Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 21, 2018

Alfred Ayers, sometimes spelled Ayres, was born in 1841, in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, the son of Abram Ayers (1811-1879) and Anna [Russell] Ayers (1815-1888).

At the time of the Civil War, he enrolled in the 129th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company G, at Ashland, Schuylkill County, and was mustered into service as a Private on 13 August 1862.  He was about 21 years old at the time.  Other than his age, there is no personal information about him on his Veterans’ File Card (above), available from the Pennsylvania Archives.

Ayers died on 3 July 1915, and the Mount Carmel Item published his obituary on 5 July 1915:

VETERAN AL. AYRES IS DEAD

Alfred Ayres, Civil War Veteran, for sixty two years, a resident of Mount Carmel, a man who in his day was regarded as a mining expert, and who fort years was a leader of the Republican Party in this section, died Saturday afternoon at 2:55 o’clock, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. John Jones, Beaverdale.  Dropsy was the cause of death.  He had been ill for several years, and was bedfast the past two months.

“Al” Ayres, as he was best known, was one of this region’s most prominent residents.  Before the infirmities of old age laid hold on he he was a leader in Mount Carmel’s municipal affairs.  Aside from the leading place he occupied in political circles, his activities were most felt in Burnside Post No. 92, Grand Army of the Republic.  He was one of the original members of the Post, served as Post Commander, and until the very end the companionship of his old comrades in arms were dearest to him.  His death is the passing of another of the valiant host who saved the Union.

Alfred Ayres was born in York Tunnel, Pennsylvania, 25 July 1841,  In 1853 the family came to Mount Carmel, then a patch of but a few rough houses, and Al maintained continuous residence here ever since, except the time he served in the Union Army in the great Civil War.  He was married in this town, in 1860, to Miss Caroline Adams.

[On] 18 May 1863, Mr. Ayres enlisted in the 129th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, in Company G, commanded by Captain C. E. Leib.  He served in all nine months, two weeks and five days, then receiving an honorable discharge.  During his term of enlistment he fought in several of the war’s bloodiest battles, among them Fredericksburg, and the Second Battle of the Wilderness.

Mr. Ayres worked forty-five years in the mines, seventeen of these as fire-boss, assistant foreman, and inside foreman at Alaska Colliery.  He served three years as School Director, and also served as an assessor of Mount Carmel Borough.

[On] 16 January, this year [1915]. his beloved wife passed away.  His immediate survivors are ten children:  Mrs. Eliza Taylor, Edgewood, Rhode Island; Matthew Ayres, this city [Mount Carmel]; Bessie, now Mrs. Charles Hertzog, Wilkensburg, Pennsylvania; Matilda,. now Mrs. John Jones, Beaverdale; Caroline, now Mrs. D. W. Kehler, Esq., Mount Carmel; James Ayres, Claude Ayres, Howard Ayres, Irvin Ayres, this city; and Edith, now Mrs. Walter Schoen, Philadelphia.  There are forty-three grand children and nine great-grand  .  There are three surviving sisters:  Mrs. John Shaw, Wilkes-Barre; Mrs. John Bell, Philadelphia; and Mrs. Frank Schoener, this city.

The funeral will be Wednesday afternoon, services to be conducted at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Jones, Beaverdale, at 2:00 o’clock, by the Rev. Dr. A. W. Spooner and Rev. Henry Whitaker.  Cars will be taken at 3:00 o’clock for interment in Mount Carmel Cemetery.  A firing squad of the Sons of Veterans will fire the customary salute over the grave.

Previously on this blog, a brief profile of Alfred Ayers was part of New Additions Post, published on 15 May 2013.

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News clippings from Newspapers.com.

Category: Research, Stories | Comments Off on Alfred Ayres – Politician & Mining Expert
Tags: G.A.R.

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 20, 2018

Samuel Perry Auchmuty, also known as Simon P. Auchmuty, died on 10 November 1884 and is buried at the Oak Hill Cemetery, Millersburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, in the family plot., and his wife, Jane Elizabeth [Link] Auchmuty (1837-1905), was later buried next to him.  The Auchmuty’s had at least four known children.

During the Civil War, Samuel P. Auchmuty joined the 6th Pennsylvania Infantry (Emergency Militia of 1862), Company E, as a 2nd Lieutenant, on 15 September 1962, and within a short period of time was promoted to Major on the regimental staff.  At the time of his enrollment, he gave his residence as Millersburg and his age as 37.  He was discharged at the conclusion of the emergency, 28 October 1862.  The emergency militia was his only known service, so he did not qualify for a pension, and neither did his widow.

From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 11 November 1884:

Death of S. P. Auchmuty, Esq.

Simon Perry Auchmuty, one of the oldest residents of Millersburg, died in that place on Monday morning, after a long illness.  Mr. Auchmuty was one of the best known residents of Upper Dauphin, and was universally respected by all – old and young.  He was admitted to the bar in 1859, but did not practice much in court, confining his legal labors to local affairs.  Mr. Auchmuty was the father of Susquehanna Lodge, No. 364, of Masons, and will be buried tomorrow afternoon with Masonic rites.  A large circle of friends and acquaintances mourn his death.  He was 58 years of age.

Brethren desiring to attend the funeral of Past Master Brother S. P. Auchmuty, of Millersburg, can do so by taking the 11:25 A.M. train.  Brother Auchmuty died 10 November. Funeral to be held tomorrow (Thursday), at 1 o’clock.

William H. Smith, Secretary No. 21.

WIlson C. Fox, Secretary No. 464.

For his service in the Civil War, the Millersburg community honored him by placing his name on the plaque of the Millersburg Soldier Monument:

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News clipping from Newspapers.com.  Veterans’ Card from Pennsylvania Archives.

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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 19, 2018

John Armstrong, about 41 years old, enrolled on 22 July 1863, at Philadelphia, in the 3rd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, Battery F, as a Private.  He was mustered into service on the same day at the same place.  The record from the Pennsylvania Archives (shown above), indicates that he was discharged on 18 May 1864 on a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability, by order of Major General Butler.

Click on document to enlarge.

In the Census of 1890, the widow Susan Armstrong reported that her husband, John B. Armstrong, served in the same regiment and company at the same rank, but for slightly different dates, enrolling on 20 September 1862 and discharge on 7 June 1865.  Susan Armstrong gave her post office address as Hegins, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

If this is the same John Anderson, then he died prior to the 1890 Census.

As of this posting, nothing else is known.  Readers are invited to provide further information.

Category: Queries, Research | Comments Off on John B. Armstrong – Widow Lived in Hegins in 1890
Tags: Hegins

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 18, 2018

During the Civil War, Godfrey Sammet, served in the 192nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H, as a 2nd Lieutenant.  He was a tailor from Halifax, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

According to military records, he was mustered into service on 2 March 1865 and honorably discharged on 24 August 1865.

Godfrey Sammet was born in Germany on 22 October 1828, the son of John G. Sammet and Dorothy [Mayer] Sammet.  He was brought to the United States at the age of four by his parents. He married Susan Glace about 1851.  She was born in Germany on 1 November 1817 and died in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 2 June 1892.  They had at last five children together.

Godfrey Sammet died on 28 August 1913 and is buried at Long’s Cemetery, Halifax.  His daughter, Sarah E. Sammet (1858-1917), was later buried with him in the same plot.

Previously, he was profiled here in a post entitled Godfrey Sammet – Dies After Breaking Ground for Halifax School, 1913.

After the war, Godfrey Sammet openly supported the white supremacist views of Heister Clymer by signing a call for denial of equal rights to African Americans, both those who were previously slaves and those who were previously freemen. The statement was published in the Harrisburg Patriot of 24 July 1866 and included his name, regiment, company and rank.

Heister Clymer was a white supremacist candidate for Pennsylvania Governor on the Democratic Party ticket in 1866, and was previously profiled here on 26 April 2016.

The call for a meeting of Union Soldiers was printed in the Harrisburg Patriot, 24 July 1866, along with an up-to-date list of Clymer supporters who openly supported Heister Clymer‘s white supremacist views and wanted to deny “negro equality and suffrage” even to those who had been free men before the war.

The undersigned honorably discharged Union soldiers, believing that we battled in the late war for the Union of these States, and had successfully maintained it, view with alarm the persistent efforts of radical men who seem determine, practically to destroy the Union we went forth to save.  They would have the community believe that Union soldiers are willing to give up in the hour of victory the great object to which their sacrifices and toll and blood were given….

Therefore we unite in requesting all the honorably discharged officer, soldiers and seamen of Dauphin County who favor the wise and constitutional policy of President Johnson, who oppose the doctrine of negro equality and suffrage, and desire the election of the Hon. Hiester Clymer, to meet in Mass Convention at the Democratic Club Room, Walnut Street, below Third, Harrisburg, at 7 1/2 o’clock, on the evening of the 25 July 1866, for the purpose of electing fourteen delegates to the Convention of Union Soldiers, which is to assemble in this city [Harrisburg] on Wednesday, 1 August 1866.

The Dauphin County veterans who signed the racist petition calling for the meeting were from a variety of regiments and social levels.  Included in the list were some residents of Upper Dauphin County, the area north of Peter’s Mountain – all of which is included in the geographic area of the Civil War Research Project.

Godfrey Sammet was only one of many honorably discharged Union soldiers who openly supported the white supremacist gubernatorial campaign of Heister Clymer in 1866.  The full list of those with a connection to Upper Dauphin County will be presented over time.

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Tags: Halifax, Halifax Township, Hate

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 17, 2018

This post calls attention to a records collection now available on Ancestry.com.  That records collection is of claims submitted by Pennsylvania residents for recompense for damages caused by the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

Ancestry gives the following background information and describes what could be found in the records:

Pennsylvania and Maryland bore the brunt of the Confederate Army’s two invasions of the north.  The second invasion, which culminated in the Battle of Gettysburg, was particularly destructive.  Pennsylvania passed at least three acts – in April 1863, April 1868, and May 1871 – that allowed some citizens in some counties to submit claims for damages caused by the Rebel troops.

This database contains records related to claims submitted for recompense for damages sustained to property and goods during the Civil War.  The documents include claims, petitions, application, depositions, abstracts of claim applications and awards, receipts, and other items.

The claims typically contain the name(s) of the individual(s) making the claim, where they live, and a list [of] damage[s] sustained and a dollar value attached to said damage.

There can be multiple document associated with a claim.  Once you locate an ancestor, use the arrow keys to move back and forth to make sure you have all the documents related to the claim.

For those with access to Ancestry.com, a direct link to the records collection is:  https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2485.

In the course of compiling a list of veterans with a connection to the Lykens Valley area, a number of lists were consulted, including the one found in Captain Enders Legion, a book co-authored by Russ Ottens.  That book gives biographical sketches and Civil War records of direct and collateral descendants of Capt. Philip Christian Enders is available from the Enders Family Association.  Capt. Enders died in 1809 and is buried in Enders, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

One of those profiled in the book is John Baughman Jr.  Although he was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, he was the great-grandson of Capt. Enders.  John’s paternal grandmother was Margaret Martha Enders (1777-1864), the daughter of Capt. Enders.

The following is stated about his Civil War service:

John Baughman Jr. was born 8 February 1847 in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania, son of John Baughman and Sarah [Bittinger] Baughman. There is very little record of John Jr.’s personal life in the Enders Genealogy. He enlisted 5 January 1865 in the 45th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry [45th Pennsylvania Infantry] regiment, Company A, as a substitute for his brother Jacob Baughman. The Civil War was just a few months from ending. john reported to the 45th Regiment where his first engagement was to assault the enemy’s position at Fort Rice, Virginia, in the vicinity of the Union’s Fort Hell on the siege lines around Petersburg. The Union forces were received with a storm of musketry, grape shot and canister, but the 45th pressed forward. Fort Rice and a six cannon battery were captured with moderate Union casualties and a rout of the Confederate forces.

On 3 April, the Fifth Corps entered Petersburg, Virginia, and General Wilcox advised that the Confederate forces had surrendered. Pursuing some of the retreating Army, the regiment was in contact from Petersburg to Farmville. The pursuit continued until 9 April 1865, when General Lee surrendered the remaining forces of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox to General Grant. On 19 April, the 45th marched via Petersburg to City Point and from thence moved by water to Alexandria, Virginia. The regiment participated in the Grand Review Parade in Washington on 23 May to 24 May. On 17 July 1865, John was mustered out with his company with the rank of Private. John Baughman Jr. died 27 January 1904, twelve days short of age 57.

John Baughman Jr. is buried at the Covananter Cemetery in Fayetteville, Franklin County.  There are two Findagrave Memorials for him, both essentially saying the same thing, but with slightly different photographs.

John Baughman Sr. was a farmer in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.  At the time Lee’s Army invaded Pennsylvania, John Baughman Jr. was about 14 years old and probably living at home and working on the farm.  It is reasonable to assume that the younger Baughman was present at the invasion and property destruction to the family farm.

As can be seen by the cover document at the top of this post, John Baughman Sr. was one of the many Pennsylvania residents who applied to Pennsylvania for compensation for damages cause by Lee’s Army.  Note:  Click on any document to enlarge.

The cover notes that the claim of John Baughman of Franklin County was filed in 1871 for the amount of $114.00 and the claim was approved on 15 November of that same year.

The two documents shown below give the specifics of the claim:

The first document is an abstract of the claim of John Baughman of Green Township, Franklin County, on the act of 1868 for relief of the citizens of the counties of Adams, etc., where property was destroyed, damaged or appropriated in the Rebellion, for the amount of $114.00, specifically for one horse ($50.00), one milk cow ($50.00), one-fifth chain and mowing sythe [sic] ($4.00), and hay and grass destroyed ($10.00), taken by the Rebels under Gen. Stuart, October 1862.  Then begins the affirmation of John Baughman, sworn before a Justice of the Peace.

The second document continues and concludes the sworn affirmation with a recapitulation of the amount of the damages along with concluding statements that he had not previously received any compensation for the damages and that the amounts requested are a fair valuation of the damages.  The claim is dated 21 October 1871.

John Baughman Sr. died in 1884 in Fayetteville, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. He is buried at the the St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery in Fayetteville, Franklin County.

John Baughman Jr. died on 27 January 1904.  A notice of his death was placed in the Valley Citizen, Chambersburg, Franklin County, 3 February 1904:

John Baughman, a well-known resident, of this place, died at his home on Wednesday morning.  He had contracted a severe cold and his death was unexpected.  He was a Civil War veteran and was unmarried.  Surviving him are a number of brothers and sisters.  He was aged 54 years.

Funeral services will be held at the home of his brother, Jacob Baughman, in Fayetteville, Thursday afternoon at 1:30; interment being made in the Covenanter Cemetery.

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News clipping from Newspapers.com.

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Tags: Enders