Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 28, 2011

Early records of this Gratz property, known on the Simon Gratz subdivision as Lot #18, indicate it was first owned by George Kissinger in 1815.  The deed for the 1815 transaction is the earliest-found recorded deed of any of the original Simon Gratz lots.  George Kissinger is not known to have erected any building on the lot, and in 1846, he sold it to George Hoffman, who only kept it for a short time before conveying it to John Kissinger and John Welker, trustees of the Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed Congregation.

During the period of the 1840s, a period of unrest had occurred in many churches and Christians began to change their attitude toward traditional doctrine.  These “New Measures,” as they were called, spread through the Lykens Valley and were felt at the Simeon Lutheran and Reformed Church where a group of “rebels” broke away and organized a new congregation.  The result of this was the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed Congregation, which then sought land on which to build a church home. They purchased Lot #18 and the construction of Samuel’s Lutheran and German Reformed Church began in 1846.  This original building still stands today but is no longer an active church.  Late in the 20th century, the property was purchased by the Gratz National Bank, which has retained the exterior appearance of the building but re-modeled the interior for its headquarters office.

The only record of the names of the rebellious congregation members who left Simeon’s to form Samuel’s congregation is at the cemetery that was purchased just south of the old Simeon’s Church, now known as Section 1-South of the Gratz Union Cemetery.  The surnames of individuals buried in this cemetery prior to the Civil War include Gise, Harner, Hess, Hoffman, Hummel, Kissinger, Moyer, Dubendorf, Ossman, Riegle, Schminky, Schreiner, DeWald, Strayer, Welker, and Yerges.  Since these surnames are also found in the old Simeon’s burial ground, it is clear that families were split over the “New Measures” and this resulted in religious conflict in Gratz as the Civil War approached.  Much more research needs to be done to determine how this religious split in such a small community had an effect on daily life just before and during the Civil War.

The earliest-found picture of Samuel’s Church is shown above and was probably taken in the first part of the 20th century.

Rev. Charles Franklin Stoever (1811-1880)

The first minister of Samuel’s Church was Rev. Charles Franklin Stoever (1811-1880) who served the Gratz post from 1846 to about 1850.  He was a Maryland native who had received his training at Gettysburg College and served his first congregation in Milton, Northumberland County.  After he left the Lykens Valley, he went to Mechanicsburg, where he served from 1854 to 1873.  As with the early congregation lists which were lost over time, so too was the list of ministers who served here.  Other than some marriages that were performed in 1865 by a Rev. William Yost, no records have have been located that identify any clergy associated with this church.

By 1870, the small congregation decided to sell to the Evangelical Association of Gratz, which conducted camp meetings throughout the Lykens Valley.  The camp meeting movement sought to take religion into the open air where massive meetings were held on hillsides.  This Evangelical Association took over the Samuel’s Church building and held regular services there in addition to sponsoring camp meetings.  There is a record of the ministers who served this church from about 1870 to the late 20th century, though no names stand out as having any Civil War military connections.

This is part 26 of an ongoing series on Gratz during the Civil War.  Some of the information for this post was taken from the book A Comprehensive History of the Town of Gratz Pennsylvania.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Gratz During the Civil War – Samuel’s Church
Tags: Gratz Borough, Gratz family, Kissinger family, Walking Tour, Welker family

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 27, 2011

Today, the blog post  again continues to feature members of the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, who served the full term of nine months and received honorable discharges on 5 August 1863.  The research results presented here are based on preliminary data gathering on each of the members of the company and searches for Pension Index Cards that reference the pension application files that are available at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.  Some of the members of this company has been previously discussed on blog posts here and reference to those posts are provided with links.

In addition, much has already been written on Benjamin J. Evitts, the elected captain of this company (click here for previous posts on Benjamin J. Evitts).   Click here for previous posts on the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry.

The 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I,was a drafted militia that served for nine months.  No member of this militia was reported injured as a result of a military act, so, theoretically, nearly all the pension applications should be post-1890, when “age” became the most significant factor for the veteran to receive a pension.  This should be reflected in the date of application on the Pension Index Card.  If the veteran died before 1890, there probably was no application made by the veteran, but it is possible that a widow applied.  In the column for “Certificate Number,” if no number appears, this would indicate that an application was made, but no pension was awarded.  If a number appears in the “Certificate Number” column, it can be assumed that a pension was awarded, although the date of the award cannot be determined from the Pension Index Card.

——————————

PETER KLINGER (1838-1915)

In a previous post, Descendants of Johann Peter Klinger & Catharina Steinbruch, the service of Peter Klinger in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry was noted, as was the service of four of his brothers in the Civil War.  Additional information about Peter is now given here.  In 1850, Peter was living with his parents in Mifflin Township, Dauphin County.  The father, Philip Klinger was a farmer and an older brother Samuel Klinger was living at home and working as a laborer.  In 1860, Peter Klinger was living with his widowed mother Catharina [Kauffman] Klinger in Lykens Township with an younger brother William Klinger in the household.  Peter was working the family farm which was adjacent to the Muench farm where Margaret Muench lived.  In 1861, Peter Klinger married Margaret Muench at Pillow, Dauphin County.  When Peter was drafted in 1862, two of his brothers were drafted with him into the same regiment, the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry – older brother Samuel Klinger (see above and below) and older brother Philip Klinger Jr. (see below).  When Peter left for the war, one child had already been born to him and his wife Margaret, Francis Klinger, born about 1861.  Additional children were born during and after the war (dates approximate):  Fietta Klinger (1863-?), Annie Klinger (1865-1925), Sallie Klinger (1867-1947),  Kate Klinger (1871-?), Cora Klinger (1755-?), George Klinger (1876-?), and Charles Klinger (1878-1856).  After the war, Peter Klinger returned to farming in Lykens Township and spent most of his remaining days on the farm collecting a pension for his Civil War service from about 1892 until his death in 1915.  Peter Klinger is buried in Grand View Cemetery, Pillow, Dauphin County.  All told, Peter Klinger and four of his brothers were Civil War veterans, a major contribution of one family in the Lykens Valley area!

——————————

SAMUEL KLINGER (1826-1897)

Samuel Klinger was the brother of Peter Klinger (see above) and his genealogy was previously reported in the post, Descendants of Johann Peter Klinger & Catharina Steinbruch.  He was born in the area of Lykens Township and for most of his life resided in the Pillow area where he worked as a laborer.  Samuel married Mary Shaffer, who was born about 1831, and by the time of the Civil War the couple had given birth to at least three children:  Emma Klinger, born about 1854; Benjamin Klinger, born about 1860, and Agnes Klinger, born about 1862.  Following his drafted service in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Samuel enlisted in the 208th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A.  As can be seen from the Pension Index Card, Samuel died leaving a widow who was able to continue receiving the war pension until her death about 15 years after her husband.  Both are buried in the Union Cemetery, Jordan Township, Northumberland County.  He along with four of his brothers were Civil War veterans.

——————————

PHILIP KLINGER Jr. (1836-1935)

Philip Klinger was also previously mentioned in the post, Descendants of Johann Peter Klinger & Catharina Steinbruch  and also as one of four brothers who were Civil War veterans, three of whom served in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I (see above). Philip Klinger was born in Lykens Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in 1836.  In 1855 he married Phoebe Ann Koch at Berrysburg.  At the time of the Civil War, it appears from the records that three young children were in the family:  Sarah Klinger, born 1856; William Henry Klinger, born 1859; and Priscilla Klinger, born 1862.  After his service in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, Philip Klinger joined the 76th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H, in Luzerne County as a substitute on 12 October 1864 and served until discharge on 18 July 1865.  After the war, he worked as a day laborer in Lykens Township and in Hubley Township, Schuylkill County.  Philip Klinger is buried at Zion (Klinger) Church Cemetery, Erdman, Lykens Township.  There is a “military issue” stone marker on his grave which not indicate the years of birth and death.  Only the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, is noted, although his pension record also indicates service in the 76th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H.  Some sources indicate that Philip Klinger died at the age of 99, but this has not yet been confirmed with other sources.  Also, Philip Klinger reported service in the 73rd Pennsylvania Infantry when the 1890 census was taken, although that has not been confirmed and the information conflicts with the Pension Index Card.

—————————–

JOSEPH KLINGER (1844-1897)

Joseph Klinger was a close relation of the three Klinger brothers named above who also served in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry.  Information on him was previously reported in the post, Descendants of Johann Peter Klinger & Catharina Steinbruch.  Joseph Klinger was born in the Lykens Township area in 1844, the son of John Adam Klinger (1811-1872) and Susanna [Romberger] Klinger (1815-1891).  John Adam Klinger was a miller in Lykens Township but Joseph decided to be laborer, an occupation which he pursued in Lykens Township and Upper Paxton Township up to the time of his service in the Civil War.  During the war, he was drafted into the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, and following that service joined the 210th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H, from 6 September 1864 through discharge on 30 May 1865.  Upon return from the war, he married Sarah Zimmerman in Washington Township, Dauphin County, the Rev. Jeremiah Shindel performing the ceremony.  They had several children while Joseph worked as a laborer in the coal mines and the family lived in Williams Township and Wiconisco.  Joseph died in 1897 of a cardiac paralysis caused by typhoid fever and was buried in Calvary United Methodist Cemetery, Wiconisco.  He may be buried in an unmarked grave as his stone has not yet been located.  Sarah died in 1936, collecting the widow’s pension until her death.

—————————–

JORIAS KISSINGER (1840-1882)

Jorias Kissinger is found in the records as Jerius, Jarius, Josias, and Jerias.  He was born in 1840 in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the son of Jonas Kissinger (1817-1903) and Rebecca [Dreher] Kissinger (1817-?).  In the Civil War, he served first with the drafted militia, the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, and after his service there, he enlisted in the 210th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H, on 16 September 1864.  On 1 April 1865, he as promoted to Sergeant.  His service ended on 30 May 1865 when he was mustered out with his company.  Upon return from the war, he married Sarah Hartman in December 1865 and then proceeded to settle down to the life of a farmer in Lykens Township, Washington Township, and the Gratz area.  Eight children were born to this couple between 1866 and 1881.  Jorias Kissinger died in 1882 and is buried in Gratz Union Cemetery.

No Pension Index Card has been located for Jorias Kissinger, and the initial speculation was that this was because he died in 1882, before the pension rules were relaxed.  But this is a curious problem, because at the time of his death, he left a widow, and according to the census of 1880, there were several children in the household who were under the age of 16 who would have been eligible for support.  His widow Sarah lived to 1931 and there is no known record that she remarried.  Is so, it may have disqualified her for a pension.  Another curious issue is that the Civil War Research Project has some copies of papers which appear to be from a widow’s pension application file for Sarah [Hartman] Kissinger, papers which name the minor children and show that she was receiving a pension and that pension was increased to $20 per month in 1916.

——————————

The continuation of the “Honorable Discharges” of the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, will appear in early December 2011.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | 3 Comments »
Tags: Berrysburg, Erdman, Gratz Borough, Hartman family, Hubley Township, Jordan Township, Kauffman family, Kissinger family, Klinger family, Koch family, Lykens Township, Muench family, Pillow, Regiments, Romberger family, Shaffer family, Washington Township, Wiconisco, Williams Township, Women, Zimmerman family

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 26, 2011

In the files of the Gratz Historical Society are a number of unidentified or partially identified photos, some of which pertain to the Civil War.  The photo shown above was contributed by Joseph Hartman with the only identification as, “Devil’s Den, c. 1910.”  Unfortunately, the Society only has a photocopy of the original.  No one knows the whereabouts of the original.  By clicking on a picture, it will enlarge and much of the detail can be seen.

The black writing on the picture at the lower left appears to be “2675” and Devil’s Den.” and was probably put there by the photographer to identify the negative.  A second picture that was donated at the same time by the same donor indicates the photographer as “M.F. Williams – National Park Photographer – Gettysburg, PA.”  The other picture has white writing on it and was taken elsewhere at Gettysburg, so it is likely that the pictures are of different groups taken at different times.  It is not known if the photographs are of Lykens Valley area residents.

The second photo is pictured below:

If the photos were taken around 1910, a few of the men pictured could have been Civil War veterans – but most appear to be too young.  Many of the men in each picture are wearing some sort of identification ribbon, perhaps designating an encampment of the G.A.R.

Any and all help would be appreciated in further identifying these photos and telling of the circumstances under which they were taken.  Was this a re-union or an excursion?  How did the groups get to Gettysburg?  Are there any individuals in the photos who can be identified?

Category: Queries, Resources, Stories | 2 Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 25, 2011

Today, the blog post  again continues to feature members of the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, who served the full term of nine months and received honorable discharges on 5 August 1863.  The research results presented here are based on preliminary data gathering on each of the members of the company and searches for Pension Index Cards that reference the pension application files that are available at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.  Some of the members of this company has been previously discussed on blog posts here and reference to those posts are provided with links.

In addition, much has already been written on Benjamin J. Evitts, the elected captain of this company (click here for previous posts on Benjamin J. Evitts).   Click here for previous posts on the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry.

The 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I,was a drafted militia that served for nine months.  No member of this militia was reported injured as a result of a military act, so, theoretically, nearly all the pension applications should be post-1890, when “age” became the most significant factor for the veteran to receive a pension.  This should be reflected in the date of application on the Pension Index Card.  If the veteran died before 1890, there probably was no application made by the veteran, but it is possible that a widow applied.  In the column for “Certificate Number,” if no number appears, this would indicate that an application was made, but no pension was awarded.  If a number appears in the “Certificate Number” column, it can be assumed that a pension was awarded, although the date of the award cannot be determined from the Pension Index Card.

——————————

GEORGE FEIDT (1832-1905)

George Feidt was born in 1832 in Upper Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the son of John Feidt and Mary Ann [Will] Feidt.  In 1860, in Upper Paxton Township, he was enumerated as a master shoemaker and was supporting his widowed mother Mary.  Also George’s sister Mary Feidt, age 22, was living with them and working as a domestic. A shoemaker apprentice, Jonathan Hoke, age 19, was also living in household.  When the war came, he was drafted and served in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I.  Returning from the war, and still not married, he continued to support his widowed mother and continued to work as a shoemaker in Upper Paxton Township. In 1871, at the age of 38, he married Sarah Barnhart, who was 35 years old.  They had no children.  By 1880, George is farming in Upper Paxton Township.  He participated in the activities of the Kilpatrick Post of the G.A.R. in Millersburg and his name is recorded on the Millersburg Civil War Monument.  George collected a pension for his service in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, and  lived three years beyond his wife, Sarah.  George Feidt is buried in the Lutheran Cemetery in Killinger, Dauphin County.

——————————

PHILIP FURKEL (1830-?)

Philip Furkel is believed to have been born about 1830, but not much is known at this time of his parentage or where he was born.  He served in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, as a Private.  No Pension Index Card has been located for him.

——————————

JOHN L. GOOD (1845-1928)

John L. Good was born in Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the son of Daniel Good, a farmer, and Margaret [Reedy] Good, daughter of Leonard Reedy, a gunsmith.  Other genealogical connections for John L. Good with the Civil War are that his twin uncles, William Henry Reedy (who also served in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I) and Henry William Reedy, the brothers of his mother, both were war veterans.  Leonard Reedy and his sons were featured in a previous post on Gratz during the Civil War.  In addition to serving in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry as a draftee, upon return, John L. Good enlisted in the 210th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H, as a Corporal, where he was mustered in on 16 September 1864.  He was wounded at Gravelly Run, Virginia, on 31 March 1865, and was eventually discharged by General Order on 31 May 1865.

After the Civil War, John married Catherine “Cassie” Schreffler and moved to Pilot Mound, Boone County, Iowa, where he worked as a farmer and raised his family of nine or ten children.  By 1910, the year Cassie died, he had retired and was living on his “own income,” presumably his Civil War pension, which he applied for from Iowa and received in Iowa.  He spent his last days as a boarder in Ogden, Boone County, and when he died he was buried in the Union Cemetery in Grant Boxholm.

——————————

JOHN HOFFMAN (1837-1897)

The John Hoffman who served in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry is sometimes found in the records as John I. Hoffman or John Tobias Hoffman.  He was born in 1837 in Mifflin Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the son of Johann Christian Hoffman Jr. (1799-1870) and Sarah Rebecca [Tobias] Hoffman (1802-1870).  Through his father he was a direct descendant of Johann Peter Hoffman, pioneer settler of the Lykens Valley.  John Hoffman married Harriet “Henrietta” Ginter and had at least one child, Sarah Hoffman, who was born in 1866.  After the war, John and Harriet lived in Washington Township, Dauphin County, where he worked as a laborer.  Later he moved to Hubley Township, Schuylkill County.  The Pension Index Card (see above) notes that John Hoffman applied for a pension in 1892, but was not awarded one.  However, upon his death, his widow applied, and she was awarded a pension.  John Hoffman is buried in Peace Cemetery, Berrysburg, Dauphin County.  Because of a significant number of persons with same name, all of whom served in the Civil War, it is difficult to separate the records of each, so more research has to be done to insure that the records are not co-mingled.  The Gratz Historical Society has a picture in its collection that is identified only as “John Hoffman” and when the name “John Hoffman” appears on a war memorial without further designation, it is very difficult to determine who is being honored.

—————————–

ALFRED HOOVER (1815-1902)

Alfred Hoover, who was born in 1815, probably near Curtin, Dauphin County,Pennsylvania, was featured in three prior posts on this blog:  (1) Hoover Family in the Civil War; (2) Pvt. Alfred Hoover – 177th Pennsylvania Infantry; and (3) Obituary of Pvt. Alfred Hoover.  Research is still being conducted to determine his connection with other members of the Hoover family.  Alfred Hoover married Mary Deibler in 1860 in Mifflin Township.

—————————–

The continuation of the “Honorable Discharges” of the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, will appear on Sunday of this weekend.

——————————

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | 1 Comment »
Tags: Barnhart family, Berrysburg, Deibler family, Feidt family, G.A.R., Ginter family, Good family, Gratz Borough, Hoffman family, Hoke family, Hoover family, Hubley Township, Killinger, Mifflin Township, Millersburg, Reedy family, Schreffler family, Upper Paxton Township, Washington Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on November 24, 2011

Today is Thanksgiving 2011.  One hundred fifty years ago, during the Civil War, Thanksgiving was celebrated at the call of the governors of the various states, with Pennsylvania’s recognition of the day being on 28 November 1861, which was at the call of Gov. Andrew Curtin.  It was the first opportunity he had to call for a day of Thanksgiving in the Commonwealth as he was in his first year as governor.

Recognition of the day was widespread throughout Pennsylvania and newspapers reported on various activities that were taking place.

THANKSGIVING EXERCISES.–The customary Thanksgiving Dinner will be given on Thursday afternoon next, at three o’clock, at the Northern Home for Friendless Children, corner of Twenty-Third and Brown streets.  Addresses will be delivered by Hon. James Pollock, Rev. Mr. Brooks, Rev. J. B. Byattsmith and others; and interesting exercises will take place by the children.  The public are invited, and donations will be gratefully received.  Religious services will be held on Thursday morning, half-past ten, in St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, New street, where Rev. E. W. Hutter will preach the sermon.

THANKSGIVING DAY. — We learn that the philanthropic ladies of Roxborough intend, in Thursday, to give a pious treat to the soldiers of the National Guard Regiment at Camp Roxborough.  Innumerable pies and other dainties have already been contributed.  we have heard that the soldiers say that they would not complain if such a treat occurred every week.

The news from Maryland noted the following:

Everything in the shape of locomotives, machinery, &c., belonging to the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, have been removed by the Rebels and taken to the vicinity of Winchester.  Even the double track for twenty miles has been torn up…

Last week, Major Stone, Chief of the Provost Guard, with a company of cavalry… made the arrest of Rev. Samuel V. Leach, a clergyman of the Methodist persuasion, whom he sent to Fort McHenry.  Other cases, where parties were charged with disaffection, were investigated and dismissed….

The Massachusetts regiments are making preliminary arrangements to celebrate Thanksgiving in camp.  Turkeys, chickens and pumpkins are being procured.

Also, another dispatch from Baltimore noted that help was on the way for the regiments encamped in that vicinity.

Some of the regiments which for several weeks have been encamped around Baltimore are, I am told, to unite with the next great Naval expedition, and their places here will be supplied by fresh troops expected from the North.  There are now at Annapolis thirteen to fourteen thousand soldiers awaiting orders.

Many of the residents of Pennsylvania heeded the call of their religious leaders to go to worship.  The Philadelphia Inquirer, over the course of the next several days, reprinted the full text of each of the sermons delivered on Thanksgiving Day.  Most , if not all of what was said in the churches in the Lykens Valley area is not available for examination, so reliance on what was said in Philadelphia by the leaders of the major denominations is one way to determine what was being said about the relationship of the war to religious beliefs – and what the people of the Lykens Valley understood it to be.

Excerpts of the sermon of Rev. John Henry Augustus Bomberger, D.D., of the German Reformed Church are presented.  Rev. Bomberger, who was one of the leading theologians of the church,  based his sermon Psalm 34, “I will bless the Lord at all times….”  He was one of the few to relate the war to the evils of slavery:

Far be it from us to be insensible to the fearful evils of civil war, and of the civil war especially in which the pride of caste, fanaticism in the maintenance of slavery, and the reckless ambition of a few designing, wicked men, have involved this country.  There never was a rebellion like it; never one without a paldating excuse; never one against so good a Government; never one that sprang up admist such prospects of long enduring national prosperity; never one which was so supported or resisted by so many armed thousands of the best citizens of the land.  It has inflicted much desolation on us already, and threatens to cover still vaster fields with blood, and send anguish, bitter and burning, into a thousand more homes.

On this Thanksgiving Day 1861, there was no sense that the war would last for more than three more years and the anguish and desolation spoken of by the Rev. Bomberger would be found in a thousand-thousand more homes, with the effects lasting for generations.  There was also no overriding sense that the war was being fought to end the scourge of slavery.  That would come later.  The people of the nation did heed the call to worship and pray and in the context of what they believed, there was not much more they could do.  The great struggle had to play out on the battlefields.  In the coming year, 1862, that reality would become apparent.

Articles are from the Philadelphia Inquirer of November 1861 are available through the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.  The portrait of Rev. John Henry Augustus Bomberger is from a history of St. John Reformed Church of Reigelsville, re-published in a free, downloadable version (click here).

Category: Culture, Reflections, Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Thanksgiving 1861 – Observance
Tags: Andrew Curtin