November 10, 2013

Veterans in My Family Tree


Civil War flag Ohio Historical Society collection

For this Veteran’s Day, I’ve challenged myself to compile a master list of my ancestors who served in the military. I want to pull this information together both as a tribute and as a reference to the veterans I’m researching, organized by the war they fought in. When I read about a new military records database that’s just become available online, or discover a resource for researching a particular war, I’ll have a ready reminder of the names I want to search for. A side benefit is that compiling any list of this sort tends to expose gaps in my research, and reminds me of things I want to check into.

The veterans I’m researching in my family tree are:

Revolutionary War

Philip Roush (6th great-grandfather)
Born: 18 March 1841 in either Pennsylvania or Virginia
Died: 1 March 1820 in Cheshire, Gallia County, Ohio
Served in: Dunmore County (Virginia) Militia under Capt. Jacob Holeman
Enlisted: 29 May 1775
Rank: Private
Spouse: Catharine Kelchner
DAR Ancestor Number: A098986
Pension Record: none known
Buried: Roush Cemetery, Cheshire, Ohio
Notes: Dunmore County is now Shenandoah County.

Jacob Roush (6th great-grandfather)
Born: 1746 in either Pennsylvania or Virginia
Died: March 1830 in Cheshire, Gallia County, Ohio
Served in: Dunmore County (Virginia) Militia under Capt. Jacob Holeman
Enlisted: 29 May 1775
Rank: Private
Spouse: Catharine Fox or Fuchs
DAR Ancestor Number: A098978
Pension Record: none known
Buried: Roush Cemetery, Cheshire, Ohio
Notes: Jacob also fought in the Battle of Point Pleasant in Lord Dunmore’s War, before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, under Capt. John Tipton.

War of 1812
No ancestor currently known

Civil War

Newel King (3rd great-grandfather)
Born: 17 January 1838 in Cheshire, Gallia County, Ohio
Died: 17 September 1896 in Cheshire, Gallia County, Ohio
Served in: Company B, 91st Ohio Volunteer Infantry
Enlisted: 6 August 1862
Rank: Private
Spouse: Electa Roush
Pension Record: Invalid certificate #186,803; Widow’s certificate #436,094
Buried: Gravel Hill Cemetery, Cheshire, Ohio
Notes: Newel contracted measles during the war, resulting in hospitalization in the U.S. General Hospital in Gallipolis and a lifelong struggle with epilepsy.

John Steele (3rd great-grandfather)
Born: June 1826 in Wythe County, Virginia
Died: 28 April 1873 in West Columbia, Mason County, West Virginia
Served in: Company K, 18th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
Enlisted: 16 October 1861
Rank: Private
Spouse: Mary Russell
Pension Record: Widow’s certificate #373,222
Buried: unknown
Notes: John was hospitalized due to illness in Huntsville, Alabama, and for the last year of his enlistment served as company cook. He suffered from weakness and disabilities after the war.

Ludwig Scheibel (2nd great-grandfather)
Born: 29 September 1839 in Germany
Died: 25 December 1910 in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio
Served in: Company G, 6th Missouri Volunteer Infantry
Enlisted: 23 May 1861
Rank: Private
Spouse: Paulina Trebtan or Treptau
Pension Record: Invalid certificate #27,522
Buried: Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio
Notes: Ludwig also went by the American name “Louis.” He received a gunshot wound in battle at Chickasaw Bayou in late December 1862, and was given a disability discharge in April 1863.

World War I

Roy David Eberhard (great-uncle)
Born: 9 March 1894 in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Died: 6 September 1977 in Westerville, Ohio
Served in: 324th Field Artillery, U.S. Army
Enlisted: 5 October 1917
Rank: Private First Class
Spouse: Ethel Jewett
Pension Record: unknown
Buried: Union Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio
Notes: Roy served in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive (Battle of Argonne Forest) on the Western front.

World War II

Dwight Charles Ballenger (great-uncle)
Born: 27 April 1916 in Westerville, Ohio
Died: 20 January 1990 in Westerville, Ohio
Enlisted: 22 December 1942
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Spouse: Betty Rosensteele
Pension Record: unknown
Buried: Otterbein Cemetery, Westerville, Ohio

Have you found a good way to keep track of the veterans in your family tree? If so, I’d like to hear how you do it. And if not, why not make a list like this for yourself? If you post it online, feel free to share a link in the comments section below.

Wishing every veteran a good Veteran’s Day, with heartfelt thanks—
Shelley

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3 comments:

  1. Well Shelley, you've inspired me again. I ran a FTM individual report with the filter set to Military Service "is not empty," got 40 vets, exported it to PDF, converted it to Excel, and now have a wonderful spreadsheet to fill in. Thanks!

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  2. I use the "Virtual Cemetery" at Find A Grave to record veterans of the Civil War as I find them. This could be a virtual cemetery for all military ancestors or several could be created for different wars.

    Mine is at: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcsr&GSvcid=470712

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a great idea, Jim. I took a look at your Virtual Cemetery, and I think it's a great way to "collect" ancestors. You have an amazing number of Civil War connections. Thanks for the inspiration!

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