Civil War Soldier - Robert Beckington

     Robert was five years old when his family immigrated from England in 1847 and settled in Spring, Boone County, Illinois. He was born on May 18, 1842 in Kewstoke Parish, in Somersetshire, England. I have written about this family, or certain members, in previous posts on this blog, and in an article about the family's journey to the United States which appeared in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 46, No. 4, Winter 2014 issue.

     Robert's Civil War Service started at the age of 19, on May 5, 1861, when he enlisted in the Union Army in Lyons, Clinton County, Iowa. He may have been living with his older sister, Anna, her husband, Henry J. Wright and family, at the time. He served as a Private with Company I, 2nd Infantry Regiment, Iowa. This regiment mustered in on May 28, 1861 at Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa. Robert was promoted to Full Corporal on July 28, 1861 and discharged on July 29, 1862. Highlights of this regiment's service include distinguished actions at the Battle of Fort Donelson and at the Battle of Shiloh (both in Tennessee), where 80 members of the regiment either died or were wounded. The regiment then fought in the Battle of Corinth (Mississippi) and later in the Atlanta Campaign. The regiment was at Camp Montgomery, Corinth, Mississippi, when Robert was discharged. According to his physician he was found "incapable of performing the duties of a soldier because of tubercular disease of the right lung caused by Pneumonia from exposure while in the service of the United States and his condition being so far affected by the disease as to totally destroy his health and render him entirely unfit for strenuous labor and which has become a permanent disability."

     There is quite a detailed history of the service of the men of the 2nd Infantry Regiment on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Iowa_Volunteer_Infantry_Regiment.  Guy E. Logan has provided great detail on this Iowa Infantry in Roster and Record of Iowa Troops in the Rebellion, Vol. 1, and at: http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/books/logan/mil302.htm.

     But, despite the disabilities described above, Robert re-enlisted as a Private on May 7, 1864 with Company K, 141st Infantry Regiment, Illinois. This regiment, was part of the "hundred-days men," an effort to augment existing manpower for an all-out push to end the war within 100 days. They were mustered in on June 16, 1864, at Elgin, Kane County, Illinois and mustered out on 10 October 1864 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. The 141st moved to Columbus, Kentucky for garrison duty in that district. They remained there for the 100 days. During that time, they lost 21 (some sources say 30) soldiers to disease. 

     Robert received a pension for his service. Under the Pension act of June 27, 1890, he received a pension of $6.00 per month for partial inability to earn a living. Under the Pension act of 1900, his pension increased as did his inability to work. Robert first applied for a pension on December 31, 1891 at age 49 (received January 2, 1892). He requested an Increase of Pension and provided additional information to the Bureau of Pensions on July 29, 1902, June 15, 1904 and January 2,  1915.  In July 29, 1902, was his physical description: Height 5' 9 1/4", weight 160 lbs, blue/gray eyes, brown (now gray) hair, light complexion. On October 29, 1923, he applied again for an increase of pension under the Pension Act of  May 1, 1920. This application now included his fourth wife, Helen. On February 12, 1926, Helen, as the widow of Robert, applied for the pension which had accrued to her husband now deceased.

     Included with the pension papers was an affidavit from his son Robert Clare Beckington sent after Robert's death stating that Robert had been married four times. It also stated that Robert had his pension checks sent to his son's house because Robert did not trust his 4th wife, Helen. Robert Clare thought that Helen poisoned him.

     After the war, Robert became a lawyer, practicing in Chicago. He did not have an easy life, including probably four marriages. In the 1870 Census, we see him with "Laura." Since it does not give us a relationship, we are not sure Laura is his wife although she is listed with Robert under the name Beckington. No marriage record can be found. They are living in Chicago and she is from Maine and works as a dressmaker. By the 1880 Census, he is married to Jennie Scoville and has a son, Robert Clare, age 1. They married on September 5, 1878  and divorced in 1892. They had three children, Robert and sisters, Maud and Grace.

     The following article was found in a newspaper regarding Robert and Jennie and a scuffle with the law, but NOT as a lawyer. The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois) · Fri, February 21, 1879 · Page 8:

            

                       

     A newspaper notice dated February 11, 1891, under "Divorces," filed the day before, states: Beckington, Jennie A. against Robert, for cruelty. Then there is an article, dated January 12, 1892 under "Divorces" states: Beckington, Robert from Jennie, for adultery.

     In 1895, Robert and a woman named Anna E. Beach took out a marriage license in Chicago. They probably did not actually marry as the "return" was not filled in.

     On December 31, 1901, Robert and Mary A. (Rogers) Seymour, married. She was 10 years his senior, born in New York on September 25, 1832. Mary's first husband was Charles H. Seymour, a physician, as was Mary. They had two children who died in early childhood. After their move, they practiced together in the Belvidere, Illinois area for 20 years. Charles died in 1896 shortly after they took up residence in Chicago. Mary was active in many public matters including as a worker in the W.C.T.U. (Women's Christian Temperance Union). She was the author of the anti-spitting ordinance for Chicago and suggested the establishment of the Chicago Tuberculosis hospital. She was also prominent in the campaign for woman suffrage. Mary died on January 17, 1921, some months after having fallen and suffering injuries to her hip and spine, which may have led to her death. Mary is buried in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Chicago.

      Then Robert married a final time on July 3, 1923, to Helen (Wheaton) Tibbitts, who was 30 years younger. Helen was previously married to Edward Tibbitts, and was probably divorced. She had two children, Nadine A. and Frank Wheaton Tibbitts. Robert passed away February 1, 1926 in Chicago. Helen died a few months later in September. Robert was buried by the G.A.R. in the Rose Hill Cemetery. Helen is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery as well.

Civil War Soldier - William Wallace Court

   We just got back from a wonderful trip to the Charlottesville, Virginia, area to see family and join a tour of three Civil War Battlefields. This tour was arranged by some of my husband's college classmates. We had 110 participants and it was narrated and guided by a wonderful man, Dr. James McPherson. He is a former Professor at Princeton University and a Pulitzer prize-winning author and an expert on the Civil War. This man could answer ANY question about the Civil War you could ask. We visited Petersburg, Manassas and the Appomattox Courthouse and heard about the battles and loss of life.

   A real treat though, was the tour and dinner at Montpelier one evening. This was James Madison's home. We had a docent from Montpelier tell us how James Madison secured himself away in his library at the home for several months and read everything he could from other countries about how they set up their governments (he was proficient in several languages). This was the beginning of the "Virginia Plan" which eventually turned into the U.S. Constitution. It really brought home how much went into this process and how important the Constitution is to this country. Please refer to this website for more detail:

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/madison/aa_madison_father_1.html

   One of the reasons I was excited about this trip is that my paternal great-great grandfather, William W. Court served in the Civil War. I have written about the Court family in prior blog posts. And I wrote an article about the Court family of New York, in a publication called the Desert Tracker, from the West Valley Genealogical Society in Sun City, Arizona, which I refer to on my website (www.relativesintheattic.com). 

   William  Court (1842-1925), enlisted in the 147th Infantry Volunteers, 1st Corp., Wadsworth's Division, Co. K, on September 23, 1862, from Oswego, New York. He served until the end of the war and was discharged on July 15, 1865, in Washington, DC. He was made Sgt. at some point, and 1st Sgt. on January 1, 1865. But, he must have done something to make someone unhappy because he became just a Sgt. again on May 1, 1865. He saw battles in Chancellorsville (although some sources say the Regiment didn't actually fight in that one), Gettysburg and Rappahannock. His Co. was assigned to the 5th Army Corps starting in March of 1864 and was at the Siege of Petersburg, VA. There, according to his pension records I received from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in DC, he caught a terrible cold while on picket duty somewhere after the Hatcher's Run battle in early March, 1865. He suffered from Rheumatism after that, the effects which stayed with him the rest of his life. Initially, he was in a hospital in City Point, VA, before being transferred to Campbell Hospital in Washington, DC, in April of 1865. He was discharged from the service in July of that year. Therefore, he did not make it to Appomattox where Robert E. Lee surrendered to U.S. Grant. It is amazing that he survived three years of fighting in the Civil War. We lost (the country) about 750,000 of OUR people during this war. Sad, indeed.

   So, we walked in areas in Petersburg where he did serve. I was able to follow his footsteps closely because of a book I  have digitally, by Thomas J. Ebert, Librarian Emeritus, California State University, Fresno, entitled: "147th New York Volunteer Infantry, September 22, 1862-June 7, 1865, The Oswego Regiment: A Documentary History." It is a detailed accounting of this Regiment during the war.

   The Beckington-McDougall family has at least five other soldiers who fought during the Civil War. Bruce's family has at least one that I have found so far - I am sure there are more. I will write about these soldiers in future posts.

HUTCHINGS FAMILY - FROM ENGLAND TO THE UNITED STATES

     The young Hutchings brothers were excited about the new lives they were about to begin in the United States. They were leaving their small village of Merton, England, in Devonshire. James Henry Hutchings was 21 and John Lewis was 19 years old. They had their tickets for the Titanic, in April, 1912.

    They were so excited about the trip, in fact, that they exchanged their tickets on the Titanic and took an earlier voyage on the Olympic on March 20, 1912, and arrived safely. So, I can continue their story...

     The young men who arrived in New York in March of 1912, came from a large family. Their father, Frederick William Hutchings, born in 1853, and, mother, Ann Andrews, born in 1855, probably married sometime before December of 1875, when their first son, Mark, was born. They eventually had 13 children, all born in Merton at the family home. Their last child, Charlotte Winnie, was born on December 25, 1899. Both Frederick and Ann lived to be 86 years of age and remained in England.                
                               

    Mary Jane, George, Edith, Mark, Gertrude, F. Wm, James
    Charlotte, Ellen, Frederick, Ann, Elizabeth, Frances                             Arthur, John

     The picture shown was taken the only time the whole family was together in one place before some of the children began traveling to new homes elsewhere. It probably was taken between 1905-08, as the youngest girl, Charlotte Winnie, (on the left in white) was born in late 1899. They were a handsome family. The young man in uniform, the oldest, Mark, and the two youngest girls in white, Charlotte Winnie and Frances May, both of whom became nurses, all died during or shortly after WW I, according to family stories.

     Frederick was the Manager of a Lord's Estate in Merton. The family lived in a home provided by that estate called Beer Cottage. Frederick was responsible for managing the farm land and livestock. James told his grandchildren that he remembered plowing the fields with a team of horses at the age of twelve. Merton is a small village five miles from Great Torrington in Devon County. Devon reaches from theBristol Channel (north) to the English Channel (south). It is bounded by Cornwall (west), Somerset (northeast), and Dorset (east). It is a very picturesque area.

     James and John were not the first of the family to come to the United States. Their older sister, Edith, immigrated in 1908. Mary Jane and her husband, William Pickard, married in England in 1908, and arrived in the States in 1910, according to later US Federal Censuses. A younger brother, Arthur Isaac, arrived about 1913. They all settled in Jackson, Michigan in Jackson County. It is unclear why they picked Jackson, but Edith was the first to settle there and the others eventually joined her. A fourth brother, George, may have settled in Canada and another, probably Frederick William, Jr., in Australia.

     John Lewis Hutchings was killed on June 28,1917, in a trench cave-in while installing some municipal pipelines in a Jackson street. His death certificate states "suffocation resulted when sewer, on which he was working, caved in; accidental." He was 24 years old.

     The following is a list of the names and birthdates of all the children of Frederick and Ann Hutchings. Death dates are given if known:

Mark - December, 1875;

Fanny Ellen (Ellen) - 1877 (married Albert Balch in 1905 in Devon);

Elizabeth - 1879 (married a Mr. Piper);

Mary Jane - 2 Jul 1882 (married William H. Pickard before immigrating to the US). Died on 4 Jun 1948 in Jackson;

Frederick William -  6 Dec 1883;

Gertrude - 1885 (married John Lake in 1906 in Devon);

Edith Ann - 25 Apr 1887 (married Charles Sussex in 1909 in Jackson);

George Andrew - 22 May 1889;

James Henry - 13 Mar 1891 (married Albertina "Tina" Bahr before 1917 Jackson). Died on 7 Jan 1971 in Jackson;

John Lewis - 2 May 1893. Died on 28 Jun 1917 in Jackson;

Arthur Isaac - 10 Jun 1895 (married Florence M. Hicks in 1920 and died on 11 Jun 1984 in Jackson;

Frances May - 1897 (married William H. Hodgetts in 1919 in England). Possible death date 1922;

Charlotte Winnie  - 25 Dec 1899 (married a Mr. Parnacott). Possible death date 1923.

There are seven known grandchildren of Frederick and Ann Hutchings.

Thank you to my cousin, George Hutchings, for his wonderful information, the family photo, and help with this post. We are hoping we will hear from other Hutchings relatives.

Update on Sarah A. Huston

     On February 4 of this year, I had a post about the Fowlers in Michigan. This family had three daughters: Twins Mary Ann married a Herrick and Sarah Ann married a Huston. The youngest, my great-grandmother, Delphine E., married John A. McDougall.
     In that post, I stated that I did not know when, how or where Sarah Huston had died.
     I received Sarah's death record that I requested from Washtenaw County a few days ago. A few questions were answered, but I am still not sure where she is buried, although my guess is Highland Cemetery or Cherry Hill Cemetery in Ypsilanti.
     The death certificate states Sarah A. Huston, 83 years, 6 months and 15 days, died on February 26, 1926,  in the City of Ypsilanti. This calculates her birth date as August 11, 1842. I am quite sure it was August 12. The sad part is how she died.
     Cause of Death: Fell out of window and was fatally injured. Dementia, Senile, Blind.
     Her father's name was George Fowler, born in Canada and her mother's name was Hester Halstead, born in New York. Sarah's place of birth was Michigan. All that agrees with my records.
    Remember the public family tree on Ancestry.com that gave her maiden name as Hartsook? It wouldn't have taken much to verify the correct maiden name. 
     The Washtenaw County Clerk's office website is wonderful and efficient. They charged me $17.00 for this certificate. The nice thing is that they allowed me to give them some information although I didn't need an EXACT death date AND, I know they wouldn't have charged my credit card if they had not been able to find it. It also was done within a week and on it's way to me via the mail.
     So another mystery solved. But - where is she buried? And, by the way, I never heard back from any of the people I tried to contact who had the family trees with these people listed - with wrong information.

Frank Robert DuPage, Jr. - Jay

     Frank Robert DuPage, Jr. was born on February 8, 1925 and died seven days short of his 90th birthday on February 1, 2015. He was called Jay, short for Junior. He married Florence (Flo) Virginia Abrams on April 19, 1947. They lived in Detroit, at 19365 Klinger Street, near 7 Mile and Ryan during their early married lives. Their only child, Phillip Frances DuPage, was born while they lived in that house, in 1949.

     When I was thinking about writing this article, I told my sister, Jeneen, I could not find the DuPages  on any censuses. I couldn't understand it - that was when she informed me that DuPage was not the original name. Jay was born to Frank and Elizabeth (Adamczyk) Dudkiewicz, in Chicago, Illinois. The story is that when Frank started work at a factory, he told the supervisor his name in the noisy factory. The man thought he said DuPage and it stuck. He eventually changed it legally. A good Polish name if ever there was one, probably just as well.

     Jay retired from the Burroughs Manufacturing Co., in Detroit. Jay, Flo and Phil moved to Harsens Island in St. Clair County, Michigan, in June 1969. Jay started the DuPage Marine Construction business on the Island, putting seawalls in. Eventually, the business grew to include making docks and any other construction that was needed on an island and near the water. Jay even saved the islanders money when he designed the seawalls or docks for them, instead of them having to hire an architect. He charged them half of what they would have had to pay when a design was needed for the required permit. Phil joined him after serving in Vietnam and continued the business after Jay retired, and now Phil is retired from the company.

     Jay enjoyed whittling in his spare time. He always had a "girlie" calendar in his shop, with the nude pictures changing each month. As the calendar page changed, he would whittle the latest female figure. He had quite a talent and Flo still has many of these small statues. He loved dancing and music and whenever there was an occasion, he could be found on the dance floor. Family was very important to him and Phil remembers many vacations up north on Londo Lake in Hale, MI. Jeneen remembers him being a great reader with a book always being at hand and he would readily share the books with her or others.

     Jay had two brothers, Theodore and Robert, both predeceased him. His older sister, Gertrude Wolshon, is still living. He had a sister, Doris, who died as a 2-year-old in 1920. He and Flo were members of St. Mark's Church and Jay was a member of the Men's Club at the church, as well as the Lion's Club on Harsens Island.

     Jay served in WWII, with the 35th Division in England/German/France/Belgium and Holland. He was: Pvt - Ordnance Basic=521; Pvt - Infantry Basic-521; and Pfc - Rifleman-745. He assisted in direct fire on the enemy, operated a walkie-talkie radio, acted as a runner, did a lot of patrol work and was familiar with all infantry weapons. He enlisted on July 29, 1943 and served until November 21, 1945, when he separated at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. He had both a Bronze Star and a CIB (Contact in Battle) medal. Phil says his father never talked about his time in the service, which I think is typical of that generation. So many stories have been lost.

     Jay is survived by his widow, Flo; his son, Phil and Phil's wife, Jeneen; his sister, Gertrude, as well as two grandchildren and one step-granddaughter. He also leaves behind several great-grandchildren, step-great-grandchildren, and one step-great-great granddaughter.

     Jay was cremated and had a full military service with a 21-gun salute on Sunday, February 8 - which would have been his 90th birthday.

THE FOWLERS OF SUPERIOR TOWNSHIP

     George W. Fowler and Hester Halstead of Superior Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan, had three daughters:  Sarah Ann, Mary Ann and Delphine E.

     George W. Fowler, was born on the 14th of July, 1817, in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, and Hester (sometimes written as Esther) Halstead, in Olcott Beach, Niagara County, New York, on February 4, 1824. George was in Michigan by 1837-39 and the Halstead family before 1834, when Hester's father died in Superior Township on March 11 of that year. George and Hester were married probably in 1839 or 1840.

     My great-grandmother, Delphine E. Fowler, was born on the 4th of May, 1851. She was the youngest of the three girls. Sarah Ann and Mary Ann were twins born on August 12, 1842. She married John A. McDougall on the 16th of March in 1870.

     Delphine was about 4'10" tall. John was a red-headed Scotsman who stood 6'4". They must have made an interesting looking couple. The union produced 11 children over the next 23 years. Alice, their third child and second daughter, died at 11 months of age in 1876. All of the other children grew to adulthood, although daughter Nellie Amrhime died two years after her daughter, Carrie, was born in 1900, at the age of 23. The Fowler and McDougall families were neighbors in Superior Township, where both John and Delphine were born. John was born on June 14, 1843 and died on October 26, 1920. He was the son of George S. McDougall and Mary Muir, both born in Scotland. I have written about George and the Muir family in the past (see my website www.relativesintheattic.com for a link to the article). John A. served in the Civil War in the 17th Michigan Infantry, Co. E as a Sgt. He injured his shoulder and had trouble with it for the rest of his life.

     Delphine died on 26th of September, 1941, at the age of 90 years, 4 months and 22 days. My late Aunt Phyllis (my father's sister) remembers that in her later years Delphine lived with her youngest son, Arthur Franklin (Frank) and his wife Beulah, in Ypsilanti. They owned a boarding house and she had her own room in the back. She wore very thick glasses which magnified her eyes. The most recent census (1940) shows Delphine with Arthur and Beulah, but nothing about it being a boarding house. Another aunt says she was bald and wore a wig.

     The Fowler family originally came from Canada, which makes it more difficult to research. I looked on Ancestry for family trees that might guide me, but with the misinformation I found - rather quickly - I am hesitant to spend too much time relying on them, even to begin a valid search. 

     Examples: One tree has Mary Ann (Delphine's sister) married to Albert D. Herrick - which she was. But they have her maiden name as Hale. When I take a closer look at the information included on the tree, they do have him marrying a Mary Ann HUSTON, but in New Hampshire. Now it is true that Albert was born in New York, but I can't imagine New Hampshire is correct. Albert was born on the 30th of August, 1833, but by 1860 he was already in the Michigan area. This couple eventually spent their later years in the Battle Creek area of Michigan. Albert died on January 1, 1925 and Mary Ann died on April 1, 1920.  Hester, Mary Ann's mother, was with them on the 1900 Census and then back with Delphine's family by 1910, in Superior Township.

     Albert and Mary Ann Herrick had five children, three surviving to adulthood, as best I can tell. Mable, George, Alice, Hubert and Wainard.  Wainard died young. I have been unable to find Mable or Alice. Hubert married Hattie B. Russell and George married Mabel Black and had two sons. I have not researched these people any further at this point.

     Sarah Ann, married Andrew John (Jack) Huston. One tree has her maiden name Hartsook. Jack was born in Michigan (probably Wayne County) in 1835. He died on April 16, 1902 and is buried in the Cherry Hill Cemetery, in Canton Township. A great many McDougalls, Hustons and Fowlers are buried in this cemetery. I have visited the cemetery and have pictures of some of the tombstones. I cannot find where Sarah Ann Huston is buried, nor even exactly when she died. She appeared on the 1920 census with her son, Oliver A. Huston, in Superior Township. She had another son, Ernest C. Huston. Oliver and his wife, Amelia Louise Reinhart, had eight children. Ernest C. may have been married twice, Alice Cole, and Cora Bell Rippy. He and Cora had three children.

     This was a frustrating search. And, of course, just a LITTLE research answered a few questions, but brought up more. I don't understand why people can't see obvious problems with their public trees. Two children, same name, born a year apart, both still living - tells me something is wrong. One child in the middle of several children in a family born in a different state, with no evidence of the parents having moved.

     But a good lesson - beware of information on a public family tree. AND, why, when you ask for further information or verification, don't they answer. Most irritating and it says to me they haven't a clue and were more interested in adding names than being accurate. It is one of the reasons I do not want my family tree there - I have a website!