Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 29, 2013

The aged widow of Charles A. Coleman, Lydia Matilda Coleman, died in Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 14 January 1940.  Charles A. Coleman reported in Harrisburg to mustered into service in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, on 2 November 1862, and was discharged the same day on a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability.  There is no evidence that he ever took credit for his one day of service or called himself a veteran of the Civil War.  However, his name does appear in the records of the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry.  He died in 1915.

Two obituaries that appeared in local newspapers at the time of Lydia’s death are reproduced below:

GRATZ WOMAN SUCCUMBS

Mrs. Lydia Matilda Coleman, of Gratz, daughter of John Rine and his wife, was born 3 March 1850, baptized in infancy, confirmed in the Lutheran Church at McKees Half Falls, Pennsylvania, and was married to Charles Coleman.  later she was transferred to St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church (Coleman’s), Spring Glen, where she remained a faithful member until her death.

She died 14 January 1940 at 8:00 a.m., arriving at the age of 89 years, 16 months, 11 days.  She is survived by the following children, Mrs. Charles Yerger, Tower City; Jennie Coleman; Mrs. John Deibert; Mina Coleman; and Mrs. Ezra Koppenhaver, Gratz.  21 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held this Thursday at her late residence at 10:00 a.m.  Burial will take place in Coleman’s Cemetery.

Viewing of the body will be held Wednesday evening from 7 to 9 o’clock.

Dr. D. I. Sultzbach, her pastor will officiate.

Aged Gratz Lady Passed Away Sunday

Mr. Lydia Matilda Coleman, age 89 years, 10 months and 11 days, died at her home in Gratz on Sunday.

Mrs. Coleman was a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Rine, and was born at McKees Half Falls, Snyder County. 3 March 1850.  Her husband, Charles A. Coleman, preceded her in death twenty-five years ago.  Mrs. Coleman, who was a member of Coleman’s Lutheran Church, had been a resident of Gratz most of her life.

She is survived by five daughters:  Mary Coleman, Mrs. Charles Yerger of Tower City; Jennie A. Coleman and Mina C. Coleman, both at home; Sue Coleman, Mrs. John Deibert of near Gratz; and Carrie Coleman, Mrs. Ezra Koppenhaver, of Gratz.  Other survivors are twenty grandchildren and twenty-one great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held from the residence at 10:00 this Thursday morning.  Rev. Dr. D. I. Sultzbaugh, pastor of the Sacramento Lutheran Parish will officiate and interment will be made in Coleman’s Church Cemetery.

The following information is from a biographical sketch of Charles Coleman found in the files of the Gratz Historical Society.  It is based on the brief biography of him in an early, published biographical encyclopedia of Dauphin County:

CHARLES COLEMAN, farmer, Gratz, Pennsylvania, was born in Lykens Township, 30 May 1844.  He is a son of John Coleman and Catharine [Artz] Coleman.  The grandfather, John Coleman, was a farmer by occupation an settled on land in Lykens Township, which he cleared and improved himself.  He married a Miss Rosina Stine.  hey had these children:  John Coleman, Charles Coleman, Fred Coleman, Rosina Coleman, Elizabeth Coleman, Anna May Coleman, and Barbara Coleman.  He was a Democrat in politics and a member of the Lutheran Church.  He took part in the War of 1812.  The father resided on a farm of one hundred and fifty acres which he cultivated and also was engaged in stock raising. He was married to Miss Catherine Artz, a native of Schuylkill County.Their children were:  Daniel Coleman, Charles Coleman, and Lizzie Coleman, wife of B. A. Boyer.  Mr. Coleman took a great delight in hunting deer.  His death occurred in December 1851.  In politics he was a Democrat.

Charles received his education in the schools of his native place, and then engaged in farming.  He inherited a fondness for hunting, and is quite an ardent sportsman.  He is a member of the Knights of Pythias.  He was married 19 October 1869, at Berrysburg, Pennsylvania, to Miss Lydia Rine, born in Snyder County, 3 March 1850, daughter of John Rine.  Their children are:  George W. Coleman, born 22 July 1870; Charles J. Coleman, deceased; Mary A. Coleman, born 28 July 1874; Jennie Coleman, born 25 December 1880; Susan K. Coleman, born 18 September 1883; Minnie C. Coleman, born 29 June 1891.  Mr. Coleman is an active politician and has served as tax collector and mercantile appraiser.  He is a member of the Lutheran Church, of which he is an elder and Sunday School Superintendent.

Charles A. Coleman died 28 April 1915 in Dauphin County, leaving as survivors his widow, Lydia Matilda [Rine] Coleman, and several children.  Both Charles and Lydia are buried at St. Matthew’s (Coleman’s) Cemetery in Lykens Township.  Their grave marker is pictured at the cop of this post.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Aged Widow of One-Day Civil War Veteran Died in Gratz in 1940
Tags: Berrysburg, Gratz Borough, Lykens Township, Spring Glen, Tower City

Posted By Brian Tomlin on October 28, 2013

By the time of the Civil War the fashion in furniture had moved toward matched sets of furniture called “suites” which were sets of furniture for a room all designed together, having the same type of wood, carving, stain, shape, etc. This trend was  evident in bedrooms, where the bed, night table, chests and dressers and other pieces of furniture would have been matched in homes trying to be at all fashionable.

Of course, most homes could not afford to fill every room with the expensive new furniture out on the market. And since the public downstairs rooms were given higher priority, many times older pieces from the parlor would be moved up to fill in bedrooms.

Walls. The colors chosen for bedroom walls were based on how much light the room received. A sunny room would likely have been given a light pastel color, while rooms with shadier northern exposures were given darker jewel tones.

Flooring. Wood floors were favored over carpeted ones, although sometimes the floors would be painted. Carpet pieces or area rugs would likely be used near the bed; this strategy made it easier to keep the room and rugs clean as they could be removed and cleaned and brought back.

Ceiling. Ceilings on second or even third stories were (and are) often not as tall as first floor ceilings, so the  ceilings were kept simple and usually painted a soft shade that was lighter than the rest of the room.

Windows. While many rooms in the house had elaborate and heavy draperies during the Civil War, in modest homes the bedroom window coverings were kept lighter. They might have been trimmed in lace or tied back during the day to allow light in. Wooden window shutters, sheer “glass curtains” or other layering pieces may have been used to adjust the amount of light, air and privacy that a bedroom received, but as most bedrooms were not on the ground floor this was less of an issue than the downstairs rooms.

Furniture. Many of the furniture sets were wood with some kinds of carving; some were hand painted or hand stenciled.  The metal beds we think of as Vicotrian beds really did not come fully into fashion until well after the Civil War, when an awareness of germ theory made people question having pest-attracting wood in teh bedroom and switched to easier to disinfect metal beds. Most bedroom sets included a bed, a large dresser with a mirror, a washstand. Additional pieces were available in most styles to include things like armoires, nightstands, chests of drawers,  and chairs if your available space and budget allowed.

The three basic pieces from an 1860s bedroom set: the bed, low dresser with mirror, and wash stand.

Decorations. The decorative items found in bedrooms in this period were largely practical items that were made to look more decorative. Grooing and dressing items, jars, bottles, combs, fans, parasols, hats, purses. Men also needed a variety of tools such as buttonhooks,  combs, shoehorns, collar buttons, cuff links (none of which were permanently attached to men’s clothing in this era), pocket watches, pocketknives, walking sticks. And because bedrooms are the most private spaces in most homes and not viewed by general visitors, they were likely the most personalized room in the home.

Lighting. Candles were certainly used, the fireplace added somewhat to light, but kerosene lamps were the most high-tech form of lighting in most homes. Ceiling fixtures were not usually used in bedrooms, with lamps being the predominate lighting.

Function. Sleeping, dressing, grooming, reading were the main functions of a bedroom.

Category: Culture, Overviews | Comments Off on Victorian Home: Bedrooms (Part 7)
Tags:

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 26, 2013

The obituary of Alfred David Frederick Steese appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot on 10 March 1903.  While it stated that he was active in local politics, it failed to note his role during the Civil War – that of boatman and railroad engineer, working for the United States Government.  Also, he was twice captured and held as a prisoner of war.  Although he was not a veteran of the military, he did register for the draft, but he was not called to serve.  Two of his brothers did serve in the military and one of his wife’s brothers was killed at the Battle of Missionary Ridge and another of his wife’s brothers participated in Sherman’s March to the Sea, and a third of his wife’s brothers served in the Union Army for nine months.

OBITUARY

Alfred F. Steese

Alfred F. Steese died on Sunday at Upland, California, where he had gone about a month ago in search of health.  Mr. Steese was born at Fort Hunter on 3 December 1837.  When sixteen years old he became a clerk for the Susquehanna and Dauphin Railroad Company, and was in the railroad employ until 1867, when he went into business.  in 1869, he was appointed a railway mail clerk in the service of the United States, which position he held until a month ago when he went to California.  He always took an active part in politics as a citizen and held a number of borough offices at dauphin, where he lived.  He leaves a wife and five children:  Mrs. Thomas L. Poffenberger and Mrs. D. F. Garverich, of Harrisburg; Louis Mershow Steese, of Washington; and Sabra Bell Steese and Bertha Steese of Upland, California.  The remains will be brought home to Dauphin for interment.

Alfred F. Steese was buried in the Dauphin Cemetery in Dauphin Borough, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

When the Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County was published, a sketch of Mr. Steece’s life was included on pages 873-874:

Alfred David Frederick Steece, railway postal clerk, was born at Fort Hunter, Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County, 4 December 1837.  He is a son of Frederick Steece and Catherine [Hassinger] Steece.  His grandfather, Frederick Steese, was married three times and had a family of eighteen sons and three daughters.  Frederick Steese Jr., father of Alfred D. F. Steece died aged 67 years.  His wife was born in 1800 and died 19 August 1876.  They had nine children: Reuben H. Steece; Josiah G. Steece; Julia A. Steece, wife of James Reed; Aaron W. Steece; Sabra M. Steece, widow of Augustus Bell; Jane Steece, wife of Thomas Milliken Esq.; Catherine Steece; Elizabeth Steece; Barbara Steece; and Alfred D. F. Steece.  The family removed to Dauphin, Pennsylvania, 1 April 1838.

Alfred D. F. Steece attened the borough school during the winter and worked on the farm during the busy seasons until he was sixteen.  He was for three months in the employ of the Susquehanna and Dauphin Railroad as a brakeman on a freight train, and was then promoted to be a conductor on a passenger train.  He served one year in that capacity.  He then voluntarily became brakeman on a passenger train, was afterwards made fireman, and so continued for one year.  At the solicitation of his parents he left the railroad service when he was eighteen and they started him at boating on the Pennsylvania Canal from Pittsburgh to Columbia over the Allegheny Mountains on cars, and thence by water to Columbia.  He carried on this business one season, and then became locomotive fireman on the Northern Central Railway on the first locomotive run over the Susquehanna Division under engineer Preston Hall.  He held this position fifteen months and was then promoted to engineer on the old “camel back” Engine No. 31.  He ran the first locomotive into Sunbury on the Northern Central Railroad.  His parents again prevailed upon him to abandon the railroad, and fitted him out with a boat on the Pennsylvania Canal.  He made four trips from Wilkes-Barre to Baltimore, and then sold his boat to the United States Government, being taken into government service and sent with his boat to Washington, D.C.  His boat was loaded with munitions of war and sent to Acquia Creek, where he remained six months and then returned to Dauphin.  He was subsequently prostrated with typhoid fever and was attended to by Dr. J. R. Umberger.  Recovering from this critical illness he returned to Alexandria, Virginia, and took charge of a locomotive on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad in the service of the United States Government. He was captured by the Rebels at Vienna, Fairfax County, Virginia, and barely escaped starvation before he reached the Union base.  He was again captured at Fairfax Station, again released, and made his way back to camp.  He was employed by the government as an engineer until the close of the war.  While he was in the service, two of his firemen were killed by the enemy.  After the war he was again in the service of the Northern Central Railroad Company as an engineer until 1 January 1867.  OP 1 April 1867, he embarked in the mercantile business at Dauphin, Pennsylvania, and was in that business for ten years.   He then failed and for one year was engaged in fishing along the Susquehanna River.  On 29 August 1879, he was appointed railway mail agent and given a route on the Elmira and Baltimore Railway Post Office.  He has held that position since that date, and is truly a veteran railway clerk.  His record is without a blemish, and he enjoys the confidence of the department.

Mr. Steese was married 15 February 1858 to Mary Davis.  They had six children:  Elmina Steese, born 4 October 1866;, died 17 November 1866; Julia Frances Steese, born 26 January 1860, wife of Dr. Thomas L. Poffenberger, dentist, Harrisburg; Louis Mershon Steese, born 11 August 1862; Martha Davis Steese, wife of Dr. F. Gerberich; Sabra Bell Steese, 12 December 1875.

Mr. Steese has been president of the Borough Council of Dauphin for three consecutive years.  He is a Republican.  Since 1867 he has been a member of the Perry Blue Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. M..  The family attend the Presbyterian Church.

Christian Dull, grandfather of Mrs. Steese, married Elizabeth Essex.  They had nine children:  Charles Dull; James Dull; Catherine Dull; Mary Dull; Elizabeth Dull; Sarah Dull; Theresa Dull; Hannah Dull, mother of Mrs. Steese; and Helen Dull.  Rev. John W. Davis, the father of Mrs. Steese, was born at Newburyport, Massachusetts.  He was the son of John Davis, and was a Presbyterian minister.  He had charge of the church at Dauphin at the time of his death, which occurred 14 of 15 August 1868.  He resided in New York before coming to Dauphin.  His wife, Hannah Dull, was born in 1808, and died 13 September 1872.  They had seven children:  Charles A. Davis, served nine months in the Union Army; Elizabeth Davis; Mary Davis, Mrs. Steese; Martha A. Davis, widow of William Blerutter; Thaddeus Davis, killed at the Battle of Missionary Ridge; John W. Davis, participate in Sherman’s March to the Sea; Sarah Davis, wife of Martin Hiner of Harrisburg.

Josiah G. Steese and Aaron W. Steese, brothers of A. D. F. Steese, both enlisted in the Union Army, were honorably discharged from the same, and returned home.  Their father, Frederick Steese, was one of the defenders of Baltimore in 1814, when General Ross was shot by the two American youths at North Point near Baltimore.

It can be assumed that Alfred D. F. Steese was an engineer for the United States Military Railroad.  The picture below is of the Orange and Alexandria railroad yard at Alexandria, Virginia:

A summary article on the United States Military Railroad (U.S.M.R.) can be found at Wikipedia.  However, this article lacks documentation and needs expansion.  Perhaps someone familiar with the U.S.M.R. can can supply more information and connect the story with the exploits of Alfred D. F. Steese.  There could not be that many railroad engineers of the U.S.M.R. who were captured twice during the war.

—————————-

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

Category: Overviews, Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Alfred D. F. Steese – Civil War Railroad Engineer
Tags:

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 24, 2013

DAVID H. SMITH, FORMER JAIL TURNKEY DIES

Progress [Dauphin County, Pennsylvania], 6 August 1917 — David H. Smith, 64 years old, Civil War veteran, and for nineteen years turnkey in the Dauphin County Prison, died at his home her yesterday after a long illness.  He was a member of Mount Vernon Council, No. 333, Junior Order of United American Mechanics.  He is survived by his widow and two daughters, Mrs. J. A. Detter of Roaring Springs, and Mrs. P. A. Haradon of St. Louis.  He is also survived by three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.  Funeral services will be held in Shoop’s Church [Harrisburg], Thursday afternoon at 2 o’clock, the Rev. J. W. Waggoner officiating.  Burial will be in the church cemetery.

On his gravestone in Shoop’s Cemetery, the regiment and company of David H. Smith is identified as the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H.  The result of the search in the Pennsylvania Veterans’ Card File (Pennsylvania Archives) is the following:

David H. Smith enrolled at Harrisburg on 22 August 1861 as a Private in Company H of the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry.  He was mustered into service on 19 September 1861, also at Harrisburg.  At the time, he was 19 years old, stood 5′ 9″ tal, had a light complexion, light hair and blue eyes.  He gave his occupation as “farmer” and his residence as Harrisburg.  During the course of his service he re-enlisted on 22 October 1863 three days after receiving a promotion to Corporal and about a year later received a promotion to Sergeant.  His final promotion came on 21 April 1865 when he achieved the rank of 1st Sergeant and later that year, on Christmas Day, he was discharged.

The 1880 Census for Progress has David H. Smith working in a car shop.  Presumably, he was working at the Dauphin County Prison when the Halifax Bank robbers were taken there for trial and when they were executed in the yard of the jail.

For his Civil War service, David H. Smith was eligible for a pension (Pension Index Card, above, from Fold3), which he applied for in 1890, and later applied for an increase in 1907.  After his death in 1917, his widow Matilda applied for benefits, which she collected until her death in 1926 (her death year from grave marker, pictured above).

More information is needed on David H. Smith (1843-1917), particularly stories about his Civil War service and his time as the turnkey in the Dauphin County Prison.  Also needed are pictures of him and his family.  Add comments to this post or send via e-mail.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on David H. Smith – Turnkey at Dauphin County Prison
Tags:

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 22, 2013

Emanuel Kembel, also found in the records as Emanuel A. Kemble, was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in the 36th Pennsylvania Infantry (Emergency of 1863), Company C, as a Private, from 4 July 1863, through his discharge at the end of the emergency on 11 August 1863.  This militia regiment was formed from the Gratztown Militia which was previously described here in the post entitled The Gratztown Militia and the Home Guards.  Since this militia service was his only known wartime service, the six weeks were not enough to qualify him for a veterans’ pension; no pension application file has been located.

Emanuel Kemble is buried in the Gratz Union Cemetery, Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and it was previously noted here that he is recognized as a Civil War veteran by the local veterans’ organization.  See:  Gratz During the Civil War – Cemeteries (Part 2).  His grave is decorated on each Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post.

An obituary of Emanuel Kembel appeared in the Millersburg Sentinel of 13 May 1887 and is reproduced below as found in the transcribed records of the Gratz Historical Society:

Emanuel A. Kemble

Emanuel A. Kemble, a respected citizen [of Gratz] died on Sunday of miner’s asthma.  The funeral was well attended by several lodges.

The cause of death, miner’s asthma, was related to his work in the local mines – first as a laborer, and then in the 1880 census as a miner.  It is not known at this time which lodges Emanuel may have been a member of.  There were several in Gratz in the period after the Civil War.

Emanuel was married to the former Fietta Maurer who survived him and lived until 1937.  In 1890, she was living in Upper Mahantongo Township, Schuylkill County, as Mrs. John Martz.  Records at the Gratz Historical Society indicate that she married John Martz and later moved to Shamokin, Northumberland County.

More information is sought on Emanuel A. Kembel.  Readers are asked to comment to this post or to submit information by e-mail.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Emanuel Kembel – Militiaman and Miner
Tags: Gratz Borough, Upper Mahantongo Township