Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on August 2, 2017

Joseph M. Smith is buried at Halifax United Methodist Church Cemetery, Halifax, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. His stone states that he was born 9 October 1846 and died 13 April 1918 – and that he served as a Private in Company C of the 107th Pennsylvania Infantry.  At his grave there is a G.A.R. Star-Flag Holder.  And, his name appears in the Halifax list of Civil War veterans.

The Harrisburg Evening News of 16 April 1918 reported on his funeral as follows:

The funeral of Joseph M. Smith, aged 72 years, who died Saturday at his home on Railroad Street, took place this afternoon, services being conducted by the Rev. J. George Smith, pastor of the Methodist Church.  Burial was made in the Methodist Episcopal Cemetery.  Mr. Smith was a veteran of the Civil War.

The file card at the Pennsylvania Archives contains little information about his service beyond the regiment and company.  By consulting with other records it can be determined that he was mustered into service as a Private on 23 January 1865 and was “absent sick at muster out.”

In the 1890 Census of Veterans, Joseph M. Smith indicated that that he had served for 5 months and 23 days, and was discharged on 20 June 1865 for disability.

So, where is the confusion?

On 6 January 1877, Joseph M. Smith applied for a pension based on his service.  The card, above, from Ancestry.com, shows that he received the pension, and when he died, shortly after, his widow, Lizzie S. Smith applied on 2 May 1918 for benefits – which she received and collected until her death.

However, on 16 July 1900, the Harrisburg Telegraph, reported on the death of a Mrs. Elizabeth Smith:

HALIFAX

The funeral of Mrs. Elizabeth, wife of Joseph M. Smith, of Halifax, took place on Friday afternoon. Mrs. Smith was in her 64th year, and was well known in Harrisburg. A husband and three sons survive:  George W. Smith, of Steelton;  Asa A. Smith, of York; and Samuel T. Smith, who resides with his father.  A large number of friends from Harrisburg, York, Steelton, Middletown, and Columbia and other points attended the funeral.

Was the Elizabeth Smith who died in 1900 a first wife?  And, did Joseph M. Smith re-marry after her death to another woman named “Lizzie?”

Another point of confusion is found on the Pension Index Card from Fold3 as shown above where the date of death for Joseph M. Smith is erroneously given as 21 May 1899.  Consultation of the actual pension application file will undoubtedly clear up this confusion.  Note:  The file was not available for the research for this blog post.

There is a Findagrave Memorial for Joseph M. Smith, but none for an Elizabeth Smith – or Lizzie S. Smith.

Research on this veteran continues and any reader who has information is urged to contribute it.

____________________________

News clippings are from Newspapers.com.

Category: Queries, Research, Stories | Comments Off on Confusion in the Records of Joseph M. Smith of Halifax
Tags: G.A.R., Halifax

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 31, 2017

Isaac Snoke was born 2 May 1826 and at the time of the Civil War, he enrolled in and honorably served in the 107th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, as a Private.  The record card, shown above from the Pennsylvania Archives, notes that he was mustered into service on 24 January 1862 at Harrisburg, and was discharged on a Surgeon’s certificate of Disability on 12 November 1862.  At the time of his muster in, he was 36 years old, was employed as a farmer, and resided in Millersburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

In the 1860 Census, Isaac Snoke was living in Upper Paxton Township, Dauphin County, where he was working as a farmer.  In his household, was his wife Barbara Snoke, and two children, Hiram Snoke, age 8, and Barbara Ellen Snoke, age 3 months.

In 1870, Isaac Snoke was still living in Upper Paxton Township and still working as a laborer.  The same family members were in his household.

Isaac Snoke died on 18 September 1873 and is buried at St. Luke’s Parish Cemetery, Malta, Northumberland County.  There is some additional information about him at his Findagrave Memorial including that his parents were Henry Snoke and Barbara Snoke and that he had a twin sister Leah Snoke.  Note that there is a government issued grave marker as well as a G.A.R. Star-Flag Holder at the grave!

Barbara Snoke applied for widow’s pension benefits on 1 July 1874, which she received as indicated on the Pension Index Card from Ancestry.com, as shown above.

Following the death of Isaac, Barbara remained in Upper Paxton Township, where she was enumerated as a 51 year old head-of-household, with a boarder, Jerry Specht, 33, a laborer, living with her.  Whether by error or by choice, Barbara’s race was given as “M” for mulatto.  Previous censuses have her as white.

In 1890, Barbara Snoke indicated that she was a war widow, that her husband served in the 107th Pennsylvania Infantry and had received a “disability” as a result of his war service.

The only reverence found of Barbara’s maiden name is in the death certificate of here son Hiram F. Snoke, 1907, where his mother’s maiden name was given as “Bella Lauer” (or Lawer).

Barbara Snoke died on 30 January 1896 and according to her Findagrave Memorial, she is buried with her husband at St. Luke’s Parish Cemetery, Malta, Northumberland County.

Some additional sources on this veteran:

Above, from the database, Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Veterans, shows that by contract dated 21 January 1883, a grave marker was issued for the Isaac Snoke who served in the 107th Pennsylvania Infantry.  [From:  Ancestry.com].

Above, pension re-issue for Barbara Snoke, widow of Isaac Snoke, as reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, 19 April 1891.  [From:  Newspapers.com].

Finally, the above cut from the plaque on the Millersburg Soldier Monument, shows that the name of Isaac Snoke has been omitted.  Hence, still another soldier who served in the Civil War is not recognized in the central square of his hometown.  This again calls into question the criteria for the recognition of veterans that was applied when the monument was erected.  It’s difficult to understand how more than three times as many legitimate Civil War vets have not been recognized as were actually recognized.   Perhaps the current veteran organization of Millersburg and area can answer the question!

Category: Research, Stories | Comments Off on Isaac Snoke of Millersburg – 107th Pennsylvania Infantry
Tags: African Amercan, G.A.R., Malta, Millersburg, Upper Paxton Townhip

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 28, 2017

The obituary of George A. Singer appeared in the Pittsburgh Daily Press, 27 August 1910:

REV. GEORGE A. SINGER

Rev. George A. Singer, 67 years old, for 42 years a member of the Central Pennsylvania Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, died Thursday afternoon in a sanitarium in Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania, where he had been an invalid for the last five years.  He was born in Millersburg, Dauphin County, 30May 1943.

Rev. Mr. Singer’s last regular appointment was in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania.  He retired from the ministry six years ago, making his home with his son, S. Olin Singer, and supplying several pulpits on the Northside.

Surviving are three sons:  S. Olin Singer, of Pittsburgh; E. Harper Singer, a student at the Carnegie Technical Schools; and Prof. George P. Singer, of the Lockhaven Normal School.  A daughter, Mrs. Sarah Metz, resides in Williamsburg.

Funeral services will take place tomorrow at Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and the remains will be interred at Shiremantown, Pennsylvania.

In 1850, George Asbury Singer was living with his parents in Upper Paxton Township.  The father, George Singer, was a blacksmith.  In 1860, the family had moved to Halifax Township, where the father was then working as a farmer, and young George was working as a clerk.

During the emergency of 1862, George A. Singer joined the 6th Pennsylvania Infantry (Militia), Company A, where he served as a Private from 13 September 1862 to 27 September 1862.

During the 2nd emergency in 1863, George A. Singer joined the 36th Pennsylvania Infantry (Militia), Company C, a company that was formed from men who had been part of the Gratz Home Guard.  This company was sent to Gettysburg to help clean up the battlefield after 3 July 1863. It was in this company that George served with two African American soldiers – John Peter Crabb and his brother Edward Gratz, both sons of Peter Crabb, one of the first settlers of Gratz.

The Civil War service is not mentioned in the obituary.

At this time, not much is known about his career as a minister, except that it is believed that he did not return to the Lykens Valley after the war.  Nevertheless, he is named in the Halifax list of Civil War veterans, but like many others from Millersburg and Upper Paxton Township, he is not named on the soldier monument there, nor is he named in any list of veterans from that place.

For more information, see his Findagrave Memorial.

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News clipping from Newspapers.com.  Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Cards pictured above are from the Pennsylvania Archives.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Rev. George A. Singer – Militia Man from Millersburg & Halifax
Tags: Gratz Borough, Halifax Township, Millersburg, Upper Paxton Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 24, 2017

On 30 August 1861, at Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, John D. Shearer enrolled in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A, as a Private.  He was mustered into service at Harrisburg on 9 March 1861.  The record card shown above from the Pennsylvania Archives notes that John D. Shearer re-enlisted on 1 January 1864, was promoted to Corporal on 18 March 1865, and was mustered out (according to Bates) on 30 July 1865.  At the time of his enrollment, he claimed he was 18 years old (born about 1843), was a painter by occupation, and resided in Gratz.  His physical description included a height of 5 foot 4 inches, brown hair, a light complexion, and hazel eyes.

In checking the book A Comprehensive History of the Town of Gratz, the name of John D. Shearer was not found – under either Shearer or Schearer.  So, who was he, and what happened to him after the war?

One record, easily located is the Pension Index Card, shown below from Ancestry.com.

This card indicates that an invalid pension was first applied for in June 1870, but no state location for application is given.  At the bottom of the card, a new number, “873336 combined” suggests that there was a re-application and the two sets of records were combined. The card also notes a date of death of 1 October 1933.  There was no widow application.

In searching for John D. Shearer in the 1890 Veterans’ census, no matching person was found, although it has to be assumed that he was living at the time if he died in 1933.  This could either be because he didn’t report his Civil War service to the 1890 census or because he was at the time living in a state from which the records were destroyed by fire.

In searching for John D. Shearer in Findagrave, one good match was found for someone born around 1843 and died in 1933:

According to the Findagrave Memorial, John D. Shearer was born 25 June 1842 in Pennsylvania, and died on 30 November 1933 in Los Angeles, California.  He was married to Maria Elizabeth Hileman, who was born on 18 January 1850 in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, and died on 13 March 1929 in Los Angeles, California. No mention is made in the memorial that this John D. Shearer was a Civil War veteran.   However, despite the fact that John died in Los Angeles, he is buried in Wood River Cemetery, Wood River, Hall County, Nebraska.

In the 1910 Census for Los Angeles, California, John D. Shearer was found along with his wife, Maria E. Shearer.  No occupation was given, but John did indicate that he was “U. A.,” meaning a veteran of the Union Army.

Was this the same person who lived in Gratz in 1861?

This question can most likely be answered by viewing the pension file, which has not been seen for the writing of this blog post.  If any reader has seen the pension file and would like to share its contents, please do so here.

How did John D. Shearer arrive in Gratz, what caused him to apply for a pension in 1870, and why did he not return to Gratz after the war?  Was he married only once, and did he have any children?  Why did he re-apply for a pension?   And finally, if both he and his wife died in Los Angeles, why are they buried in Nebraska?

Category: Queries, Research | Comments Off on What Happened to John D. Shearer of Gratz?
Tags: Gratz Borough

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on July 21, 2017

In a previous post here on this blog, the name of Joel R. Sparr was given as a Civil War veteran who is buried at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ Cemetery, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.  That information was taken from the Klingerstown Bicentennial Album, 1807-2007, which was reviewed in relation to its Civil War references.  As a result of the naming in that book, Joel R. Sparr (sometimes found in the records as Joel R. Spahr or Spohr) was included in the Civil War Project list of veterans from the Lykens Valley area.  Subsequent research has now shown that the Joel R. Sparr buried at St. Paul’s Cemetery in Urban may not be a Civil War veteran and that he may have been confused with a Joel R. Spahr who is buried at Walnut Ridge Cemetery, Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana.

Based on information in the Klingerstown Bicentennial Album, 1807-2007, it was determined that Joel R. Spahr served in the 42nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company B, first as a Private, but eventually promoted to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.  Information on the card (above) from the Pennsylvania Archives, Joel was mustered into service on 4 June 1861 at Harrisburg.  At the time of his enrollment, he stood 5 foot 10 inches tall, had dark hair, a light complexion, grey eyes, and was 19 years old.  He claimed his residence was Petersburg [Perry County], Pennsylvania, and that he was a teacher.  His 1860 residence, as confirmed by the census, was Petersburg Borough.  Joel R. Spahr was honorably discharged at the end of his term of service on 1 June 1864.

Following this Joel R. Spahr in the census records, it can be noted that after the war, he appeared in various places including the Dakota Territory, Dodge City [Kansas], and finally Jeffersonville, Indiana.  Indiana death records show that Joel died in Indiana on 5 December 1903 and is buried at the Walnut Ridge Cemetery, in Jeffersonville.

Dennis Brandt, who has done extensive research on Civil War soldiers from York County and Adams County, Pennsylvania, supplied information on Joel R. Spahr to the Findagrave Memorial. Information from Brandt was confirmed by him by consultation with the pension application records at the National Archives.  Brandt concluded that the Joel R. Spahr who served in the 42nd Pennsylvania Infantry is buried at Jeffersonville, Indiana.  Brandt’s conclusions are not only borne out by the records he has examined, but also by further genealogical research on the family.  And, to date, no connection has been found to the Lykens Valley area for this veteran!

If there is a Joel R. Sparr buried at Urban, there is no Findagrave Memorial for him and no photograph has been seen of the grave marker there.

Epilogue:  In 1923, Joel’s son Howard H. Spahr applied for an emergency passport so he could work on U. S. graves registration for the army.  If his father is incorrectly “registered” as buried at Urban, Northumberland County, then this ironic twist can be added to the story of this veteran, who, from follow-up research does not belong in the Lykens Valley list of Civil War veterans!

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Tags: Urban