Friday, September 26, 2008

Sidney Fox

Sidney Fox was born August 18, 1838, near Sandusky, Ohio, the son of Samuel (1797-1880) and Esther (b. 1814).

Connecticut-born Samuel married New York native Esther sometime before 1831 when they were living in Ohio. Sidney’s family moved to on to Michigan sometime before 1841, and by 1850 Samuel had settled the family on a farm in Branch County, where Sidney attended school with his siblings. By 1860 they had settled in Barton, Newaygo County where Samuel worked as a farmer. Due to Samuel’s advanced years, Sidney was the main provider for the family, and at one point when he worked for Sidney Secord in Newaygo County before the war and reportedly took his pay in “flour wheat & the use of his team for support of the family.” Curiously, Sidney is not listed with either his family or Secord (who lived right next door in 1860).

Sidney was 22 years old and probably living in Newaygo County with his family when he enlisted in Company K on May 13, 1861. He was probably present for duty through the winter of 1862 but by March of that year was listed absent sick. In fact, on March 17, 1862, he was reported as left sick at Alexandria, Virginia, when the regiment left with on the spring campaign the “Peninsula” campaign), and although eventually listed as having recovered he did not join the regiment but was reported as having deserted on April 29. He was returned to the regiment from desertion on June 6, but was again listed as absent sick through July and August.

Although alleged to have deserted on September 21, 1862, at Upton’s Hill, Virginia, in fact Sidney had been sent on August 12 to Chesapeake military general hospital near Fortress Monroe, Virginia, diagnosed with pneumonia, where he died on October 20, 1862. He was presumably buried at Fortress Monroe; in any case, he was reinterred at Hampton National Cemetery: section D, row 18, grave no. 35.

His parents were living in Big Rapids, Green Township, Mecosta County in 1870. They eventually moved to Paris, Mecosta County where his father died in 1880. Shortly afterwards his mother applied for a dependent mother’s pension (no. 244508)

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