John A. Ellsworth was born around 1833 in Delaware or Delaware County, New York, possibly the nephew of Joseph (b. 1802) and Eliza (b. 1803).
New York native married Massachusetts-born Eliza probably sometime before 1832 when their son William was born in New York. By 1850 John was working as a laborer and living with Joseph and Eliza Ellsworth and their family in Harpersfield, Delaware County, New York. (John is noted at the end of the Ellsworth family listing, even though he is the oldest “child,” leading one to conclude that he was not a son but a relative, possibly a nephew.)
John left New York and moved west, eventually settling in western Michigan. By 1860 John was working as a “month hand” and/or living with the family of Jessie Ackerman, a farmer in Moorland, Muskegon County.
John stood 5’9” with blue eyes, dark hair and a sandy complexion, and was 26 years old and still living in Muskegon County when he enlisted in Company G on May 10, 1861, at Grand Rapids. (Interestingly, John did not join the local militia company, the “Muskegon Rangers, which formed in the city in April of 1861, and which would become in large part, Company H of the Third Michigan. Rather he enlisted in Company G, which was widely known as the Lansing Company since it was composed largely of men from the Lansing area.)
John was reported as a company cook during July and August of 1862, and was injured in the back on August 29, 1862, during the battle of Second Bull Run. He was subsequently reported absent sick in the hospital from October through November of 1862, and was discharged on March 22, 1863, at Camp Pitcher, Virginia for “ascites, resulting from a blow, in the lumbar region, received . . . from a sliver of rail producing lameness and hematuria and subsequent ascites.”
After his discharge from the army John returned to Michigan where he reentered the service in Company B, Twenty-eighth Michigan infantry, probably on September 15, 1864, at Hanover, Jackson County for 3 years, crediting Leoni, Jackson County, and was mustered at Marshall, Calhoun County where the regiment was organized. He was reported as having deserted four days later on September 19 at Marshall but was subsequently on duty at the Twenty-eighth’s headquarters at New Berne, North Carolina in November and December of 1865 through April of 1866. He was mustered out of service with the regiment on June 5, 1866, at New Berne.
It is not known if John returned to Michigan after the war, although he may have lived for a time in Muskegon. In any case, he eventually returned to his home in New York.
He was probably living in New York when he married New York native Amanda (b. 1830 or 1840) and they had at least five children: M. Elmon (b. 1867), Mary (b. 1868), Dora B. (b. 1871), George (b. 1872) and John (b. 1877), all of who were born in New York.
By 1880 John was working as a stage driver and living with his wife and children in Brookfield, Madison County, New York. In 1890 he was in New York, living in Leonardsville, Madison County; he was still in New York in 1891 when he applied for and received a pension (no. 919364). By 1900 John was working as a retail butcher and living with his wife and two sons George and John in Brookfield, Madison County, New York.
John reportedly died in New York in 1906 or 1908 and was buried either in Brookfield Rural Cemetery no. 40, in Brookfield (where Joseph, Eliza and their son Lewis are buried) or in Up Hill Cemetery no. 39, also in Brookfield.
His widow was living in New York in 1906 when she applied for and received a pension (no. 622365). She was living in Brookfield, Madison County, New York in 1910; her son George was still living with her.
New York native married Massachusetts-born Eliza probably sometime before 1832 when their son William was born in New York. By 1850 John was working as a laborer and living with Joseph and Eliza Ellsworth and their family in Harpersfield, Delaware County, New York. (John is noted at the end of the Ellsworth family listing, even though he is the oldest “child,” leading one to conclude that he was not a son but a relative, possibly a nephew.)
John left New York and moved west, eventually settling in western Michigan. By 1860 John was working as a “month hand” and/or living with the family of Jessie Ackerman, a farmer in Moorland, Muskegon County.
John stood 5’9” with blue eyes, dark hair and a sandy complexion, and was 26 years old and still living in Muskegon County when he enlisted in Company G on May 10, 1861, at Grand Rapids. (Interestingly, John did not join the local militia company, the “Muskegon Rangers, which formed in the city in April of 1861, and which would become in large part, Company H of the Third Michigan. Rather he enlisted in Company G, which was widely known as the Lansing Company since it was composed largely of men from the Lansing area.)
John was reported as a company cook during July and August of 1862, and was injured in the back on August 29, 1862, during the battle of Second Bull Run. He was subsequently reported absent sick in the hospital from October through November of 1862, and was discharged on March 22, 1863, at Camp Pitcher, Virginia for “ascites, resulting from a blow, in the lumbar region, received . . . from a sliver of rail producing lameness and hematuria and subsequent ascites.”
After his discharge from the army John returned to Michigan where he reentered the service in Company B, Twenty-eighth Michigan infantry, probably on September 15, 1864, at Hanover, Jackson County for 3 years, crediting Leoni, Jackson County, and was mustered at Marshall, Calhoun County where the regiment was organized. He was reported as having deserted four days later on September 19 at Marshall but was subsequently on duty at the Twenty-eighth’s headquarters at New Berne, North Carolina in November and December of 1865 through April of 1866. He was mustered out of service with the regiment on June 5, 1866, at New Berne.
It is not known if John returned to Michigan after the war, although he may have lived for a time in Muskegon. In any case, he eventually returned to his home in New York.
He was probably living in New York when he married New York native Amanda (b. 1830 or 1840) and they had at least five children: M. Elmon (b. 1867), Mary (b. 1868), Dora B. (b. 1871), George (b. 1872) and John (b. 1877), all of who were born in New York.
By 1880 John was working as a stage driver and living with his wife and children in Brookfield, Madison County, New York. In 1890 he was in New York, living in Leonardsville, Madison County; he was still in New York in 1891 when he applied for and received a pension (no. 919364). By 1900 John was working as a retail butcher and living with his wife and two sons George and John in Brookfield, Madison County, New York.
John reportedly died in New York in 1906 or 1908 and was buried either in Brookfield Rural Cemetery no. 40, in Brookfield (where Joseph, Eliza and their son Lewis are buried) or in Up Hill Cemetery no. 39, also in Brookfield.
His widow was living in New York in 1906 when she applied for and received a pension (no. 622365). She was living in Brookfield, Madison County, New York in 1910; her son George was still living with her.
No comments:
Post a Comment