Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 12, 2012

The Tower City Borough, Porter Township and Rush Township Veterans Memorial is located at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Cemetery which is located along Route 209 in Tower City, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.  It was the subject of a prior post on this blog on 30 December 2010.

Within the glass cases on the monument are name plates for each of the eligible veterans who served in America’s Wars.  The Civil War veterans are noted in the left case in the center section of the monument.  To give due recognition to each of the Civil War veterans named on the monument, the name plates will be individually pictured followed by a brief description of the Civil War service of the veteran.

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WILLIAM FOREMAN (1841-?) served in the 93rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company F, as a Private.  In 1890, he was living in Tower City.  At the time he enrolled in the infantry, he was working as a forgeman in Schuylkill Haven, Schuylkill and was mustered in at Pottsville.  His wife’s name was Mary,.

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FRANK FOX (1837-?) was also known as Frank Fox.  In 1890, his widow, Mary F. Fox, was living in Tower City, and although she reported that she was the widow of a Civil War veteran, she was unable to name his regiment, company, or dates of service.

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JOHN S. FOX (1832-1907) was living in Tower City, Schuylkill County, in 1890, but for some unknown reason was reported on the Wayne Township, Dauphin County census sheet for that year.  He served in the 107th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company G, as a Private, from 5 March 1862 through 13 July 1865 which included a re-enlistment on 29 February 1864 at Mitchell Station, Virginia.  His wife’s name was Hannah and his occupation was carpenter.  Toward the end of his life, he was confined to the Soldiers’ Home in Dayton, Ohio, and he died while on furlough from the home.

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ISAAC FRANTZ (1843-1885) served in the 208th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H, as a Private, from 16 August 1864 through 1 June 1865.   His widow was living in Tower City in 1890.  He is buried in St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Cemetery, Tower City.  For more information about him, click here.

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JACOB GAMBER (1833-1890) is also found as Jacob Gamper.  His widow, Anna Mary [Schaumber] Gamber, was living in Tower City in 1890, Jacob having died just before that census was taken.  His service, which was in the 51st Pennsylvania Infantry, Company B, as a Private, resulted in him being “ruptured,” which was reported in the 1890 record.  He is buried in St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Cemetery in Tower City.

Family members of Jacob Gamber have also provided a memorial brick on the terrace in front of the monument.

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WILLIAM GOODMAN (1831-1907) served in the 39th Pennsylvania Infantry (Emergency of 1863), Company H, as a Private and was living in Porter Township, Schuylkill County, in 1890.  He served from 29 June 1863 through 2 August 1863.  His wife’s name was Christina Rena [Hand] Goodman.

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HORATIO GRIM (1832-1903) was also known as “H. O. Grim” and sometimes the surname is spelled “Grimm” in the records.  He was a farmer in Berks County at the time of his enlistment in the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, in which he served as a Private.  His term of service was from 23 September 1861, with re-enlistment on 1 January 1864 at Blaine’s Crossroads, Tennessee, and discharge on 31 July 1865.  Records indicate that from 21 April 1864, he was sick in the hospital at Annapolis, Maryland.  His brother Jesse Grim also was a Civil War veteran (see below).

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JESSE GRIM (1841-1894), the brother of Horatio Grim (above), in also found in the records at “Jessie Grimm” and “Grin.  He served in the 173rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, as a Private, but one database indicates he was a Musician.  In 1890, he was living in Tower City and complained of dysentery,which he blamed on his war service. Jesse married a woman named Amanda.  When he died he was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Wiconisco, Dauphin County.  For additional information on Jesse, click here.

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To be continued tomorrow….

Other posts in this series may be accessed by clicking here.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Tower City, Porter and Rush Township Civil War Veterans – Part 3
Tags: Porter Township, Regiments, Rush Township, Tower City, Wayne Township, Wiconisco

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 11, 2012

The Tower City Borough, Porter Township and Rush Township Veterans Memorial is located at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Cemetery which is located along Route 209 in Tower City, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.  It was the subject of a prior post on this blog on 30 December 2010.

Within the glass cases on the monument are name plates for each of the eligible veterans who served in America’s Wars.  The Civil War veterans are noted in the left case in the center section of the monument.  To give due recognition to each of the Civil War veterans named on the monument, the name plates will be individually pictured followed by a brief description of the Civil War service of the veteran.

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ISAAC CARL (1830-1907) was living in Tower City in 1890 and although he indicated he was a Civil War veteran, he failed to name his regiment and company.  Since there are several persons with this same name, clarification is sought as to whether the Tower City area veteran served in the 187th Pennsylvania Infantry, the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, the 172nd Pennsylvania Infantry, or some other service unit.  Anyone with information is urge to contribute it.

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CONRAD CASLOW (1837-1885) is also found in the records as Conrad H. Caslow.  He served in the 3rd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery [3rd Pennsylvania Artillery] from 24 February 1864 through 23 December 1864 when he was discharged by Special Order.  Prior to the war he lived in Juniata County but after the Civil War he is found in Tower City where he died in 1885 and is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Porter Township, Schuylkill County.  He was married to a woman named Ellen who successfully claimed a widow’s pension.

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BENJAMIN CHARLESWORTH (1830-1897) was a hotel keeper in Porter Township in 188 and before that, a coal miner in Frailey Township, Schuylkill County.  During the Civil War he served in the 27th Pennsylvania Infantry (Emergency of 1863) Company I, as a Private.  He was married to a woman named Elizabeth or “Lizzie.”

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JACOB K. CLOUSER (1843-?) was one of two persons of this name who lived in Schuylkill County,  The one who used a middle initial of “K” is buried in Minersville, Schuylkill County, and served in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company K, as a Private.  According to the 1890 Census for Tower City, he “served three years without discharge as a teamster.”   His wife was Elizza [Hoffman] Clouser and she was a direct descendant of Johann Peter Hoffman (1709-1798) pioneer settler of the Lykens Valley.

JACOB CLOUSER (1823-?) was married to a woman named Ellen and was living in Frailey Township, Schuylkill County, in 1890.  He served in the 173rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company F, as a Private from 30 October 1862 through 16 August 1863.

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CHRISTIAN CROUS (1846-1919) is also found in the records as Christian Krouse and Christian Crouse and it is possible that two persons of the same name may have co-mingled records.  The one of the dates 1846-1919 possibly had service in the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company G, as a Private and was married to Hannah Sophia Benninger, but the the location is Luzerne County with a Philadelphia death.  Clarification is needed to determine if this is the correct person for the Tower City Veterans’ Monument.

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HENRY CULBERT (1848-1914) was an immigrant from England who served in the Regular Army in several regiments as a Private.  He married Sarah Lehr and in 1890 was living in Joliett, Schuylkill County.  When he died, he was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Tower City.

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PHILIP DIETRICH (1824-1894) is also found as Philip Deitrick, Philip Dieter, and Philip Deitrich.  See:  Dietrich family in the Civil War for more information on this veteran who served in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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JOSEPH ERHART (1836-1900) is also found as Joseph Ehrhart.  He served in the 208th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A, as a Private.  In the 1890 Census, he was living in Tower City and reported that he had been “shot in the right leg.” His wound came about during action at Fort Steadman, Virginia, 25 March 1865.

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ISAIAH J. EISENHOWER (1836-1886) is found in Halifax, Dauphin County records as well as Tower City, Schuylkill County records.  His widow, Catherine, was living in Wiconisco in 1890 and reported that he served in the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company E, as a Sergeant, and in the 210th Pennsylvania, Company A, also as a Sergeant.   He was discharged from his first service, that of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, on a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability.  Isaiah, who was more commonly known as “I. J. Eisenhower,” is buried in Porter Township, Schuylkill County.  See also Eisenhower Family Civil War Veterans.

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To be continued tomorrow….

Other posts in this series may be accessed by clicking here.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Tower City, Porter and Rush Township Civil War Veterans – Part 2
Tags: Frailey Township, Halifax, Joliett, Porter Township, Regiments, Rush Township, Tower City, Wiconisco

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 10, 2012

The Tower City Borough, Porter Township and Rush Township Veterans Memorial is located at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Cemetery which is located along Route 209 in Tower City, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.  It was the subject of a prior post on this blog on 30 December 2010.

Within the glass cases on the monument are name plates for each of the eligible veterans who served in America’s Wars.  The Civil War veterans are noted in the left case in the center section of the monument.  To give due recognition to each of the Civil War veterans named on the monument, the name plates will be individually pictured followed by a brief description of the Civil War service of the veteran.

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WILLIAM ADAMS (? – ?) was found in the 1890 Veterans Census for Tower City, Schuylkill County, with dates of service indicated as 16 October 1862 through 23 July 1863.  No regiment was specified.  More information is sought on this veteran.

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DAVID J. ALSPACH (1839-1864) died at Portsmouth Grove, Rhode Island, on 15 August 1864, of wounds received in action near Petersburg, Virginia.  He was a member of the 6th Pennsylvania Infantry Company G, as a 1st Corporal from 22 April 1861 through July 1861 and then was mustered into the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A, as a Sergeant.  David’s brother Henry also served in the 50th Pennsylvania, same company.

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HENRY J. ALSPACH (1837-1892), the brother of David, first served in the 25th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A or Company H, from 18 April 1861 through 27 July 1861, after which he joined Company A, 50th Pennsylvania Infantry.  During this latter service, which was from 9 September 1861 through 14 December 1864, Henry was promoted from 1st Sergeant to 2nd Lieutenant on 17 September 1862, to 1st Lieutenant on 30 September 1864, and then commissioned as Captain on 2 October 1864.  Henry was married to a woman named Lavina, he collected a pension after 1890, and when he died was buried in the cemetery in Tower City.

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WILLIAM BAILEY (1841-?) first served in the 10th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company F, as a Private, 26 April 1861 to 31 July 1861, and then joined the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company B, as a Private and Sergeant, where he served from 14 September 1861 through 1864.  One military record indicate he was absent at muster out because he was in the hospital.  It is believed that this is the same William Bailey (also spelled “Baily”) who was a member of the Heilner Post G.A.R. (Lykens Borough).

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JACOB BOYER (1843-1919) was wounded at Petersburg while serving as a Private in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A.  His dates of service were 29 February 1864 through 30 July 1865 when he was mustered out with his company.  Jacob married Caroline Donmeyer (1851-1934) and lived in the Reilly Township, Tower City, Porter Township and Tremont area where he worked as a coal miner.  Jacob’s brother Philip also served in the same regiment and company.

The family of Jacob Boyer purchased a brick with his name which is placed in front of the memorial.

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ISAIAH BROWN (1839-?) served in the 10th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company F, as a Private from 26 April 1861 through 31 July 1861.  He then served in the 173rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company G, as a Private from 2 November 1862 through 18 August 1863.  Isaiah married a woman named Leah and lived in the Porter Township – Orwin area of Schuylkill County where he was a”Gentleman”.  In 1870 he was working as a stone mason.

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ISAAC BROWN (1847-1915) was living in Porter Township- Orwin in 1890.  He served in the 102nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company K, as a Private from 1 April 1865 through 28 June 1865.  When he joined the 102nd Pennsylvania, he was living in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  Isaac married a woman named Catherine.

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LINDSEY HUGH “LIN” CAMPBELL (1829-1885) was also known as “L.H.”  He was an immigrant from Scotland who was working as a miner when he enrolled in the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company E, as a Private, at Pottsville, Schuylkill County. Before the war he married Jeanette “Janet” Hill (1829-?) and in 1870 they were living in Williams Township, Dauphin County, where he was working as a coal miner.  Later, they moved to Porter Township.  He is buried in Schuylkill County.

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To be continued tomorrow….

Other posts in this series may be accessed by clicking here.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | 1 Comment »
Tags: G.A.R., Lykens Borough, Orwin, Porter Township, Reilly Township, Rush Township, Tower City, Tremont, Williams Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 9, 2012

Herbert E. Stover‘s Pennsylvania: A History of Our State was a textbook in use in the schools in the Lykens Valley area in 1945 and for some years afterward.  The well-used copy belonging to the Gratz Historical Society is shown above and now resides in a large collection of texts that were in use in one-room schoolhouses in the region, with this specific copy from the Lower Mahanoy Township Schools.  Old textbooks help to understand what was taught to young people at specific periods in history.

In the chapter on “The Slavery Question,” the author expounds on the “Underground Railroad” and the role Pennsylvania played in ending slavery.  Particularly pertinent to the Lykens Valley area were references to the Susquehanna River Valley.  Portions of the text are re-printed below, along with the map which shows the routes taken in the quest for safety and freedom.  While the routes on the map seem to have a northern terminus at Harrisburg, all of the towns along the river on the way to Williamsport, Lycoming County, served as “stations” of the “Underground Railroad.”

The “Underground Railroad“

Ever since the formation of the Union, Pennsylvania had shown a strong disposition to take matters into its own hands when it felt that its liberties were threatened….  It now asserted what it regarded its right to help the victims of an unrighteous law [Fugitive Slave Act]….

Negroes in the border states were being sold to operators of cotton plantation in the “deep South.”  Prices had risen to the point where a good field hand might bring as much as $2000.  The phrase “sold downriver” struck terror to the hearts of the border [state] Negroes.  Many accordingly seized the first opportunity to “follow the North Star”; that is, they went north, traveling at night and hiding by day.

Three hundred miles of Pennsylvania’s border beckoned to such potential fugitives, since they knew that there were many people in the state who were prepared to offer them food and shelter and to start them off again on their way.  So many slaves escaped in this manner that a Southerner exclaimed, “There must be a railroad!”  Thus originated the expression, “Underground Railroad.”

The town of Columbia lies on the lower Susquehanna, opposite Wrightsville, where the river is wide and where a ferry long operated in the early days.  Thither fled the members of the Continental Congress after the British took Philadelphia.  Wrightsville was actually favored as a site for the national capital.  This historic spot was now a stopping place of fugitive Negroes.  The grandson of the original ferryman, William Wright, was an abolitionist and did everything in his power to aid the runaways.  He is said to have been the first to suggest the establishment of “stations” on the “underground” route.  According to this plan, one person would care for a refugee for a day or two and then pass him on to the next “station,” and so on until he reached a place of permanent safety.  cellars, attics, haymows, and the like were used to conceal runaways as a precaution in case of raids by officers of the law….

Most of the slaves entering the state came by way of Chester, where the Quakers were known to be especially solicitous for their welfare.  Citizens of Chester operated in the South, helping Negroes to escape and giving them instructions for the journey.  A Negro woman named Harriet Tubman made many such trips, guiding fugitives along the devious “underground” route into Chester, where the Quakers financed her work.   She became known as “the Moses of her people.”

Thomas Garrett, a Pennsylvanian, removed to Wilmington, Delaware, aiding some twenty-seven hundred Negro people from that state to reach the North.  As a result of his defiance of the Fugitive Slate Law, his life was repeatedly threatened, and all his property was ultimately consumed in the payment of fines….

An Ohio Quaker named Levi Coffin, with the co-operation of his wife, enabled one hundred fugitives a year, on an average, to attain their freedom…. On one occasion this man hid seventeen runaway slaves.  He was arrested, taken before a magistrate, and then interrogated before a grand jury.  when asked whether he had shielded fugitive slaves, he replied that seventeen homeless persons had come to him and that he had merely obeyed the Biblical injunction and “taken them in….”  He was acquitted.

Carlisle likewise maintained an active station.  Two men from Maryland once appeared in the town in search of escaped slaves.  A riot ensued, in the course of which one of them was so severely beaten that he died from his injuries.

Most of the towns along the Susquehanna served as “underground” stations.  At the Wallis place, near Halls, a subterranean passageway led from the cellar to the near-by river, well screened with vines and bushes.

At Williamsport, a quarter of a mile from the end of Market Street, stood a log structure, in a dense grove of pines and hemlocks, which served as a station both before and during the Civil War.  There Negroes were fed and housed by free colored people and by descendants of indentured whites….

Some of the work of the “underground” was performed… by those who merely loved adventure.  It was fascinating to match wits with the law and the slave-hunter….  But behind the movement there was something deeper.  Northerners entertained scant sympathy for slavery.  They had long since freed their own slaves and had been extremely patient with the perpetuation of the institution in the South.  Now they were resolved that it should go.  When the first fugitive negro, utterly spent, staggered across the threshold of a Quaker home near the Pennsylvania line, involuntary servitude in the United States was doubtless already doomed!

The map and selections above were taken from the Stover text previously mentioned which was published in 1945 by Ginn and Company of Boston.  Herbert E. Stover was the Supervising Principal of the Lewisburg Public Schools.  For previous blog articles on the Underground Railroad, click here.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | 1 Comment »
Tags: African American, Lower Mahanoy Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 8, 2012

The post today continues a look at three men with connections to Tremont, Schuylkill County, who served in the Civil War in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry:  Jacob Shade (1833-1864); William Henry Hiney (1840-1864); and Emanuel Eckle (1843-1864) – all of whom died as a result of the war.  This post is also a continuation of the series on the men who served in Company A and Company C of the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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WILLIAM HENRY HINEY (1840-1864)

William H. Hiney was born about 1840, probably in Schuylkill County, the son of Frederick R. Hiney (1809-1897), a brick maker, and Roseanna [Reed] Hiney (?-1848).  The record suggests that William’s mother died when he was about eight years old, probably as a result of complications from childbirth as a young brother, Charles Hiney, was born the same year.

In 1861, when William enrolled in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company C, as a Sergeant at Schuylkill Haven, Schuylkill County, he was a brick maker living in Tremont.  His muster date was 9 September 1861 and the place was Harrisburg.  On 30 August 1862, William’s brother George W. Hiney, who was a private in the same regiment and company, was killed at Bull Run.  On 21 October 1862, William was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant, and on 17 March 1864, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant when he re-enlisted at Warrenton Junction, Virginia.  On 1 June 1864, William Henry Hiney died in Armory Square Hospital, Washington D.C., as a result of wounds received in battle.  His body was brought to Dauphin County where he was buried in the Harrisburg Cemetery.

Since William was not married and had no children, his father Frederick R. Hiney applied for benefits in 1868 and received William’s pension, which he collected until his death in 1887.

Additional information is sought on William Henry Hiney.  Anyone with information is urged to contribute it.

On Sunday 15 July 2012 the final post of three on the men of Tremont who served in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry and who died in the war.  It will feature Emanuel Eckle (1843-1864).

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | 2 Comments »
Tags: Hiney family, Tremont