Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on August 30, 2018

On 30 May 1901, the West Schuylkill Herald of Tower City, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, published a list entitled “Our Deceased Heroes,” in which soldier burials in area cemeteries were listed.  All of the veterans named in the list were Civil War Veterans.

Our Deceased Heroes

Below will be found a list of the deceased soldiers buried in the various cemeteries in this vicinity:

TOWER CITY CEMETERY

Isaac Frantz, Company A, 208th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Edward King, Company D, 46th Pennsylvania Infantry.

John W. Strohecker, Company A, 50th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Samuel Schwenk, Company B, 50th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Aaron Updegrave. Company D, 26th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Jacob Gamber, Company B, 54th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Hazellet McElwain, Company C, 5th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Daniel Updegrave, Company B, 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry.

Christian Seibert, Veteran Reserve Corps.

Henry J. Aunspach, Company A, 50th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Edward J. Robson, Company G, 6th Pennsylvania Infantry.

I. J. Eisenhower, Company A, 201th Pennsylvania Infantry.

H. M. Witmer, no record.

Benjamin Workman, Company F, 173rd Pennsylvania Infantry.

Jonathan Miller, Company H, 39th Pennsylvania Infantry.

George Wagner, Company I, 84th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Linzey Campbell, Company E, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry.

William Zimmerman, no record.

Henry K. Updegrave, Company G, 6th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Peter A. Roads, Company E, 6th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Joseph A. Erhardt, Company A, 208th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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GREENWOOD CEMETERY

Joseph R. Zeiter, Company G, 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery.

Benjamin Charlesworth, Company I, 27th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Elias Shell, Company F, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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REINER CITY CEMETERY

Conrad Caslow, Company C, 8th Pennsylvania Artillery.

Jonas P. Reigle, Company A, 50th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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ORWIN CEMETERY

William H. Reedy, Company I, 177th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Henry Sponsler, Company F, 173rd Pennsylvania Infantry.

George W. Meyers, Company H, 46th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Philip Dietrich, Company A, 50th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Isaac Moyer, Company B, 46th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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The following have died recently and are buried in out of town cemeteries:

Benjamin Rickert, no record, at Williamstown.

John Werner, Company H, 210th Pennsylvania Infantry, buried at Lykens.

Benjamin Bixler, Company F, 173rd Pennsylvania Infantry, buried in Artz Cemetery, Sacramento, Pennsylvania.

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Article from Newspapers.com.

Category: Overviews, Research | 1 Comment »
Tags: Lykens, Orwin, Reinerton, Sacramento, Tower City, Williamsown

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on August 29, 2018

An undated picture post card view of Little Round Top and the statue of Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren. Gettysburg Battlefield, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

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Image provided by Debby Rabold, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from a family collection.

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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on August 28, 2018

John Bixler was born about 1838, probably in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, the son of David Bixler (1817-1863) and his wife Anna [Wolfgang] Bixler (1821-1900).   He died in 1866 and is buried at St. Andrew United Methodist Church Cemetery, Valley View, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

At about the age of 23, he enrolled on 19 August 1861 in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry, at Llewellyn, Schuylkill County, and was mustered into service as a Private at Harrisburg in Company A, 9 September 1861.  At that time, he resided in Llewellyn and was working as a teamster.  He stood nearly 6 feet all, had brown hair, a florid complexion, and blue eyes. On 1 January 1864, he re-enlisted at Blaine’s Crossroads, Tennessee.  Bates indicates that he was mustered out of service with his company on 30 July 1865.

No pension application record has been located for anyone claiming to be a survivor (widow or child).

In 1879, someone made application to the government for an official headstone, which was delivered to the cemetery at that time.  The cemetery was then known as the United Brethren Cemetery of Valley View.  The card shown above is from the records collection at Ancestry.com, Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Veterans.  There are no birth and death dates on the stone.

Very little information, other than what has been presented here, can be found at his Findagrave Memorial, and no sources are given for the birth date (obviously incorrect) and the death date, which does not match the year on the headstone application..

At the time of this writing, nothing more is known of this veteran, though it is possible additional information can be found in the records of the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry.

If any reader can add to the story of this veteran, it would be appreciated.

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Tags: Valley View

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on August 27, 2018

William Bixler, sometimes found in the records as William S. Bixler or William H. Bixler, was born in 1839, in Jackson Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the son of John Bixler (1811-1863) and Sarah Catherine [Straw] Bixler (1812-1896).  At his grave, which is located at Fairview Cemetery, Enders, Dauphin County, there is a G.A.R. star-flag holder.  There is no mention on the stone that he was a Civil War veteran.

William Bixler died in 1881 as noted on the grave marker.  It was mentioned here in a prior blog post, that he was listed in the Halifax Bicentennal Book as a Civil War veteran who was buried at Enders, but no regiment or company was given.

According to information available on Steve Maczuga’s Database, the only person of that name who served in a Pennsylvania regiment was the William Bixler who was mustered into service on 19 July 1864 in Company B of the 196th Pennsylvania Infantry and served as a Private through his muster our on 17 November 1864.

That same William Bixler, is represented on a Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Card from the Pennsylvania Archives:

According to the Registers of Pennsylvania Volunteers from the Pennsylvania Archives, the William S. Bixler who served in this regiment/company, was 18 years old at the time of his enlistment at Philadelphia, making the year of birth more like 1846 than the year on the grave marker at Enders.

Click on document to enlarge.

No pension record has been located for a William Bixler who served in the 196th Pennsylvania Infantry or in any Regular Army regiment.  This is unusual, because even though the William Bixler buried at Enders died in 1881, his widow, the former Catharine A. McColly, did not die until 1927 – and to make matters worse, there were at least five known minor children in 1881 who would have been eligible for benefits as well!

While it possible that this veteran who served in the 196th Pennsylvania Infantry is the same as the man buried at Enders, until a direct piece of information can connect the two, the Enders William Bixler can only be considered a “maybe” as a veteran.

Readers with suggestions are welcome to submit them for discussion.

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Tags: Enders, G.A.R., Jackson Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on August 26, 2018

Romulus Riggs “Romeo” Bacon was born on 31 December 1836, in Philadelphia, the son of Dr. James Ware Bacon (1809-1863) of Franklin County, Kentucky, and Alice Anne [Riggs] Bacon (1814-1843) of Philadelphia.  Both parents are buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia.

At the time of the Civil War Romeo enrolled in the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company B, at Philadelphia, at the rank of 1st Lieutenant, 1 August 1862.  Ne gave his residence at the time as Philadelphia.  The card from the Pennsylvania Archives, shown above, notes that he resigned on 11 February 1863.

The next reference to him is in the U.S. Civil War Draft Records, July 1863, which place him in Franklin County, Kentucky, where he was working as a clerk.  He also indicated in the draft registration that he had prior service as a 1st Lieutenant in the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, but “resigned [on a] doctor’s certificate.”

Then, on 18 August 1868, he died at Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky.  He is buried in the cemetery there.

The Louisville Daily Courier of 21 August 1868 reported his death as follow:

BACON – In Frankfort, on the evening of the 18th inst., of consumption, R. RIGGS BACON, in the 32nd year of his age.

While no connection with him and the Lykens Valley has been found, he is included here because Company B of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry was almost entirely populated with men from the Lykens Valley and he was an officer in that company for about 6 months.

Readers with additional information about Romulus Riggs “Romeo” Bacon are urged to submit it.

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Some information can be found at his Findagrave Memorial.

News clipping from Newspapers.com.

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