Alexander Walker and William Walker

Census record from 1870, Chester Township, Wells County, Indiana.

William Walker, the son of Alexander Walker [my third great-grandfather], shot and killed a man (George Shaw) in 1883 in Keystone, Indiana.  More on this in later posts.

1 Comment

Filed under Genealogy, History, Indiana

Hobart Hampton Scott, Company A, 47th Indiana Volunteer Infantry

Private Hobart Hampton Scott died on July 7, 1863.

Hobart Hampton SCOTT was born June 17, 1823, Hartford, Connecticut. He was a Private, enlisting on October 25, 1861 with Company A of the 47th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Private SCOTT died on July 7, 1863 at the age of 40 years, and was re-interred July 10, 1868, at Memphis National Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee, Section MA, Site 50. As the national cemeteries were founded, many Civil War Soldiers were re-interred there.

1 Comment

Filed under Civil War, History, Indiana

Vicksburg/Champions’s Hill 47th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regimental History

Sketch by Col Slack, 47th Indiana

Indiana at Vicksburg (1911) contains a history of the 47th.   The following paragraph is notable:

General McClernand’s Corps now consisted of Carr’s, Osterhaus’,
Hovey’s and Smith’s Divisions, and drove the enemy from
the field with heavy loss. But little opposition was encountered
until May 16th, on Champion’s Hill, when the army encountered
General Pemberton’s army, which came out from Vicksburg and
gave battle. Here, again, Hovey’s Division was brought on and had
the hardest of the battle. Company A of the 47th was on the skirmish
line, and a retrograde movement of tlie forces engaged brought
the lltli Regiment to the rear of that line, and the charge made by
that regiment swept the skirmishers with it. The guns of a rebel
battery were captured, but had to be abandoned, for just at that
time our force was outnumbered. We had to fall back for a space,
but were soon reinforced and the enemy was swept from the field.
The Champion’s Hill fight has been set down in history as one of
the three great battles that decided the fate of the Southern Confederacy.
It was certain that Pemberton would now have to fall back
to Vicksburg, and as certain that Vicksburg, with its army, must
fall, and that the Confederate States would be completely divided
by the Mississippi River, which would be held against them in its
entirety.

You can read the regimental history starting from page 289.

3 Comments

Filed under Civil War, History, Indiana

Company A, 47th Indiana Volunteer Infantry

Daniel Hilton

Benjamin Jones

A great-grandfather, John Kennedy, served in Company A, 47th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. An excerpt from the roll of enlisted men serving in Company A:

Name                                         Residence         Muster 1861      Remarks

Kennedy, John Bluffton Nov. 2 Veteran; mustered out Oct. 23, ’65
Louis, John B. Reiffsburg Nov. 2 Veteran; mustered out Oct. 23, ’65, as 1st Serg’t.
Lynch, Chaney W. R. Bluffton Nov. 2 Vet.; drop’d as des’r July 8, ’65, mus.out Mar. 22, ’66
Mechling, Levi Bluffton Nov. 2 Died at Mound City, Ill., Sept. 21, ’62
McGlauglin, Theodore Reiffsburg Nov. 2 Died at Benton, Mo., March 29, ’62
McLain, Andrew B. Indianapolis Nov. 2 Veteran; mustered out Oct. 23, ’65
Milliken, Alfred M. Bluffton Nov. 2 Deserted, killed on way to rejoin Regiment.

It doesn’t say how the deserter, Alfred M. Milliken, was killed – was he executed for desertion or did he die by other means?

The photo above is of Daniel Hilton who served in Company A.  You can read online a short account of his time in the army including the movements and actions of the 47th:

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under Civil War, Genealogy, History, Indiana

Chester Township, Wells County, Indiana 1881 Hand Atlas – Kennedy’s 80 Acres

Chester Township, Wells County, Indiana  1881 from “Historical Hand-Atlas, illustrated” Chicago, Hardesty 1881

John Kennedy’s property is located near the upper left quarter:

Online link to map

Click on the images to enlarge.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Genealogy, History, Indiana

1850 and 1860 Census – Wells County, Indiana – No Kennedys or Kenedas Appear in Chester Township

Link to online 1850 pdf file

Link to online 1860 pdf file

Leave a Comment

Filed under Genealogy, Indiana

What’s In a Name? – John “Keneda” Kennedy

The following is the 1880 Census information for John Keneda (“Kennedy”), a great-grandfather – the reason for the alternative spelling of Kennedy in the census record I know not:

Link to location for full page

Leave a Comment

Filed under Genealogy, History, Indiana

The above is from the 1870 census for Chester Township, Wells County, Indiana.  There were two Jeremiah Kennedy’s in Wells County in the 19th century.  One of them I was related and one is not, the above Jeremiah Kennedy is not mine:

“After the war Mr. Quill opened a shoe shop at New Paris, Ohio. On Oct. 15, 1865, he was married, in Huntington, Ind., to Ellen Kennedy, who was born in Limerick, Ireland, about 1848-50, daughter of Jeremiah and Mary (Collins) Kennedy. Jeremiah Kennedy care from Ireland in 1854 and settled on land in Preble county, Ohio, for a few years. Later he moved to Wells county, Ind., and bought a farm of eighty acres, where he died when eighty years of age.”

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

47th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Soldier Obituary 1939

Click to enlarge – a paternal gr-grandfather, from the same county (Wells), served with this man in the 47th Indiana Volunteer Infantry.

Click photo above to enlarge.

http://www.mosocco.com/pic/enyeart.jpg

A letter home from the same William Enyeart discussing battles and conditions can be read here.

An excerpt follows:

April the 7, 1863
missispia we ar About Four Miels From black river in rear of Vicksburg and we had A big
batele on the First Day of May at Chickswa bluf and it was a harder Fite then the Shilow or
the Pea rig batele and the forty Seventh was in the hotest place in the batel the tride to flank
us and we had to Fite our way out The bales and Grape Flue round us as thick as hail and
we Fough all Day mor or Les the Last round we had we Fought Two ours and A half Stude
fine Fast as they bold the rebes had about Fifteen thousand Men and born out with About
Five thousand we wr Lyin in A very nice place

More on the history of the 47th can be found on this great website.

1 Comment

Filed under Civil War, Genealogy, History, Indiana

Early Laws of the Northwest Territory – 1788

A law respecting crimes and punishments. Pub-
lished on the 6th of September. By this statute the crimes
of treason, murder and houseburning in case where death en-
sues from such burning, were respectively punished by death.
The crimes of burglary and robbery were punishable by
whipping, not exceeding thirty-nine stripes; fine and im-
prisonment for any term not exceeding fort}- years. For the
crime of perjury the offender was punishable b}’ a fine not ex-
ceeding sixty dollars or whipping not exceeding thirty-nine
lashes, disfranchisement and standing in- the pillory for a
space of time not exceeding two hours. Larceny was pun-
ished by fine or whipping at the discretion of the court. If
the convict could not pay the fine of the court it was lawful
for the sheriff, b}’ the direction of the court to bind such con-
victs to labor for a term not exceeding seven years to any
suitable person who could pay such fines. Forgery was pun-
ishable by fine and disfranchisement and standing in the pil-
lory for a space of lime not exceeding three hours. For
drunkenness the law was as follows:

“11 If many person shall be convicted of drunken-
ness before one or more justices of the peace, the per-
son so convicted shall be fined for the first offense
the sum of five dimes and for ever succeeding offense
upon Conviction the sum of one dollar. In either case
if the offender neglects or refuses to pay the fine, he
shall be set in the stocks for the space of one hour,
provided, however, that complaints be made to the
justice or justices within two days after the offense
shall have been committed.

Pioneer history of Indiana

1 Comment

Filed under History, Indiana