Civil War Blog

Posted By Brian Tomlin on July 2, 2012

What were the most popular given names during the Civil War period? This is the second  part of a three part study of that question. Part 1  looked at the most popular men’s names of U.S. men born during the period 1811-1850, the broad period that made up the vast majority of Civil War Soldiers. Today we will look at the most common girl’s names from the period 1811-1850 as well as the popular names of girls born during the civil war (1861-1865) and compare that with the most popular girl’s names from 2011, 150 years later. 

 Part 3 will take a look a the names on the Lykens Valley soliders list to see which names were most popular locally. Part 3 is scheduled to be published on July 30. 

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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 1, 2012

On 4 January 2011, a blog post here featured the Pennsylvania Civil War Project of Steve Maczuga.  The URL to locate that post has changed so the post is presented here again with the new URL:

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One of the best sources for general information about individual soldier Civil War service in Pennsylvania military units is Steve Maczuga’s Pennsylvania Civil War Project also known as “Pennsylvania Civil War Project:  Pennsylvania in the Civil War.”  Steve Maczuga is at the Population Institute at Penn State University.

A fully downloadable database contains the names of all the Pennsylvanians who served in the Civil War, their military units, their ranks and some general information about them including muster dates and if and when they were wounded or killed.  But you don’t have to download the whole database to do a search.

The results for a search for Lykens Valley soldier, Capt. Benjamin Evitts is shown below.

A recent addition to the entry for each individual soldier is the regimental flag, which has been shown courtesy of the Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee, and a link is provided to information on Pennsylvania Civil War Flags.  A few months ago, the entry for the individual soldier only contained the information, not the flag.

The database is easily searched, provided you know the exact spelling of the last name and have some idea of the regiment in which the soldier served.   Otherwise, the searching tends to be on a hit or miss basis – guessing the various alternative spellings or looking through the “drill down listings” to find a soldier whose name could be a match.

Fortunately, in searching for “Evitts,” only a few names came up as results, and knowing that he served in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, it was easy to locate the above “card” for him.

To see a list of the soldiers who served with Evitts in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, it is an easy matter to go to the “drill down listing” and find the regiment and company.  Part of a list so produced is shown below.

As can be seen, most of the soldiers on the beginning of this list were mustered out with the company on 5 August 1863.  However, one solider, Charles Coleman, was discharged on a surgeon’s certificate on 2 November 1862.  Maczuga takes his “notes” information from Bates, which is the standard reference for Pennsylvania in the Civil War.  Bates, as a resource, will be discussed in a later post.

A more interesting drill-down listing is for the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A, where many of the men are reported as taken prisoner, wounded or killed.  A portion of that listing is shown for comparison:

Maczuga’s database also includes search terms for 54 different Civil War battles.  So, if the soldier was killed, wounded, or captured at Gettysburg, searching for the Battle of Gettysburg will produce a listing of all that have the word “Gettysburg” in the notes.  Again, a portion of the list is produced as a sample:

There are other features of the site, including a listing of those captured and sent to six Confederate prisons and a complete listing of those buried at Gettysburg National Cemetery including maps of the cemetery.

Some of the drawbacks are that the soldier is only listed under one spelling of his name and the search tool won’t find him unless you use the same spelling that Maczuga uses; it’s hard to find soldiers who were in the “named” regiments rather than the numbered regiments; and for some soldiers, the muster dates are not given or may not match dates found in other records.  A caution is that this is a secondary source and information can be in error unless checked against primary sources.

All in all, the site has some good basic information but for more detail it is best to follow up with other resources.

Category: Research, Resources | 2 Comments »
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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on June 30, 2012

An 1862 map of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, by A. Pomeroy Publisher (1862) , Philadelphia, is available on-line through the web site of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg.  An original copy of the map is available at the Pennsylvania State Archives.

To access the web page for this map click here .  The on-line version of the map is presented in 12 sections.  To access a specific section of the map, click on the section and it will download as a “pdf” which can be enlarged without loss of significant resolution to about 400% of the size of the original.

Gratz Historical Society also has a copy of this map, a portion of which is shown below:

Some specific areas of Dauphin County and their location in the archives map section can be accessed (downloaded) directly by clicking on the section number following the geographic name below:

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Gratz Borough: Section 3, Section 12

Lykens Township:  Section 3, Section 4,

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Lykens Borough:  Section 3, Section 12

Wiconisco Borough:  Section 3, Section 12

Wiconisco Township:  Section 3, Section 4

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Elizabethville: Section 2, Section 3

Washington Townships: Section 2, Section 3

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Berrysburg:  Section 3, Section 4,

Uniontown (Pillow):  Section 8

Mifflin Township:  Section 2, Section 3

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Halifax Borough:  Section 6, Section 7, Section 8

Matamoras:  Section 8

Halifax Township: Section 2, Section 6

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Millersburg:  Section 2, Section 4, Section 8

Upper Paxton Township: Section 2

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Fisherville:  Section 1,  Section 2

Jacksonville/Enders:  Section 2

Jackson Township:  Section 2, Section 3, Section 4, Section 6

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Note:  Where more than one section is given, parts of the township or borough may be in several sections of the map and/or the borough also appears within the township map.

Category: Resources | Comments Off on 1862 Map of Dauphin County
Tags: Berrysburg, Elizabethville, Enders, Fisherville, Gratz Borough, Halifax Borough, Halifax Township, Jackson Township, Jacksonville, Lykens Borough, Lykens Township, Matamoras, Mifflin Township, Millersburg, Pillow, Uniontown, Upper Paxton Township, Washington Township, Wiconisco, Wiconisco Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on June 29, 2012

As noted in the post yesterday, nine men with the name “Daniel Riegle” have been identified as soldiers in Pennsylvania Civil War regiments (with the surname spelling in variation). The most famous of these was Daniel P. Reigle, who served in Company F of the 87th Pennsylvania Infantry, as a Sergeant, and who, for his bravery, received the Medal of Honor.  He was the subject of the post yesterday.  Yesterday, four additional men named Daniel Riegle were presented.  Today, the final four will be featured.  The attempt here is to identify specific facts about each that will help to separate them in the records and to see if they are in any way related to each other.  It was previously speculated that there was a good possibility that any person with the Riegle surname who had origins in Berks County had a good possibly of being related to others of the same surname and it was previously stated that because of the spelling variations of the name, there was difficulty sometimes in making genealogical connections.

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DANIEL RIGGLE (1830-1901)

Daniel Riggle or Daniel Riggles was born about 1830 in Pennsylvania and worked as a laborer.  On 12 August 1862, he enrolled at Williamsport, Lycoming County, in the 131st Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, as a Private and was mustered in at Harrisburg.  He was wounded at Fredericksburg, Virginia, 15 December 1862, and on account of the wound, was discharged on 7 January 1863 on a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability.  On 20 February 1864, he re-enlisted in the 188th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, as a Private and served until a charge of desertion was placed on his record on 18 November 1864.  In 1890, Daniel reported to the census that the charge of desertion was officially dropped on 18 April 1890.  He also reported that he was shot in the shoulder during the war.

According to pension records and on-line family trees, Daniel Riggle died on 6 January 1901.  He is buried in Hyner Cemetery, Chapman Township, Clinton County, Pennsylvania.  After Daniel died, his widow, Mary A, Riggle, applied for and received his pension benefits.

There is a possibility that this Daniel Riggle is the same person as the one who joined the 3rd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery (see post from yesterday) since they both are from Muncy, Lycoming County, and both are 6 foot, 1 inch tall.  If they are the same person, then the confirming information could be in the pension records along with explanation of why the charge of desertion was dropped.

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 DANIEL K. REIGLE (1827-1875) and DANIEL J. REIGLE (1825-1901)

Daniel K. Reigle was born 31 December 1827 in Union Township, Snyder County, Pennsylvania.  He was a direct descendant of Johann Cornelius Riegel (1674-1750), the immigrant who settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania, and whose descendant migrated to the Lykens Valley.  Daniel K. Riegle, though his ancestral line, was a third cousin to the children of the Daniel Riegle who was the Dauphin County Commissioner in the 1850s.

On 28 October 1862, Daniel K. Reigle was mustered into the 172nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A,  as a draftee.  He held the rank of Private.  No Pension Index Card has been located.

Daniel married Elizabeth Herrold (1825-1881) and the couple had three known children (birth years approximate):  Sarah Riegel (1852- ); Rebecca Riegel (1854-   ); and Viola Riegel (1858-1931).  In 1870, Daniel’s occupation is given as sawyer.  Daniel and Elizabeth lived in Snyder County, but for some reason, when Daniel died 29 August  1875, he was buried in the Himmel’s Church Cemetery, Rebuck, Northumberland County.  Daniel Riegle had a brother John Riegle (1817-1867) who also served in the Civil War.

The above card from the Pennsylvania Archives presents a problem in that a different cemetery is given for the Daniel Reigle presently being discussed – and also states that Daniel also served in the 49th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, as a Private. The card was probably prepared in error since another Daniel Reigle has been located in the 49th Pennsylvania Infantry… as Daniel J. Reigle, with birth date of 13 January 1825 (Union County, Pennsylvania) and death date of 27 September 1901.  This Daniel J. Snyder is buried at Beavertown Cemetery, Beavertown, Snyder County, Pennsylvania and was known to have at least three wives:  Mary Ann Getz; Susan (a widow); and Amelia Felmey (also a widow).

The above cards show that a different Daniel Riegle served in the 49th Pennsylvania Infantry than the one who served in the 172nd Pennsylvania Infantry.

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DANIEL RIEGLE (1830-1905).

Daniel Riegle was born in July 1830 in Pennsylvania.  On 2 November 1862, he was drafted into the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company C, as a Private and served until 5 August 1863 until he was mustered out with his company.  He then re-enlisted in the 201st Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, as a Private, on 22 August 1864, serving until mustered out on 21 June 1865.

In 1875, Daniel married Jane Painter (1843-?).  In 1890, they were living in East Hanover Township, Dauphin County, and Daniel noted no Civil War-related disabilities to the census.  In 1900, they were living in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, where Daniel was working as a well digger.  Daniel died on 4 December 1905 and is buried in Linglestown Church of God Cemetery, Linglestown, Dauphin County.  His stone notes both regiments in which he served.

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Anyone with further information on any of the men named Daniel Riegle (various spellings) can contribute it to the data files of the Civil War Research Project where efforts continue to sort out the many persons of this surname who served in the Civil War.

Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Cards are from the Pennsylvania Archives.  Pension Index Cards are from Ancestry.com and reference records at the National Archives in Washington, D.C..

Category: Queries, Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Other Men Named Daniel Riegle (Part 2 of 2)
Tags: Rebuck, Riegle family

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on June 28, 2012

As noted in the post yesterday, nine men with the name “Daniel Riegle” have been identified as soldiers in Pennsylvania Civil War regiments (with the surname spelling in variation). The most famous of these was Daniel P. Reigle, who served in Company F of the 87th Pennsylvania Infantry, as a Sergeant, and who, for his bravery, received the Medal of Honor.  He was the subject of the post yesterday.  Today, four additional men named Daniel Riegle will be presented.  Tomorrow, the final four will be featured.  The attempt here is to identify specific facts about each that will help to separate them in the records and to see if they are in any way related to each other.  It was previously speculated that there was a good possibility that any person with the Riegle surname who had origins in Berks County had a good possibly of being related to others of the same surname and it was previously stated that because of the spelling variations of the name, there was difficulty sometimes in making genealogical connections.

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DANIEL RIEGLE (1834-   ).

Daniel Riegle. a 27-year old watchmaker (approximate year of birth 1834), enrolled in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A, at Gratztown, Dauphin County, and was mustered into service as a Private at Harrisburg on 9 September 1861.  He served until his discharge on 29 September 1864.  During the course of his service he was detached to the 79th New York Infantry, Company B (from 15 January 1864 to 15 April 1864).  It is a mystery as to who this Daniel Riegle is connected to and why he enrolled at Gratz.

The Pension Index Card shows that he applied for a pension prior to 1890 when the rules were relaxed and that he received a pension so his disability from the service must have contributed to his inabilities.  There is no widow named on the card so it is not possible from this record to approximate his date of death.   This Daniel Riegle has not been located in the 1890 census, possibly indicating that he died before 1890.  Searching with the various spellings of the surname yielded no good matches in the Findagrave database.

The above biographical sketch is also part of a continuing story on the men who served in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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DANIEL RIGGAL (? – ?)

Of all the persons with this name, this is the one about whom the least is known.  This is because this Daniel Riggal served as a Sergeant for only one month in one of the Pennsylvania Emergency Forces in 1863, that of the 37th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company K, that was mustered into service in July 1863 and discharged on 4 August 1863.  Also in the same company was a Levi Riggal, who served as a Private.

No Pension Index Card has been found for this individual, most likely because he didn’t serve for three or more months and because his short and uneventful service would have precluded a war-related disability.  No matching record has been located in the 1890 census possibly indicating that he died before 1890.

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DANIEL RIEGAL (1838-1864)

Daniel Riegal was born about 1838 if he was 24 when he enrolled in the 7th Pennsylvania Reserves (36th Pennsylvania Infantry) at Lebanon, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, on 10 September 1862 and was mustered in as a Private into Company C the same day.  According to the Pennsylvania Veterans’ Index Card, no personal information was given at the time of enlistment, other than his age. In some records, his name appears as “Riegel.”

At the Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia, on 6 May 1864, Daniel was reported missing and presumed dead.  A few years later, his widow, Veronica Riegal, applied for benefits from the Pension Bureau, which she received.  Veronica was recorded in the 1890 Census for Lebanon, Lebanon County,as the widow of Daniel and she referred to his military regiment as the 7th Pennsylvania, which was actually the 7th Pennsylvania Reserves.  She can also be found in the 1891 Lebanon City Directory.

Not much more is known about Daniel Riegal at this time.

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DANIEL RIGGELL (1829-   )

The Daniel Riggell who enrolled at Mifflin Township, county not given, on 29 February 1864, was mustered in the same day to the 3rd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, Company U (unassigned), as a Private.  On his enrollment records, his age was given as 33 year (birth year about 1829), his height was 6 foot, 1 inch, and he was of dark complexion with black hair and black eyes.  He gave his occupation as laborer and his birthplace as Muncy, Pennsylvania, a borough in Lycoming County.  While there is a Mifflin Township in Dauphin County, it is more reasonable to assume that since this Daniel was born in Muncy, that he enrolled from the Mifflin Township in Lycoming County.

As for the military record, there is no muster-out roll available with this Daniel Riggell’s name.  No Pension Index Card has been located.

Not much more is known about him.

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The final four men named Daniel Riegle who served in Pennsylvania Regiments will be presented tomorrow.

Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Cards are from the Pennsylvania Archives.  Pension Index Cards are from Ancestry.com and reference records at the National Archives in Washington, D.C..

Category: Queries, Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Other Men Named Daniel Riegle (Part 1 of 2)
Tags: Gratz Borough, Mifflin Township, Riegle family