Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on January 27, 2013

On 29 June 1915, the Harrisburg Patriot reported that the estate of John Houser, a Civil War veteran, would be divided between his wife and two daughters, according to the provisions of his will, which was filed the day before in Dauphin County Court.  The body of John Houser had been found in Lemoyne a few days prior.

On 26 June 1915, it was reported by the Patriot that John Hauser had gone missing and was last seen when he boarded a street car his Lemoyne for his home.

Two days later, it was reported that the body of the “old man, ” age 72, was found lying under a tree in Ray Park, Lemoyne.  The coroner, after an investigation, determined that the veteran had died of a “stroke of apoplexy.”

John Houser was a carpenter, who in 1870 was doing work in Wiconisco Township, Dauphin County (see 1870 census page below).  At the time of the census, he was living in a hotel operated by Jonas Hoffman (1813-1889) and his wife Elizabeth [Lebo] Hoffman (1813-1876) in Wiconisco Township.  There were several other craftsmen living in the hotel at the time.  This appears to be the only time that that John Houser was living within the geographic area of the Civil War Research Project.  Nevertheless, he should be included and will be added to the veterans’ list when it is updated in April 2013.

Click on document to enlarge.

In doing further research on this Civil War veteran to determine his exact service, a sketch was discovered in the Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County that revealed not only the service record of John Houser, but also that of his father, William Houser, who died in the Civil War.

John Houser, merchant, was born at Manada Furnace, West Hanover Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 15 May 1843.  He is a son of William Houser and Catherine [Mease] Houser.  His grandparents, the Housers, were born at Schaefferstown, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, and had a large family of sons and daughters.  William Houser, his father, was born 2 September 1822.  He enlisted in November 1862 at Camp Curtin, Harrisburg, in Company C, One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers [177th Pennsylvania Infantry], Captain Beck, Colonel Wiestling.  He died at Portsmouth, Virginia, 3 August 1863.  His wife, https://civilwar.gratzpa.org/?s=%22177th+Pennsylvania+Infantry%22, died in February 1863.  They had five children:  Joseph William Houser, died at about three years of age; John Houser; Benneville Houser; Henry Houser; and Elizabeth Houser, widow of George Rahn.

John Houser was educated in the public schools of West Hanover Township.  He worked on the farm until he was eighteen.  He enlisted 2 September 1861 at Camp Curtin, Harrisburg, in Company D, Forty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers [46th Pennsylvania Infantry], Capt. George A. Brooks and Col. Joseph F. Knipe, and served in that company until 16 July 1865, when he was discharged at Alexandria, Virginia.  He was taken prisoner at Cedar Mountain, 9 August 1862, and was imprisoned for four weeks on Belle Island, near Richmond, Virginia, when he was exchanged and returned to his company.  He was again captured at Chancellorsville, 2 May 1863, and confined in Libby Prison, at Richmond.  After suffering confinement and privation for thirteen days, he was paroled.

Mr. Houser was twice wounded during the battle at Peachtree Creek, Georgia, in the Siege of Atlanta.  He received a bullet wound in the right hip, and a few minutes later was struck by a bullet below the temple.  The ball lodged near the cheek bone, and remains there to the present time.  He fell to the ground from the shock of the second wound, was borne to the hospital, and subsequently removed to the hospital at Louisville, Kentucky, where he remained three months.  When discharged from the hospital he rejoined his regiment and participated in “Sherman’s March to the Sea.”  Among the battles which he took part may be mentioned Winchester; Cedar Mountain; Chancellorsville; Gettysburg; Resaca; Georgia; Dallas, Georgia; Manilta; Peachtree Creek; and Bentonville, North Carolina.  At the close of the war Mr. Houser returned home, and enlisted in Company I, Sixth Cavalry, U.S.A. [6th U.S. Cavalry], and served three years along the frontier in Texas.  He was honorably discharged at Fort Griffin, Texas, and returned home.  He located at Heckton, Middle Paxton Township.  He suffered severly from the effects of his wounds, and was pensioned by the United States Government in 1878.

In the spring of 1869 Mr. Houser engaged in carpenter work.  He has been an extensive builder and contractor.  He built a great number of the houses at Heckton, and many also at dauphin.  He constructed all the wood work of the Methodist Episcopal Church edifice at Dauphin.  In 1889 he embarked in mercantile business at Heckton, in which he is still engaged and has been very successful.

Mr. Houser was married, 2 November 1871 to Mary Zimmerman, daughter of Levi Zimmerman and Amanda [Harman] Zimmerman, by whom he has two children:  Emma C. Houser, wife of T. Emerick; and Carrie Houser.  Mr. Houser has served one term as school director.  He is a Democrat.  He and his family attend the Methodist Church.  Mr. Zimmerman, Mrs. Houser’s father, died aged fifty-three; her mother is still living.  They had ten children:  John Zimmerman; Catherine Zimmerman, wife of John Brown; Mary Zimmerman; Amanda Zimmerman, wife of George Rice; Levi Zimmerman; Henrietta Zimmerman, wife of Louis Gayman; Joseph Zimmerman; Elizabeth Zimmerman, wife of Henry Houser; Matilda Zimmerman, wife of Frank Albert; Emma Zimmerman, deceased; Levi Zimmerman, deceased; Henrieta Zimmerman, deceased; and Emma Zimmerman, deceased.

When he enrolled in the 46th Pennsylvania Infantry, John Houser was 20 years old, was nearly 5 foot, 10 inches tall, had blue eyes, dark complexion and brown hair.  He gave his occupation as laborer.

In 1890, John Houser was living in West Hanover Township and reported that he had disabilities as a result of being in Libby Prison for 13 days. In 1900, he was working in Middle Paxton Township as a carpenter.

John Houser first applied for an invalid pension in 1877 as is noted on the Pension Index Card from Fold3.  His death date is recorded on the bottom of the card as 21 June 1915 and his widow, Mary Ann [Zimmerman] Houser, applied for benefits later that same month.

According to information found on Ancestry.com, John Houser is buried at the Heckton Cemetery, Heckton, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.  When Mary Ann died in 1928, she was buried with him.

William Houser‘s grave site has not yet been located.

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More information is sought on John Houser and his father William Houser.  Comments can be added to this post or sent to the Project via e-mail.

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Category: Research, Resources, Stories | 1 Comment »
Tags: Wiconisco Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on January 26, 2013

The name of Michael Haverstick appears on the Millersburg Soldier Monument.  Haverstick served in the 16th U.S. Infantry Regiment of the Regular Army, Company H, as a Private.  He was mustered into service on 25 February 1864, at York County, Pennsylvania.  At the time of his enrollment, he was 43 years old, was a miller by occupation, had gray eyes, black hair, a sandy complexion, and stood 5 foot, 9 inches tall.  According to the history of the regiment, it was moving toward the Atlanta Campaign at the time Michael Haverstick joined them.  However, he got never got to participate in that campaign as he died of disease at Chattanooga, Tennessee, on 21 May 1864, and was buried in the cemetery there.

His death presented a problem for his widow, Susan [Meyers] Haverstick, who was faced with raising several young children now on her own in Millersburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.  Three of those children were sons, Charles Haverstick, who was born 27 November 1852, Williard E. Haverstick, born 3 May 1855, and Harry Haverstick, born 4 November 1856.  She applied for a pension on 3 September 1864, which she eventually received.  Although the pension was based on the number of minor children she had to support, it must have been very difficult for Susan to deal with all the obligations of raising a large family without the presence of a husband in the home.

In 1862, Gov. Andrew Curtin of Pennsylvania began to explore the possibility of having the government care for the war orphans.  The Pennsylvania Railroad had offered a generous contribution of $50,000 which was supposed to go to help pay to raise and outfit Pennsylvania troops.  At the time, Curtin refused the donation, because he believed that the Pennsylvania legislature needed to approve accepting it, so, at the time, the offer was put on hold.  By 1864, with the increasing number of war orphans resulting from soldier deaths, Curtin decided to push the legislature to action.  Curtin’s plan was to establish a number of orphans’ schools throughout the state and take on the responsibility for properly raising and educating them.  But there was great resistance from the Pennsylania legislature to doing this.

In 1876, a history of the schools that were established was published by Claxton, Remsen and Haffelfinger of Philadelphia.  Written by James Laughery Paul, and entitled, Pennsylvania Soldiers’ Orphan Schools, the book gave a detailed history of the establishment and operation of the schools over more than their first decade of existence.  The book is available as a free download from the Internet Archive [Note: click on title to go to download page and follow instructions in “View the Book” box at left].  Also included in the book is a complete listing of all the orphans who benefited from the schools (including their birth dates), a history of each of the facilities, and names and titles of the staff members.

Gov. Curtin had a great deal of difficulty in winning over the Pennsylvania legislature.  As explained in Pennsylvania Soldiers’ Orphan Schools, page 150-151:

When in 1864, it was first proposed that the State assume the care and education of all the children whom the war had made necessitous, a decided majority in the House of Representatives… was opposed to the measure.  The war had increased the public indebtedness, and the project, though humane and worthy, would, if carried out, require large sums of money during at least the next decade; and hence legislators hesitated to fasten upon the Commonwealth this additional burden.  But the people who fought the battles and uncomplainingly bore the expenses of the war, were no less willing to recognize and discharge their obligations to a deserving and numerous class of unfortunates of whom its cruelties had robbed of the means of natural support.  As the grand scheme of beneficence became known and its objects understood, it gathered strength and made friends.  Its advocates were confined to no party creed.  The wisest statesmen were it warmest advocates.  And yet there have not been wanting those who, during all the years of its history, have seemed to look suspiciously upon the great work and to grudge the means required for its continuance.  The disposition to contract rather than to expand the State’s liberality to the orphans has too often manifested itself in the halls of legislation.

In resisting the narrowing and belittling of the undertaking, while no set of men can claim the exclusive honor, the soldiers of the late war may justly demand a preeminence.  Especially is this true of the Grand Army of the Republic [G.A.R.], an organization composed of the honorably discharged veterans of the war for the suppression of the rebellion.  To perpetuate the remembrances of that struggle, to keep alive the friendships which were formed amid common hardships and dangers, and to cherish a love for the Union of the respective States for which they fought and bled, are some of the objects of its existence.  And among other obligations of mercy, the members of this brotherhood are pledged to extend air, when necessary, to the unfortunate families of their comrades who were slain and crippled in battle.  Fidelity to their vows, quickened by a remembrance of the dead and a regard for the living, have placed these banded warriors foremost in the support of that system which provides a home and a school for those whom they are obligated to defend and protect….  Not only has the Grand Army ever been ready to exert its powerful influence in favor of securing ample appropriations for the support of the schools, but it has also heartily favored every enlargement of the State’s liberality to the orphans.

It is largely due to its influence that provisions have been made to aid the pupils, after completing their terms at the schools, to continue their studies at the normal schools of the State…. With a little more assistance, many could be fitted for a career of highest usefulness as teachers.  Deeply impressed with this fact, the members of this organization deemed it a duty to see that some provision was made for this class of orphans….

Curtin was able to convince the Pennsylvania Railroad to use the $50,000 donation that they were willing to make for the raising and outfitting of troops to be channeled into the orphans project – which the legislature gratefully accepted.  Thus began the system of orphans’ schools, of which the State of Pennsylvania became a national model.

By 1866, there were a total of 1135 younger boys and girls and another 1551 older boys and girls residing in state orphans’ schools.   These schools were located throughout the State, and in Philadelphia, a special home for “destitute colored children” was established.

Thus, the benefits to the children of Michael Haverstick should be noted.  Charles, Williard and Harry, were pupils at the school at Paradise, Lancaster County from 1864 to 1866 and at White Hall, Cumberland County, from 1866 to 1867.  A portion of the orphans list from each of the schools where they resided is shown below [Note: click on document to enlarge].

Paradise Orphan School.

White Hall Orphan School.

The White Hall School was located near the White Hall railroad station in Camp Hill, Cumberland County, about 3 miles west of Harrisburg.

The re-location of the Haverstick boys to the Cumberland County home from the Lancaster County home was probably so they could be closer to their families for the purpose of visiting.  There is no picture of the Paradise home and school in the above-mentioned history, but there is a picture of the White Hall home and school:

Each of the State homes was built on a plot of land of about 3 acres, allowing for outdoor recreational activities on its campus.

It is not known how successful the systems of soldiers’ orphan homes was in Pennsylvania as there are no comprehensive studies that have been done which analyze the records of every orphan who participated.  In the case of the Haverstick sons, one biographical sketch has been located for Harry W. Haverstick, which appeared in the Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County, page 1157:

Harry W. Haverstick, railroad agent, was born in Duncannon, Perry County, Pennsylvania, 4 November 1856, son of Michael Haverstick and Susan [Meyers] Haverstick.  Michael Haverstick was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.  He was a miller and settled in Perry County in 1853.  He enlisted in 1864 in the Sixteenth United States Infantry.  He died at Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1864, from disease contracted in the army.  His wife, Susan Meyers, was also a native of Cumberland County.  They had eleven children; seven are now living, of whom Harry W. Haverstick is the fifth.

After the death of his father, Harry W. Haverstick removed, with his mother, to Millersburg, where he was educated.  He attended the public schools and was a pupil of the Soldiers’ Orphans’ Schools, of Paradise, Lancaster County, and White Hall, Cumberland County; in the latter, he was the first student entered.

In 1871, he engaged with the Northern Central Railway as clerk in Millersburg, was promoted in 1881 to ticket and freight agent, and has filled that position ever since.

Mr. Haverstick has been notary public in Lykens since 1891.  He was formerly a stockholder and director in the Lykens Bank.  He is president of the school board of Lykens for the third term.  He is a Republican, and a member of Wiconisco Lodge, I.O.O.F.

Mr. Haverstick was married, in 1878, to Miss Elizabeth Schreiber, daughter of Benjamin Schreiber, of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.  Their children are:  Edna L. Haverstick; A. Mildred Haverstick; and Park W. Haverstick.  The family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church.

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The complete widow’s pension application file for Susan [Meyers] Haverstick consists of 60 pages of documents which are available through Fold3.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Michael Haverstick – Died at Chattanooga in 1864 – The Care of War Orphans
Tags: African American, Andrew Curtin, G.A.R., Lykens Borough, Millersburg, Railroad, Wiconisco

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on January 25, 2013

A newly released book on the social history of a village at the center of the Mahantongo Valley, Rough and Ready, contains several sections useful for the study of Civil War veterans and their families, including the discovery of another Civil War veteran to be added to the Civil War Research Project – Henry B. Clark (1825-1895), a farmer who served in an emergency militia regiment in 1863, at the time Gen. Robert E. Lee and his Confederate army invaded Pennsylvania and fought the Union army at Gettysburg.

In a recent announcement by Sunbury Press which appeared in the Citizen-Standard, 13 December 2012, the new book was described:

MECHANICSBURG — Sunbury Press has released a social history of the village at the heart of the Mahantongo Valley entitled, There is Something About Rough and Ready.

About the book: The little village of Rough and Ready in Upper Mahantongo Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, is set in the center of the Mahantongo Valley, famous for its Pennsylvania Dutch culture – especially the painted furniture.  This book focuses on the social history of the village, anchored by information from the 1850 census and Salem Reformed Church Cemetery records.  This was the famous Isaac F. Stiehly‘s church and most of the families mentioned were in his congregation.  The book contains hundreds of photos, most over 100 years old, of life in the Valley.

There is Something About Rough and Ready: A History of the Village at the Heart of the Mahantongo Valley is authored by Lawrence Knorr, Steve E. Troutman, Elaine Moran, Cindy Baum, Christine Hipple and Jeanne Adams.   The 284-page offering has a list price of $19.95.  Troutman reports proceeds from the not-for-profit sale of the book benefit the Salem Church of Rough and Ready.

Click on map to enlarge.

Rough and Ready is located in the middle of Upper Mahantongo Township, Schuylkill County.  The township is located in the northwest corner of Schuylkill County and borders on Northumberland County (to the north), Dauphin County (to the west), and Schuylkill County’s Hubley Township (to the south).  The map above is from the 1875 Atlas of Schuylkill County and shows the names of major property owners in the township.  Rough and Ready lies completely within the geographical study area of the Civil War Research Project.

The book contains over 45 story-sections plus plus appendixes, one of which is an alphabetical listing of all the burials in the Salem Reformed Church Cemetery – complete with birth and death dates as they appear on the stones.  It is the newest and most complete listing for this cemetery to date.  Many Civil War veterans are buried here.

Of the stories, several have significance to Civil war studies.  For example, the story on Jacob L. Wolfgang (1828-1904) on page 162 reports his Civil War service; there are several stories on the Simmy family, African Americans who lived in the valley; and, the stories on the Schlegel’s, the Klinger’s, the Zartman’s, and others give some idea of what life was like for those of the Civil War generation, even if those described did not actually serve in the military during the war.

One person not previously included in the Civil War Research Project who now will be included as a result of being “discovered” in the book, is Henry B. Clark.  In the section entitled, “Something About Rough and Ready and the Emergency Militia – Henry B. Clark – Farmer and Defender of Freedom,” an extensively researched piece by Elaine Maurer Moran is presented in which she tells the story of her third-great grandfather and how he responded as a member of the Emergency Militia of 1863.  Henry B. Clark, and the information about him presented in the book, along with additional discovered records will be added to the project files.

Henry B. Clark was the son of Johannes Clark and Maria [Bauman] Clark, and was nearly 39 years old when he was called into service as a member of the 33rd Pennsylvania Infantry (Emergency of 1863), Company G, where he served as a Sergeant from 26 June 1863 through the duration of the emergency until 4 August 1863 when he was discharged.  He was a farmer who was married to a daughter of the Rev. Isaac Stiehly of the valley and left eight small children at home when he went off to war.  Elaine Maurer Moran tells the following of Henry B. Clark‘s service:

On June 26th, the same day that the main body of Lee’s army crossed the Potomac and headed up the Chambersburg Pike toward Harrisburg, Henry began his service in the 33rd Regiment of the Emergency Militia, headed by Colonel William W. Taylor.  Records indicate that he was a sergeant in Captain Benjamin Harvey’s Company G.  In total, eight regiments, including the 33rd, were organized for the emergency and headed for Harrisburg.

Bates indicates that a large fort was laid out on the heights just opposite the city of Harrisburg, covering the bridges of the Susquehanna, and rifle pits to command the fords below.  Governor Curtin [Andrew Curtin] visited the troops, and promised them they were called out only while the emergency lasted.

On June 28th, rebel forces attempted to cross the Susquehanna between Wrightsville and Columbia in Lancaster County.  General Couch ordered the destruction of the bridge if necessary to prevent the rebel forces from crossing the bridge with the intent of seizing Harrisburg from its unguarded rear.  When it was evident that the enemies could no be held back, Colonel Frick set fire to the bridge from the Columbia side.

Luckily for Harrisburg, after the capturing of Carlisle and Mechanicsburg, the farthest advance that the enemy made in force towards the state capital was at Camp Hill.  On that same day, Lee called the rebel forces to Gettysburg, where the great battle had already begun.

This did not end the activities of the 33rd Pennsylvania Emergency Regiment or Henry’s service.  Although it is unclear what the varied activities of the regiment were, John Heiser, Ranger/Historian for the Gettysburg National Military Park states that the Regiment is cited as being mentioned in a battle report written by Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick.  Kilpatrick mentions the repulse of a Confederate attack on his troops near Williamsport, Maryland, on July 13, 1863, at the time and location of Lee’s withdrawal across the Potomac River.  Mr. Heiser states that a number of the emergency militia regiments were sent to the southern border of the Commonwealth after the Battle of Gettysburg had ended.  This was to ensure that Lee’s rebel forces were indeed heading south and not attempting another attack on the capital.

Bates indicates that while the majority of men who served in Pennsylvania’s emergency militia did not experience mortal combat, they were prepared to support the Union troops and defend the city of Harrisburg and the state of Pennsylvania from enemy attack.  Had the army been defeated at Gettysburg, they would have fought to defend Harrisburg, their state, and their country.

Bates speaks eloquently and respectfully of their service:  “Called suddenly to the field from the walks of private life, without a moment’s opportunity for drill or discipline, they grasped their muskets, and by their prompt obedience to every order, showed their willingness – all unprepared as they were – to face an enemy, before whom veterans had often quailed.  The bloodless campaigns of the militia may be subject for playful satire, but in the strong arms, and sturdy hearts of the yeomanry of the land, who sprang to arms at the moment of danger, and when that danger had passed, cheerfully lay them down again, rests a sure guarantee for the peace and security of the country.”

As he had promised, Governor Curtin released the emergency militia from service as soon as it was clear that Pennsylvania was no longer in danger of rebel attack.  On August 4, 1863, Henry was released from service and was able to return to his Rough and Ready farm and family.  No doubt there were crops to tend and a harvest to gather….

For the most part, the stories in this book are personal and are part of the family history of the authors.

If any criticism can be made of this book it is that there is no index, although if there were one, it would probably be almost as many pages as the book itself.  There are thousands of names included.  Patience in working through the book should be rewarding in that there are connections to nearly every family in the geographic area covered by the Civil War Research Project.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on There’s Something About Rough and Ready
Tags: African American, Andrew Curtin, Cemetery, Hubley Township, Pennsylvania Dutch, Rough and Ready, Upper Mahantongo Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on January 24, 2013

A death at the mines at Mahanoy City, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, occurred on 7 November 1904.  Though not reported as such in the brief notice that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the man who was killed, Samuel Wesner, was a Civil War veteran.

Car Off Track; Kills Man

Special to The Inquirer

MAHANOY CITY, Pennsylvania, 7 November 1904 – Hurrying to avoid a loaded car in its ascent of an incline at Boston Run Colliery today, Samuel Wessner, 60 years old, was caught and killed by the car jumping the track and falling upon him.

Previously, Samuel Wessner (or Samuel Wesner as he is most often found in the records), had not been identified for inclusion in the Civil War Research Project.  Ongoing research into the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry, led to the discovery that when he had enlisted at Schuylkill Haven, Schuylkill County, in Company C, as a Private, he gave Foster Township, Schuylkill County as his residence.  Foster Township, which is located just east of Tremont, has been included in the project’s geographic area of study.

Foster Township in 1875.

Foster Township has historically been a coal mining area.  Today, Interstate-81 cuts diagonally through the township from its northeastern to its southwestern border.  The map above, from the 1875 atlas of Schuylkill County, shows the coal operations in existence at the time (click on map to enlarge).  Today, the area is mostly strip-mining.

Samuel Wesner‘s first enlistment was in the 6th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company C, as a Private.  He enrolled at Llewellyn, Schuylkill County, on 22 April 1861 and was mustered into service the same day at Harrisburg.  He gave his age as 22 (although he was probably closer to 27), his occupation as laborer, and his residence as Llewellyn.  This three-month service ended in July 1861.

Samuel Wesner‘s second enlistment was as a Private in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company C.  This occurred on 14 August 1861 at Schuylkill Haven, Schuylkill County.  This time he gave his age as 23 (although, again he was probably closer to 27).  On 9 September 1861, he was mustered into service at Harrisburg.  There is no indication on the Pennsylvania Veterans’ Index Card (below) that he re-enlisted, but he probably did so at Blaine’s Crossroads, Tennessee, on 1 January 1864, because his discharge date is beyond the three-year period of his initial enlistment.  There is also no indication on the Register of Pennsylvania Volunteers (not shown here) of a re-enlistment.

At the time of Samuel Wesner‘s enlistment in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry, his residence was given as Foster Township and he was employed as a laborer.

In researching Samuel’s military service, it was discovered that he deserted in September 1861 and was arrested for desertion in the 10th District of Pennsylvania by the Provost Marshal and was taken to Philadelphia.  This is probably the reason that there was no indication in the records that he had re-enlisted.  He appears on the muster rolls of the company from June 1864 to the time of discharge and his discharge papers appear to indicate honorable service – noting only “by reason of S.O. No. 178.”  He was vouched for by his Captain Charles E. Brown, a recipient of the Medal of Honor, in a letter he wrote from the camp of the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry on 29 May 1865:

I have the honor to report that Private Samuel Wesner of my command has been 13 months in arrest charged with desertion, the above named is a good soldier and has done his duty through the greater part of last campaign. I deem it my duty to say that this said soldier is not worthy of such treatment and would most earnestly beg that he immediately be tried on the above charges. Or at once restore to duty with his company. Charges have forwarded in the month of September 1864. Several requests have been made for his trial but as yet no answer received, please to note the reason of delay, or instructions how to act in this case.

Samuel Adam Wesner appears in the 1860 census for Foster Township.  At the time he is working as a laborer and living with his family.  His father Charles Wesner is also working as a laborer and there are two brothers of Samuel who wage earners in the household:  Charles Wesner, age 24, a miner; and Andrew Wesner, age 16, a laborer.

Samuel Wesner married Elizabeth Mary Swank after the Civil War and raised a family,  Children, who have been named in the subsequent censuses are:  James Wesner, born about 1866; Sarah J. Wesner, born about 1869; Barbara Jane Wesner, born about 1876; Susetta “Lucetta” Wesner, born about 1879; Samuel Wesner, born about 1891; and Louise Margaret Wesner, born about 1886.

Notwithstanding the desertion charge, which apparently was dropped, Samuel Wesner did receive a Civil War pension as can be noted by the Pension Index Card (above) which references the application files at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.  The application was not made until 1890 and he was able to collect the pension until his death date of 7 November 1904, which is noted at the bottom of the card.  His widow, Elizabeth [Swank] Wesner collected the benefits until her death.

n 1870 the family was living in Mahanoy City, Schuylkill County, and Samuel was employed as a laborer.  In 1880, they were living in Gilberton, Schuylkill County, and he was still employed as a laborer.  in 1890, still in Gilberton, Samuel reported no Civil War-related disabilities.  In 1900, in Gilberton, he stated that his occupation was coal miner.  As previously noted, he was killed at the Boston Run Colliery in 1904.

The Boston Run Colliery was one of many coal operations in Schuylkill County.  It had been established by men from Boston in 1862 and later was acquired by the Reading and Philadelphia Iron and Coal Company.  Prior to 1900 the homes of the workers were around the colliery in the village of Boston Run were very basic; the women had to to walk about a mile to get well water.  After 1900 a road was constructed from Mahanoy City to Gilberton and better homes, with electricity and water, were built along the road.   A few pictures exist of the colliery and slope where Samuel Wesner lost his life.

An in-ground military marker notes the burial place of Samuel Wesner in the German Protestant Cemetery in Mahanoy City but for some unknown reason the dates are wrong.  As noted above, if Samuel enlisted in 1861, he would have been born about 1838 according the the age he gave at the time – and if he died in 1892, why is he named in the 1900 census (below) for Mahanoy City?  And why does the Pension Index Card note the date of death as 7 November 1904?

Click on document to enlarge.

Samuel Wesner had a son Samuel, previously mentioned, who was born about 1881.  In the page following the above census entry for the father, the son is listed (below):

Click on document to enlarge.

The son, Samuel Wesner, was living in the household of the parents, was single and was working as a mine laborer.

In 19 October 1905, the following article appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot:

EXPRESS PASSENGERS HURT

By Associated Press to the Patriot.

Reading, Pennsylvania – 18 October 1905 – While one freight train on the Reading Railroad was trying to get around another at Monocacy this morning the two engines met on the frog at the cross-road and both were derailed.

A moment after this happened, the Williamsport Express, leaving here for Philadelphia at 4:55 a.m., came along.  The engine of the passenger train and all of the cars in the train were badly scraped,  Several persons were cut by flying glass.

Samuel Wesner of Mahanoy City, was most seriously injured, being cut about the face.  All were able to resume the journey.

It is assumed that the injured was the son of the Samuel Wesner who, the year before had died in a rail accident in the mines.

Additional information is sought on Samuel Wesner, the veteran, and his family.  A digital file has been established for his records and his name will be added to the project list of veterans when the update is made in April of this year.

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Registers of Pennsylvania Volunteers are available from the Pennsylvania Archives.   Pennsylvania Veterans’ Index Cards are also available from the Pennsylvania Archives.  The information on Samuel Wesner‘s desertion and subsequent restoration came from a blog on Schuylkill County Military History.  Pension Index Cards are available from Fold3.  News clippings are from the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.  The grave marker photo is from Findagrave.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | 2 Comments »
Tags: Foster Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on January 23, 2013

During the Civil War, John C. Herman served in Company K, 130th Pennsylvania Infantry, as a Private.  He enrolled at York, York County, Pennsylvania, and was mustered into service in Harrisburg, 9 August 1862.  By 28 December 1862, he was sick from “hemorrhoids and rheumatism in the back” and was sent to a hospital in Washington, D.C.  He was still in the hospital in April 1863.  On 21 May 1863, John C. Herman was discharged with his company.  The information on his sickness and hospital stay was obtained by York County researcher, Dennis Brandt, and is posted in the database on the York County Heritage Trust web site.

According to information in the Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County, page 624, John C. Herman participated in several battles and was suffering from wounds received during the service:

At the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, Mr. Herman yielded to his patriotic impulses and sentiments, laid aside his business and enlisted in the army in response to the call of President Lincoln. He was enrolled and mustered into company K, One Hundred and Thirtieth Pennsylvania volunteers, and was with his regiment in some of the most hotly contested engagements of the war, conspicuous among which are the battles of Antietam [17 September 1862], Fredericksburg [13 December 1862], and Chancellorsville [2 and 3 May 1863]. He was honorably discharged from the service when his term of enlistment had expired, and returned to the occupations of civil life, bearing in his body the marks of wounds received on the fields of conflict.

The dates of the battle in which he was said to have participated are consistent with time frame stated in the opening paragraph of this blog  – he was in the hospital between Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville when the130th Pennsylvania Infantry did not participate in any battle – but no record has been seen of any specific wounds that John C. Herman received as noted in the biographical sketch.

After the Civil War, John C. Herman first returned to his native place of Lewisberry, York County, and began working in the retail tobacco business. Within a short time, he decided to expand the business into the wholesale market.  In New York City, he became a partner in the firm of Herman and Hay.  Hay subsequently retired and Herman moved the business to Harrisburg – a business which would grow to become one of the most successful wholesale-retail-manufacturing tobacco enterprises in the country.

An early advertisement that appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot on 22 June 1867 is shown above.  Undoubtedly, Harrisburg was chosen as the site of the business because of the rail transportation center.  Raw materials could easily be obtained from the south via the Northern Central Railroad or from the port at Philadelphia via the Pennsylvania and Reading Railroad.  Shipping of the finished product was also facilitated by the railroad connections – west and north from Harrisburg via the Pennsylvania Railroad as well as return rips to Baltimore and Philadelphia on regular trains.  Harrisburg’s growing population also provided a good source for labor.

In politics, John C. Herman was a Republican.  One of the earliest examples found of his participation in a political event was found in the Harrisburg Patriot of 21 September 1872:

In 1872, the Democrat Party’s candidate for president was Horace Greeley, of New York.  Greeley was also the candidate of the Liberal Republicans, a wing of the party that he founded to challenge the corruptness of the Grant administration.  Greeley chose as his running mate, B. Gratz Brown,  [Note:  B. Gratz Brown has been previously mentioned on this blog in relation to his connection to the Gratz family].

John C. Herman was one of the organizers of a march and parade designed to draw attention away from a speech that was to be given by Colonel Charles McClure in support of the Democratic ticket.  The diversion was successful.  According to the above article, the display “consist[ed] of about nine hundred men and boys, black and white, wearing red and bronzed capes, swinging torches and occasionally throwing a rocket in the air.”

John Ensminger was inside of a banner borne on a wagon and covered with cartoons designed to ridicule Horace Greeley.  This banner delighted the aesthetic tastes of the negro voters and of the officers on the hill, who received it with rapturous applause.  Horace Greeley was represented as riding a pig (of iron) to the Cincinnati convention….

The article then broke down the participants as follows:  “Office holders, national, state, and city…… 150; Boys under 18…… 100; Boys between 18 and 20….. 75; Negroes….. 350; Volunteer white citizens….. 233; Total….. 908.”

The colored citizens were delighted with the pageant.  Their officers bore flaming swords.  The rank and file in their enthusiasm lighted their lamps before it was quite dark, and the oil in consequence was consumed before the procession was half over.  The Lochiel Hotel, the republican headquarters, was brilliantly illuminated, as were the residence of the postmaster and his newspaper office.  The enterprising proprietor of the State Capitol Hotel, in his enthusiasm, chopped the limbs off the trees in front of his house so that his brilliant display of Chinese lanterns might dazzle the imagination of the vulgar.  He would have chopped the trees down if it had been necessary…. Nearly all the other houses that were illuminated were occupied either by officer holders, candidates or Northern Central employees.

Of course, Grant won the November election and a second term as president.  Horace Greeley died in late November 1872.  Had he won the election, the presidency may have gone to B. Gratz Brown, his running mate.

The significance of the strong African American support for the Republican Party, particularly in Harrisburg where there was encouragement and participation as in the rally against Horace Greeley, was not lost on men such as John C. Herman.  Herman’s time in local politics was just ahead.  On 6 January 1881, Harrisburg’s Mayor Patterson resigned, and the parties lined up to name their candidate to vie for his unexpired term of three months, the successor to be elected by representatives of the wards.

John C. Herman secured the position because he then had enough votes from the ward councils, but the matter of the upcoming primary and the general election for a full term loomed ahead.  In an article entitled “The Radical Row, The Fight at the Primary Elections, A Bitter Contest and Some Doubt as to Who Will Be Nominated – Herman Leading, but the Opposition Still Confident of Success,” in the Patriot, 31 January 1881, one candidate threatened to run as an Independent if not selected, while it was stated that “Mr. Herman has been most too liberal in his views to suit the straight-laced radicals, has in fact been what is termed an politics a ‘kicker,’ and is not looked upon with an entirely favorable eye….”

Herman did secure the nomination and the difficulties he had in getting it were reported by the Patriot the next day:

HAPPY HERMAN

HE IS NOMINATED FOR MAYOR BY THE REPUBLICANS

About noon yesterday it became evident to the casual observer, that the time for holding the republican City Convention was near at hand.  The “colored vote” had came down town and was congregated in the vicinity of Third and Market Streets and exhibited an unmistakable disposition to “politicate.”  All afternoon the various candidates were busy with the delegates…. At 7 o’clock the court house began to fill with men and tobacco smoke, until quite a crowd had pushed forward to the rail surrounding the bar and the atmosphere was very dense.

On the first ballot, Herman received a majority and when a delegate rose to have the nomination made unanimous, he was greeted with a chorus of “noes.”   Although the nomination was not unanimously supported by the convention, John C. Herman went on to win the general election and a term as Mayor of Harrisburg.

One of John C. Herman‘s acts as mayor was to issue a proclamation urging citizens to get vaccinated against smallpox.  In the proclamation, it was stated that the hospitals would provide the vaccinations to those who could not afford them.  Herman noted that of those in the city who were afflicted with the disease, none had been vaccinated.  During late 1881, Edmund Umholtz of Gratz, a Civil War veteran, had been appointed Mercantile Appraiser of the County and had to travel to Harrisburg on business.  When he returned to Gratz, he fell ill and died on 10 January 1882.  After his funeral it was discovered that he had contracted smallpox – which was passed on to several others in Gratz, including two of his children who died, several pall bearers and many others in the borough.

John C. Herman decided to seek a second term and in 1883, the Republican Convention met in February but failed to nominate him.  The article (above), appearing in the Patriot on 6 February 1883, pointed out that the “Bad Blood [came] to the Surface in the City Republican Convention.”  The opposing faction led by S. Cameron Wilson, hissed and hooted when the incumbent was presented in nomination.

“I nominate John C. Herman, well known to all as a citizen, a business man and a public officer.  In glancing over his record as a public servant there is not to be seen a single defect….”

Before the ballot had concluded and when it was found that Wilson had a majority, the way they acted was of the most enthusiastic character.  Wilson hats went up, while Herman chins dropped down, and talk of “knifing” was heard at different times.

As in the previous convention, when the move was made to make the nomination unanimous, the hisses and hoots prevailed.  The fractures in the Harrisburg Republican Party were evident.  John C. Herman completed his term and retired to work at his tobacco business.

From the Patriot, 24 March 1886:

Ex-Mayor John C. Herman, who has been at Atlantic City for the past few weeks for the benefit of his health, returned home yesterday greatly improved.  This will be gladful news to the many friends of Mr. Herman, as the condition of that gentleman was considered serious.

John C. Herman died on 17 July 1886  [see: Patriot, 20 July 1886, above].  And, as reported in the Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County:

The illness which resulted in his death had its inception in a severe cold contracted in the year previous, which, together with a disease of the heart, baffled all medical skill, and gradually brought him down to the grave. He was well aware of his approaching dissolution, and made ready his affairs, meeting his end with peace and resignation.

John C. Herman was a prominent member of Post No. 58, G.A.R., Harrisburg, and at his funeral, G.A.R. members were present and participants.  Prior to his term as mayor, there were only two G.A.R. posts in Harrisburg – No. 58, of which he was a founding member, and No. 116.  The “colored” post (Stevens Post No. 520) was formed some time in the 1880s and it is not known what role, if any, Herman had in promoting its organization.  Research continues on the role of the Stevens Post No. 520 of Harrisburg because one of its founding members and commander was John Peter Crabb who was born in Gratz Borough.  Surely Crabb knew John C. Herman, and as previously noted here on this blog, Crabb was several times a Republican delegate from the 8th Ward – one of the wards where Herman received a great amount of support in his mayoral bids.

Some other men who have a connection to the Lykens Valley area who served in the 130th Pennsylvania Infantry with John C. Herman are:

Alphonso Blake “Blaker Beisel ——- Simon B. Blyler ——- Isaac Bowman ——- William H. Dougherty ——- Abel Fetrow ——- John R. Fetrow ——- Joseph W. Knouff ——– Daniel Koppenhaver ——- Samuel Koppenhaver ——- Charles Kreiner ——- Jacob Lentz ——- John McGann ——- Alexander McLaughlin ——- John Adams Miller ——- Daniel Paul ——- William Scheets ——- Samuel Shoop ——- Robert H. Towson ——- Isaac Uhler ——- William Henry Welker ——- Adam Washington

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News articles are from the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.  Only a portion of some of the original articles is shown.  The complete articles are available in “jpeg” form in project files.

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Tags: African American, Gratz Borough, Gratz family, Railroad