 January 1895.

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#66 – Stone Broken at Ground – Unknown

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#67 – Stone Broken at Ground – Unknown

This stone is broken at the ground and thus it is impossible to tell who is buried here.  However, if the positioning of the burials is chronological, then this soldier died between July 1894 and September 1895.

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#68 – John L. Long

John L. Long served in the 46th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, as a 2nd Lieutenant, later promoted to 1st Lieutenant.  He was from the Halifax, Dauphin County area, and worked as a carpenter.  His enrollment was at Harrisburg and he was mustered into service on 2 September 1861 at Muddy Branch, Maryland.  His promotions were to Sergeant on 21 March 1862, from Sergeant to 1st Sergeant on 29 September 1864, to 2nd Lieutenant on 18 December 1864.  Regimental records also show that he re-enlisted at Dechard, Tennessee, on 5 January 1864.  Earlier service was as a Private and Corporal in the 10th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company F, from 26 April 1861 through 31 July 1861.  For this service in the 10th, he enrolled at Lykens Borough, was mustered in at Harrisburg, and gave his residence as Powell’s Valley, Dauphin County.  In 1870, John L. Long was living in Millersburg and still working as a carpenter.  Because of this residence, he should be named on the Millersburg Soldier Monument – but he is not.  Because he had residence at Lykens, he is one of the many veterans named on the Lykens G.A.R. Monument – as a member of that group.  John’s wife’s name was Nancy.  After his death, she applied for a pension, but it was not received.

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For all posts in this series, click on ShamokinSoldCircle.

Category: Queries, Research, Stories | 2 Comments »
Tags: Cemetery, G.A.R., Halifax, Lykens Borough, Millersburg, Powell's Valley

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 27, 2014

Today’s post on the Shamokin Cemetery’s Soldiers’ Circle features nine graves in the outer circle, third quadrant, beginning with photograph 51.  The photographs in this segment are numbered 51 through 59.  All of the stones in this section are sequenced in the order of the death of the veteran.  For each of the veterans, the best determination of the name is given and where possible some information about the military record.  Some errors may be noted where the information on the stone may not match other records.  Each grave photograph may be enlarged by clicking on it, and in some cases, readers may be able to identify or clarify some of the unknown information.  Comments can be added to this post or sent by e-mail to the Civil War Research Project.  The collected information on soldiers buried in the circle (including some military records, pension files, photographs, etc.) is available free-of-charge to veterans organizations, historical societies, and other non-profit groups.  Inquiries may be sent by e-mail or by regular mail, to the attention of Norman Gasbarro, P.O. Box 523, Gratz, PA  17030.

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#51 – Samuel P. Eisenhart

Samuel P. Eisenhart served in the 46th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company K, as a Corporal and Sergeant, as indicated on his grave marker.  There are conflicting dates as to his muster in time (4 September 1861 or 13 January 1864), but he was mustered out of service on 16 July 1865.  His promotion to Sergeant occurred on 5 July 1865, nearly at the end of what may have been his second enlistment.  One military source states that he had re-enlisted at Dechard, Tennessee on 13 January 1864.  Originally he had enrolled in this company and regiment at Shamokin, was mustered in at Harrisburg, and declared that he was a miner residing in Shamokin.  Records clearly indicate that Samuel P. Eisenhart also served in Company K of the 10th Pennsylvania Infantry, although this 3-month service is not noted on the grave marker.  Samuel submitted a pension application on 18 June 1888 and his widow followed suit on 22 March 1892 after his death.  Samuel P. Eisenhart was born about 1837 and died on 4 March 1892.

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#52 – ——–  —-erk

This badly weathered stone has some partially readable information, but not enough to clearly identify the veteran who is buried here.  By the position in the circle, he died between early March 1892 and late January 1892.

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#53 – Peter ——–

This badly weathered stone also has very little readable information.  The given name appears to be Peter.  By the position in the circle, he died between early March 1892 and late January 1892.

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#54 – Mort B. ——–

The surname on this grave marker could be Ennah, and the first name is clearly Mort.  By the position in the circle, he died between early March 1892 and late January 1892.

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#55 – Elias F. Pifer

Elias F. Pifer‘s birth year is given as 1837, but there is some evidence that he was actually born in January 1838.  Most records give the name as Elias F. Peifer.  The star-flag holder at this grave site is for the Mexican War, but that surely is in error as he would have been too young to serve in that war.  While there is another Elias Peifer who served in the 173rd Pennsylvania Infantry, this one probably served in the 52nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, as a Private.  At the time of enlistment Elias lived in Trevorton and was working as a laborer.  He gave his age as 23.  Two death dates are possibilities:  29 November 1892 and 2 December 1892.  It’s possible that the latter date is for the burial.

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#56 – Thomas Caldwell

Thomas Caldwell, born about 1836, and died about 1892, although the death date on the stone appears to be 1882.  He first served in the 8th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A, as a Private, from 22 April 1861 to 29 July 1861, giving his residence as Shamokin and occupation as laborer, and then re-enlisted in the 46th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company K, as a Sergeant, on 5 September 1861 through a discharge on a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability on 9 October 1863.  He applied for a pension on 29 March 1880 and his widow, Anna B. Caldwell, applied in January 1892.  In 1890, Thomas Caldwell was living in Shamokin.

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#57 – Sunken in Ground – Unreadable

The stone at this position is sunken in the ground and the visible portion is badly worn and unreadable.

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#58 – Joel Holshoe

Joel Holshoe (or Joel Holtshoe) was born about 1830 and died about 1892.  He served in the 46th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company K, as a Private and Corporal from 4 September 1861 to re-enlistment at Dechard, Tennessee, on 13 January 1864, to discharge on 16 July 1865.  At enlistment in this regiment, he was a miner living in Shamokin.  His promotion to Corporal came on 1 November 1862. An earlier enlistment for 3 months was with the 8th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A, also as a Private and Corporal.  He was mustered into that service on 22 April 1861 and was mustered out on 29 July 1861.  For this earlier enlistment, he gave his residence as Shamokin, but his occupation as laborer.  Following the Civil War, he applied for a pension on 9 May 1883, and after his death, his widow, Angeline Holshoe, applied.

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#59 – Samuel Tobias

There are several persons with the name Samuel Tobias, so the records of this veteran could be confused with those of another.  It appears that this one was born either 19 November 1844 or 1845, and served in the 27th Pennsylvania Infantry (Emergency of 1863), Company C and/or Company I, as a Private, from 19 June 1863 through 30 August 1863.  He had enrolled at Tremont at age 18.  It also appears that this is the same Samuel Tobias who lived in Williams Township in 1870 and whose wife was Anna Elizabeth [Poticher] Tobias.  He died on 14 July 1893.

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For all posts in this series, click on ShamokinSoldCircle.

Category: Queries, Research, Stories | Comments Off on The Shamokin Soldiers’ Circle – Photographs 51 – 59
Tags: Cemetery, Tremont, Williams Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 25, 2014

A major suspicious fire which started at the corner of Third Street and Strawberry Alley in Harrisburg on 15 June 1865 destroyed a good portion of a city block.  Two weeks later, another suspicious fire broke out and was described in a brief article which appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on 30 June 1865:

Another fire occurred here about three o’clock this morning, in the rear of the Brady House, which, had it not been early discovered and extinguished, must have burned out a large portion of the town.  The locality was well selected for the work of an incendiary, and there is no doubt whatever that the fire was deliberately planned and executed by incendiaries, as was the extensive fire two weeks ago.

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For the article on the fire which occurred two weeks prior to this one, see Harrisburg Burning.

News articles are from the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 22, 2014

Today’s post on the Shamokin Cemetery’s Soldiers’ Circle features nine graves in the outer circle, third quadrant, beginning with photograph 42.  The photographs in this segment are numbered 42 through 50.  All of the stones in this section are sequenced in the order of the death of the veteran.  For each of the veterans, the best determination of the name is given and where possible some information about the military record.  Some errors may be noted where the information on the stone may not match other records.  Each grave photograph may be enlarged by clicking on it, and in some cases, readers may be able to identify or clarify some of the unknown information.  Comments can be added to this post or sent by e-mail to the Civil War Research Project.  The collected information on soldiers buried in the circle (including some military records, pension files, photographs, etc.) is available free-of-charge to veterans organizations, historical societies, and other non-profit groups.  Inquiries may be sent by e-mail or by regular mail, to the attention of Norman Gasbarro, P.O. Box 523, Gratz, PA  17030.

For all four quadrants of the map, click here.

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#42 – John McCafferty

John McCafferty (or John McClaferly as he is found in one record), was born about 1844 in New Castle, Delaware, and died about 1890, although there is some conflicting information in the records that gives a death date as early as 1889 and as late as 1891.  His service was in the 5th U.S. Artillery, Company B, as a Corporal.  However, he is found in the records as serving in Nield’s Battery of Delaware (Light Artillery) as a Private (mustered in on 26 October 1864, no muster out date found) as well as the 5th Delaware Infantry, Company B, as both a Private and Corporal, from 25 October 1862 through 12 August 1864.  His age was recorded as either 18 or 19 at his enrollment and his occupation was laborer.  The Pension Index Card states that John applied for a pension on 18 September 1891 (this date could be in error) and that he received the pension.  It also indicates that a “next friend” applied or his minor children on 17 September 1903 and that pension was also received.  Both of these applications were made from Delaware.  It is possible that the Delaware “John McCafferty” is not the same person who is buried in Shamokin, but only one person of this name has been found in the records of the 5th U.S. Artillery, Company B, the regiment and company noted on the stone, and the Pension Index Card matches the information given above.

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#43 – ?

This stone is sunken in the ground and difficult to read, although some of the lettering is visible.  Help is needed to identify the veteran who died around 1890 and who is buried here.

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#44 – Henry Clements

Henry Clements was born about 1833 in Schuylkill County and died about 1890.  The stone reads “35th Pennsylvania Infantry” but his service was located in the 95th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company E, where he was mustered in at Pottsville on 16 February 1864 as a Private, and served until his discharge on 17 July 1865.  At the time of his enrollment, he was a laborer.  His widow, Emma Clements, applied for pension benefits on 30 July 1890.  Her name was possibly Harriet Emma Clements and Henry is also found in the records as Henry Clemens.

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#45 – Thomas Harris

Thomas Harris was born in Schuylkill County in October 1835, and died in Shamokin on 5 March 1890.  He served in the 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company C, as a Private and Corporal from 9 March 1865 through discharge on 25 June 1865.  He had enrolled and was mustered into service at Harrisburg, giving his occupation as miner, his age as 30, and his residence as Little Mahanoy Township, Northumberland County.  Post-war censuses show him living in Shamokin in 1870 and 1880 where he was working in the coal mines.  His widow applied for pension benefits on 5 July 1890.  There is a unanswered question whether he was married once or twice.  In one record his wife’s name was given as Susan Harris and in another record it was given as Sarah A. Harris.

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#46 – Elias Smith

Elias Smith possibly served in the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry (the stone gives the other name of the regiment as 113th Pennsylvania Volunteers), from 9 September 1864, but he is not on the muster out roll of that regiment.  Another possibly is that he served in the 119th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H.  More information is needed to clarify this veteran’s service.  According to the grave marker, he died in 1891.  The Elias Smith who served in the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry died on 9 March 1891 and had a wife named Flora [Rider] Smith.

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#47 – William Bonawitz

William Bonawitz (also found as William Bonewitz) was born 14 May 1832 and died on 21 May 1891 in Shamokin.  His Civil War service was in the 10th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, as a Corporal, from 23 April 1861 through 24 May 1861.  At the time of his enrollment, he was living in Pine Grove, Schuylkill County, and was working as a laborer.  In 1891, he applied for and received an invalid pension, although his war service was only for one month.  This was highly unusual as he would have had to serve for at least three months and it may indicate that he proved a disability that was war-related.  His widow, Susan [Doebler] Bonawitz, applied and received benefits until her death.

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#48 – John ——–

More information is sought on the veteran buried here.  He died around 1891 (assumed from his position in the circle), and his first name was John.  The surname could be Gatby.  There is also information about the regiment which is weather-worn and very difficult to read and the stone is partially sunken in the ground.

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#49 – Conrad Yeager

Conrad Yeager, born about 1833 in Northumberland County, and died in Shamokin on 25 August 1891, served in the 131st Pennsylvania Infantry, Company C, as a Wagoner, from 14 August 1862 through 23 May 1863, and then in the 104th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company F, as a Private, from 10 March 1865 through 25 August 1865.  The grave marker incorrectly gives his regiment and company as the 121st Pennsylvania Infantry, Company C, when in fact no person of that name served in that regiment and company. The Pension Index Card confirms his service in the 131st and the 104th as well as his death date of 1891, the widow applying about one month after his known death date.  Conrad was a laborer residing in Northumberland County at the time of his enrollments.  He was mustered into service at Harrisburg.  His widow was Mary J. [Kennedy] Yeager.

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#50 – Stone Broken at Ground

The stone at this grave site is broken off at the ground.  At this time it is impossible to tell what Civil War soldier was buried here.  The death date, according to burial position, would either be late 1891 or early 1892.

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Tags: Cemetery

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 20, 2014

The skies of Harrisburg lit up on the morning of 15 June 1865.  A fire had broken out in coach-maker J. R. Fleming‘s two-story building at Third Street and Strawberry Alley.  It quickly spread to several other buildings.  The investigation quickly concluded that the fire was set by arsonists.

The Philadelphia Inquirer of 16 June 1865 reported the headlines:

HARRISBURG.  A Very Destructive Fire.  The Centre of the City in Flames.  It is the Work of Incendiaries.  The Loss $34,000.  Insurance $7500.  PRINTING OFFICE BURNED OUT.  Coach Factory Destroyed.  Explosion of a Bomb-Shell – The Alarm.

A fire broke out here this morning , at about half-past two o’clock, in the coach manufactory of J. R. Fleming, corner of Third Street and Strawberry Alley.  When discovered, the fire was burning at three different places in the establishment.  It was, no doubt, the work of incendiaries.  Everybody was in such confusion of mind at the time that before anything could be done the fire had spread to the adjoining buildings. The coaching establishment was very large, and built entirely of wood, two stories high.  The material in the shops, and the building itself, were, of course, very inflammable.  The surrounding buildings were also frame.

The Scene.

Before many minutes had elapsed five houses were in flames.  The lurid glare of the fire was terrible in the dark night.  The people assembled slowly.  The town was hard to awaken at that hour, consequently no property was saved from the burning elements.  In the rear of the coach establishment was a billiard saloon and ten-pin alley, three stories, owned by Mr. Joseph Poulton.  This caught fire immediately.  There were four or five billiard tables and other furniture of value, in this establishment.  Nothing was saved.  In the rear of this was a tenement house, occupied by an invalid widow lady named Welshhaus and her daughter, who were awakened and rescue while the home was burning.  She lost everything she had on earth.  In the rear of these was the prison wall, against and over which the raging flames lapped their fiery tongues in perfect fury.  Fortunately the prison roof was metallic, otherwise it would have been destroyed in the flames that played over it.

To the left of the coach establishment, on Third Street, was the news agency of Mr. H. J. Hess, which caught with the rest. Further to the left was the plumber and gas-fitting establishment of Mr. J. Parkhill and the residence of his son, William.  Nothing was saved in any of these buildings.

The Inquirer then described the arrival of the firemen:

It was not until about half-past three o’clock that the steam and hand engines could be brought into play.  The flames had then reached the printing establishment of the Pennsylvania Daily Telegraph, a three-story brick building.  Huge fire brands were carried to roofs for squares around.  Several buildings, two and three squares away were on fire —–.  The Harris House, Brant’s City Hall, Mrs. Bank’s row and several other houses, all of brick, and adjoining the burning district, were considerably damaged.

The Alarm.

The people in the vicinity were terribly alarmed.  Men and women ran hither and thither, while furniture, household articles, and merchandise were thrown around in —–, as is generally the case on occasions like this.

A bomb shell taken from the Battlefield of Gettysburg, which was lying in Mr. Parkhill’s yard, exploded at a time when the fire was making terrible headway.  A portion of the shell was carried as far as South Street, a distance of some five squares, striking the ground near Huber’s Meat Shop.

The Surrounding Property.

As soon as the firemen arrived on the ground and got their machines to work, they bent all their energies to saving the surrounding property.  Streams of water were kept playing on the buildings in the vicinity.  The roof of the printing office was now in full blaze.  It was evident that if the fire got beyond this building the whole square would go, with, perhaps, many valuable building beyond.  Fortunately the flames were conquered here, not, however, before the upper story was entirely burned out.  In this story all the newspaper type were destroyed. All the type on the third floor and in the attic was melted, and the machinery, furniture, and cetera, burned.  The jobbing and press-rooms and the editorial and reporters’ departments, on the first and second floors, though flooded with water, were not seriously damaged.

The photograph (above) of the second steam fire engine which had arrived in Harrisburg for the Hope Engine Company earlier in 1865 is from the Facebook page of the Pennsylvania National Fire Museum.  It is probably one of the engines that was used to put out the fire.

The Inquirer article continued:

Much credit is due an old Philadelphia fireman, Archibald Battis, who was the first to ascend a building in the vicinity with a stream from the Hope Engine, and by his gallantry and presence of mind, no doubt did valuable service in arresting the flames at the printing office.

The Damage and Loss.

The dwelling houses, the coach factory, the billiard saloon and news agency were entirely destroyed, together with one story of the printing office.  Three buildings were damaged….

A table then followed indicating the specific loss of each of the parties and the amount of insurance.  The total loss after insurance was about $26,000.

The “Telegraph.”

New Types have been ordered from Philadelphia for the Telegraph and the steam press will soon be put in order, so that in a few days the paper will again be issued.

Mr. Fleming’s Loss.

Is a total one.  It is not covered by one cent of insurance, and embraces his whole fortune.  He cannot aassign any reason for this work on the part of the indendiaries.  He cannot of course trace it to any particular person or persons.  Mr. Gross, who first discovered it, knows nothing of the origination of the fire. When he was endeavoring to gain admission to the building to extinguish the flames, he saw two men, evidently intoxicated, standing on the corner, who refused to assist him, and shortly afterwards they disappeared.

This Morning.

Crowds of people collected around the burned district, which embraces about half the square.  The charred and blackened mas of rubbish and ruin makes a gash in the very heart of the city.  In its immediate vicinity are many of the most costly structures, so that had the flames spread further, say two squared further on either side, four hundred thousand dollars would not have covered the loss.

Ironically, the 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Second Company G, from the Lykens Valley, which had left Harrisburg amid the Great Flood which had occurred in March 1865, were scheduled to be discharged at New Bern, North Carolina, on 25 June 1865 and then return to Harrisburg to receive their final pay.

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