Tuesday, May 13, 2008

William Courser

William Courser was born in July 26, 1836, either in England or in New Brunswick, Canada, the son of John and Abigail (Kitchen).

After immigrating to the United States, William eventually settled in Michigan and by 1860 was a mill worker living at the Lyman Mason or Charles Hubbard mill boarding house in Muskegon, Muskegon County.

He was 24 years old and still living in Muskegon County when he enlisted in Company H on May 13, 1861. (Company H, formerly the “Muskegon Rangers”, was made up largely of men from the vicinity of Muskegon and Newaygo counties.) William was reported as a wagoner from July of 1862 through December, in January of 1863 he was a teamster with the Brigade wagon train through May of 1864, and was mustered out of service on June 20, 1864.

After his discharge from the army William probably returned to Michigan where he married Mrs. Marilla Porter Williams (d. 1928) on April 13, 1865.

He lived in Ludington, Mason County for some years after the war, working as a laborer; indeed he was living in the Fourth Ward in 1890 and in Ludington in 1900. He was admitted to the Michigan Soldiers Home (no. 3793) around 1902 and living at the Home in June of 1905 when he became a member of the Old Third Michigan Infantry Association.

In 1883 he applied for and received pension (no. 796,892), drawing $30.00 per month in 1912.

Although no record exists of his having been discharged from the Home and then subsequently readmitted, he was living in Muskegon in 1910 -- implying a discharge from the Home.

William died of organic heart disease at 10:00 p.m. on November 7, 1913, in the Home hospital. Funeral services were conducted at the Home by the Home Chaplain, Rev. J. K. Stark at 2:00 p.m. on November 10. He was interred in the Home cemetery: section 6 row 8 grave no. 10.

His widow died in 1928 at the Michigan Soldiers’ Home and is buried on the same lot with William.

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