James Sennott's Mexican War Service

James Sennott

Mary Ann Newsham Sennott filed for a widow's pension on 26 December 1889 which was approved 14 March 1890 and she began receiving $8 per month. She was allowed this pension because James served in the army during the Mexican War.

His service was included in the History of Randolph, Monroe, and Perry Counties, Illinois. It was also chronicled in his Compiled Service Record at the National Archives. James enlisted for twelve months in Miller's Company 2nd Illinois Foot Soldiers as a private. The unit was organized at Waterloo in May, 1846 and was mustered in at Alton, Illinois on 24 June 1846.

They served one year and were mustered out 18 June, 1847 at Carmargo, Mexico.

The Mexican War changed both the United States and Mexico. The U.S. gained a million square miles of territory by the signing of the treaty in 1848 at the end of the war. In 1845 Texas was disputed territory. The U.S. offered statehood, the residents voted to accept, and Texas became a state by December 1845. Mexico did not accept the annexation. The border of Texas was in question, the area between the Nueces and Rio Grande Rivers was disputed. U.S. troops that had been stationed in Texas moved to the Rio Grande River and arrived on the north bank on March 28, 1846. Mexico viewed this as an invasion and attached the Americans at Fort Texas which had been constructed on the bank of the Rio Grande River. Mexico officially declared war on July 1, 1846.

Company I was led Captain Madison Miller was part of the Second Illinois Regiment under the command of Colonel William H. Bissell who later became the eleventh Governor of Illinois . James was one of 55 privates in the company. The pay of a private was $15.50 per month.

The regiment was transported down the Mississippi River and across the Gulf of Mexico arriving at Camp Erwin near Victoria, Texas. From there they marched to San Antonio, Texas. Leaving there on 26 September 1846 they arrived in Santa Rosa on 24 October where they met no opposition. They marched on to Monclova and then on to Parras. Their original mission to capture Chihuahua was abandoned at this point. They remained in Chihuahua for twelve days. Having learned about Santa Anna's attack on Monterey, they continued marching and on 21 December they occupied Agua Nueva. They had marched for approximately one thousand miles.

In January, 1847 the regiment was part of a group that joined Major General Zachory Taylor and on 22 and 23 of February they took part in the battle of Buena Vista which was a victory for the American troops despite the fact that they were severely out numbered by Santa Anna's troops.  The battle was fought in a narrow mountain pass. The 2nd Illinois and two other units barricaded the road. They stood firm and conducted a slow, fighting retreat when units around them were collapsing.

Map of the Battle of Buena Vista

Print depicting the battle on the morning of Feb 23, 1847

Here is a quote from a report on the Battle of Buena Vista by  General Taylor dated 6 March 1847:

"The First and Second Illinois and the Second Kentucky Regiments served immediately under my eye, and I bear a willing testimony to their excellent conduct throughout the day... while the list of casualties will show how much these three regiments suffered in sustaining the heavy charge of the enemy in the afternoon...Colonel Bissell, the only surviving Colonel of these regiments, merits notice for his coolness and bravery on this occasion."

In 1847, Congress passed a law to award bounty land for service in the Mexican War. James received a warrant for 160 acres of land anywhere in the United States. James sold his warrant to Edward Mehan 18 February 1850 who redeemed the warrant for land in Monroe County.

James returned to Monroe County after the war. He and Amanda Miles were married 6 April 1848. The couple had three children who all died within a month of their birth. Amanda died 16 December 1854. Six years later he married Mary Ann Newsham Starkey, the widow of William Starkey. James and Mary Ann were married 10 February 1860.

James and Mary Ann had one son, John Stephen who was born 23 January 1861. James died 6 December 1862. Mary Ann was pregnant with their second child.  Mary Ellen was born 30 August 1863.

Mary Ann was left to raise two children from her first marriage and the two from her second marriage. This was not the last tragedy in her life, however. Mary Ellen died 11 October 1864 and her son William died 17 November 1864 at the age of 6. Between 1858 and 1864, Mary Ann lost two husbands and two children.

Mary Ann Newsham Starkey Sennott

In 1893, Mary Ann petitioned for an increase in her $8 per month pension. Her application says that she had been confined to her house for more than a year and is still unwell. She suffered a great deal and is not able to do manual labor. She is suffering from an inflammation of the kidney and bladder. Her income does not reach four hundred dollars a year. The increase was denied. She was still receiving $8 per month when she died 24 July 1907.

Sources

• Taylor's official report of the Battle of Buena Vista -  http://www.dmwv.org/mexwar/documents/bvista.htm 
• Bounty Land Warrants for Military Service 1775-1855, Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Pension and Bounty Land Application Files Based on Service between 1812 and 1855. Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Compiled Military Service Record, James Sennott, Pvt., 2nd Illinois Foot Vols, Mexican War, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Mary Ann Sennott, widow's pension certificate no. 6876, Mexican War, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Bauer, K. Jack, The Mexican War, 1846-1848, (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1974).
• Combined History of Randolph, Monroe and Perry Counties, Illinois With Illustrations Descriptive of their Scenery and Biographical Sketches of some of their Prominent Men and Pioneers, (Philadelphia: J. L. McDonough & Co., 1883)

Earliest Known Sennott Ancestor - John Sennott

On January 17, 1808 John Sennott married Mary Davis at St. Aidan's catholic church in Enniscorthy, Wexford, Ireland. The only other information on the marriage record is the witnesses, Judith Walsh and Philip Easten.

The records left behind by John and Mary are scarce. The church records at St. Aidan's begin in 1794 which is after John and Mary would have been baptized based on their ages in their burial records. If the burial records are correct, John would have been 35 when he married Mary who was 31 years old.

The couple had four children baptized at St. Aidan's.

• Mary was baptized 22 June 1808, sponsors were Fredrick Kenny and Kitty Kenny
• Ellen was baptized 30 April 1814, sponsors were Thomas Bryan and Nancy Murphy
• James was baptized 1 May 1817, sponsors were Thomas Jones and Bridget Leary
• Anna was baptized 3 April 1820, sponsors were Mick Brian and Margaret Keating

The couple were sponsors for the baptism of James Fitzgerald on 15 February 1821. This is the last record found for them in Ireland. 

Family lore says that the family emigrated to America through Canada, first to Boston and then on to Monroe County, Illinois. Very few records have survived of arrivals in Canada before 1865 and no records of the family arriving in the U.S. have been found. 

The family was in Boston by July of 1834 when Ellen married Patrick McLaughlin on July 30th. Two years later Mary married Phillip Byrns on  16 May 1836. There are no entries in the Boston City Directories during this time for the family.

The History of Randolph, Monroe and Perry Counties, Illinois written in 1883 says that a number of irish settlers arrived in New Design precinct of Monroe County shortly after 1835 and included the Sennott, Burns, and McLaughlin families. This would have been near Tipton where St. Patrick's Catholic Church was founded about 1850. Members of the Burns and McLaughlin families are buried in the churchyard at St. Patrick's. 

The first records of the family in Monroe County are in 1838. James purchased 80 acres of land in Section 33 Township 3 South Range 9 West on 25 August 1838. John purchased 40 acres adjacent to James's land on 27 August 1840 and Phillip Byrns purchased 80 acres in Section 34 on 10 October 1840.  All of these purchases were for public land from the State of Illinois for $1.25 per acre or $50 per 40 acre plot.

It is possible that the entire family moved west together or that James came first and then the rest of the family followed later. By 1 June 1840 the entire family had moved to Monroe county when they were listed on the 1840 Federal Census.  

John sold his 40 acres and James sold 40 acres to Martin Ryan for $250.00 on 7 February 1842. The deed is recorded in the Monroe County courthouse in Book F page 421-422. They made $150.00 profit on the land. 

Mary died at age 65 and her burial was recorded on 11 September 1842 at St. Augustine of Canterbury catholic church in Hecker, Illinois. John followed her two years later at the age of 71 and was buried on 1 September 1844. 

There are no tombstones remaining in the St. Augustine cemetery for John and Mary. 

Even though the records left by John and Mary are sparse, there is enough to outline their family and provide at least part of the migration path from Ireland to Monroe County, Illinois where their descendants lived for the next three generations. 

The Education of Dr. John Stephen Sennott

Dr. John Stephen Sennott

At the age of 22, John graduated from St. Louis Medical College on Wednesday, 7 March 1883. The commencement took place at Mercantile Library Hall.  It was described in the St Louis Globe Democrat on Thursday, March 8th. "The stage was bordered with a rich collection of potted plants, which formed a dark background to the brilliant line of floral offerings, in tasteful and novel designs, that were presented to the graduates." The hall was "filled with the friends and relatives of the graduates, who testified their appreciation of the remarks of the different speakers by frequent applause." Mary Ann Newsham Sennott, John's mother, was probably among the family members attending. Professor J S B Alleyne, the Dean of the University, gave the main address, "on the importance of their duties in afterlife and foreshadowed the years of toil and care that awaited the members of the medical profession. He urged them to assiduous application and faithful attention to their patients, and after administering more equally sound advice, conferred the degree of M.D." on the 39 graduates included John. 

John's education began at the public schools in Waterloo, Monroe County, Illinois where he was born and grew up. On the first Monday in September, 1874 John started classes at St. Louis University in the four year Commercial Program. His classes that year included English grammar, US history, geography and elocution, practical and mental arithmetic, penmanship and catechism. John excelled at his studies and received special notice for distinguished diligence in his studies, the first premium for Christian Doctrine, a distinguished rating in English grammar, second premium in history and geography, and first premium in arithmetic. 

In his second year, John studied English grammar, epistolary composition, Bible history, geography and elocution, math, penmanship and catechism.  1875-76 was another good year for John he again distinguished himself at diligence and received a distinguished rating at arithmetic. He excelled a the semi-annual examinations for a second year in a row. 

1876-77 was John's third year at St. Louie U. He studied higher English composition and rhetoric, essays, debates, modern history and continued geography, book-keeping, arithmetic, algebra and Christian doctrine. John received a distinguished rating in book-keeping and excelled again at the semi-annual examination. 

1877-1878 should have been John's final year and he was listed in the records as a student from Illinois, but he did not graduate. The records don't indicate if he began the year and dropped out or never attended during that year. No other records have been found to shed any light on what happened.

We don't know why John dropped out of St. Louis University without graduating. The final disposition of his father's estate was dated June 30, 1877 so it might have been related. The executors of James's estate were Steven Miles and JW Drury. In a letter to his son, Harry, John talked about Stephen Miles. Stephen was the brother of Amanda Miles who was the first wife of James Sennott. John said that Mary Ann Sennott trusted Stephen after James's death. "He did not prove to be a friend and cost us a lot of money almost bankrupting Mother and me." There was a dispute over land left to James Sennott when Amanda died. The land was given to the couple by her father, Stephen W. Miles, Senior. According to John, they lost the land dispute. There is no mention of the dispute in the estate file.  By 1880, things must have changed since John continued his education. 

On Monday, September 27, 1880 regular lectures began at St. Louis Medical College and John was among the students. St Louis Medical College was located at the corner of Seventh and Clark. According to the Benard Becker Medical Library Archives at Washington University, St. Louis Medical College was chartered in 1841, it was part of St. Louis University. In 1849 the college moved to the building pictured above. In 1855 a separate charter was granted by the State of Missouri after pressure from the "Know Nothing" party, an extreme nativist movement demanded the medical school sever ties with the Roman Catholic university. In the 1870's the cirriculum was reformed and expanded and by 1880 all students were required to matriculate for three years before receiving a diploma. In 1891 the medical school became affiliated with Washington University as it's medical department. 

John attended St. Louis Medical College from 1880 through his graduation in 1883. The winter term each year began on the last Monday in September and continued through early March. The spring sessions began mid March and lasted for eleven weeks. The college catalogs provide detailed insight into the classes John completed. John was part of the first class who completed the new cirriculum. 

"Chemistry is taught in lectures (three a week) illustrated by experiments and specimens; the course embracing also selected chapters on physical science. A rich collection of chemicals and chemical and physical apparatus is at the disposal of the Professor of Chemistry." Chemistry labs were taught by the Demonstrator of Chemistry during the Winter session for Junior students and in the Spring session it was open to all students.

"Anatomy - Lectures (three a week) with practical demonstrations, and daily instruction in dissections. The anatomical rooms are under the superintendent and direction of the Professor of Anatomy...Surgical Anatomy is taught as a separate course of lectures, abundantly illustrated by dissections, (three a week) during part of the Winter session."

"Histology is taught by the Professor of Physiology in lectures, with the aid of magic lantern diagrams and photographs of microscopic preparations. Dr E Evers gives demonstraoins in Histology during the Spring session, three times a week."

"Physiology - The lectures (three a week) are illustrated by diagrams, chemical and physical experiments and vivisections."

"Therapeutics and Materia Medica - The lectures (three a week) are illustrated by a very extensive cabinet of materia mecida, with numerous plates, and a large collection of  of dried specimens of medicinal plants, and carefully selected samples of drugs, educating the senses to the physical properties of medicinal substances. During the Spring session, Dr. W E Fischel lectures on special Therapeutic Methods, twice a week."

"Principles and Practice of Medicine -  Didactic lectures four times a week." Medical clinics were held four times a week at City Hospital and St. Louis Sisters' Hospital. During the clinics there was instruction in ausculation, percussion, and physical diagnosis. Classes on Clinical Examination of the Urine were held during the Spring Session. 

"Pathological Anatomy is taught in connection with clinical medicine, the College possessing abundant resources for illustrating this branch in its extensive collection of pathological preparations and wax and plaster models."  Lectures were twice a week, "with microscopial demonstraions and the exhibition of recent specimens."
"Diseases of Children - didactic lectures once a week. Clinical lectures at the College Dispensary, twice a week."

"Surgery - Didactic lectures (three a week)." There were also clinics at St. Louis Hospital, City Hosptial, and the College Dispensary.

There were also weekly lectures or clinics on Diseases of the Genito-Urinary Organs, Ophthalmology, Gynecology, and Obstetrics. Here is what the students schedule included:

There were examinations for admission that John had to pass since he did not graduate from St. Louis University. They included English grammar, orthography and composition, mathematics and elementary physics. Since he did so well at St. Louis University, John should have passed with flying colors. After the middle term, students could take exams in Chemistry, Anatomy, Physiology, and Therapeutics and Materia Medica. If they didn't pass any of these they could retake them when they became candidates for graduation. 

The fees were $90 for the Winter term, $25 for the Spring session, and $10 for laboratory during the Spring session.  The students were required to purchase 12 textbooks listed in the catalog. There was also a Quiz Club that John might have joined. For $12.00 the students were presented "an opportunity for the free discussion of the important points of the subject matter of the lectures and thus enables him to express concisely his views, corrects erroneous conceptions, fixes the salient points in his memory, and prepares him not only for the Green Room, but also for the emergencies of practice."

In order to graduate, John had to meet four requirements:

1. Be at least twenty-one years of age and of good moral character and been studying medicine for three years. 
2. Attended the three terms listed above. The Spring sessions were optional.
3. Notify the Dean of his intention to graduate in writing by the first of February.
4. Pass examinations in Chemistry, Anatomy, Physiology, Materia Medica and Therapeutics, Principles and Practice of Medicine, Clinical Medicine, Surgery, and Obstetrics.

In addition, he could graduate "ad eundem" by "producing testimonials from physicians with respect to character and professional standing, entering the Senior Class for one term, and passing a satisfactory examination in all the above mentioned branches."

Dr. Wetmore, of Waterloo, was John's preceptor and the President of the Monroe County Medical Society. He would have been a mentor who provided instruction and oversight for John during and after he completed medical school. 

John practiced medicine in Waterloo until his death in 1933. 

  

Sennott Family Christmas Memories

Harry and Clara Sennott and their family lived in the Ziebold family home at 306 South Moore Street in Waterloo, Illinois. Minnie Hoffmeister Ziebold lived with the family.

Clara knew her way around the kitchen and at Christmas she baked dozens and dozens of cookies. We all remember her sugar cookies, hershey kisses, angel whispers, hello dolly's, ranger cookies, chocolate chips, butterscotch treats and many more tempting delicacies.

Christmas traditions included dinner on Christmas Eve that included oyster stew and pickled herring. Since Honey's birthday was on December 25th, the family celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve. There were often visiting students who went to medical school at St. Louis University with Jack or to University of Missouri where Honey studied Journalism.

After dinner and presents were exchanged, Clara's brothers, George and Max, and their families came to visit. The next morning began with mass at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church for Clara and the children.
Clara's sisters Eveline and Loretta, and their families visited from St. Louis.

Clara made sure that Honey's birthday was special and didn't get lost in the Christmas celebration.

The afternoon held a visit to the Sennott family home at the corner of 4th and Library in Waterloo where Harry's mother, Elenora Brey Sennott, and his sisters, Ethel and Adele lived.

There was one very special Christmas Eve when Harry was in the service. Here is the story in Harry's own words:
Christmas 1943
      It’s 1943, Christmas Eve morning, and there’s GI Harry standing with arched thumb out on old Highway 66, a five-day pass in his pocket from Camp Crowder in Neosho, MO.
     An hour later a woman with a 10-year old son snoozing in the car stops, looks him over and asks where he’s headed. Hoping to get to St. Louis, he says, “and then another 25 miles down the Illinois side of the Mississippi to Waterloo.” She tells him to hop in, and as he does, she pulls a gun on him.
     Well, in truth, she merely shows him the revolver, but warns, “No funny business, soldier boy.” Harry smilingly informs her that he most positively plans to behave himself.
     Somewhere in the boondocks before reaching St. Louis they stop and she buys lunch for Harry. The woman then lets him out on the far west end of the city. After falling all over himself with thanks, he starts hiking to an old pal’s house.
     Christmas Eve is marching toward mid-afternoon by now. Although the old friend and his brother are off serving with the Seabees, their mother welcomes Harry, feeds him hot soup and lends him $5 so he can go downtown and buy a bus ticket home.
     Exhausted, he settles into a seat on the 5 pm to Waterloo. But as his eyes close, the man next to him shakes his arm, “Hey soldier, don’t you even remember what your brother looks like?”
     It’s Jack, who was in his internship at a hospital in St. Louis. Harry is speechless. Both are overjoyed, and they hatch plans to surprise the family, since no one knows Harry is coming.
     Home, they manage to slip in undetected. Jack hides Harry behind the big Christmas Tree in the living room.
     Harry is no longer exhausted, but the suspense is killing him. After greeting  Jack, the family moseys in,  Clara and Harry, Grandma Ziebold, Mina, Honey and Jane, who immediately begin searching for presents under the tree.
     Jack asks Clara, “Mama, what would you like most for Christmas?” “Oh, if only Harry could be here!” she answered.
     So he tells her to close her eyes till he counts to three, “One…two…three!” And out steps Harry from behind the most beautiful Christmas tree the family ever laid eyes on.
     Oh, the tears did flow that holy night.

Merry Christmas!

Delia Brey's Tragic Ending

Tombstone of Delia Brey

Maria Delia Brey is buried at Bellefountaine Cemetery in St. Louis. Delia's older brother, Paul, selected a column broken off at the top with ivy wrapped around it which symbolizes a life cut short.

Delia died tragically in the prime of her life at the young age of 34. I found the tombstone on a visit to Bellefountaine looking for another Brey ancestor. She is buried there in a single grave. It intrigued me so I set out to discover more about her. She was a successful young woman with a career as a teacher who indeed came to a tragic end.

On 8 May 1877, Delia died of an overdose of chloroform. The circumstances were debated in the newspapers and the Coroner's Inquest that was held on 9 May 1877. The Coroner's report found that "the deceased was found dead on 8th day of May 1877 in the 3rd story of the above mentioned place [2702 Olive St.] in her bed at or about 6 o'clock pm. It was elicited that the deceased came to her death between the hours of 3 and 6 o'clock pm from the effects of an overdose of chloroform, which the deceased had been using to allay the pains of a facial neuralgia from which she was suffering at the time."

Facial neuralgia causes extreme pain and spasms of the muscles of the face and is caused by disorders of the cranial nerves. In the 1870's chloroform, a colorless, sweet smelling liquid, was used to relieve the pain. It was very volatile, the same dose taken one day could be fatal the next. This is why it is no longer used as an anesthetic.

A series of articles published in the St. Louis Globe Democrat provide details of the story of Delia's death and give us some insight to how she lived. On the previous Thursday, Delia attended the oratorio of Elijah at the Merchants' Exchange and caught cold. The next day what began as a headache morphed into neuralgia. She stayed home from teaching at the Central High School on Tuesday because she was still not feeling well. Delia occupied rooms with a fellow teacher, Mrs Mary B. Cushman, on the third floor of Nelson's boarding house at 2702 Olive.

About 10:00am Harry Nelson, the son of Delia's landlord, purchased a four ounce vial of camphor for .15 cents at J.C. Kirkbride's drug store at the southwest corner of Jefferson Avenue near Olive Street for Delia. He took it home and his father, William Nelson, saw him show it to his three year old nephew. William smelled it and it was definitely camphor.  At noon, Mrs. Cushman returned home so see how Delia was. She said she felt better and they chatted and laughed pleasantly. Mrs. Cushman left to return to school at 12:30 pm. The maid changed the bed linens about 2:00 pm and Delia returned to bed.

At 3:00 pm  one of Delia's students stopped by but when the maid went to her room to delivery the note the student left, the door was locked and there was no answer so she assumed that Delia was sleeping. Delia had not stirred by 6:00 pm when the bell rang for tea. When Mrs. Cushman could not rouse her, a passkey was used and they found Delia laying on her left side in bed with a little bag of hops and a towel on her face. There was an uncorked bottle under her pillow labeled camphor, however the bottle contained chloroform. They called for help and Dr. Briggs came to the house and determined that Delia had been dead for several hours.

Mrs. Cushman was sure that they did not have any chloroform in their rooms because she needed some to remove a greasy spot from a dress a few days before and they didn't have any. She believed that the druggist had mistakenly filled the bottle with chloroform instead of camphor since no other bottle was found in the room. The coroner's inquest cleared the druggist, they did not believe that he had filled the bottle with the incorrect liquid. Unfortunately the only paper that survives is the finding of the inquest so we don't know what testimony was given.

The newspaper article mentions that the friends interviewed did not believe that she had committed suicide. She was "pleasantly and comfortably situated with numerous kind and loving friends. In addition to this she had laid her plans for a visit to California during the coming summer, and began, last Saturday, to make her arrangements with this object in view."

Delia's funeral was held at First Presbyterian Church. She had been a member of the Second Baptist Church but her friends thought First Presbyterian was larger and more centrally located so that is where the funeral was held. The pall bearers were from the faculty of Central High School. The church was filled with her students, relative and friends. "Floral decorations and designs had been liberally supplied by the High School and by individual friends."  The services were conducted by Rev. J. V. Schofield of the Fourth Baptist Church. "The music, as always at this Church, was suitable and beautiful. The choir for this occasion consisted of Messrs. Cooper and Steins, the regular tenor and bass of the Church choir, and Misses Branson and Clegg, formerly composing with the gentlemen named, the choir of the Church."

"The services opened with the sentence, "Cast they burden on the Lord," sung with marvelous delicacy and pathos. The place was filled with sweet melody floating out from voices as pure and musical as are ever heard in combination. The other selections were the familiar and tender hymn, "Come, ye disconsolate," and an exquisite chant, set to a fragment from Beethoven, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. At the conclusion of the service, opportunity was given to see the face of the deceased, reposing in dreamless sleep. In slow procession the large audience passed the casket containing the mortal part of the teacher and friend universally beloved and widely honored in this city, which has been so largely benefited by her useful life and the remains were borne to their burial place."

A few days later, on 13 May 1877 a tribute to Delia written and signed by nine of her co-workers appeared in the St. Louis Globe Democrat.

They wanted to let everyone know that the idea of suicide was completely out of character as was taking chloroform.  The tribute talks about a woman with firm convictions. They go on to say that she did not use narcotics in any shape. She was especially afraid of chloroform. Not only was it dangerous but "to her, unworthy weakness of seeking refuge from pain in insensibility. Her contempt was of the same nature as that she felt for the inebriate drowning his woes in the brandy-bottle."

Delia's sense of smell was "defective" and since she was not familiar with the smell of chloroform, she might not have known what was in the bottle. Her ideas on suicide were firm, it was a sin and a "cowardly weakness that could shuffle off its burdens upon another's laden shoulders, instead of patiently bearing its share to the end." They describe Delia as "far-seeing, systematic and careful. She would never "have left things in such a state that even the slightest suspicion should fall upon another."

The article ends with a lament, "her early life was filled with many sorrows, but the days of her great trials were long since passed, and the future had begun to broaden and brighten for her as it only could for noble, useful woman, who had lived through and conquered her trials, and had at last no more to lose than gain." It is true that Delia was no stranger to loss. Her four younger siblings died when they were all less than two years old. Her mother was a victim of the typhoid epidemic in 1858; her brother Harman went south just before the Civil War and was never heard from again; and her brother Julius was shot at the battle of Shiloh (stay tuned for his story) and died following surgery to remove the shot from his leg in 1867.

The tribute's claim that she was conscientious, organized and was financially comfortable. The inventory of her possessions included rental property in the Carondelet neighborhood, certificate of deposits at Boatman's Savings Bank totaling $1478.00 and cash in the bank of $168.00. Her total estate was valued at $2500, a significant sum for a single lady in 1877.

Strong, successful women seem to run in our family and Delia is one of them. The tombstone in Bellefontaine Cemetery is a perfect monument to her tragic death. Thanks to the St. Louis Globe Democrat we have some details of the store of her untimely end.

Sources

1. St. Louis City, Missouri, Coroner's Records, Inquests, Box 11, File 166, "Delia Brey," filed 9 May 1877; St. Louis County Library film SLCR-3.
 2. City of St. Louis, Missouri, probate case files, no. 12739, 8 May 1877; Probate Court Clerk's Offfice, St. Louis.
3. Miss Brey Tribute to Her Memory from Those Connected with the Public Schools—The Idea of Suicide Indignantly Refuted … (News) Wm. T. Harris. St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO) Sunday, May 13, 1877; pg. 3; Issue 358; col F.
4. Coroner’s Cases Inquest on Miss Brey—A German Blows His Brains Out—Sudden Death of a Work House Rat (News) St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO) Thursday, May 10, 1877; pg. 4; Issue 355; col G.
5. Was It a Mistake? A Lady School-Teacher Found Dead in Bed (News) St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO) Wednesday, May 09, 1877; pg. 3; Issue 354; col G.
6. Death’s Doings (News) St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO) Friday, May 11, 1877; pg. 5; Issue 356; col F.
7. The Last Rites Funerals of Two Well-Known St. Louis Ladies Yesterday (News) St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO) Friday, May 11, 1877; pg. 8; Issue 356; col B.
8. Obituary (Obituary) St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO) Sunday, May 13, 1877; pg. 5; Issue 358; col A.
9. St. Louis in Splinters (News) St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO) Tuesday, June 05, 1877; pg. 3; Issue 16; col B.

Paul Brey Served His County by Proxy

Paul Cornelius Brey

In the History of Randolph, Monroe and Perry Counties, Illinois the biography of Paul C Brey ends with the following sentence. "In 1861 he was solicited by some of his young friends to raise a company for the Forty-ninth regiment Illinois volunteer infantry, (Col. Morrison's regiment), but being a newly married man he declined, but served the United States afterward by proxy." This sentence peaked my interest. What did it mean? I had already searched Civil War records and did not find any evidence of Paul serving in the Union Army, so I set out to find out what service by proxy meant.

During the Civil War there was a draft to raise soldiers for service in the Army. If a man was drafted they could provide a substitute to serve for them. This was known as service by proxy. During a visit to the National Archives in Washington DC I was able to locate the records of the 12th Congressional District of Illinois which included Monroe County where Paul lived. An enumeration was conducted in July 1863. This was a list of men between the ages of 20 and 35 and unmarried men eligible for service between the ages of 35 and 45. Paul was listed on line 6. He was a 28 year old merchant.

Quotas were set for each congressional district based on population. If a sufficient number of men from the district volunteered to serve, a draft was no necessary.  Draft cards were completed for each man listed on the Consolidated Lists. Cards were divided by sub district and were placed in a box. A man was blind folded  and he drew the predetermined number of cards from the box. Another man recorded the names that were pulled in the Descriptive Books of Drafted Men as they were drawn. The men whose names had been drawn were notified. They were required to report or provide a substitute who could serve in their place as long as they passed the physical examination. Men who were physically disqualified were given exemption certificates. Deserters and men who failed to appear were arrested.

The 12th Congressional District did not have enough volunteers so the draft was conducted beginning on Monday, 19 September 1864 with the sub districts in St. Clair County. On Friday, 14 October 1864, Paul Brey's name was pulled as number 352 of the 358 men selected for the draft in the sub district that included Burksville.

Paul hired Valentine Siger to serve as his substitute. Valentine was mustered in as a Private on 23 October 1864 and served as a substitute in Company B, 30th Infantry Regiment Illinois. The term of his service was one year. He was mustered out in Louisville, KY on 17 July 1865. Valentine was an 18 year old farmer who was 5 feet 4 inches tall with blue eyes, light hair, and a fair complexion.

In 1864 Paul had two small children and a store to run. He had the financial means to make a choice to hire a substitute. Paul served his community in other capacities through his lifetime. He was Postmaster in the town of Burksville from 1867 to 1874; County Clerk for Monroe County from 1873 to 1894; and County Judge for Monroe County from 1894 until his death in 1905.

Sources
Combined History of Perry, Monroe and Randolph Counties (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J.L. McDonough & Co., 1883), 321.
Consolidated List Class I Illinois 12^th Congressional District, Volume 201, Page 68, Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), Record Group 110, item 172, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Proceedings of the Board of Enrollment Illinois 12^th Congressional District, May 1863-April 1865, unpaginated, arranged by date, Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), Record Group 110, item 5803, National Archives, Washington.

Descriptive Books of Drafted Men, Illinois 12^th Congressional District, Volume 21, Page 90, Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), Record Group 110, item 5805, National Archives, Washington.

Valentine Siger, compiled military record, (private, Company B, 30^th Infantry Illinois), Records of the Record and Pension Office of the War Department, Record Group 94, National Archives, Washington.
Record of Appointment of Postmasters 1832-September 30, 197; M841, (Washington: National Archives), Roll 30, vol. 32.
Internal Revenue Assessment Lists for the State of Illinois, 1862-1866, M764 (Washington: National Archives); Roll 57, Target 3 Annual Lists 1864, page 87. Paul Brey is listed twice, once for retail dealer and one for dealing in liquor. He was taxed a total of $30.00. Only businesses with more than $600 in annual revenue were taxed.
“Death Doings – Judge Brey Secumbs [sic] to Paralysis After Brief Illness,” Waterloo Republican, Waterloo, Illinois, 13 December 1905, Page 1, column 3.

Death of John Theodore Coakley

The railroad bridge over the Columbia River was an exciting event for the city of Vancouver. The construction brought workers to the area which was good for the merchants in town. However, it would lead to the tragic death of John Theodore Coakley.

Columbia River Railroad Bridge from Wikipedia.org

The bridge was built by the Portland and Seattle Railway over the Columbia river between Vancouver and Portland. The construction began in January 1906 and the first train crossed the span on October 23, 1908.

Caisson IX Ready to Launch Sep 18 1906

Construction of Columbia River RR Bridge at Vancouver 1906-1908

John was a "sand hog" who worked in the caissons. The caissons are filled with compressed air and the sand hog moved mud and rock from the work space to a water filled pit, connected by a tube to the surface. Even today this is a dangerous job. In 1906 if a worker left the compressed atmosphere of the caisson and rapidly reentered normal conditions they could be paralyzed. Doctors didn't know what caused the paralysis and if not treated it could lead to death. This is what happened to John on September 9, 1906 he passed away after six hours of suffering at the age of 40 years and 4 months.

John's Death Certificate

John's family was living in Kansas City, Kansas at the time. When news of his death reached them, his wife, Rosina  Shaumeyer Coakley and three of his children, probably Anna, John, and Margaret,

traveled to Vancouver for his funeral.

Obituary from the Vancouver Columbian, September 20, 1906

He was buried in St. James Acre cemetery on September 16, 1906. The compressed air workers union erected the monument on his grave and his fellow railway bridge workers took up a collection for the family.

Tombstone of John Theodore Coakley

After John's death his wife Rose and their seven living children had a difficult time making ends meet. Anna Josephine was 14, John Leonard was 13, Margaret was 8, Frank Thomas was 6, Catherine Rose was 4, Thomas Theodore was 2, and Florence Marie was 7 months.

Instead of moving to the Pacific Northwest where their father had been working and planning on living the family remained in Kansas City, Kansas. Rose and the family lived near her parents, George Christian and Rosina Schrade Shaumeyer, at 375 S Boeke. Anna and Rosina helped care for the younger children while Rose worked for the railroad in Kansas City. Less than two years later on May, 24, 1908 tragedy struck the family again; Anna and Thomas were drowned in a flash flood in Brimson, Grundy County, Missouri.

When Rosina's health deteriorated she was no longer able to care for the children. In 1910 Frank, Catherine and Margaret were living in St. Vincent's Orphanage in Levenworth, Kansas. John quit school shortly after his father's death and went to work to help support the family.

Sources

1. Death certificate #513 of John Coakley obtained from Clark County, Washington County Courthouse. 
2. Microfilm of Vancouver Columbian Weekly newspaper, Feb 1, 1905 to Sec 26, 1907 borrowed on interlibrary loan from the Washington State Library.
3. Article on Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 9.6 on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlington_Northern_Railroad_Bridge_9.6
4. Burial record from St. James Acre cemetery obtained by member of Clark County Genealogy Society and Library.
5. 1910 US Federal Census, Microfilm T624, roll 444, enumeration district 82 sheet 7 b, enumeration of residents at St. Vincent Orphanage. 
6. 1909 City Directory of Kansas City, City Directories of the United States, microfilm 048135 at the Library of Congress, page 67.