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Civil War Blog

A project of PA Historian

Henry W. Snyder – County Treasurer & Lykens Merchant

Posted By on July 7, 2017

Henry W. Snyder, who served in the 2nd Company G of the 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry, as a Corporal, died on 20 February 1928 in Wilmington, Delaware.

His obituary appeared in a Harrisburg newspaper at the time of his death:

H. W. SNYDER, CIVIL WAR VETERAN, DIES

Served Term as County Treasurer

Formerly in Mercantile Business at Lykens

Henry W. Snyder, 84, Civil War veteran and former treasurer of Dauphin County, died Monday night at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Florence S. Varnes, 2208 Boulevard, Wilmington, Delaware, after a long illness.

During the Civil War, Mr. Snyder was a member of Company I [sic], 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry.  He was a merchant in Lykens and following his election as county treasurer in 1890, he moved to this city,  He moved to Wilmington ten years ago.

He was a member of Pilgrim Commandery, No. 11, Knights Templar; Susquehanna Lodge, No. 364, F. and A. M. of Millersburg; and Post 58, G. A.R.  He was also a member of the Grace Methodist Church.

He is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Varnes, and Mrs. Anna S. Lewis, of this city [Harrisburg]; and one son, N. H. Snyder, Washington [D.C.].

Funeral services will be held Friday morning at 11 o’clock at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Anna S. Lewis, 902 Green Street, this city.  The Rev. Dr. George Edward Reed will officiate.  Burial will be in the Harrisburg Cemetery.  The body may be viewed tomorrow evening after 7 o’clock at the Lewis home.

Henry W. Snyder‘s Civil War service is summarized on the card shown below from the Pennsylvania Archives:

On 13 March 1865, Henry W. Snyder enrolled in the 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company G, as a Private.   The next day he was mustered into service.  At some point, date not known, he was promoted to Corporal.  At the time of his enrollment, he was about 21 years old, was a laborer, and resided at Lykens.  He stood 5 foot, 6 inches tall, had brown hair, a fair complexion, and grey eyes.  On 25 June 1865, he was honorably discharged.

On 11 November 1905, Henry W. Snyder applied for an invalid pension based on his Civil War service, which he collected until his death on 20 February 1928 as noted on the card (above) from Fold3.

Henry W. Snyder was married to Clara Louisa [Snyder] Snyder, who died in 1913.  Both Henry and Clara are buried in the Harrisburg Cemetery.

Henry’s name appears on the Lykens G.A.R. Monument as “Harry W. Snyder,” a Corporal who joined the Heilner Post after its organization.  At some point he transferred his membership to Post 58 in Harrisburg.  Generally speaking, veterans could be members of only post at a time.  Perhaps this transfer was done after he moved to Harrisburg when elected County Treasurer.

Additional information about Henry W. Snyder would be greatly appreciated.

Isaac E. Snyder – Dies From Fall From Ladder, 1890

Posted By on July 5, 2017

Isaac E. Snyder, Civil War veteran, is buried at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Lykens, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.  He died on 15 November 1890.

During the Civil War, he served in the Emergency Militia, 27th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company C, as a Private.  He was mustered into service in Schuylkill County, 17 June 1863, and completed his service at the end of the emergency on 31 Jul7 1863.  At the time of his enrollment, he was 18 years old.

According to the Harrisburg Telegraph of 22 November 1890:

Isaac E. Snyder, a well known carpenter of Lykens and former citizen of Millersburg, met with a fatal accident on Friday while painting the roof of A. F. Englebert‘s residence at Wiconisco.  The ladder on which he was standing slipped off the rood precipitating him to the ground a height of thirty feet.  He was picked up unconscious, having sustained internal injuries by the fall of which he died the next morning.

At the time of his death he was 45 years old.  He left a wife, Melinda [Nutt] Snyder, and several children, at least two of whom were minors at the time of his death. Because he had only served in the war for about 6 weeks, he was not eligible for a pension and therefore his widow was not able to collect benefits.  Melinda lived until 1922.  She is buried with her husband at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Lykens.

One thing that must be resolved about Isaac E. Snyder is that his name appears on the Lykens G.A.R. Monument as a veteran who was a member of the Heiler Post at Lykens who was wounded during the war (the asterisk after him name indicates “wounded”). Unless he served in another regiment (no other has been located to date), he was not wounded during his service as his militia unit did not see any battle action.  In 1890, prior to his death, he reported to the census that his only service was the militia regiment previously noted and did not give any disability as a result of his service.

If any blog reader can add any information to this veteran’s story, it would be greatly appreciated.

Also, it was mentioned in his obituary that he resided in Millersburg prior to moving to Lykens.  The Project is still looking for proof of this since his name does not appear on any Millersburg veteran lists and he has not yet been located in a Millersburg or Upper Paxton Township census prior to 1870.  If proof can be found of his Millersburg residence, his name should then be added to the list of veterans from that place.

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News clipping from Newspaper.com.

 

McCoy Sargert – Killed at Antietam, 1862

Posted By on July 3, 2017

The name McCoy Sargut appears on the Lykens G.A.R. Monument as a Civil War soldier who was killed in the war.  He is named with the men who served as privates.  He is found in the military records as Sarger and Sargert.

McCoy Sarger enrolled at Lykens, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, on 23 September 1861, as a Private in the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company G.  He was mustered into service the same day.  At the time of his enrollment, he was 18 years old (born about 1843).   According to the file card from the Pennsylvania Archives (shown above), he was killed at Antietam on 17 September 1862.

The Military Index Card from Fold3 (above) has his name as McCoy Sargert.

No Pension Index Card was located for a widow or other survivor, so it has to be assumed that there was no pension application based on his service.

At this time, nothing else has been found.

Information is sought about this soldier who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the cause. If any readers can provide information, it will be added to his file and/or posted here.

 

Frederick Ruben or Reuben Frederick? Valley View Veteran.

Posted By on June 30, 2017

In the 1890 Veterans’ Census of Weishample, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, a Ruben Frederick was enumerated as a solider who served in the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company I, as a Private.  In compiling the original list of veterans from the Lykens Valley area, this veteran was incorrectly identified as Frederick Ruben.  Of course this posed some problems in obtaining additional information about him.

In searching for a Frederick Ruben in the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry, no such person was found.  However, the hints coming up on Ancestry.com suggested that this person was a Jewish Civil War Veteran who served in the 12th Illinois Cavalry, and was not a Pennsylvanian.  Likewise, other than than the 1890 census, no person with the Ruben surname and a given name similar to Frederick was found in any census in the Lykens Valley area.  Returning to the original identification source – the 1890 Veterans’ Census – the error was discovered, and the search was re-started with Frederick (or Fredericks) as the surname, and Ruben (or Reuben) as the given name.

The Pennsylvania Archives‘ File Card correctly identified the individual as Reuben Fredericks,who also appeared on the rolls as Rubin Frederick. He enrolled at Philadelphia on 25 February 1862 at age 30, in the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company I, as a Private.  No other information is provided on the card, except that he was mustered into service at Philadelphia on that same day. No discharge date was given on the card, with the statement that this individual was “not on the Muster Out roll.”

According to the 1890 Census, the dates of service were 12 February 1862 through discharge on 13 October 1862.  The October discharge date would seem to indicate that Reuben Fredericks‘ service was not full term – and possibly was shortened by a medical discharge.

The answer to the reason for the discharge, is most likely found in the Pension Application Records available from the National Archives.  The Pension Index Card, shown above from Ancestry.com, shows that Reuben Frederick applied for disability benefits in September 1878, which he received.  A widow, Catharine Frederick, applied for benefits from Pennsylvania in March 1902, which she received. The card above is from Ancestry.com.

In 1860, Ruben Frederick and his wife Catharine lived in Hegins, Schuylkill County, where he was working as a farm laborer.

In 1870, Reuben Frederick and his wife Catharine lived in Barry Township, Schuylkill County, where he was working as a laborer.

As previously stated, in 1890 Ruben Frederick was living in Weishample, Schuylkill County.

In 1900, Reuben Frederick was living in Barry Township, Schuylkill County, with his wife Katherine, where he gave his occupation as “cripple.”

In the 1860 and 1870 census, there are possible sons and daughters in the household.  An 1880 census of Berks County has been located which has both a Reuben and a Catherine, or about correct ages – but the children don’t completely match those in the earlier censuses.

Reuben Frederick died before March 1902, the date that Catherine applied for pension benefits.

In checking Ancestry.com family trees, several persons have his birth date as 2 January 1827 or 1828, and the death date as 22 February 1902.

Finally, several Ancestry.com members have attached the above portrait to Reuben Frederick, without giving a source.  Is this a portrait of Reuben Frederick? Perhaps a blog reader can give a source which will help to confirm (or deny) that this is his portrait.

Much more information is sought about this veteran – his service and his life after the war.  Please add comments to this blog post and/or send via e-mail.

 

 

John A. Seltzer & Amanda [Eckel] Seltzer – Die One Day Apart, 1917

Posted By on June 28, 2017

During the Civil War, John A. Seltzer of Tremont, Schuylkill County, answered the call for service by enlisting in the 17th Pennsylvania Infantry (Emergency of 1862), Company H, as a Private.  His militia service was from 15 September 1862 through discharge at the end of the emergency, 28 September 1862.  Although in the 1890 census he reported service in the same company and militia regiment from 19 June 1863 through 1 August 1863, no confirming record has been located that he served during the Gettysburg emergency.  The card above from the Pennsylvania Archives is the only record of his service.

John Seltzer died on 7 November 1917.  One obituary was found, in the Reading Times, 10 November 1917:

John Seltzer, of Tremont, died on Wednesday, following an illness of five weeks, being bedfast for less than a week.  Mr.Seltzer was 82 years of age.  He was a successful business man, being president of the Auburn Brick Company for a number of years, retiring from that office about a year ago owing to his advanced age.  He continued in an advisory position with the concern, however, and was considered one of the best learned men in the state in this business.

Nothing was mentioned in the obituary that he was a Civil War veteran.

In searching for his obituary on Newspapers.com, a surprising number of obituaries were found for his widow, Amanda [Eckel] Selter, who coincidentally died only one day after he did.  This apparently made the obituary of interest to a much wider audience than normal.

A sampling of those obituaries appears below:

From the Harrisburg Evening News, 10November 1917:

GRIEF FOR HUSBAND KILLS

Grieving over the death of her husband, John Seltzer, who died Wednesday at their home at Tremont, Amanda Seltzer, died Thursday night.  He was 82 and she 78.  They had been married nearly sixty years.  Mrs. Seltzer was the daughter of the late Aaron Eckels, a pioneer coal operator at Tremont.  Mr. Seltzer was the president of the Auburn Pressed Brick Company, at Auburn, and was interested in the furniture business with his sons at Tamaqua and Bethlehem.

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From The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 12 November 1917:

MRS. AMANDA SELTZER

Grieving over the death of her husband, Amanda Seltzer, died at Tremont on Thursday shortly after four o’clock.  Her husband, John Seltzer died on Wednesday and soon after his death she grew ill.

Mrs. Seltzer was a daughter of the late Henry Eckel, coal pioneer who moved from Berks County to Tremont and was one of the founders of the Borough of Tremont.  Her father was in the coal business, the firm with which he was affiliated being known as the Eckel-Spangler Company.  Mrs. Seltzer was seventy-eight years of age.

Mrs. Seltzer has four sons surviving and three daughters as follows:  George Seltzer and Charles Seltzer, of Bethlehem; Benjamin Seltzer, of Tamaqua; Howard Seltzer of Somerville, New Jersey; and Mary Seltzer, Annie Seltzer, and Bertha Seltzer, at home.

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From the Mount Carmel Item, 10 November 1917:

SHE FOLLOWED HER HUSBAND IN DEATH

Grieving over the death of her husband, Amanda Seltzer, died at Tremont on Thursday shortly after four o’clock.  Her husband, John Seltzer died on Wednesday, and soon after his death she grew ill and a day after his death she passed to the Great Beyond.

Always together Mr. and Mrs. Seltzer lover each other dearly and they had often said to each other that if one of them was lost to each other the other would surely die.  It came to pass for Mrs. Seltzer lived only a few hours more than a day after her husband’s death.

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From the Philadelphia Inquirer, 10 November 1917:

Killed By Grief for Husband

Special to the Inquirer

POTTSVILLE, Pennsylvania, 9 November 1917 — Grieving over the death of her husband, John Seltzer, who died Wednesday at their home at Tremont, Amanda Seltzer, died last night.  He was 82 and she 78.  They had been married nearly sixty years.  Mrs. Seltzer was the daughter of the late Aaron Eckels, a pioneer coal operator at Tremont.  Mr. Seltzer was the president of the Auburn Pressed Brick Company, at Auburn, and was interested in the furniture business with his sons at Tamaqua and Bethlehem.

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From the Reading Times, 12 November 1913:

Follows Husband In Death

Grieving over the death of her husband, Amanda Seltzer died at Tremont on Thursday shortly after four o’clock.  Her husband, John Seltzer died on Wednesday.

And, on 13 November 1917, the Reading Times followed its 12 November notice by adding:

… and soon after his death she grew ill.

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Note:  In two of the above obituaries, Amanda’s father is mistakenly referred to as Aaron Eckels.  Her father’s name was Henry Eckel (or Eckels) and her brother’s name was Aaron.

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News clippings are from Newspapers.com.