Norman Gasbarro | January 30, 2011
Daniel Henry, whose father and uncles took part in the war for independence, was born in Reading in the last quarter of the18th century. When Pottsville was laid out, he as a carpenter, moved there, and on 9 January 1825, his son, William Henry was born. William Henry‘s mother died when he was eleven years […]
Norman Gasbarro | January 29, 2011
Nearly all of the men who served in the Civil War from the Lykens Valley area served in military units as soldiers. But a few did serve as sailors or marines. Finding information on the sailors and marines is much more difficult than finding information on soldiers who served in Pennsylvania Civil War regiments, because they […]
Norman Gasbarro | January 5, 2011
Alfred Mordecai (1804-1887) Alfred Mordecai (1804-1887) was born into a Jewish family in North Carolina. His father Jacob was a pioneer educator. Because Alfred was a good student, he was admitted to West Point in 1819 and four years later graduated at the top of his class. After a stint as a teacher at West […]
Norman Gasbarro | December 17, 2010
(Part 4 of 4). Just after 10 March 1864, Ann Ellen [Carson] Gratz received a third piece of bad news in just more than two years. The mother’s pension she had requested for her son John C. Gratz‘s Civil War service was rejected. Previously, she had been notified of her son’s death due to fever […]
Norman Gasbarro | December 16, 2010
(Part 3 of 4). The 96th Pennsylvania Infantry was organized at Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., Pennsylvania. It was mustered into service between the 23 and 30 September 1861 for a three year term. This post focuses on the service of John C. Gratz in that regiment, and of his friend Henry Keiser who served with him. […]
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