"An Imperishable Fame" - Company B, 151st Pennsylvania Volunteers

While researching the life of Charles Bates, whose grave lies in obscurity on a sandy bank above the old Owego Turnpike in Dingman Township, I happened upon the following 1896 editorial  honoring the recruits of Company B, 151st Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry. Enrolled at Milford in the fall of 1862, this would be the only Company raised within Pike County during the Civil War.  The youngest enlistees gave their age as 18.  The eldest, John Cortright, stated he was 44 years old.  They were brothers, cousins, neighbors, friends and kin through marriage. Some were immigrants, others were descendants of the first settlers and militia men on the provincial frontier of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Editorial 
BRIEF HISTORY OF COMPANY B.
The official record of Company B, 151st Regiment, P. V. which was recruited from this county, and was mustered into service Oct. 20th, 1862 to serve nine months is as follows : Other companies were A. and C recruited in Susquehanna, F in Warren, D in Juniata E. G. H. K. and part of I in Berks and the remainder of I in Schuylkill. The regiment participated in the bloody battle of Gettysburg and history says of it:

"The heroism displayed by the One Hundred and Fifty-first in this battle, is unsurpassed. It went into the fight with twenty-one officers, and four hundred and sixty -six men. Of those, two officers and 66 men were killed, twelve officers and one hundred and eighty-seven men were wounded, and one hundred were missing, an aggregate loss of three hundred and sixty-seven, upwards of seventy -five per cent. At Gettysburg, says General Doubleday, who commanded the First Corps, they won, under the brave McFarland, an imperishable fame."

151st Pennsylvania Infantry Memorial, Co. B, Gettysburg, PA. Photo courtesy of Norman Gasbarro

The officers of Company B were :
Oscar H. [Harold] Mott, captain, discharged March 8, 1863.
Lafayette Westbrook, 1st lieutenant, promoted to captain, March 9, 1863. 
John H. Vincent, 2d lieutenant, promoted to 1st lieutenant, March 9, 1863.
Robert M. Kellogg, 1st sergeant, promoted to 2d lieutenant, March 9, 1863.
Herman Frank [var. Franke], promoted to 1st sergeant, March 9, 1863 ; wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863.
Stephen [Hazard], sergeant. 
Henry Cuddeback, sergeant.
William A. Salmon, sergeant, discharged by special order, Feb. 10, 1863.
[Thomas] M. Beardsley, sergeant, promoted from private, March 9, 1863, killed at Gettysburg.
Henry Smith, sergeant, promoted from corporal, Feb. 11, 1863, killed at Gettysburg.
William Sutton, corporal, captured at Gettysburg.
Ira Pellett, corporal.
George W. Kimble, corporal.
James [Hatton], corporal.
Nelson DeWitt, corporal. 
Wesley Watson, corporal, promoted Jan. 5th, 1863. 
Jacob C. Schorr, corporal, promoted Jan. 5th, 1863. 
Charles Bates, corporal, promoted Jan. 6th, 1863, wounded at Gettysburg. Pa., July 1st, 1863. 
Francis E. Hazen, corporal, promoted Feb. 11th, 1863, died at Acquia Creek, Va., June 4th, 1863.
David Miller, corporal, deserted Nov. 18th, 1863.
James S. Smith, corporal, discharged on surgeon's certificate, April 14th, 1863. 

Privates:
Robert J. Andrews. 
Andrew J. Appleman.
[Edward] C. Appleman, died at Belle Plain, Va., April 15th, 1863.
Jesse R. Burrus. 
John Blackmore.
Simeon Brink. 
Benjamin C. Bonnell, captured at Gettvsburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863. 
John Buckingham, captured at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, l863.
Joseph A. Buckley.
George Burrus, captured at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863. 
Charles Burrell [Jr], died at Union Mills, Va., Dec. 10th, 1862 buried in National Cemetery, Arlington Va.
Charles Blackmore, killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863.
Solomon B. Brink, killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863. 
Ira [Burrell] Case. 
David Canfield.
Janson Cole. 
John Cortright, Jr.
Wesley C. Cron.
Peter Cron, wounded and captured at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863.
James [Polk] Crone.
Cornelius Case, discharged on surgeon's certificate, April 13th, 1863.
Isaac S. Decker. 
George M. Decker.
Benjamin Degroat.
[Daniel Westbrook] Dingman [Jr.], captured at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863. .
Adonijah [Brodhead] Drake.
Sealy S. Drake. 
William F. Fulkerson, captured at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863. 
Charles [Lewis] Frank, captured at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863. 
Nelson Garris.
Christian Grim [var. Grimm].
Conrad Happ.
Edward R. Hazen. 
John Henry.
Nicholas Hess. 
Valentine Hipsman.wounded with loss of arm, at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863. 
Michael Hissam, wounded at Chancellorsville. Va.. May 3d, 1863.
Rush K. [Killam, Jr.], wounded at Gettysburg. Pa.. July 1st. 1863. .
Robert [Augustus] Kayser, wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863. 
[Jonas] Kettle.
John Kleinstuber. 
Levi Labar. 
Levi Losey, wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863. 
Casper Madden.
Enos B. Mapes.
Peter [Marger].
Abraham Masker, captured at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863. 
Warren Masker, captured at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863. 
Mordecai M. Mott.  
James [A] Morrison, killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863.
Samuel McCormick, died at Philadelphia, Pa., August 3d, 1863
Charles M. [McCarter], wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863.
James Nyce, captured at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863. 
John L. Pearson [Pierson], wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863.
Burnham [Kimble] Pellett. 
Josiah Perry.
Michael B. Pitney. 
George W. Parr, killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863.
Nelson Reaser [var. Reser], wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1st, 1863.
Francis Rolle. 
Silas Rosencrance. 
Randall D. Sayre. 
Charles D. Schmalzler [var. Schmazle, Schmalzle] 
Reuben [Sieg].
Gilbert Shaffer.
Edward Stidd.
Isaac Shearer.
Jacob C. Van Gordon, discharged on surgeon's certificate, Feb. 25th, 1863.
Amos Van Gordon, deserted Nov. 22d, 1862.
William M. Watson. 
Patrick White.
Ziba B Williams.
George G. [Gotlieb Worzel].
Henry P. [Worzel].
Joseph Zeimer [var. Zimer], died at Belle Plain, Va., April 1st, 1863.

The regiment was mustered out July 27, 1863, .... Of the 96 men composing Company B thirty-eight have gone over to the silent majority. Some rest in unknown graves, some are buried in National cemeteries and some sleep in our churchyards whose graves are yearly decked with flowers by the hands of their living comrades. Their names are enrolled on the Nation's page of honor, and their memories are revered for the noble sacrifice they made on the bloody field of battle. ~ May 15, 1896, Pike County Press, published by John Hixson Van Etten.

Charles Bates, 1812 - 1895

 Company B, 151st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington VA - Charles Burrell, Jr., 1839 - 1862.
Bath National Cemetery, Bath NY - Silas Rosencrance, ? - 1907
Bloss Family Burying Ground, Blooming Grove PA - Charles Lewis Frank, 1840 - 1918.
Cashmere Cemetery, Cashmere, WA - Benjamin C. Bonnell, 1842 - 1897.
Clinton Center Cemetery, Wayne Co PA - Sealy S. Drake, 1845 - 1927.
Delaware Cemetery, Dingmans Ferry PA - James Polk Crone, 1844 - 1897; Daniel Westbrook Dingman, Jr., 1835 - 1900; James Nyce, 1842 - 1897; Michael B. Pitney, 1839 - 1911.
Dunmore Cemetery, Dunmore PA - Janson Cole, 1841-1921.
Evergreen Cemetery, Everett, Snohomish County, WA - Joseph A. Buckley, 1842 - 1906, also served in Co. A, 161st NY.
Fredericksburg National Cemetery, Fredericksburg, VA, Grave 5887 - Francis E. Hazen,  1840 -1863.
German Hill Cemetery aka Hipsman Farm Burying Ground, Shohola PA - Nicholas Hess, 1820 - 1899. Valentine Hipsman, 1840 - 1923.
Gettysburg National Cemetery, Gettysburg PA - Nelson Reaser, 1844 - 1863.
Greening Farm Burying Ground, Dingmans Township, PA - Charles Bates, 1812-1895.
Old Greentown Cemetery, Greentown PA - George Burrus, 1838-1863; Jesse R. Burrus 1833-1916.
Hopedale Moravian Cemetery, Pike County, PA - Reuben Sieg, 1844 - 1932.
Lakeville Cemetery, Lakeville PA - Benjamin Degroat, 1838 - 1909.
Milford Cemetery, Milford PA - Solomon B. Brink, 1834 - 1863; Ira Burrell Case, 1840 - 1917; Oscar Harold Mott, 1821 - 1864; Randal D. Sayre, 1840 - 1916; Jacob C. Schorr, 1838 - 1921; Wesley Watson, 1832 - 1910;  William M. Watson, 1834 - 1894.
Milton Junction Cemetery, Milton Junction WI - Ira Pellett, 1840-1916.
Mount Moriah Cemetery, Kimble PA - George W. Kimble; Josiah Perry, 1842 - 1922; John L. Pierson, 1841 -1921.
Oakland Cemetery, Keokuk IA - Robert Augustus Kayser 1842 - 1929.
Paupack Cemetery, Pike Co PA - John Buckingham, 1844 - 1917, also served with Co G, 213th Reg.; Rush K. Killam, Jr., 1844-1877; Abraham Masker, 1835 - 1912;  Warren Masker, - 1890; Burnham Kimble Pellett, 1842 - 1881.
Philadelphia National Cemetery, Philadelphia PA - James A Morrison, 1837 - 1863. 
Rowland Cemetery, Rowland PA - Nelson DeWitt, 1836 - 1923.
Sandhill Cemetery, Monroe Co PA - Levi Labar, 1823 -1910; Levi Losey, 1836 - 1897.
Stroudsburg Cemetery, Stroudsburg PA - Adonijah Brodhead Drake, 1821 - 1893; Lafayette Westbrook, 1824 - 1908.

Captain Lafayette Westbrook

Brothers:  Edward & Andrew Appleman, Charles & John Blackmore, Jesse & George Burrus, Isaac & George Decker (Dreese, 2000), Abraham & Warren Masker, Ira & Burnham Pellet, and Wesley & William Watson. 

*****

Sources, corrections and additions: 

Battle Unit Details, 151st Reg. PA Infantry, National Park Service. 

Cemeteries, Graveyards, and Burying Grounds in Pike County, PA, Gettysburg Chapter, Daughters of the Union, Victoria W. Fields, 1941. 

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Pike County Press, 1896.
Record of Deaths, Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, (Google eBook) Vol 1, 1908. 

FamilySearch.com: 1850 Census (many transcription errors) and 1860 Census reports for Pike Pennsylvania.
Company B, 151st Regiment,, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5, Volume 4 by Samuel P Bates, 1869.

National Cemetery Fredericksburg Burial Roster pdf

National Graves Registration Database, SUVCW.
The 151st Pennsylvania Volunteers at Gettysburg: Like Ripe Apples in a Storm, Michael Dreese, McFarland, 2009.

Pennsylvania State Archives, 151st Regiment, Company B, pages 5 - 7.

US Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, 1890 Pennsylvania > Pike, NARA microfilm publication M123. 
USVA Grave Site Locator.

24 letters written by Peter Cron, 1862-1863, sold at Cowan's Auctions in 2014.  "The final letter in the collection is from Wesley Cron.... I don’t know any thing more about Peter only the Doctor says he is in Baltimore Badly Wounded but he thinks he will get well... Peter Cron died on July 27."  Dreese does not list Peter Cron among those mortally wounded.

Special thanks for permission to use the photo of the 151st Pennsylvania Infantry Memorial at Gettysburg, (c) 2011, Norman Gasbarro, all rights reserved. 

151st Reg: P.V.

151st Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry 

Overview:
Organized at Harrisburg October 18 to November 24, 1862. Moved to Washington, D. C., November 26. Attached to 3rd Brigade, Casey's Division, Defenses of Washington, to February, 1863. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 1st Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to July, 1863.  Service:  Duty in the Defenses of Washington till February, 1863. Moved to Belle Plains, Va., and joined 1st Army Corps. Duty there till April 27. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Operations about Pollock's Mill Creek April 29-May 2. Battle of Chancellorsville May 2-5. Gettysburg (Pa.) Campaign June 11-July 24. Battle of Gettysburg, Pa., July 1-3. Pursuit of Lee July 5-24. Mustered out July 27, 1863. Regiment lost during service 2 Officers and 67 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 1 Officer and 53 Enlisted men by disease. Total 123.

Record of a Nine Months' Regiment at the Battle of Gettysburg

Tombstone Errors: William Custard, Egypt Mills PA

Once again while browsing the images in Family Search's Pennsylvania Probate Records I happened upon an entry which surprised me:  William Custard's Last Will and Testament, Wayne Co Wills, Vol. I, No. 12, is clearly probated in 1806.  His tombstone, located at the Swartwood burying ground in Pike County Pennsylvania, bears a death date of 1826. 

Click on the images to enlarge

Heirs:  Son William, unnamed children, grandson Benjamin (son of William) and wife Sary

Witnessed by John Nyce and Barnardus Swartwood; John Brodhead, Register

A couple of possibilities come to mind - a well meaning descendant found and replaced a partially illegible stone or perhaps, based on family tradition, placed a new stone in the burying ground in memory of their ancestor.

The error exists in the 1933 transcription page of Cemeteries, Graveyards and Burying Grounds in Pike Co PA, on the State's 1935 Veteran Burial Card, on Find A Grave's website memorial for William, and in countless family trees. Multiple copies of my photo of the headstone (used without permission or credit) have appeared on Ancestry.com spreading the erroneous date like a virus across the net.

It's a lovely tombstone, with a crisp inscription & not a lichen to be seen. I remember wondering at the time if it were a replacement.

Tombstone errors spawn questions:  Is a calculated birth date valid? Was the 1933 transcription the cause or merely a reflection of the error?  Is the matching tombstone of Sarah Swartwood, his wife, also harboring mistaken information?

Are Sarah and William actually buried here? I would venture the opinion that their remains very likely are buried here given the names and dates on the weathered headstones of relatives, friends and neighbors who do rest in peace in the old burying grounds.    

Update:
The similarities of material, shape, lettering & weathering of the following Custard tombstones leads me to believe that they are replacements, carved & placed at the same time as those of William Sr & Sarah. Further research is in order to confirm these dates:

Elizabeth Custard, d 1850
Margaretia, wife of Mason D Custard, d 18_?
William Custard, d 1862

The following well weathered Custard family tombstones appear to be original headstones placed at the time of burial:
Frances M d 1856
Ira D d 18__?
Rufus H, son of Cyrus & Francis, 1858











Swartwood is located off Rt 209 in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, between Dingmans Ferry and Bushkill PA. Watch for the sign for Mile Marker 4. Pull in to the semi-circle gravel parking area directly opposite the entrance to Valley View Group Campsites.

Park and walk back along the northern entrance drive, look for a footpath on the left which will open up to a woods road. Take the right fork of the woods road and follow to the top of the bluff overlooking the river valley.

View Minisink Valley Genealogy in a larger map

                                                                                                       

For readers unfamiliar with the probate process, the appearance in court of the witnesses to the signing of the Will determines its validity and is the first step in the administration of the estate.  

Probate:
The court process by which a Will is proved valid or invalid. The legal process wherein the estate of a decedent is administered. 

When a person dies, his or her estate must go through probate, which is a process overseen by a probate court. If the decedent leaves a will directing how his or her property should be distributed after death, the probate court must determine if it should be admitted to probate and given legal effect.

Pennsylvania Land Records - Ancestry.com vs the State

While reading through the subscription Ancestry.com's database of PA Land Warrants and Applications in search of 18th century records for Johannes Van Etten an interesting document came to light. The only words I put into this Ancestry search engine, due to the overwhelming number of transcription & indexing errors, were Northampton, Pennsylvania  - then it was just a matter of wading through the alphabet in ten page leaps until reaching the V section.

The Ancestry.com index found Emmins (as given name) Von Gordon (as surname) together with Hoover (as given name) Nyce (as surname.)  A gold mine of the Minisink neighbors jumped from the next page: John Emmins, Jacobus Van Gordon, Emanuel Hoover, William Nyce, John Mushback & (adjoining) Emanuel Gonsalis, Gilbert Van Gordon and the Swartwoods, Peter & Barnardus.

Ancestry's original document film is a treasure but poorly indexed, while the Land Records of the PA State Archives online are limited to later transcripts, copied surveys and compiled warrantee township maps in pdf format. The Archives are cumbersome, possessing no search engine, but the index is trustworthy (given the surname variants & misspellings of the time.)

Jacobus Van Gordon/Gorden:
Index #44
Copied Survey

Feb 12, 1785 tracts for Emmins, Van Gordon, Hoover, Mushback & Nyce on the Warrantee Map for Lehman (formerly Delaware) Township (# 31, 38, 53, & 66 are smaller tracts described in the margins.)

Large editions of each of the Pike Co Township Warrantee maps are also available for research at the Deeds Department in the Administration Building, Broad St. Milford, PA.

Parent Counties:  Bucks Co was one of the original Pennsylvania counties formed on 10 March 1682; Northampton Co set off from Bucks County 14 October 1751; Wayne Co set off from Northampton Co 21 May 1798; Pike Co set off from Wayne Co 26 March 1814; Monroe Co set off from Pike and Northampton Counties 1 April 1836.

UPDATE: An automated, fully-word-searchable transcription of the Northampton County Warrant Register, transcribed by volunteer Marie Robinson, is now available online.

UPDATE:  Pennsylvania Residents have FREE access to PA Land Records on Ancestry providing they also have a free Ancestry account: Click the PA State Portal page for more information.  

Deciphering the 1830 Ennes - Westbrook bill for $2.13

While paging through the Ennes / Ennis family file at the Pike Co Historical Society I found the following original clipping from an old ledger found in the attic of a Tocks Island condemned building at Dingmans Ferry in Pike Co some years ago.  Said ledger clippings are distributed throughout the various holdings of family files at the Society and are available for copying, though the pages before and after the entry are, in consequence, a mystery.

click on the document to enlarge

1st line reads: Joseph Ennes  ?__  (an abbreviation?)
2nd line:  __ Solomon Westbrook ___ (Sr. or Dr.?)
3rd line: 1830
Subsequent lines by date:
June 2 + 3 __o 8 1/2 gills Brandy ?__-- $0.50
              4   "    3       gills Brandy 1/  --   0.37 1/2  
              5   "    1       gill       "      1/  --   0.12 1/2
              8   "    2       gills    Gin    1/ --    0.25
and so forth down to
July  14      "     2   cocktales ?       ?        0.12 1/2

for a total of $2.13, which is correct.

Now the questions are who is serving whom and what are the abbreviations:
Was Joseph Ennes the bar keeper or was Solomon Westbrook?
Is the word after Ennes Jr?
Is the word before Solomon To? And is that word repeated in the bill before 8 1/2 gills of Brandy on June 2 + 3?
And, finally, could the ledger keeper / barkeeper have meant cocktails for cocktales?

There was no Joseph Junior to the best of my knowledge and NJ Index of Wills Vol III lists a probate Inventory for Joseph Ennes in the year 1830.  He is known to have worked as a ferryman and to have kept a public house for the raftmen on the Jersey side of the river.

Wiki - The gill (pronounced^[1] /ˈdʒɪl/) is a unit of measurement for volume equal to a quarter of a pint.^[2] It is no longer in common use, except in regard to the volume of alcoholic spirits measures, but it is kept alive by the occasional reference...

UPDATE:
Definition of COCKTAIL
1
a : an iced drink of wine or distilled liquor mixed with flavoring ingredients
b : something resembling or suggesting such a drink as being a mixture of often diverse elements or ingredients
c : a mixture of agents usually in solution that is taken or used together especially for medical treatment or diagnosis
2
: an appetizer served as a first course at a meal

Origin of COCKTAIL
probably from 1cock + tail
First Known Use: 1806

UPDATE:
Thank you dear readers for your helpful responses to the questions posed in  Deciphering the 1830 Ennes - Westbrook Bill for $2.13. Quite useful was this supplied link to How to Read 18th Century British American Writing.

A summary of  the responses, my thoughts & additional research:

• Solomon Westbrook is most certainly the bar / store keeper and the preceding word, carried down throughout the bill being To.  A quick visit to the Society and examination of another family file with clipping from the same ledger confirms Solomon Westbrook's record keeping in the 1830s.  Said records cover his General Store's worth of goods from barrels of dried apples & bushels of wheat to pins & fabric. 

• On the abbreviation following Westbrook it was pointed out: When researching early accounting methods, which were handwritten, it was noticed that the terms “Debit” and “Credit” were sometimes written as “Dr.” and “Cr.”  See also 18th Century Handwriting Contractions, Dr in superscript for debtor.

• The question of the word following Joseph Ennes, which might be Jun in superscript, remains open. As was noted by a reader, the letter J following Ennes is not formed as in June & July in the clipping, however the top half is a duplicate of that in June & July.... with less room for the J's tail flourish accounting for the difference perhaps? And (this is most interesting) per Index of Terms used in 17th Century Wills and Inventories, if it is a Jur not Jun,  the word might indicate juramento (abbreviated form 'Jur') which is latin - by the oath of. This seems quite logical - Joseph Ennes, Jur swears on oath To Solomon Westbrook (note the space) to honor as Dr. debtor the following ... How this might relate to the probate of old Joseph in 1830 is still a question.

 Multiple sources, as supplied by our readers, noted the origins of the word cocktail including this quite interesting quasi-medicinal version:   H.L. Mencken lists seven versions of its origin, perhaps the most persuasive is Fr. coquetier "egg-cup." In New Orleans, c.1795, Antoine Amédée Peychaud, an apothecary (and inventor of Peychaud bitters) held Masonic social gatherings at his pharmacy, where he mixed brandy toddies with his own bitters and served them in an egg-cup. The drink took the name of the cup, in Eng. cocktay.