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.