Clan William: Senator James Rood Doolittle

Senator James Rood Doolittle, who served as Senator to Wisconsin, was arguably, Abraham Lincoln's best friend. Senator Doolittle's line from William Munson is as follows:

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson >  Martha Munson > Reuben Doolittle > Reuben Doolittle > James Rood Doolittle

Doolittle was born on January 15, 1815 in Hampton, New York, "on the shores of the Poultney River..."[1] to Reuben Doolittle, Jr. and Sarah Rood.

As a young child, the family moved to Wyoming County, NY. J. R. went to the Middlebury Academy prep school in Wyoming Co. and to Geneva (later Hobart) College, where he graduated top of his class in 1834. 

J. R. then moved to Rochester to study law. In 1837, the year he was admitted to the bar, he married Mary Lovina Cutting, who had also attended Middlebury Academy. They moved to Warsaw, New York in 1841. He had some interest in politics and from 1845-1849, he served as District Attorney of Warsaw County. He identified at the time as a Democrat. In 1847, he jumped into the anti-slavery movement as a Barnburner. In 1848, the Democrats ran General Lewis Cass, who believed states should have the option of allowing slavery. Democrats were split on this stance, and J. R. firmly stood on the side that opposed slavery and broke off into leadership of the Free Soil Party. As a leader in this faction, J. R. wrote what would become the Cornerstone Resolution:

"Resolved: That while the democracy of New York represented in this convention will faithfully adhere to all the compromises of the Consitution and maintain all the reserved rights of the states, they declare, since the crises arrived when that question must be met, their uncompromising hostility to the extensioin of slavery into territory now free, or which may be hereafter acquired by any action of the government of the United States."

Finally, he became one of the leaders of the new Republican Party. Back home, his family had grown to five children by the time he and his wife moved to Racine, Wisconsin in 1851. J. R. practiced law, became a judge, and in 1857, ran for his first of two terms as a US Senator as a moderate Republican. In 1852, his final child, Sallie, would be born. 

During his terms in office, he became a favorite advisor of many.  He helped unify the young party - his speaking powers were strong and persuasive. J. R. made an excellent nominating speech on behalf of  Abraham Lincoln at the Republican National Convention. When Abraham Lincoln took office in 1861, J. R. became not only a trusted advisor, but according to Leonard Swett, advisor to Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln would say of him:

"During the years 1863 and 1864...often I saw Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Dolittle together, and often heard the president speak of him in his absence. The most cordian and friendly relations existed between them, and the president always spok of him in terms of warmest friendship and esteem." 

Once, while perusing a list of senators who would hopefully support Lincoln's re-nomination, Swett asked the president: "You don't consider all these your friends?" Replied Lincoln, "No...when you speak of friendship, I sometimes thought Doolittle was the only real friend I had here." James was frequently invited to breakfast with Lincoln, famouly riding his warhourse, Chacamauga, to the White House early in the morning."

Upon Lincoln's assasination, the president became Andrew Johnson. Johnson won the next election, but he would face many challenges.  J. R. supported Johnson's opposition to "radical reconstruction." J. R. was working in direct opposition to the instructions he received from the Wisconsin legislature and he was censured by his constituents. The legislature than passed a resolution directing J. R. to resign. It was supported by the then governor, Governor Fairchild. Doolittle refused. At the end of the day, J. R. was not going to be re-elected and his days in politics would be, for all intents and purposes, over. J. R. switched back to the Democratic Party after a brief foray with the new political party formed on the basis of Johnson's reconstruction model.

J. R.  then went to Chicago and started up his law practice. He continued to maintain his residence in Racine, but began teaching law at the Old University of Chicago, serving as acting president for one year, and remained on the Board of Trustees until his death. In 1884-1885 he served as president of the Chicago Board of Education. 

He died 27 Jul 1897 in Providence County, Rhode Island. 

The story of James Rood Doolittle is far more complex and interesting than can be addressed in a short introductory blog post and his impact was great. I hope that if you love history as much as I do, you take some time to learn more.

[1] https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2012/05/north-country-abolitionist-james-rood-doolittle.html

[2] https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS7121

[3] https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/40193846.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A29994e1078884e9453d23f35113198f0&ab_segments=&origin=

[4] https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS7121

[5] https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1261&context=fvw-pamphlets

Clan William: Gladys Pease and Archibald Ellsworth Minard

Sen. James Rood Doolittle with
children (Sara seated)

Those Munson women seemed to attach themselves to some high-achieving men. In this case, Gladys
connected herself to Archibald Ellsworth Minard, a Harvard graduate who would travel west to North Dakota. The Clan William connections is as listed:

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Martha Munson > Rueben Doolittle > James Rood Doolittle > Sara Lovinia Doolittle > Gladys May Pease m. Archibald Ellsworth Minard

Gladys came from "good stock." Her grandfather was Senator James Rood Doolittle, an attorney, who had hailed from Hampton, Washington County, New York. He had relocated to Racine, Wisconsin in 1851 where he was elected judge of the first judicial circuit in 1853 and then in 1857 began serving two terms as a US Senator. He later was a professor of law at Chicago University and was a trustee of same.

The marriage of her father, Edwin Hatfield Pease and mother, Sara Doolittle, was the social event of the year in Racine in 1879. Edwin had served as a private in the Civil War in Company F of the Illinois 93rd Infantry Regiment. A manufacturer/businessman of good repute in Racine, he died of complications of the flu/pneumonia at age 49 in 1890. Gladys was the fourth of the five children, born in 1887.

Archibald Ellsworth Minard

Sara Doolittle Pease married John Adams Prindle, a widower with five surviving children in 1895. In 1900, the family moved to Springvale, Stark, North Dakota to pioneer. Sadly, John died in 1907 in Fargo, North Dakota.  In 1910, Sara relocated to the Sioux City, Iowa area and lived with her son the veterinarian, Edward Pease, for a few months, then she moved in with son H. T. Pease in Deer Park, Washington, where she died on 27 Jul 1911.

Daughter Gladys had made a "good marriage" with Archibald Ellsworth Minard, a native of Novia Scotia born in 1878, who had emigrated to the US when he was 11 years old.  Archibald received his degrees from Harvard and became a professor of English and Philosophy at North Dakota Agricultural College (now North Dakota State University). The couple had married in 1908 and proceeded to have four children; two boys and two girls. 

Professor Minard served as interim president for three months in 1929, then became the Dean of the School for Applied Arts and Sciences the same year. He would hold that position until 1949. 

Gladys died in 1939 at the age of 48. She had just seen her daughter Lois married in 1936 and son Edwin in 1938. 

Archibald remarried in 1941 to a widow with two grown children, Elita Gustava Olson McArdle. 

One of the noteworthy things that Archibald did while at NDAC, was to write the school song, the lyrics of which are today, quite awful, but for the time, far less offensive:

...He wanted to incorporate the school colors, yellow and green, with North Dakota’s landscape and characteristics. Minard thought he could use his song as well for the State’s song. Minard wrote the lyrics and then took the song to Clarence Putnam, the head of the music department at the time. “The Yellow And The Green” did become the University's official school song, but it did make it as the state’s song as Minard would have hoped. Instead, Putnam wrote the music for what became the state's song in 1947 and used the lyrics from James W. Foley’s “The North Dakota Hymn.” There has been some controversy surrounding the school song. In the third stanza of the song, it speaks of the red man scavenging the land for scraps, while the white anglo saxons prevail and conquer the prairies...https://pocketsights.com/tours/place/Archibald-Minard-6511:809

In 1949, Minard retired as Dean, but continued to teach philosophy at the School. The former Science building, built in 1902 and which had a fourth floor added in 1919, was named after Minard in honor of his 46 years of service at NDAC. The fourth floor of the building was where dances were held. In 2011, the building collapsed in on itself and would not be revived until 2013. It is still in use.

Minard died on 09 May 1950 died at Bethesda Naval Hospital, where he had been hospitalized for four weeks. Son David lived nearby.

Minard Hall, former Science Hall at NDAC

 

Clan William: The Southern Contingent: 1st Corporal Buren Strickland

Watercolor of the battle of Malvern Hill by Sneden 
nps.gov

The Strickland Family as it relates to the Munsons began when Silas Strickland married Olive Marie Munson back in 1829. They moved from Connecticut to Georgia and then Alabama, where they rasied their children. 

Today, the subject is Buren Strickland, who was probably born in Russell County, Alabama. Buren's siblings grew up and married, but Buren stayed with his mother and never married.

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > William II Munson > William Munson > Olive Maria Munson > Buren Strickland

On July 1, 1861, he went to war, fighting with the 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment, Company C. The regiment was organized in August 1961 at Fort Mitchell in Alabama. The regiment had 11 companies. According to the National Park Services, the regiment consisted of 900 members from Russell, Barbour, Dale, Henry, Macon and Pike counties into 11 companies. This regiment saw heavy action. It moved from Tennessee to Virgina and then became part of Trimble's Campaign.

Later, it served under the Army of Northern Virginia. Battles included Suffolk, Chickamauga, and
Knoxville. It also fought at Petersburg, Appomattox, Cross Keys, the Second Manassas, Port Republic, and in the Wilderness Campaign. The group took heavy casualties throughout the war. When the unit finally surrendered at Appomattox, it surrendered with a mere 15 officers and 204 soldiers.

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/malvern-hill-july-1-1862

"The Seven Days battles ended with a tremendous roar at Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862. The contending armies collided for the final time that week on ground that gave an immense advantage to the defenders—in this case McClellan’s Army of the Potomac. With the security of the James River and the powerful United States Navy at his back, McClellan elected to stop and invite battle. 

The Confederates, elated by their victories but frustrated by their inability to achieve truly decisive battlefield results, obliged McClellan by attacking Malvern Hill. The hill itself was a modest elevation about 2 ½ miles north of the James River. Its strength lay not in its height, but rather in its fields of fire. Gently sloping open fields lay in front of the Union position, forcing any Confederate attacks against the hill to travel across that barren ground. 

McClellan unlimbered as much artillery as he could at the crest of the hill, facing in three directions. Nearly 70,000 infantry lay in support, most of them crowded in reserve on the back side of the hill. General Lee recognized the power of Malvern Hill. 

In tandem with James Longstreet, one of his top subordinates, Lee devised a plan where Confederate artillery would attempt to seize control of Malvern Hill by suppressing the Union cannon there. Lee believed his infantry could assault and carry the position if they did not have to contend with the fearsome Union batteries. 

The Confederate bombardment failed, but Lee’s infantry attacked anyway, thrown into the charge after a series of misunderstandings and bungled orders. Lee himself was absent when the heaviest fighting erupted. He was away looking for any alternate route that would allow him to bypass Malvern Hill. But once the attack started, Lee threw his men into the fray. Some twenty separate brigades of Southern infantry advanced across the open ground at different times. 

As the Confederate leaders had feared, the Federal batteries proved dominant. Most attacks sputtered and stalled well short of the hill’s crest. Occasionally McClellan’s infantry, commanded by Fitz John Porter, George Morell, and Darius Couch, sallied forward to deliver a fatal volley or two. Pieces of Confederate divisions led by D. H. Hill, Benjamin Huger, D. R. Jones, Lafayette McLaws, Richard S. Ewell, and W. H. C. Whiting advanced at different times, always without success. General John B. Magruder organized most of the attacks. 

Late in the day, a few Union brigades and some fresh artillery raced to the hilltop in support. But in fact only a small segment of the Army of the Potomac saw action at Malvern Hill. The dominance of the position enabled less than one-third of the Union army to defeat a larger chunk of the Confederate army at Malvern Hill. 

As with each of the other battles during the dramatic week, darkness concluded the action. Malvern Hill had demonstrated the power and efficiency of the Union artillery in particular. Confederate leaders and soldiers alike could look back on poor command and control as the principal cause of their defeat. The casualty totals were more balanced than expected for a battle in which the outcome never was in doubt. Slightly more than 5000 Confederates fell killed and wounded, while roughly 3000 Union soldiers met a similar fate." https://www.nps.gov/rich/learn/historyculture/mhbull.htm

Buren didn't make it through the entire war. He fought at Winchester, Virginia and Creek Stand in early 1862 and was promoted to 1st Corporal on December 1st. In July, he was at Cross Keys in early June of 1862. His last battle was part of the Seven Days Battle, which culminated at Malvern Hill, a win despite the fact the Union took many casualties and the battle didn't advance General McClellan's position at all. 

Buren lost his fight with his injuries on July 7, 1862. He was 23 years old. 

According to the testimony of his surviving siblings, all Buren had was a share of the property on which his mother resided. His mother, O.M. Jackson, received his Confederate pension. The testimony of his sister Mary Strickland Renfroe, was provided to the probate court. Other testimony is available on Ancestry.com

Click images to enlarge

Smith Family: Lydia Hinmon was Unlucky in Love

Lydia Hinmon was connected to the Smith/Smull/Munson families by marriage in multiple ways. Every time I read about her, I can't help but feel she was super unlucky with love. Her parents were George Hinmon and Anna Lewis, who originally hailed from New York State and later Erie, Pennsylvania, and then pioneered to Jasper County, Iowa. The two children I was able to locate were George Richard Hinmon (1833-1914) and Lydia (abt. 1839-bef. 1885). George would settle in the Bremer/Chickasaw, Iowa County area and several of his children would intermix with ours.

While still in Concord, Erie, Pennsylvania, Lydia married William C Stuck (05 Aug 1855).  The young couple lived in Albion in Dane County, Wisconsin. In 1860, their only child, Llewellyn Jermiah Stuck was born. He would live in Floyd County, Iowa for a time as an adult, but eventually he and his wife Mary Campbell would live in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. They had many children.

William Stuck fought with the Wisconsin 5th Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. He began his service in late May of 1861 and lasted until the Second Battle of Rappahannock Station in Virginia which began 07 Nov 1863. He was injured in battle and died in a Washington DC hospital.

"Pressured by Washington to make another attack on General Robert E. Lee’s army in northern Virginia, and perhaps enjoying the success of his partial victory over Lee at Bristoe Station three weeks earlier, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade ordered an assault against Lee’s infantry along the Rappahannock River on November 7th, 1863. A single pontoon bridge at Rappahannock Station was the only connection between Lee's army and the northern bank of the river. The bridge was protected by a bridgehead on the north bank consisting of redoubts and trenches. Confederate batteries posted on hills south of the river gave additional strength to the position. As Lee anticipated, Meade divided his forces, ordering Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick to the bridgehead and positioning Maj. Gen. William H. French five miles downstream to engage a Confederate line near Kelly’s Ford. To counter this move, Lee shifted a force under Maj. Gen. Robert Rodes to Kelly’s Ford, where they were overwhelmed by French. At Rappahannock Station, Sedgwick’s men skirmished with Maj. Gen. Jubal Early’s Confederates before launching a brutal nighttime bayonet attack. The Federals overran Early’s bridgehead taking more than 1,600 prisoners. Defeated, Lee retreated into Orange County south of the Rapidan River while the Army of the Potomac occupied the vicinity of Brandy Station and Culpeper County. Later in November, before the winter weather ended military campaign season, Meade would attempt one more offensive against Lee at Mine Run." Battlefields.org

Second Battle of Rappahannock Station
(click on image to increase size)

In 1866, she married George Harshman in Jasper County, Iowa. George was a widower with two young sons. The marriage didn't last though. George moved on to Nebraska and died in Scottsbluff in 1898.

The next chapter in Lydia's life was her marriage to widower Francis "Frank" Doole. Doole had a long marriage with Martha Shaw, but she died in 1879. They had five children. Lydia married him the following year in 1880 in Floyd County. Frank, by all accounts was cantankerous and difficult. Some of his shenanigans included plowing up the tombstone the children had placed for their mother and being arrested for running a "Blind Pig. What's a blind pig? In the Midwest, Blind Pigs started in the 1880s and were quite a problem, according to the anti-alcohol crowd. It got its name because some wily proprietor would sell tickets to a back room to see a "blind pig," and the ticket price included a drink." 

The last time Lydia is seen in records is in the 1885 Iowa State Census, when she lived with Frank and his son William. Then, she disappears. Dead? Did she divorce him and move to Wisconsin to be with her son? We don't know. Doole married my great-great aunt Sarah Smith, a lifelong spinster in 1887. She divorced Doole before their deaths.

Hoping to find someone in the Doole or Stuck families who might have the answer.  

Clan William: Charles Munson's Civil War Death

Don't believe everything you read; even on occasion, the Munson Family Record. That's what I learned today.

I'm still following the trail of my "outer" Munson cousins - the families of the brothers and sisters of my 4th great grandfather, Freeman Munson, born in Connecticut, died in Trumbull County, Ohio.

Today's story is about young Charles Munson, born about 1836 in Trumbull County to Randil Munson and Lucinda Loveless. Randil is the twin of Rilman Munson, sons of Calvin Munson, 4GG Freeman's oldest brother.

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Calvin Munson > Randil Munson > Charles Munson

The children of Randil were of an age to participate in the Civil War. Charles appears to be fourth child of six. He married Susan Fenstermaker in 1861 (Charles' younger brother Abner married Susan's sister, Sarah). Not much is known about him until he joined up with the 2nd Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Cavalry.

Capt Wm Quantrill

Unlike many Civil War units, the 2nd Regiment, Company D, spent much of its time in 1862-1864 serving on the frontier of Kansas, Arkansas, and Missouri with forays east into Tennessee and elsewhere. And, unfortunately, this was a very dangerous place to serve. The unit would go on, a full year after the death of Charles Munson, to take heavy losses at the hands of Quantrill's Raiders along the Missouri/Kansas border.

William Quantrill, former schoolteacher turned guerilla fighter and hired gun for the Confederacy, had been an destructive and horrific presence in the territory for some time. Among his troops were the later historic robbers, the Younger and James Brothers, who would use the tactics they learned with Quantrill to their illicit robbery careers. 

This has nothing to do with the story of Charles Munson, however, despite what we learn from the Munson Family History. That reference reads: 

"Charles: b. i May 1836 ; m. 14 Sept. 1861 Susan Fenstermaker, now deceased ; no ch.; he was a cavalryman in the late War, losing his life in the service. " My brother Charles enlisted in August1862 at Bristolville, Trumbull Co., O., where he then lived, and was a private under Capt. Caldwell in Co. D, 2nd Ohio Cavalry. He served one year ; then died, August 1863, at Baxter Springs, Indian Terr. His regiment, under Col. Doubleday, was in several skirmishes." 

The mention of Baxter Springs would lead one to believe he may have died in the Baxter Springs Massacre, at the hands of Quantrill's Raiders.  But, this battle did not occur until October of 1863, long after Charles' death. So, we have a little mash-mash of bad memory published in the The Munson Record, Vol I. If he was in the Army for a year, that would mean he entered in 1861, not Aug 1862. Both the newspaper mention and the Roster of Ohio Soldiers and his obituary say he died not in 1863 and not at Baxter Springs.

Click to enlarge
Charles Munson Roster of Ohio Soldier Vol XI

In the Roster of Ohio Soldiers, Vol XI, Charles Munson's date of death is indicated as Aug 3, 1862. It also states he died near Spring River, Indian Territories. That is what is now northwest Arkansas. And, he died not in battle, but of "brain fever." Charles is no less heroic for dying of illness and not injury, as more people died of infection and illness in the Civil War than in battle. 

Of Charles Munson, there are two newspaper references after his death. 

Charles Munson Obit
Western Reserve Chronicle, Warren, OH, Oct 15, 1862

This one was on the occasion where the citizens of Bristol, Trumbull County, raised $500 in subscription to pay for a 10-foot tall monument honoring the deaths of Bristol's heroes. It was the first Civil War Monument of its kind in Ohio. The full article can be found on Charles' profile on my Ancestry.com tree. This is an abbreviated report of the monument.

Charles Munson: Civil War Monument, 1863
Bristol, Trumbull County, Ohio
Western Reserve Chronicle, Warren, Oh, Oct 21, 1863

Civil War Memorial 1861-1863 located in Bristolville, Ohio

Click to increase size. Charles Munson referenced bottom left.

 

The Neverending Job: Robert Thompson Cooper, Again

AMOS COOPER > WILLIAM LLOYD COOPER > CHALKLEY JARED COOPER > ROBERT T

COOPER

Many moons ago, I had researched Capt Robert T. Cooper, stalwart and engaged citizen in some detail. You can read about it here. Doing the research is NEVER done. I do a round of research and then start all over again to see what new tidbits have been added to the volumes I've already collected.

I had already discovered that he lost his wife early in their marriage. I knew of some of his business dealings and his war record, but discovering his obituary recently filled in some of the blanks.

If you remember from reading about the Cooper's trip west, they were a Quaker family who left Pennsyvlania to go to a Quaker settlement at the edge of Crawford and Clark Counties, Illinois, where the pioneering journey of the family begins.

Nephew WW Fisher, a veterinarian, seems to have enjoyed his uncle's company. Joseph Cooper had early on worked with his brother Robert in the milling business when he was a tinsmith. He lived a full, fruitful life, but one without a life's companion by his side. Always kind of made me sad for him.

Clan William: Freeman and Orion Vaughn, 33rd Wisconsin Infantry, Company A

Battle of Vicksburg

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson >  Henrietta Munson > Freeman and Orion Vaughn

Freeman Munson, a one-time war deserter and farmer who resided most of his life in Trumbull County, Ohio, fathered at least five children that I've found. Among them was my 3rd great grandfather, Amos (the eldest) and Henrietta, the oldest girl, born in 1815. Henrietta married John Lorin Vaughn in 1833 and to them were born ten children.

The eldest was Freeman, born about 1834, who was named for his grandfather. The second boy was Orion, who was born in 1838. Both were born in Trumbull County, Ohio and eventually moved on to Grant County, Wisconsin.

When the Civil War rolled around, Orion was the first in the family to join up with the Wisconsin volunteers on 8/14/1862. His older brother, Freeman, joined  a week later on 8/21/1862. Pulled together in Racine, Wisconsin in October 1862, the two were assigned to the 33rd Wisconsin Infantry, Company A. A fascinating journal of the activities of this company is detailed in William S. Parr's diary here.

This excerpt from a chronicler of the 33rd

"The 33rd Wisconsin Infantry was organized in Racine during October,1862 the regiment served with distinction throughout the war. Originally, the Regiment received great attention from the letters sent home by the soldiers. As the active campaigning continued, the letters slowly dwindled and so did the press and fanfare The 33d Wisconsin served in the western theater, under General Ulysses S. Grant, Gen. William T. Sherman, General Nathaniel Banks and Gen. George Thomas — participating in major battles and numerous small but, deadly engagements that received little attention in history books about the war.

Constantly called upon to act as a rear-guard or to rescue the predicaments caused by the poor decisions of others, this Wisconsin regiment is very representative of the bulk of Wisconsin regiments the state sent to the war: most such regiments served in the Western Theater; most were involved in gritty, sweaty, long-range summer campaigns; most were involved in a myriad of smaller actions, marches and skirmishes that have escaped the attention of both contemporary and modern chroniclers of Wisconsin's Civil War experience."

Civil War Wisconsin

A. J. Smith

Freeman and Orion both attained the rank of corporal during their service. Freeman and his brothers in arms fought in many skirmishes and battles, including the Battle of Vicksburg, the list for which can be found here and here. The 33rd was placed under Andrew Jackson (A. J.) Smith's division of XIII Corps during Vicksburg and his division of XVI Corps for the Red River Campaign. Smith was an 1838 graduate of West Point and graduated 36th of 45, yet had a successful volunteer and regular Army career before retiring in 1869.

Freeman was injured in battle at Tupelo, Mississippi, on July 14, 1864. Later in August, the Madison Wisconsin State Journal made a report of the sick, injured, and dead. It indicated that Freeman had been transported aboard the hospital transport ship, D. A. January from Memphis, TN to the US General Hospital at Jefferson barracks, in St Louis. He was then reported to have died on August 26, 1864.

The U.S. Army Hospital Steamer D. A. January was a side-wheel steamer that served as a floating hospital. Outfitted to allow for the best in patient care, it contained a surgical suite, baths, a kitchen, nurses quarters, hot and cold running water, and an ice water cooler. Windows circulated air through the wards, which held nearly 450 beds. During its four years of service, the D. A. January transported and cared for more than 23,000 wounded men. (Source: U.S. Army Medical Department, Office of Medical History) 

Orion made it out alive and was mustered out on August 9, 1865. The regiment was decommissioned and all went on to live their lives. Orion would marry in 1870 and died in 1920, being buried in Winnebago County, Wisconsin.

The Prolific David Owens: Son Enoch "Nick" Owens

DAVID OWENS m SARAH HOLLER  > ENOCH N. "NICK" OWENS

Siege of Vicksburg, MS 1863

You can read about David Owens' beginnings here. Enoch was the eldest of the David Owens/Sarah Holler union. He was born June 22, 1844 in Indiana. The 1850 Census has the family in Lawrence County. Sarah's widowed mother, sister and husband Edna and William Wheeler, and brother John B. Holler trekked with the Owens family to Illinois and then to Poyner Township, Black Hawk County, Iowa over the course of 1854-55.

Enoch, or Nick as he was called, enlisted at age 18 on 24 Sep 1862 serving with Company C, Iowa 31st Infantry Regiment. He served with his unit until 27 Jun 1865 when he was discharged at Louisville, Kentucky. That unit engaged in the following battles. Not many of this group died in battle, but over 20% died of disease during their service:

Siege of Vicksburg
Battle of Lookout Mountain
Battle of Missionary Ridge
Battle of Resaca
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
Battle of Atlanta
Battle of Jonesboro
March to the Sea
Battle of Bentonville

Enoch in 1870 was living in the home of his grandmother Lucy and her second husband Rev Nathan Poyner, founding member of the community. For a time he was a railway engineer, but he had purchased some of his own land to farm. He would not stay in these parts, as was the case with the children of  many of the original group, and moved on back to Brown in Washington County, Indiana.

On 03 Nov 1874 he had married Eliza Ella Russell, daughter of George and Bethire (Barnard)

Enochs stone at Maple Hill Cemetery
He died at the end of 1916; stone error of 1917

Russell. In about 1884, they moved on from Indiana, to Wayne County, Illinois. During the rest of his life, he primarily farmed. They had two children:

Pearl was born in about 1875 and who would later marry Andrew David Weller and move to Rose, in Carroll County, Ohio. After Andrew's death in 1841, would move to Stark County in 1844.They had no children.

Son Sebert, who we can presume was born between 1877 and 1894, and for whom I've located no information, was living in Brazil in South America at the time of his father's death, according to Nick's obituary.

Ella died 29 Nov 1893. Nick remarried on 17 Sep 1896 to Mrs. Para Lee (Shaw) Brown. Nick died 27 Dec 1916 in Fairfield. Mrs Owens died 28 Mar 1926 in Big Mound, Wayne County.