USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Oakham > Soldiers of Oakham, Massachusetts, in the revolutionary war, the war of 1812 and the Civil war > Part 20
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In February, 1855, he went to Kansas, where he took an active part in the contest over the slavery question, and was with John Brown and Jim Lane. He was several times captured by the Pro-slavery bands and often in danger of being hung or shot by them, but was released on account of his youth, courage, and good nature. After the arrival of the United States troops at Lawrence, he returned East, bringing with him as his only souvenir the following pass, which he still carries, given him by "Dick" McCamish :
"Bull Creek, K. T., June 3, 1856.
This is to certify that the bearer hereof, John Crawford, is a reliable young man, and not injurious to the cause of Pro-slaveryism.
RICHARD McCAMISH."
In the spring of 1861 he went to Michigan on a visit. On September 2, 1861, he enlisted in the 2d Mich. Cav., and was appointed Sergeant Major. This regiment was commanded by Colonel Grainger till his promotion to Brigadier General, March 16, 1862, and after that by Colonel Philip H. Sheridan. September 9, 1862, Sergeant Crawford was commissioned Sec- ond Lieutenant and assigned as Battalion Adjutant. Adjutant Crawford went with Sheridan on the first cavalry raid of the Civil War and was in many engagements with the enemy before he resigned, on account of ill health, in the spring of 1863. General Hall of Iowa, who commanded a Brigade in Kentucky during the winter of 1862-63, wrote:
"Lieut. Crawford is a man of sterling integrity, great vigilance and bravery, and possesses all the necessary qualifications for further pro- motion, and I cheerfully recommend him for promotion."
He was given a commission of Captain in the 10th Mich. Cav. by Governor Blair, and raised a company. Through the influ- ence of Senator Sumner, who had known him in the days of
17
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SOLDIERS OF OAKHAM
the Kansas contest, he was offered a commission of Major in a colored regiment; but his health did not allow him to go again to the front.
In 1864 he was elected to the Michigan State Senate and served two years, being at the time the youngest member ever in that body. He was admitted to practice in Pontiac, Mich., in 1865, and in United States courts in Detroit, September 17, 1867, and was located in Fenton and Holly till 1870, when he removed to Lancaster, N. H. In 1881 he was appointed, by President Garfield, American Consul at Coaticook, P. Q., and served till 1884. After a residence of five years in Worcester, Mass., he removed in 1890 to Manchester, where he still resides.
Comrade Crawford has done much talking during the past fifty years. It is said that he has done more campaign speaking than any other man in the State of New Hampshire. He has spoken in behalf of the Republican candidates in every presi- dential campaign, beginning with that of 1856, when Fremont and Dayton were the first nominees of the party. In national and state canvasses, he has spoken in over one hundred and forty different towns in New Hampshire, and has been cam- paign speaker in Massachusetts, in Vermont, in Michigan and in Kansas. In addition, he has made numerous addresses at meetings of the Grand Army, at the dedication of soldiers' monuments, and at patriotic gatherings on Memorial Day. Several of these addresses have been printed. He has also been a popular lecturer on temperance and on many other subjects. Agriculture has claimed enough of his attention to enable him to serve as clerk and President of the Coos and Essex Agri- cultural Society. By using spare moments, he has found time to make a thorough study of subjects outside his profession, and has published important articles, among which may be mentioned three in Vol. I of the Collections of the Manchester Historic Association, "Castle William and Mary," pp. 51-65; "Etymology of the Language of the Indians of New Hamp- shire," pp. 177-188; "Proclamation Money," pp. 212-216.
He was married, April 16, 1863, to Emma Tindall of Oxford, Mich., by whom he had one child: Emma Nita, born August
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THE CIVIL WAR-2D MICHIGAN CAVALRY
27, 1864, died April 1, 1866. His wife died June 23, 1866, and he was again married, June 30, 1867, at Buffalo, N. Y., to Abbie T. Stevens of Paris, Me., daughter of Simon Stevens, a descend- ant of Captain Phineas Stevens, who defended No. 4 against the Indian attack upon Charlestown, N. H. Two children were born of this marriage:
Cyrene S., September 1, 1868, died March 26, 1874.
Carrie E., September 30, 1870, married April 30, 1898, to John W. Chapman of Manchester. Children: Mirriam Stevens, born December 22, 1899; Perley Crawford, born March 22, 1901 ; John Wilbert, born March 7, 1903; Sara Rena, born July 9, 1904; Carrol Everett, born October 29, 1905; Carrie Ethelyne, born December 17, 1907.
Mrs. Abbie Stevens Crawford died February 2, 1882, and he was married April 30, 1885, to Mary A. Harrington of Worcester, Mass.
A son, Harry Calvin Crawford, was graduated from the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania in 1909, with the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. He is a member of the American Veter- inary Medical Association, and is in successful practice in New York City.
38th Iowa Infantry.
George Duffey.
Mustered in, October 1, 1862. Mustered out, August 13, 1865.
Born June 9, 1826, in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, son of Peter Duffey. His mother's maiden name was Mary Crossley.
George Duffey came to this country about 1850 and lived for a short time in Smithville, Mass., now called White Valley. He moved west before 1857 and settled on a farm in New Oregon, Iowa, from which town he enlisted, August 22, 1862, in the 38th Iowa Regiment, Co. I.
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SOLDIERS OF OAKHAM
After the war he returned to New Oregon, where he con- tinued to reside till 1885, when he removed to Oakham and bought the place on which Stephen Boyden had lived for twenty years.
He was married in May, 1845, to Sarah A. Wilson of Oldham, England, and had five children: James, born in England, June 17, 1846; Mary Ann, born in Smithville, April 13, 1852; Lizzie E., born in New Oregon, October 9, 1857; Florence N., born in New Oregon, April 10, 1862; Ida Eveline, born in New Oregon, June 29, 1869.
Mr. Duffey died in Oakham, November 6, 1907.
6th Vermont Infantry.
George E. Green. Mustered in, July 24, 1863. Mustered out at the close of the war. Address, Monument, Hinsdale, N. H.
Born March 5, 1829, in Oakham. His father, Charles Belcher Green, son of Elijah Green, was born at Stockbridge, Vt., August 2, 1803. His mother was Catherine Bryant of Orange, Mass. They were married April 29, 1828.
George E. Green removed from Oakham to North Brook- field about 1850, and later to Brattleboro, Vt., where he was living at the beginning of the war. He enlisted July 13, 1863, in Co. A, 6th Vt. Inf., and served in the Shenandoah Valley and in the Army of the Potomac from the Wilderness to Petersburg.
After the war he returned to Brattleboro, where he lived till 1886, when he removed to Hinsdale, a town across the river in New Hampshire. He has a farm about two miles from Brattleboro, and is engaged in market gardening.
He was married, October 25, 1856, to Helen S. F. Barrett of Hinsdale, N. H.
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THE CIVIL WAR-IST VERMONT CAVALRY
Ist Vermont Cavalry.
George W. Haskell.
Mustered in, November 19, 1861. Reënlisted, December 30, 1863. Died in the service.
Born in Oakham, April 22, 1838, son of Nelson and Philena (Pep- per) Haskell. His grandfather, Simeon Haskell, a farmer and blacksmith, son of Roger and Judith Haskell, was born in Middleboro, Mass., January 10, 1767, removed to North Brookfield about 1793, and came from North Brookfield to Oakham in 1804. He lived on the Belknap place and was a prominent citizen, having been five times Selectman. Nelson Haskell was born in North Brookfield, March 19, 1798. On April 29, 1830, he was married to Philena Pepper, daughter of John Pepper of Ware, and sister of Mrs. Thomas Haskell. Other sons of Simeon Haskell were Loring, Thomas, and Mark.
George W. Haskell was in the employ of Deacon Hartshorn, a farmer of Worcester, when the war broke out. On November 6, 1861, he enlisted in Co. F, Ist Vt. Cav., which did heroic service in Virginia. Adjutant General P. G. Washburn of Vermont said of the men in this regiment: "Dashing, daring, fearless men, accustomed to be almost constantly in the saddle, and to charge the enemy wherever seen, without much regard to the odds, they have fought their way to a reputation which entitles them to all the consideration which can be given them."
George W. Haskell died in the hospital at Washington, D. C., August 8, 1864, of wounds received in action, June 1, 1864, at Ashland, Va.
Contract Service.
Frank Eugene Loring. Address, Oakham, Mass.
Born in Oakham, January 17, 1844, son of Augustine and Elizabeth R. Loring. His mother was Elizabeth Moore of Rutland. His father, who was born October II, 1804, and came to Oakham from Spencer, was the son of Thomas and Chloe (Draper) Loring, who were married September 27, 1803.
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SOLDIERS OF OAKHAM
Frank E. Loring enlisted in 1862 in a German regiment in Pontiac, Ill., but did not pass the examination. In 1865 he enlisted as a workman in the Quartermaster's Department, under Captain and Assistant Quartermaster J. S. Godfrey. He was stationed on Lookout Mountain, had charge of the Sadlery Department, and by contract was liable to be called on to fight in the trenches in case of an attack. Shortly before the close of the war he received the following discharge:
"This is to certify that the bearer hereof, Frank E. Loring, has been in the employ of the Quartermaster's Department under my direction, and has been honorably discharged this 13th day of May, 1865.
J. S. GODFREY, Capt. & A.Q.M."
Since the war he has resided chiefly in Oakham, where he has had a machine shop and has sold and repaired all kinds of farm- ing and household machinery. The work was carried on under the firm name of Loring Brothers till the death of his brother, Arthur L. Loring, February 7, 1896. Since that date he has continued the business alone.
2d Ohio Heavy Artillery.
Abraham Fay Robinson. Enlisted, January 5, 1864. Mustered out, June 8, 1865.
Born in Oakham, November 13, 1830. His father, Col. John Robinson, was son of John Robinson of Northboro, who removed from that town to Oakham about 1790 and purchased the farm on which George W. Stone, his descendant in the fourth generation, still lives. His mother, Susan (Stone) Robinson, was daughter of Alpheus Stone, a soldier in the Continental Army.
Abraham F. Robinson received his education in the district and select schools of Oakham and went west in 1856. At the outbreak of the war he was living in Newark, Ohio, from which place he enlisted in Co. M, 2d Ohio Heavy Artillery. The regi-
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THE CIVIL WAR-2D OHIO HEAVY ARTILLERY
ment was assigned to the duty of holding forts, protecting quartermasters' stores, guarding military prisoners, and policing the railroad from Chattanooga to Knoxville. Mr. Robinson was a fine penman and a skillful accountant, and was detailed for clerical duty for the greater part of the time of his service, first in Camp Nelson at Nicholasville, a few miles south of Lexington, Ky., where Confederate prisoners were kept, and later at the office of the Medical Director at Knoxville. He was discharged with the regiment at the close of the war.
He learned the machinist's trade by instruction extending over four years, two in Worcester and two in Newark. After return- ing from the war, he worked at his trade till he was about fifty years of age, when he left the shop for a farm at Newark, Ohio. He removed in 1892 to Utica, Ohio, where he resided till his death, December 5, 1912.
He was twice married: (1) to Mary A. Ball, April 8, 1860, who died in May, 1881; (2) to Lydia A. Young, February 16, 1882. He had eight children : Mary Geneva, born June 4, 1861, died January 10, 1868; John W., born December 29, 1862, died December 30, 1862; Hattie S., born December 3, 1882; Bertha E., born January 18, 1884; Susan M., born September 4, 1885; Charles F., born January 29, 1887; Carl D., born March 21, 1890; Walter M., born August 6, 1892.
Hattie S. was married November II, 1905, to Stewart B. Caffee.
Bertha E. was married August 11, 1913, to Dan Solenbarger.
Susan M. was married August 20, 1908, to Rollin Kunze. Children : Ralph Glen, born December 2, 1909, died same day ; Irma Imogene, born March 4, 191I.
Charles F. was married April 26, 1906, to Mary M. Ogle. Children : Beauford F., born June 27, 1906; Letha Hazel, born December 20, 1909.
Mrs. Lydia Young Robinson resides at Utica, Ohio. Post Office address, Box 115.
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SOLDIERS OF OAKHAM
SUMMARY
This book contains biographical sketches of ninety-six soldiers in the Civil War who were born in Oakham or who lived here for a considerable part of their lives before or after the war. Of this number, twenty-seven are still living (1913) at the end of a half century.
Thirty were married before enlistment and thirty-eight after their return. Twelve were married twice and one three times. Thirteen of those who came back from the war were never married. The average number of children in the families of the sixty-eight who were married was 3.62.
A large proportion of these soldiers were mature men. Twenty- two were above thirty years of age at the time of enlistment, eleven above thirty-five, and four above forty, while only twenty-three were below twenty. Thirty-four, more than one- third, were between twenty and twenty-five. The average age of those who enlisted from Oakham was about twenty-four years.
During the Revolutionary War the military age was from six- teen to sixty, but boys under sixteen and men above sixty were accepted as soldiers. The population of Oakham in 1776 was five hundred and ninety-eight, and the number of males between the ages of sixteen and sixty could not have been much if any less than one hundred and sixty. At the time of the Civil War, the military age was between eighteen and forty-five. The population of Oakham in 1860 was nine hundred and fifty-nine. The number of males between the ages of fifteen and fifty was two hundred and twenty-seven, and the number between eighteen and forty-five was about one hundred and seventy-five. The number of men of military age in Oakham on the Provost Marshal's list dated November 23, 1863, not including thirty-eight soldiers already in the field, was one hundred and eighteen. On this list were several names of men not liable to military duty on account of permanent physical disability. Only five of the one hundred and eighteen on the list entered the army after that enrollment was made.
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THE CIVIL WAR-SUMMARY
It would be difficult to find an able-bodied man in Oakham at the time of the Revolution who did not go on some campaign, and there were very few men of military age at this period who could claim exemption on ground of physical disability. But the soldiers from this town in the Civil War were supplied by a comparatively small number of families. Seven of the Civil War soldiers whose biographies are given in this book came to Oakham after the war, and eighty-nine were representatives of Oakham families, though twenty-seven of these enlisted from other towns. According to the state census, the number of families in Oakham in 1860 was two hundred and twenty-two. If men who reënlisted are counted twice, as they were on the quota, it will be found that twenty-three Oakham families fur- nished sixty-five soldiers to the Union army, from this and other towns. Twelve families sent two brothers each, four sent three each, and one sent five; forty-one men in all. Twelve of these soldiers reenlisted, increasing the number to fifty-three from seventeen families. The sons of six other families reën- listed and were counted as twelve, bringing the whole number of soldiers from these twenty-three families up to sixty-five on the official list.
Sixteen Oakham families whose sons enlisted for their own town furnished one-half of the Oakham quota of ninety men. Eight families sent two brothers each, two sent three each, and one sent five; twenty-seven men in all. Eight of these reënlisted for the town of Oakham, increasing the number to thirty-five from these eleven families. Five other families sent sons who reënlisted and were counted as ten, bringing the whole number of soldiers furnished by these sixteen families up to forty-five on the official list. The Oakham men who enlisted for their own town all came from forty-four families.
That Oakham sent its best young men to the Civil War is beyond question. Ten of the soldiers had been teachers before enlistment, and eight received before or after their military service a college or professional training. Two became success- ful lawyers, one became a minister in the Congregational Church, one a physician, one a dentist, and one a professor in a large
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SOLDIERS OF OAKHAM
university. Five served in the upper or lower house of state legislatures, and one was United States Consul in a Canadian city. More than one-third of those who survived the war have held important offices in the cities or towns where they have resided.
Mr. Peloubet's words to the soldiers of Oakham, at the reception given them on their return, have already been quoted on page 12:
"So far as we can learn, you have to a man returned at least as good as you went away, and many we know, and all we hope, a great deal better. Many backsliders were made in the army, but not one hails from Oakham; there were cowards, but none were nurtured among these hills; there were deserters, but no Oakham man failed in the hour of trial."
In reply to a circular letter from Adjutant General Schouler dated December 9, 1865, Moses O. Ayres, Chairman of the Selectmen, wrote:
"All our brave fellows on returning from the war have entered at once upon the peaceful employments of life, and feel a just pride in the part they have borne in subduing a wicked rebellion. I think I am safe in saying that not one has suffered in his moral or religious character by the service he has rendered his country."
Sergeant White's words in praise of the Oakham soldiers in the 25th Regiment might have been said of the men from the town in the other regiments :
"They were equal to the best in all respects. No better lot of men ever wore the Union Blue. The most of them were of the very highest standard of moral and physical worth; the most of them religious in the best sense. Not a man of them failed to do his full duty, and to maintain the best traditions of New England manhood."
The following citizens held the important town offices during the Civil War:
Selectmen : Alexander Crawford, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864. Washington Stone, 1861, 1862. Page Austin, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864. James Packard, 1863, 1864.
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THE CIVIL WAR-SUMMARY
Treasurers : Washington Stone, 1861, 1862. James C. Bemis, 1863, 1864.
Town Clerk :
Mark Haskell, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864.
Alexander Crawford was Chairman of the Selectmen during the four years of the war. Washington Stone was Selectman, Treasurer and Collector till his death in 1862, when James Packard was elected Selectman in his place, and James C. Bemis, Treasurer and Collector.
#
VETERANS AT FIRST OAKHAM FIELD DAY
August 19, 1892
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ADDENDA.
The Addenda include exact copies of several manuscripts of historic value discovered, after this book was in type, in the possession of Miss Mary A. French of North Brookfield, Mass. The Roll of Captain Abner How's company is one of the supposedly lost Revolutionary Pay Rolls of the year 1776 (M. S. R., i, p. V). The affidavits, taken over half a century later at the time of Lieut. French's application for a pension, reveal how the Pay Roll came to be in the possession of the descendants of Second Lieut. Asa French, rather than in that of the families of Captain How or of First Lieut. Packard. They also add new facts of interest regarding the campaigns of the years 1775, 1776 and 1777. Great care has been taken in the transcribing and analysis of the documents. On page 277 will be found a summary of the new material which the Pay Roll adds to what had already been published in Massa- chusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolution. Through the gift of Miss French, this Pay Roll is now in the possession of the Oakham Historical Society.
The connection of John French, 2d, with Oakham was not established till after the discovery of the documents. His name adds one more to the list of Oakham men who served as soldiers in the Revolution, and his biography is given on pages 278 and 279.
CAPTAIN ABNER HOW'S COMPANY
LT ASA FRENCH STATEMENT
I Asa French now a resident in Oakham in the County of Worcester and State of Massachusetts aged ninty one years old the 28. day of October last past, I was born in the Town of Bartly [BERKLEY] in the County of Bristol in the State of Massachusetts the 28. day of October in the year AD 1740-my Father moved into Middelborough in the County of Plymouth when I was in the tinth year of my age and I lived ther till the year 1769 then I moved into the town of Oakham in the County of Worester and State aforesaid where I now live and have lived ever since I moved there,-I further state that Joshua Turner a boye about six years of his age was given to me by his mother a sister of mine to bring up till he was twenty one years old, in the year one Thousand seven hundred and seventy five in Apl a War tuck place betwen old ingland and the United States of America, the newes came that the British troops had marched out of Boston to Lexington and had kiled a number of amaracans and we wer Colled upon in Oakham, the Capt told me I must go or let my yong man go according to his orders I let Joshua Turner go for eight monthes (about in Decr the same year sum of the men wer wanted to Stay one month longer) [this sentence in parenthesis is crossed out in the original. H. P. W.] he enlisted in Capt Hazeltons Compy in Colo Fellowes Regt I furnished the said Turner with Armes Aquipments Blanket and Cloathing who was then in the ninteenth year of his age and he marched of with the Compy to Rox- bury the town next to Boston, in December the same year 1775, the same Joshua Turner enlisted in Capt Barnes Compy in Colo Wards Regt for one Month.
I Asa French do further stat that I was a Lieut in Capt John Crawfords Compy in Colº James Conveses Regt in the month of September in the year 1776. I was Caled upon by the Agitent of Colo Conveses Regt to march to Brookfield and Joine Capt Abner Hows Comp.y and march to the State of New York according to orders I marched through Newhaven in the state of Connecticut, to the State of New York in Colo Conveses Regt, under the emmediate Command of Gen1 Starks, and was discharged at white Planes in November was there two Months and allowed nine days to march home
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SOLDIERS OF OAKHAM
I also state in the month of Sept in the year 1777 I was informed that Gen1 Brogoine was marching through the Country to Albany and I was informed that Gen1 Gates wanted more men and Capt Crawford being gon to the Armey for three monthes, I volenteared and called for men to turn out and about twenty of the most respectable men in the town of Oakham turned out and volenteared with me and marched with me through Benington in the State of Vermont to Still Water and Joined Capt Cutler's Compy in Colo Stones Regt in Gen1 Felloses Brigade, we marched of the 14 day of Sept and ware dismised at fort Edward the 18 day of Oct" and ware allowed seven day to march home.
I did not searve at one time long-enougt to intitle me to a pention in the pres t pention Law.
JOHN FORBES AFADAVIT FOR ASA FRENCH
I John Forbes of Oakham in the County of Worcester and State of Massachusetts of lawful age do testify and say that I know one Asa French now of Oakham in the County of Worcester and State of Massa- chusetts and that I knew the same Asa French in the year one Thousand seven hundred and seventy six, and that he searved as the second Lieut with me two monthes and nine days in the Revolution War in Capt Abner Hows Comp y in Colº James Conveses Regt in the State of New York, Capt How and Lt Packard ware both taken sick and left the armey and the Command of said Company devolved on Lieut French, further your deponant saith not
JOHN FORBES
Worcester Ss. Oakham August 18, 1832-
Personally appeared John Forbes, subscriber to the above declaration, and made Oath in due form of law to the truth of the same, before me
SKELTON FELTON Jus. of the Peace.
JOHN BOYD TO A FRENCH
I John Boyd of Oakham in the County of Worcester and State of Massachusetts of lawful age do testify and say that I knew one Asa French in the year 1770. I also knew one Joshua Turner a miner to the said Asa French both then of Oakham and state aforesaid. in the year 1775 a war tuck place in the united States and the said Joshua
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CAPTAIN ABNER HOW'S COMPANY
Turner enlisted in Capt Hazelton Compy in Colo Fellowes Regt for eight months and marched to Roxbury and there searved eight monthes. for the aforesaid Asa French-in Sept 1777 we received newes that Gen1 Bruguine was marching throug the Cuntry there was a call for men Asa French then being Lieut Volentered and a number of other with him and marched with him to Saratoga.
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