Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 30, 2013

Theodore Jury, born 9 March 1844, at Millersburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, was the first son of Samuel Jury and his wife Mary Ann [Gray] Jury.  He is described as having gray eyes, light hair, light complexion and was five feet seven inches tall in 1864 at age 19  He was a tool dresser/blacksmith.

He is the same Theodore Jury whose name appears on the Civil War Memorial in the heart of Millersburg.

Theodore Jury enlisted in Company A, 208th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry [208th Pennsylvania Infantry], on 27 August 1864; his Post Office address at that time was Berrysburg, Pennsylvania.  He was mustered in at Harrisburg on 30 August 1864 and was credited to Eldred Township, Schuylkill County.

Following his discharge on 1 June 1865 he moved back to Millersburg where he remained until migrating to Kansas in 1876.  Much information about him and his family is found on his application for a pension in which he was required to list his wife, children, parents, and his brothers and sisters.

When he died, the Petition for Letters of Administration was signed by his son Herbert W. Jury, dated 23 June 1922.

Theodore Jury was married to Mary Elizabeth Link on 31 December 1867 by Rev. Alexander M. Wiggins at the Methodist Episcopal Church, Millersburg.  They both died in Ellsworth County, Kansas, Theodore on 22 June 1922, and Mary Elizabeth on 27 January 1908.

Mary Elizabeth Link was born in Pottsville, Schuylkill County, 16 October 1848, the first child of Dr. William E. Link (182-1854) and his wife, Margaret Elizabeth [Zartman] Link 1827-1907).  Mary Elizabeth’s parents are buried at Millersburg where they resided and where they were married in 1847.  Dr. Link graduated from Jefferson Medical School in Philadelphia in 1845.

The Jury Family History states that in 1870, Theodore Jury and his family migrated to Kansas but then returned to Pennsylvania in 1881.  In 1891, they returned to Kansas and finally settled in Langley, Ellsworth County, Kansas.  This information as to the year they returned to Pennsylvania may not be accurate since one of the sons was born in Kansas in 1883.  In a biography of one of Theodore’s sons, Dr. Herbert William Jury, different dates are given for the return to Pennsylvania.

The children born to Theodore and Mary Elizabeth were:

Lotta “Lottie” Jury, born 14 September 1868 at Millersburg.

Charles Link Jury, born 29 January 1870 at Millersburg.

Herbert William “Bert” Jury, born 22 April 1874, at Millersburg.

Chester Arthur Jury, born 18 October 1883, at Langley, Kansas.

When Mrs. Theodore Jury died in February 1908, the Ellsworth Reporter stated:

[She] was a sincere and devout Christian.  She was converted in early life and united with the Evangelical Church of which body she remained a member to the time of her death.

Although her last illness was of short duration she doubtless suffered for years more than anyone can tell, for she bore her affliction with the highest Christian patience and never complained.

Mrs. Jury had a wide acquaintance and she will ever be remembered as a kind neighbor, a true friend as one ever ready to speak a cheerful word and do a kindly act.  She was greatly beloved by the people of her community, and visitors to Langley who were entertained at her home will miss the gentiel and accommodating hostess who so carefully looked after their comfort.  She was a fond and loving mother and wife, and the sympathy of all the friends of the family goes out in unstinted measure to the sorrowing husband and children.  [from A Portrait of Our Ancestors, by Irene Parrish Jury, p. 43.18.].

Theodore and his wife are buried at Old Ellsworth Cemetery, Ellsworth, Kansas.

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The Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Card is from the Pennsylvania Archives.

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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 28, 2013

“Over the River and Through the Wood” was originally written as a 6-verse poem in 1844 by abolitionist and Indian-rights advocate Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880).  The poem is about Thanksgiving, not about Christmas, which it has generally come to be known today through popular song.

For a brief story about the activism of Lydia Maria Child, see the Wikipedia article about her.  The original poem is also found on Wikipedia.

Over the river, and through the wood,

To grandfather’s house we go;

The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh

Thru the white and drifted snow.

Over the river, and through the wood —

to grandfather’s house away!

We would not stop for doll or top,

for ’tis Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river, and through the wood—

oh, how the wind does blow!

It stings the toes and bites the nose

as over the ground we go.

Over the river, and through the wood—

and straight through the barnyard gate,

We seem to go extremely slow,

it is so hard to wait!

Over the river, and through the wood—

When grandmother sees us come,

She will say, “O, dear, the children are here,

bring a pie for everyone.”

Over the river, and through the wood—

now grandmother’s cap I spy!

Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?

Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

The poem was published in variations in many anthologies, including The American Citizens Handbook, edited by Joy Elmer Morgan, National Council for the Social Studies, Washington, D.C., 6th edition, 1968.

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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 26, 2013

Capt. Jacob F. Hoffman was the brother of Medal of Honor recipient Thomas W. Hoffman.  He was born in Lykens Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania on 25 December 1841, and was one of six Hoffman brothers who served in the Civil War.  For a time, he was a merchant in Pillow and Berrysburg in Dauphin County.  As the above Veterans’ Index Card from the Pennsylvania Archives shows, on 18 June 1863, at the age of 21, he enrolled in the 26th Pennsylvania Militia [26th Pennsylvania Infantry, Emergency of 1863], company K, at Millersburg, and served honorably through his discharge on 30 July 1863.  For his service at Gettysburg, he is recognized on the Pennsylvania Memorial.

The following biographical sketch of Capt. Hoffman was found in the Genealogical and Biographical Annals of Northumberland County Pennsylvania, published in 1911 by the J. L. Floyd Company of Chicago, page 77-78:

Captain Jacob F. Hoffman, now living retired at Herndon, Northumberland County, a native of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and a member of a family long established in that section.  His great-great grandfather settled in Berks County in what was then the Province of Pennsylvania, early in the eighteenth century, and his great-grandfather John Nicholas Hoffman, was at the Battle of Brandywine  during the Revolutionary War where he picked up a spent case shot.  The Hoffmans have been patriotic citizens, members of the family having served in the Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Civil War.  At the close of the latter, five sons of Amos Hoffman were still in the service, while another, Henry, had done his part as a soldier.

Jacob Hoffman, son of John Nicholas Hoffman, was the grandfather of Capt. Jacob F. Hoffman.  He was born in the Lykens Valley in Lykens Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and was a substantial farmer and an influential man in his community, serving as member of the State Legislature from 1822 to 1824.  His wife, who was a Ferree, was of French descent. They had children as follows:  Jacob Hoffman who lives at Harrisburg, now (1910) nearly ninety years old; Amos Hoffman; Hannah Hoffman, who married John Rumberger; Sarah Hoffman, who married Michael Forney; and Mrs. Abraham Hess.

Amos Hoffman, son of Jacob, was born in May 1809 in Lykens Township, Dauphin County, was a lifelong farmer, and died at Girardville, Schuylkill County, about 1899, in his eighty-ninth year.  He is buried at Berrysburg, Dauphin County.  He married Amanda Harper, and they were the parents of ten children:  Henry Hoffman, who served in the Civil War as a Private in the 8th Illinois Cavalry; Thomas W. Hoffman, who became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Civil War; Capt. Jacob F. Hoffman; Edwin A. Hoffman, who served as a Sergeant in the Civil War; John H. Hoffman, who was a Drummer in the Civil War, though but fifteen years old at the time; George M. Hoffman; Charles H. Hoffman; Joseph W. Hoffman; Henrietta Hoffman, wife of William Williard; and Adaline Hoffman, wife of Charles Koser.

Jacob F. Hoffman was born 25 December 1841, in Lykens Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and there received his elementary education in the public schools, later attending Berrysburg Seminary several terms.  For one term he taught school.  He then engaged in the general merchandise business at Pillow, Dauphin County, and afterwards at Berrysburg, where he enlisted for service in the Civil War, joining the 26th Regiment of Pennsylvania Militia [26th Pennsylvania Infantry, Emergency of 1863], which was among the first troops in the field in the emergency just before the battle of Gettysburg.  This command met White’s Cavalry and defeated them, then fell back to Fort Washington at Bridgeport, where they were held during the battle with other troops.  After the battle, they followed Lee as far south as Greencastle.  They were regularly sworn into the Federal service, uniformed and paid by the Federal government, and the regiment has a monument at Gettysburg.  The Company to which Capt. Hoffman belonged was mustered out at Harrisburg in the latter part of July 1863.

After that, he went to Harrisburg and clerked for Kelker Brothers, and in August 1864, he again entered the service, becoming First Lieutenant of Company A, 208th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry [208th Pennsylvania Infantry], which was sent to the front with other troops, arriving at Bermuda Hundred in September 1864.  It was brigaded with the 200th, 205th, 207th, 209th and 211th Pennsylvania Regiments forming the Light Brigade commanded by Col. Patter of the 12th New Hampshire Regiment, and which for about two months did picket duty between Dutch Gap and Petersburg. In the latter part of November it was transferred to the Army of the Potomac, in which the six regiments mentioned formed the 3rd Division of the 9th Army Corps, commanded by Gen. John F. Hartranft.  The Brigade did reserve duty with the First Division, consisting of the 200th, 208th, and 209th Regiments.  On 25 March 1865, General Gordon made an assault on Fort Steadman and batteries 9, 10, 12, and 13, which he captained.  The first Brigade, Second Division came to the rescue and fought the enemy successfully.  Captain Hoffman was wounded in the right thigh during this engagement.  When the 2nd Brigade came to the relief of the 1st, , both Brigades charged the enemy, which fled across the lines, and all that had bee lost to the 1st Division of the 9th Army Corps was recaptured, but with a loss of 1500 men in dead, wounded and captured, On the Belfield Raid, Capt. Hoffman had charge of the advance guard over the Jerusalem Plank Road, also commanding Company A of the 208th Regiment at Hatcher’s Run and Fort Steadman.  After being wounded he was sent to City Point Hospital and from there home on leave of absence.

Recovering to some extent he re-joined his regiment at Alexandria, Virginia, but was not accepted for duty, and was sent to Armory Square Hospital, at Washington, D.C.  He was mustered out by order of the War Department, 23 June 1865.

Following the Civil War, Capt. Hoffman and his brother Thomas W. Hoffman, embarked in the general merchandise business at Port Trevorton, Snyder County, Pennsylvania, where they carried on a store for thirty years, doing well throughout that period.  from 1896, the Captain followed other avocations.  Meantime, in January 1891, he had taken up his residence at Port Trevorton, where he made his home until his removal to Herndon, Northumberland County, in 1902.  There he has since lived in comparative retirement, though he maintains business relations with the John Winston Publishing House of Philadelphia and the National Silverware Company of the same city, not being content to be entirely without occupation.  He is a much respected resident of the borough, where he is well-known.

Capt. Hoffman’s first wife, Martha Witmer, daughter of Abraham Witmer, of Juniata County, Pennsylvania, died 16 October 1892, after eighteen years of married life, aged forty-one years, ten months, twenty-eight days.  She was the mother of two sons:  Charles H. Hoffman, who is engaged as shipping clerk at Burnham, Pennsylvania, for the Logan Steel and Iron Company; and Edwin S. Hoffman, a machinist employed at the National Gun Works, Washington, D.C.  On 2 January 1905, Captain Hoffman married second Mary Agnes Blasser, daughter of Abraham D. Blasser.

For many years Capt. Hoffman has been an active member of the G.A.R., is at present serving as assistant patriotic instructor, and is chaplain of John C. Arnold Post, No. 407, Port Trevorton.  In religious matters he is identified with the United Brethren Church, of which he has been a member since 1874.  He held the office of class leader for twenty-two years, was Sunday School superintendent for eight years, and is now superintendent of the Union Sunday school at Herndon.  He is also president of the Northumberland County District of the State Sunday School association.  Capt. Hoffman was made a Mason in Lafayette Lodge, F. & A. M. in 1869.

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The Genealogical and Biographical Annals of Northumberland County Pennsylvania is available as a free download from the Internet Archive.  Additional information is sought about Capt. Jacob F. Hoffman, particularly stories of his Civil War service and career after the war.  Especially welcome are any pictures of Capt. Hoffman and any existing obituaries which would have appeared in local newspapers around the time of his death, 9 November 1916.  He is believed to be buried at Herndon, but to date, his grave has not yet been photographed for the Civil War Research Project.

Source:  Northumberland County Biographical Annals, p. 77.

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Tags: Berrysburg, G.A.R., Herndon, Hoffman family, Lykens Township, Pillow

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 23, 2013

Recently, an e-mail was received from Jason Wilson, Historian at the Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee, informing The Civil War Blog of a new stand-alone site for Pennsylvania’s Civil War Flags.  The site is more user-friendly and searchable than the previous web pages which were part of the Capitol Preservation Committee web site.

Go directly to the web site by clicking on the banner above, or by using the URL www.pacivilwarflags.org.

For the most part, this stand-alone site is a great improvement over the previous site which was difficult to use and much less user-friendly. The flag images are easily located in sets of thumbnails (pull-down menu, “Regiments”).  For example, by clicking on the thumbnail for the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry, a page appears with a set of three flags.  The three flags pictured include the First and Second State Colors and the Regimental Flag, along with a description of the regiment including the counties from which the regiment was recruited.  By clicking on the flag, a high resolution image of the flag appears.  On the high resolution image, there is a “PA CPC” watermark.  The watermark does not appear on the low resolution images.

There is a list of Pennsylvania’s Civil War Color Bearers.

Jason Wilson is also collecting stories of the Color Bearers and these stories will appear on the web site. It is an ambitious project to collect the stories of all “340,000 men who served the Commonwealth during the Civil War” as the web page states.  Limiting the project to just the Color Bearers might be a more achievable goal.  There are many current research endeavors conducted by individuals and groups that seek to document the Civil War service of men who served in a particular regiment or company, men who fought in a particular battle, or men who had geographic ties to a particular part of the state – this Civil War Research Project included which covers the upper townships of Dauphin County, the lower townships of Northumberland County, and the western townships of Schuylkill County.  Within these projects there is a great deal of information, numerous stories, pictures of the soldiers, etc.  At present, there is no coordination of these projects nor is there any known comprehensive “bibliography”.

Another feature of the web site is the history of the “Save the Flags Project.”  Conservation methods, preservation and storage are discussed on this page.  Sponsorship of flags (providing funds for conservation) is presented on a page entitled “Continued Preservation” and information on donation is provided on a page entitled “Make a Donation.”  For this latter effort, a phone number and address are provided, but there is no link for making a donation on-line (such as through PayPal) nor is there an e-mail address on the page.  It might be helpful to add both to the web page.

Free tours may also be scheduled through the new web site.

There is a print catalog and order form available which contains art images of portraits of Pennsylvania’s governors as well as other art work at the Pennsylvania Capitol, but at present, there does not appear to be a way to order prints of the flags through this general catalog.  There does not appear to be any clear way to order prints of the flags – except by sending an inquiry to the Capitol Preservation Committee via Jason Wilson.

The photographic rights of the images on the site are protected by copyright law, but the statement on the site does indicate that “Fair Use” is permitted for “non-commercial educational purposes” which includes “teaching, scholarship, research, criticism, commentary and news reporting.”  Permission need not be obtained in advance for “Fair Use” of the images, but users are requested to cite the web site of the Capitol Preservation Committee (http://cpc.state.pa.us) as the source of the images.  However, commercial use of the images with prior permission or payment of required fees is prohibited.

Finally, a section titled “Donate a Flag” encourages site visitors to add to the collection of the Capitol Preservation Committee.  As stated on the page, three flags have been donated over the last fifteen years.

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In the collection of the Civil War Research Project, one news article has been located which tells of a 1921 donation of two flags and one guidon, all of the 28th Pennsylvania Infantry.  That article appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot on 9 August 1921, and is filed under Col. John Page Nicholson, who after the war became superintendent of the Gettysburg Park:

FLAGS OF 28th INFANTRY ARRIVE AT CAPITOL

Governor Sproul yesterday received two flags and one guidon, carried during part of the Civil War by the 28th Infantry, Colonel John W. Geary, commanding, from Col. John P. Nicholson, superintendent of the Gettysburg Park.  They were turned over to deputy Superintendent Rambo, of the Department of Public Grounds and Buildings, and will be placed in the glass cases at the Capitol containing other war flags.

Colonel Nicholson said in turning the flags over that owing to a misunderstanding between Governor Curtin and Governor Geary, the 28th left Philadelphia 20 July 1861, without colors.  Citizens of Philadelphia, whose sons were in the regiment, furnished the flags and the guidon.

These were carried by the regiment from October 1861 to October 1862 when the State furnished colors for the regiment.  They went through various skirmishes and the Battle of Antietam where 236 officers and men of the regiment met death.  The flags later disappeared and Colonel Nicholson explained, they only recently had been recovered.

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The news clipping is from the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 21, 2013

The obituary of Francis Wyeth of Harrisburg appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot on 3 July 1893.  The second Mrs. Wyeth, who survived him, was the sister of Ann Ellen Carson who was the widow of Theodore Gratz, the first mayor of Gratz, Pennsylvania, and the mother of John Carson Gratz, who died during the Civil War.

During the Civil War, Francis Wyeth served first as head of the Quartermaster Department at Camp Curtin and then, at the calling of Gov. Curtin, served on the state Hospital Commission which visited Union hospitals throughout the South and then made the recommendation to move recovering soldiers back to Pennsylvania where they would closer to family and friends.

One of Francis Wyeth‘s sons, John Wyeth, was the principal founder and owner of the Wyeth Drug Company of Philadelphia.

FRANCIS WYETH DEAD

HE EXPIRED YESTERDAY MORNING

The Oldest Native Citizen of Harrisburg – He Had Been Failing for Several Years, But Death Came Suddenly – No Funeral Arrangements

HARRISBURG, 3 July 1893 — Francis Wyeth, one of the oldest and best known citizens of Harrisburg, died at his residence, 201 North Front Street, early yesterday morning.  The aged gentleman has been failing for five years, but he had been more comfortable for the past six weeks.  His death, however, came without warning.  Mrs. Wyeth was with him when he died.

The late Francis Wyeth was a son of John Wyeth, who married Louisa Weiss.  Of this union Mr. Wyeth was the second son, born on 5 April 1806, at No. 202 South Second Street, then the fashionable part of the town.  He attended the Harrisburg Academy and subsequently entered Jefferson College, at Canonsburg, from which institution he graduated in November, 1827.  He learned the art of printing in the office of his father, John Wyeth, who was at one time postmaster here and editor of the Oracle of Dauphin.

Shortly after leaving college Mr. Wyeth then but a few years over twenty, was entrusted with the management of his father’s paper, which he edited and published for several years.  The paper ardently supported the principles of the Whig party.  In 1831 Mr. Wyeth sold the Oracle of Dauphin and went into the business of a bookseller and publisher on Market Street, and continued it successfully until 1859 when he disposed of it.

At the outbreak of the rebellion he was placed in charge of the Quartermaster’s Department at Camp Curtin above the city and remained in charge until the general government assumed control over the military organization of the state.  On 20 July 1862, Governor Curtin chose him as one of the Pennsylvania Commissioners to visit the hospitals of the Army of the Potomac in the interest of the volunteer soldiers of the state.  Upon his return home his report was submitted and so valuable were its suggestions that they were carried out a short time afterward.  He was again appointed to the same office in 1863 and upon his return retired into private life.

Mr. Wyeth was the oldest native citizen of Harrisburg, but had never held any public office, though frequently asked to stand for municipal honors, he declined preferring the life of a private citizen.  He succeeded his father as a trustee of the Harrisburg Academy, serving for more than forty years, fifteen of which he held the office of President.  He was also one of the first three elders of the Pine Street Presbyterian Church, founded more than thirty years ago.  He was an excellent classical and English scholar and was always respected as an upright Christian gentleman.

He was twice married.  In 1841, to Susan Huston Maxwell, daughter of William Maxwell of Franklin County, and second to Sarah C. Carson, daughter of Charles Carson, of this city, who survives.  Of his five children, four are living.  They are William N. Wyeth, residing at St. Joseph, Missouri; John Wyeth, senior member of the well known drug firm of John Wyeth and Brother of Philadelphia; Francis H. Wyeth of Philadelphia; and Parker C. Wyeth, residing in Missouri.

No arrangements have yet been made for the funeral.  They will probably be made today.  The interment will be made in the Harrisburg Cemetery, and rev. Dr. George S. Chambers, of the Pine Street Presbyterian Church will conduct the services.

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The biographical sketch from which some of the above obituary information was compiled can be found in the Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County, a transcription of which is at Maley.net.

The news clipping is from the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

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