The Short Story of Captain Charles Wesley Chapman

I often research people in my own genealogy with much interest.  I also often research their family members that aren't in my direct line, since they also lead sometimes to wonderful pieces of information about my own lines.

But I also research people who aren't in my line at all.  Sometimes, I do that kind of research for others as a pay it forward or on a freelance basis.  Sometimes, I do it because the person may have had an impression on those in my lines.

This is the story of one such person.  This is the story of Captain Charles Wesley Chapman.

I have no relationship to the man.  I never had.  But his story fascinates me because, well, he is the namesake of one of my ancestors.  He rubbed shoulders with another.  And he died leaving no heirs and no one to tell his story.  So I have taken it upon myself to try to learn, at the very least, a little about the man.  

Photo of Charles W. Chapman, taken from the book Under the Red Patch (between pages 152-153)
Source: Internet Archive

Charles Wesley Chapman was born around the year 1838 in Pennsylvania to William Chapman, a immigrant from Ireland, and Maria Dunlop of Chester County, Pennsylvania.  He had at least three older brothers, James, William, and Joseph, and possibly one sister named Ann.  

Not much is known about his early life, at least not that I could uncover doing my typical research.  But what is known is that he lived in the Third Ward of Pittsburgh when the 1850 census was enumerated.  Also in the household were his parents William and Maria, and . William worked at a glass house.  Also enumerated were 23-year-old James, 22-year-old William, and 18-year-old Joseph (which were likely Charles' elder brothers, and a 25-year-old woman named Nancy Armstrong.  It's the only census I found where Charles was listed with his parents, as he was not in residence in 1860 with them.  There are a few candidates for Charles in the 1860 Federal Census Enumeration, but I did not have as much time to devote to research as I would have liked, so I did not take the time to chase them all down to figure out which one was the correct Charles.  

In 1861, Charles was living in Lawrenceville, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, boarding at a residence on Chestnut Street near North.  He was listed in the local directory as working in the oil business, but that career was short lived due to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Chapman started his military service actually with the Pittsburgh City Guards, which became the 12th regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers.  He was the third sergeant of the City Guards under Alexander Hays.  When the City Guards were then re-organized into companies on the Twelfth Pennsylvania Volunteers, Charles became the 2nd Sergeant of Company K.  This regiment mustered in 25 April 1861.

Because at the time, the Union had thought the war would be over soon, the men were only enlisted to three month terms.  The Pennsylvania Twelfth Regiment was tasked with the protection of the rebuilt Northern Central railroad running from Harrisburg to Baltimore, with Charles' company stationed at the headquarters in Cockeysville.  While most of the regiment were not able to drill, being scattered along the line, company K was able to be drilled regularly and soon became veteran soldiers.  They were mustered out of service after three months at Harrisburg on 5 August 1861.  Most of the men then re-enlisted for three years, including Charles.  

On 23 September 1861, he was appointed the captain of Company K of the newly formed Sixty-Third Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, known as the "Hays' Guards." *I wrote a history on the company years ago available in my HubPages articles.*

On 5 March 1862, a reconnoitering party of one hundred men, led by Lt-Col Morgan, was being guided by a man by the name of Williams towards the direction of the Occoquan River near Pohick Church in Virginia.  A detachment of Texan Rangers passed by in the night, which the party thought was another scouting party.  When the party realized their mistake, they gave chase, but the Texans had already hid themselves in the bushes and ambushed the party as they came.  Captain Chapman, Quartermaster James M. Lysle and Private Moore were in the front of the party and were killed instantly.  Another private was shot in the arm (which later had to be amputated).  The rest of the party was able to rout the Texans and gave chase, but the Texans evaded capture.

According to the eyewitness account of John Rudolph Marti, a sergeant in Company A, Chapman was struck by a ball under his left eye.  The bullet went through his head and came out by the collar of his coat, killing him instantly.  Lysle was shot through the arm in such as way that the bullet went through his chest and he lived about ten minutes.  Moore was shot in the chest and survived almost half an hour.  

Sgt. Marti also wrote that Chapman was one of the best officers in the entire regiment and that his company in particular really loved him.  Joe Hoopes, a private in Company C, also echoed that sentiment when he wrote to his family that some of the best men in their regiment were lost that night.

Alexander Hays, the commander of the Sixty-Third Regiment, wrote a letter to his wife dated 10 March 1862.  He had this to say:

 "You have heard of a tiger robbed of its whelps, and you can imagine what species of tiger I represent. I have not scolded anyone -- the fault is to egregious to be within my jurisdiction, and I am patiently awaiting the action of higher authority....... The bodies were forwarded on the 7th to Pittsburgh. Before leaving, all were borne to the church tent, and I never knew the Doctor (Marks) more eloquent." ~  Transcription in Gilbert Adams Hays' book Under the Red Patch: Story of the Sixty Third Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1864, pages 417-418

After the memorial service from the regiment, Charles' body was sent via train to Pittsburgh and arrived the next day, which was a Sunday. After an afternoon service at the Chapman residence in Lawrenceville,  Charles was buried in Allegheny Cemetery in section 25, lot 74, grave 1.

He had never married nor had any issue.  He died at 24 years of age.

His elderly parents, who had been subsisting on what Charles could send them from his Army pay, were bereaved.  William Chapman, Charles' father, was an invalid and had been for ten years, unable to make a living.  

Maria Dunlop Chapman, at the age of 65, applied for a mother's pension on 8 June 1865 from the couple's home in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania.  Some of my readers may wonder why it took her over three years to file for the pension.  First off, the act allowing her to even apply for the pension in the first place was not passed by Congress until 14 July 1862.  One provision in that act allowed for dependent mothers to be entitled to receive the full pension of a son killed in the line of duty or died from the result of wound received or disease contracted while in service as a result of the line of duty provided that the soldier did not have a wife or children.

However, fees had to be paid while applying for pensions, most often by pension attorneys who often charged $10 for each application.  It also cost $5 to file the application with the government, $1.50 per affidavit, and $1.50 for surgeon's exams (which William had to be subjected to because he had to prove he was totally disabled).  If Maria and William Chapman were dependent on Charles while he was in the Army, they likely had to wait until either they could scrape the money together to pay the fees or have someone pay it for them. 

On 12 July 1865, she was approved to receive $20 per month.  I imagine the pension the couple received helped their situation immensely.   William Chapman died 12 December 1867 and was buried in Allegheny Cemetery.  Maria survived both her youngest son and her husband, passing away from chronic bronchitis on Forty-Second Street in the 17th Ward of Pittsburgh on 11 December 1870.  She was buried with her husband in Allegheny Cemetery.

But the legacy of the young captain of company K of the 63rd Pennsylvania Volunteers lived on.  I'm not sure how many young men were named after the beloved captain, but I am quite sure that one of Chapman's fellow soldiers DID name his son for his fallen comrade.

One of the sergeants in company K was a man by the name of John Devender Wood.  On 24 May 1875, John's youngest son was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania.  John decided to name the newborn Charles Wesley Chapman Wood, after his fallen friend.  That young newborn was my father's grandfather, named for a soldier who paid the ultimate price in the American Civil War.

Sources used:

Additional Evidence in the Mother's Army Pension for Maria Chapman, filed 8 June 1865 ; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Charles W. Chapman, pension application number 81254, certificate number 51280; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Ancestry.com, "1850 United States Federal Census," database online, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 May 2022), Entry for Charles W. Chapman in household of William Chapman, Year: 1850, Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 3 Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: 745, and Page: 141a; citing Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Bates, Samuel P. History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865: prepared in compliance with acts of the legislature, 5 Volumes (Harrisburg: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869), volumes 1 and 2 referenced.

Civil War Pittsburgh, "Night of March 5, 1862,"Facebook, 6 March 2022 (https://www.facebook.com/civilwarpittsburgh/ : accessed 27 May 2022).

"Died - Maria Chapman," death notice, The Pittsburgh Daily Commercial (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 13 December 1870, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 29 May 2022).

Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1861-1862 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: G. H. Thurston, 1861), 51, "Chapman Charles W., oil business, bds Chestnut, n North, L(awrenceville)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (http://historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 27 May 2022).

Find A Grave, database with images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 May 2022), memorial page for Charles Wesley Chapman, Find A Grave Memorial # 122224413, citing Allegheny Cemetery (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), memorial created by KBStewart, photograph by DGG.

Gorman, Kathleen L."Civil War Pensions: History of the Union Federal and Confederate State pension systems," Virginia Center for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech, Essential Civil War Curriculum, 2021 (https://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/civil-war-pensions.html : accessed 4 March 2021).

Hays, Gilbert Adams. Under the Red Patch: Story of the Sixty Third Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1864 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Sixty-Third Pennsylvania Volunteers Regimental Association, 1908).

Historical Data Systems, comp., "U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865," database online, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 May 2022), Entry for Charles Wesley Chapman, co K, 63rd Pennsylvania; Historical Data Systems, Inc.; Duxbury, MA 02331; American Civil War Research Database; citing data compiled by Historical Data Systems of Kingston, MA.

"How Capt. Chapman and Lieut. Lysle Were Killed," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 10 March 1862, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 29 June 2017).

"The Klled at Pohick," The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 8 March 1862, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 May 2022).

"Letter from John Rudolph Marti, Sergeant, Co. A, Camp Johnson, Near Alexandria, March 10, 1862," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 17 March 1862, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 March 2022).

Mother's Army Pension Application for Maria Chapman, mother of Capt. Charles W. Chapman, filed 8 June 1865; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Charles W. Chapman, pension application number 81254, certificate number 51280; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 May 2022), Entry for William A Chapman, died 28 Dec 1907, cn 122336; citing Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Parents names and places of birth referenced.

"Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Allegheny Cemetery Records, 1845 - 1960," database online, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 27 May 2022), Entry for Charles W Chapman, buried 10 Mar 1862; citing Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh.

"Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Allegheny Cemetery Records, 1845 - 1960," database online, FamilySearch, Entry for Wm Chapman, buried 19 Dec 1867.

"Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh City Deaths, 1870-1905," database with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 27 May 2022), Entry for Maria Chapman, 11 Dec 1870, FHL microfilm 505,816.; citing Allegheny County Courthouse, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

"Pennsylvania, Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-2012," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 May 2022), Entry for Chas. W. Chapman, died 1862, Pennsylvania State Archives; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Civil War Veterans` Card File, 1861-1866; Series Number: 19.12; citing Pennsylvania Veterans Burial Cards, 1777–2012. Digital Images, 3–5. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau of Archives and History. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

"Remains Arrived," The Pittsburgh Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 10 March 1862, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 29 May 2022).

"Remains Coming," The Pittsburgh Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 8 March 1862, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 May 2022).

Rothbard, Murray N. "Beginning the Welfare State: Civil War Veteran's Pensions," The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, 22:1 (Spring 2019): 68-81

U. S. Congress, The Statutes at Large, Treaties and Proclamations of the United States of America, vols. 1-18 (Little, Brown and Company: Boston, 1789–1875), 12: 566-569, 14 July 1862, "An Act to grant Pensions," 165

James Fielding: The Fight for His Pension

This blog post is the seventh in a series on my ancestor, James Fielding, one of my more fascinating ancestors. After his early life, his stint in the Civil War, having to change his profession, his police officer days, and his involvement in the GAR, and the house on Norwood Avenue, he spent the last days before his death at the Soldier's home in Dayton, Ohio.  This is the story of the fight for his pension.

After James Fielding passed away in February of 1913, his daughter Nellie and his brother John were left to cover his final expenses and settle his estate.  John was listed as the executor of James' will, which was five pages long and admitted into probate on 12 March 1913. 

James had left a bit of property, the legacy of his late wife, when he died.  The house and its lot were part of that estate.  The furniture and the house were both left to Marcus, James H., Edward and Nellie. Mark was also left the piano and $400, while Edward was left $250 and the dining room wardrobe  Nellie was left the large mirror and her mother's clothing as well as $400.  James H. was left $1500 should the house be sold for his living expenses (which makes sense given his disabilities, as he was paralyzed and blind, though it is still yet unknown how he came to be afflicted), with John Fielding being in charge of the money.

Daughters Mrs. Jennie Titus, Mrs. William McKim (Emma) and Mrs. Charles Woods (Birdie) were all left just $5 each.  This was likely due to the fact that all had married and were relatively settled with their husbands and did not need more money.  But this is speculation.

As of April 1913, the estate hadn't yet been divided, but the house and lot were worth $3200 and the last assessed value of the real estate was $2500 per Application for Reimbursement for James Fielding, certificate number 11390, filed 11 April 1913 by daughter Nellie M. Anderson.  

According to his daughter, James was sent back home from the Soldier's Home where he had been residing in October 1912 and stayed at his home in Pittsburgh until December 1912.  Nellie asked for reimbursement of $100 to pay for the care that she gave her father those three months before he was sent back to the Soldier's Home.  She also was asking for the $37.50 that she had to pay the undertaker and $5.30 for undisclosed "incidentals."  One of the witnesses on this pension application was Sarah A, McLaughlin, who was the current wife of Nellie's maternal step-grandfather, Elmon McLaughlin.  The other witness was her sister, Laura Armstrong.  Both witnesses resided at 2713 Veterans Street in Pittsburgh. 

This reimbursement was disallowed due to the fact that the value of the real estate was sufficient to cover all of the claims Nellie had made.  A letter from the Commissioner of Bureau of Pensions to Mrs. Nellie Anderson, dated 14 May 1913 rejected her claim.

On 31 July 1913, a letter was sent from Stephen G. Porter, the House Representative from the Twenty-Ninth District of Pennsylvania, to G. M. Saltzberger, the commissioner of the Bureau of Pensions in Washington, D. C.  The letter asked for the status as to why back pay of two months for James Fielding was not paid, even though Nellie Anderson held a receipt saying it should have been paid. 

I'm going to sidetrack a little here, since I did a bit of research on Stephen G. Porter to find out who he was, since he wrote not one, but at least two letters on behalf of Nellie and James H. Fielding.

Stephen G. Porter was born in Ohio but moved to Allegheny City with his parents at the age of eight.  He first studied medicine, but switched to studying law and became a lawyer.  He was the city solicitor of Allegheny City from 1903-1906 and was elected to Congress in 1910, serving from 4 March 1911 until his death in 1930. In 1913, he was running for mayor of Pittsburgh as well as serving in Congress.  He ran against public works director Joseph G. Armstrong, another North Sider.  Porter was unsuccessful in that bid, as it appears from several Pittsburgh area newspapers in a quick search on Newspapers.com that Armstrong was the favored one.  Perhaps helping with this issue that the Fieldings were having was an attempt to help garner votes away from Armstrong.

On 11 August 1913, a letter from the acting commissioner of the Board of Pensions was sent in reply to the Honorable Stephen G. Porter of the House of Representatives stating that stated that "the law (note here: the statute at law was from 53rd Congress. Sess. III. Ch. 192. 1895.) provides that such accrued pension as was due the soldier at the time of his death shall be paid, first, to his lawful widow, and if there be no widow, then to his child or children under sixteen years of age at the date of his death.... if no widow or minor child under sixteen years of age survive the pensioner, no payment of the accrued pension can be made or allowed except so mush as may be necessary to re-imburse (sic) the person who bore the expense of the soldier's last sickness and burial, provided he did not leave sufficient assets to meet such an expense."  It also stated that the claim for re-imbursement was denied because the house and assets left by James Fielding were sufficient to meet such expenses.

According to papers in James Fielding's pension file, it took nearly three years to settle James' estate, but currently I cannot locate any other paperwork to assist in why it took that long.  The will he left was the only paperwork located.

On 9 January 1917, Nellie wrote a letter to the Pension Board asking why there could not be a pension provided to helpless children of old soldiers.   She also stated that the estate was settled in April 1916, in which there was nothing left to place James H. Fielding into a home, making him solely dependent on his sister, who still lived in the house on Norwood Avenue.  It stated:

Letter from Mrs. Nellie Anderson to the Pension Agent in Washington D. C. dated 9 Jan 1917; Scanned copy provided in the pension file for James Fielding from NARA sent to Kelley Wood-Davis 29 Jan 2020 by Deidre Erin Denton, genealogist

The Pension Act of 1890 (51st Congress. Sess. I. Ch. 634. 1890) did have a clause in it that stated "in the case a minor child is insane, idiotic, or otherwise permanently helpless, the pension shall continue during the life of said child, or during the period of such disability, and this proviso shall apply to all pensions heretofore granted or hereafter to be granted."  However, because James H. Fielding's disabilities came about after he had attained the age of majority, he did not fall under the proviso of the act.  A letter sent G.M. Saltzgerber to Mrs. Nellie Anderson, dated 14 March 1917 informed her of this.

In a letter dated 27 May 1919 to the Honorable Stephen G. Porter, who was apparently personally acquainted with the condition of James H. Fielding, Nellie wrote that she was unaware at the time of probate that the property her father owned was encumbered and that the debts from his burial and services had to be born by her.  She made another plea for her father's final pension payments.  She also wrote: "He was entitled to the increase of $1.00 per day for all old soldiers over 75 years of age, had been advised of the fact in May 1912 but he had never received but $15.00 per month till his death."

Much to Nellie's chagrin, it appears that naught came of this letter writing, for it seems the pension owed to her father went back to the government.  The family continued to earn their meager living and James Henderson continued to rely on his widowed sister for support.

James Henderson Fielding lived in the house on Norwood with his sister until at least 1920, when he appears on that year's Federal Census with her, listed as having been blind.  he last appears in the Pittsburgh area city directories in 1919, listed as living in the house.  He then appears in the 1930 census in the Saint Barnabas Home on Meridian Road on Richland Township, a care facility dedicated to helping lower income people.  He died at the home from chronic asthma on 13 December 1931 and was buried at the home's cemetery in Mars, Pennsylvania two days later.

Nellie was such a notable woman that I had written a blog post about her life.  I need to update it a bit, as I have some new information on her. But that is to come.

Thus ends James Fielding's story.  He was a remarkable ancestor of mine and I was honored to be able to write this series about him.  Perhaps, one day, I will find all the answers.... but the pursuit of genealogy research is more fun when I discover more questions than answers.....

Sources Used:

"1920 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 February 2020), Entry for James H. Fielding and Nellie M. Anderson, Year: 1920, Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 26 Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: T625_1526, Page: 3B, and Enumeration District: 729; citing Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"1930 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 February 2020), Entry for James H Fielding, Year: 1930, Census Place: Richland Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Page: 18A, Enumeration District: 0773, and FHL microfilm: 2341723; citing United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.

Application for Reimbursement, certificate number 11390, deceased pensioner James Fielding, E, 155th Pa Inf., dated 11 April 1913; Scanned copy provided in the pension file for James Fielding from NARA sent to Kelley Wood-Davis 29 Jan 2020 by Deidre Erin Denton, genealogist; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Central Branch, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers Form No. 37, reporting death of James Fielding, pension cert no 11390, filed 21 Feb 1913; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

"Death notice," The Pittsburgh Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 14 December 1931, page 30, death notice for James. H. Fielding; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 19 February 2020).

Department of Interior, Bureau of Pensions, Finance Divisions, referral of reimbursement for claim of James Fielding, certificate number 11390, dated 4 June 1919; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Find A Grave, database with images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 19 February 2020), memorial page for James Henderson Fielding, Find A Grave Memorial # 125766296, citing Saint Barnabas Home Cemetery (Mars, Butler, Pennsylvania), memorial created by Gail Slater, maintained by BSATroop400, photograph by Steve.

House Office of History and Preservation and the Senate Historical Office, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (https://bioguide.congress.gov/ : accessed 17 February 2022), Entry for Stephen Geyer Porter, 1869-1930 (id P000447).

Letter from Acting Commissioner E. C. J. to the Hon. Stephen G Porter, dated 11 August 1913; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Letter from E. C. Tieman, acting commissioner, to Hon. Stephen Foster, dated 18 June 1919; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Letter from the Commissioner of Bureau of Pensions to Mrs. Nellie Anderson, dated 14 May 1913; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Letter from G.M. Saltzgerber to Mrs. Nellie Anderson, dated 14 March 1917; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Letter from Mrs. Nellie Anderson to the Honorable Stephen G. Porter, dated 27 May 1919; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Letter from Mrs. Nellie Anderson to the Pension Agent in Washington D. C. dated 9 Jan 1917; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Letter from Stephen G. Porter, Representative of the 29th District Pennsylvania, to G. M. Saltzgaber, Commissioner of the Bureau of Pensions, dated 31 July 1913; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Letter from Stephen G. Porter, Representative of the 29th District Pennsylvania, to G. M. Saltzgaber, Commissioner of the Bureau of Pensions, dated 2 June 1919; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

"Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 February 2020), Entry for James Henderson Fielding, died 13 Dec 1931, cn 112920; citing Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Receipt of Payment for Funeral Services For James Fielding from Mrs. Nellie Anderson to R. T. Rodney, Funeral Director; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Reimbursement for Claimant Nellie Anderson in case of James fielding, invalid pensioner per act of 11 May 1912, filed 14 May 1913; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

R.L. Polk & Co.'s Pittsburgh city directory, 1919 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co, 1919), page 1039, "Fielding Jas H, r 2704 Norwood"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 10 February 2022).

U. S. Congress, The Statutes at Large, Treaties and Proclamations of the United States of America, vols. 19-125 (United States Government Publishing Office: Washington, D.C., 1876–2011), 26: 182-183, 27 June 1890, "An act granting to soldiers and sailors who are incapacitated for the performance of manual labor and providing for pensions to widows, minor children, and dependent parents," 634.

U. S. Congress, The Statutes at Large, Treaties and Proclamations of the United States of America, vols. 19-125 (United States Government Publishing Office: Washington, D.C., 1876–2011), 27: 964-965, 2 March 1895, "An Act To provide for the payment of accrued pensions in certain cases," 192.

U. S. Congress, The Statutes at Large, Treaties and Proclmations of the United States of America, vols. 19-125 (United States Government Publishing Office: Washington, D.C., 1876–2011), : 1912, 11 May 1912, "An Act Granting pensions to certain enlisted men, soldiers, and officers who served in the Civil War and the War with Mexico," 123.

Will of James Fielding (1913), Probate Records of Allegheny County: Will Book 120, Number 20, Page 34; Register of Wills, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

James Fielding: The Stay at the Home for Disabled Veterans and Death

This blog post is the seventh in a series on my ancestor, James Fielding, one of my more fascinating ancestors. After his early life, his stint in the Civil War, having to change his profession, his police officer days, and his involvement in the GAR, and the house on Norwood Avenue, this was the next logical step.  This is the story of his final days.

Like my hangman's ropemaking ancestor Jacob Bupp,  James Fielding spent his final years at the Central Branch of the Home for Disabled Soldiers in Dayton Ohio.  This blog post on Jacob Bupp's stay there has some research on the start of the Central Branch.  Of course, since James was there almost fifteen years after Jacob's stay, the home had changed a bit.

The Soldier's Home at Dayton in 1902, taken by Underwood and Underwood
Source: Library of Congress, Stereograph Cards, digital id cph 3b41068, photo in the public domain

**Note here - There are more images of the home online, but many of them are not in the public domain or I cannot ascertain the rights for them - one such site is My Genealogy Hound -  others can be googled if you are interested in seeing what the home looked like.**

James was likely sent to live at the home when his disabilities became too great for his widowed daughter and sons to care for him at the home on Norwood Avenue.  After all, Nellie Fielding Anderson also had to care for her ailing elder brother, James Henderson.  Since James the elder was eligible for care at a Soldier's Home because of his Civil War service and the injury he sustained then, the family probably took advantage of that resource.

James likely traveled by train to get from Pittsburgh to Dayton, Ohio as that was the most convenient means of travel at the time.  It is not known if anyone accompanied him.

On 13 January 1909, James Fielding was admitted to home with defective vision (almost blind in right eye), loss of teeth, bayonet would to his left foot, slight cardiac hypertrophy, arteriosclerosis and hypertrophy of prostate.   Interestingly enough, his page from the historical register for the Soldier's Home listed his occupation as wagoner, a trade not reflected in any of his directory listings.  It also made no mention of his shoulder injury.  

Veterans living at the home had to follow a code of conduct subject to the Articles of War.  This allowed for a structured environment for the former soldiers who lived at the home.  They were organized into companies with a captain and had a ranking system similar to the military in which they once served.  The entire home was overseen by a governor, who at the Central Branch in 1913 was "Colonel W. J. White."

James, like all of the men, was required to wear a uniform, likely one of the surplus of uniforms from the United States Army.  He probably attended the Protestant weekly prayer meeting held on Sundays and listened to concerts at the bandstand that was located on the campus. Because he was literate but blind in one eye, he likely did not take advantage of the library on the campus but may have visited the menagerie.  Because he was a member of the Grand Army of the republic, he likely attended meetings that they held on the campus, despite his ailing health.

Of course, all of this is circumstantial, given the lack of evidence on what exactly James did while he lived at the home.   But veterans living there at the time James did were afforded all of these amenities.

What is known is what James was treated for in the home.  From a page of his pension file, this was listed:

Certificate of Medical History for James Fielding, Form Number 147, Filed by the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 16 April 1913; Scanned copy provided in the pension file for James Fielding from NARA sent to Kelley Wood-Davis 29 Jan 2020 by Deidre Erin Denton, genealogist

As once can see, he had many health issues that needed to be addressed.  Given his advanced age, these conditions had to have been debilitating for him.

James lived in the home from January 1909 until his death on 18 February 1913.  He probably had family members visit, as visitors were encouraged at the home and the trains ran from Pittsburgh to Dayton.  

He was enumerated in the 1910 Federal Census on 10 May 1910 as a widowed inmate at the home, with no occupation listed for him.

James was awarded $18 per month beginning 6 June 1912 and then $21 per month beginning 14 September 1912, the higher amount the result of the Pension Act of 1912.  However, in a letter written in 1919 by daughter Nellie, he never received the final pension amounts, as "he was entitled to the increase of $1.00 per day for all old soldiers over 75 years of age, had been advised of the fact in May 1912 but he had never received but $15.00 per month till his death."  This was likely because the certificate that did finally grant him these amounts was issued over a month after his death, since the certificate issued on 29 March 1913.  This would cause issues for his children later.  

On 18 February 1913, James Fielding died in the hospital at the Central Branch of the National Home for Disabled Soldiers at the age of seventy-five.  His death certificate and records found in his pension files list his cause of death as diabetes mellitus, arteriosclerosis and senility.  Interestingly enough, his death certificate also lists his occupation as "teamster."

His body was shipped back to Pittsburgh by the undertakers J. P. Boyer and Sons from Dayton, Ohio with permission from the governor of the Home, Colonel W. J. White.  

James Fielding was buried on 21 February 1913 at Union Dale Cemetery in Division 1, Section G, Lot 5, Grave 4. Funeral Services were provided by R. T. Rodney, Funeral Director at 715 Arch Street on the North Side of Pittsburgh.  The total cost of the funeral services was $42.80 for a hearse, 3 carriages, fee to open the grave, cost of the permit for opening the grace and services rendered, as well as notices posted in the newspapers and a telegraph sent to Washington D.C.  

One obituary noted that he was survived by four sons, three daughters and four brothers, including his brother John, who was a former councilman in Pittsburgh.  Incidentally John was listed erroneously as James' son, not his brother, on James' page from the register of the National Soldier's Home.

**Note here:  John was the subject of an article I wrote, The Pittsburgh Steam Engine Accident, where he lost his leg as a teen... He still lived a long life and became councilman and did a number of great things and eventually I may write about him.**

John was also the executor of James' will, which left a great deal of his possessions to the children that still lived in the house he owned on Norwood Avenue.  But the execution of that will and the incidents that followed are a subject for another blog post on another day.  For there is more to this story, but that's for another blog post.

Sources Used

"1910 United States Federal Census," database online, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 July 2016), Year: 1910, Census Place: Jefferson Montgomery, Ohio, Roll: T624_1218, Page: 26A, Enumeration District: 0135, and FHL microfilm: 1375231.

Application for Reimbursement, certificate number 11390, deceased pensioner James Fielding, E, 155th Pa Inf., dated 11 April 1913; Scanned copy provided in the pension file for James Fielding from NARA sent to Kelley Wood-Davis 29 Jan 2020 by Deidre Erin Denton, genealogist; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Burns, Carolyn Johnson. Soldiers Home of Dayton, Ohio: Information about the Central Branch of the National Military Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers known today as the Dayton VA Medical Center (http://www.carolynjburns.com/soldiers/ : accessed 21 January 2021).

Central Branch Home for D. V. S. Admittance report for James Fielding, dated 16 Jan 1909; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Certificate of Medical History for James Fielding, Form Number 147, Filed by the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 16 April 1913; ; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Claim for Pension for James Fielding filed 5 June 1912; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

"Daily Life at the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers," article, National Park Service (https://www.nps.gov/articles/daily-life-for-disabled-volunteer-soldiers.htm : accessed 3 February 2022).

"Fielding," death notice, The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 20 February 1913, Page 29, death notice for James Fielding; online images, Google News (https://news.google.com/newspapers : accessed 27 July 2016).

"James Fielding," obituary, Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 21 February 1913, Page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 July 2013).

"James Fielding," death notice, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 20 February 1913, page 7; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 March 2020).

"Fielding," death notice, The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 20 February 1913, Page 29, death notice for James Fielding; online images, Google News (https://news.google.com/newspapers : accessed 27 July 2016).

Gasbarro, Norman. "Old Soldiers' Homes," Civil War Blog: A Project of PA Historian, 9 May 2012 (http://civilwar.gratzpa.org/ : accessed 6 November 2019).

Letter from Mrs. Nellie Anderson to the Pension Agent in Washington D. C. dated 9 Jan 1917; Scanned copy provided in the pension file for James Fielding from NARA sent to Kelley Wood-Davis 29 Jan 2020 by Deidre Erin Denton, genealogist;  citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

"Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953," database with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 27 July 2016), James Fielding, 18 Feb 1913; citing Jefferson, Montgomery, Ohio, reference fn 11097; FHL microfilm 1,953,599; citing data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.

"Ohio Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2007," database online, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 July 2016), Entry for James Fielding, died 18 Feb 1913; Montgomery, Ohio; Volume 1008, Certificate 11097; citing "Ohio Department of Health. Index to Annual Deaths", 1958-2002. Ohio Department of Health, State Vital Statistics Unit, Columbus, OH, USA. and Ohio. Division of Vital Statistics. "Death Certificates and Index, December 20, 1908-December 31, 1953". State Archives Series 3094. Ohio Historical Society, Ohio; Index only, no certificate.

"Pennsylvania, Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-2012," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 July 2016), Entry for James Fielding, born 1837, died 2-18-1913; citing Pennsylvania Veterans Burial Cards, 1777–2012. Digital Images, 3–5. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau of Archives and History. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Plante, Trevor K. "The National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers," Prologue Magazine, Spring 2004; online, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives (https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue : accessed 11 November 2019), information on the Dayton Home.

Powell, Lisa. "Dayton’s soldiers’ home was among the country’s first to care for veterans," Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio), 24 May 2019, information on the history of the Dayton Home; online archives (https://www.daytondailynews.com/ : accessed 6 November 2019).

Receipt of Payment for Funeral Services For James Fielding from Mrs. Nellie Anderson to R. T. Rodney, Funeral Director; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Unknown note reporting death and no payment made in pension file of James Fielding; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

"U.S., Burial Registers, Military Posts and National Cemeteries, 1862-1960," database online with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 July 2016), Entry for James Fielding, died 18 Feb 1913; citing Burial Ledgers. The National Cemetery Administration, Washington, D.C. (Original records transferred to NARA: Burial Registers, compiled 1867-2006, documenting the period 1831-2006. ARC ID: 5928352. Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773–2007, Record Group 15. National Archives at Washington, D.C. and Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Quartermaster General. (09/18/1947–08/01/1962). Burial Registers of Military Post and National Cemeteries, compiled ca. 1862–ca. 1960. ARC ID: 4478151. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774–1985, Record Group 92. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C; Listed in the burial records for the Dayton branch of the Home for Disabled Veteran Soldiers.

"U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 July 2016), Entry for James Fielding born abt 1837, admitted 1909 to Dayton, Central Branch.; citing Historical Register of National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1749, 282 rolls); Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

U. S. Congress, The Statutes at Large, Treaties and Proclmations of the United States of America, vols. 19-125 (United States Government Publishing Office: Washington, D.C., 1876–2011), : 1912, 11 May 1912, "An Act Granting pensions to certain enlisted men, soldiers, and officers who served in the Civil War and the War with Mexico," 123

Will of James Fielding (1913), Probate Records of Allegheny County: Will Book 120, Number 20, Page 34; Register of Wills, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

James Fielding: The House on Norwood Avenue

This is the sixth blog post in a series on James Fielding, one of my more fascinating ancestors. After his early life, his stint in the Civil War, having to change his profession, his police officer days, and his involvement in the GAR, this was the next logical step.  This is the story of the house in which he resided on Norwood Avenue.

For most of the latter part of his life, James Fielding lived in a house on Norwood Avenue, in what was once the Tenth Ward of Allegheny City.  Many documents in his Civil War pension file reference this house and its addresses, so this address quickly became a focal point for some of my research.

It should be noted that the Tenth Ward of Allegheny City appears to have had a few names in the time the Fieldings resided there.  The neighborhood they lived in was probably Perry South.  It is now in the 26th Ward of Pittsburgh, but I will get to that point in a few paragraphs.

Even though James lived in the house, ownership of the property, according to the deed of sale from 20 August 1896, was listed as his wife, Mrs. Sarah V. Fielding.  Sarah bought the lot, which was lot number 54, from Robert W. Bissell for a mere $450.  She was later charged $20 for sewer improvements and repairs to the street in April of 1900 per an official notice advertised in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  The 1902 Allegheny City Atlas from G. M. Hopkins and Company also proves Sarah's ownership of the lot by listing "Mrs. S. V. Fielding" as the owner of the lot.

The family was enumerated at the house on the 1900 census, listed incorrectly with the surname Feilding.  James and Sarah were listed without occupations in an owned, but mortgaged home with their sons and youngest daughter.  James H. was 37 and a laborer, Eddie Mc. was 24 and helper at a foundry, and son Marcus was age 21 with no occupation listed, but did attended school for 10 months.  Daughter Birdie was listed as Beatrice B. and aged 19.  Her occupation was listed as a helper at home.

*Side note here - this is NOT the only time my paternal great-grandmother Birdie Boggs Fielding was listed as Beatrice in a marriage document for one of her children.... but that's a story for another day.*

James was listed at living at this residence on 23 April 1901 when he signed consent papers for his daughter Birdie to marry Charles Wesley Chapman Wood.  Birdie also listed this address as hers on her application for a marriage license.  The couple was married at this residence on the same day as well.

Consent of James Fielding in the marriage of his daughter, Birdie, to Charles W. C. Wood, 23 April 1901, citing Allegheny County Marriage Licenses, ln 13279.  Copy provided by Allegheny County Department of Court Records (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

James' son Edward listed 54 Norwood as his place of residence in marriage to Annie Cremians, which took place 8 January 1902.  The marriage ended in divorce five years later.

In 1903, this was mentioned in The Pittsburgh Post: "Mrs. James L McGurk, who has been visiting Mrs. James Fielding, No. 54 Norwood avenue, returned home last Saturday, after a lengthy stay."  Mrs. James McGurk was probably a widowed woman by the name of Mary Hooks McGurk, who was born in 1867 in Ireland, but this has not been proven.  She is the most likely candidate though.

The Invalid Claim for Increase for James Fielding filed 9 June 1903 lists this address as his place of residence as does the Invalid Claim for Increase for James Fielding filed 14 December 1904 and the Additional Evidence and General Affidavit in the matter of James Fielding, claimant, filed 24 April 1905.

Around this time, the city of Pittsburgh (which spelled its name as Pittsburg at the time... the H wasn't added until 1911) was looking to expand again, having already absorbed East Birmingham, Birmingham and a number of other neighbors.  They looked to consolidate Allegheny City into their city, citing that Allegheny City needed the annexation because it was corrupt and the university in Allegheny City needed room to grow.  

There were of course, a number of other reasons too, but this blog post would be long and boring if I laid them all out, so I won't.

The members of the Fielding family were just a few of the 145,000 that lost their identity as Allegheny City residents when Pittsburgh's efforts to annex the city came to fruition on 7 December 1907.  While most of the residents of Allegheny City were very opposed to the annexation, they lost in a vote and later, in a Supreme Court decision.  

I am inclined to think that, given the fact that most of my ancestors' children claimed to be proud North Siders for the rest of their lives, that most of them were opposed to this annexation.  But their feelings on the matter, aside form a few family stories from my grandmother and cousins, are lost to time and history.

Names of streets in the former Allegheny City were changed because many were duplicated in the more populous Pittsburgh.  Whenever possible, the new street names of the newest part of Pittsburgh did begin with the same first letter to assist the transition.  It wasn't until 1911 when the entire process was completed.

I bring this up because, while the name of the street upon which the Fieldings lived never changed (unlike a number of others in my paternal ancestry), the house NUMBER did change.  The numbering system was also updated.  So while they stayed in the same house, which was lot number 54 in the development, the house number was changed to 2704.  Since the process took years, there is some overlap in address information on the house on Norwood.

James' wife Sarah died during the annexation process.  On 4 October 1907, she died in the house, which was listed as 2704 Norwood, 10th Ward of Allegheny City.  Her cause of death was apoplexy contributed by senile debility, or rather a stroke caused by old age (though she was only 68 years old at the time).  At the time of her death, she was a member of the Thomas Armstrong Council, number 92, of the Daughters of Liberty. She was a founding member of the council, which was a nativist group looking to limit immigration.  According to newspaper accounts from October of 1892, the council got its start then.  James was the informant on her death certificate.

Another thing happened in 1907 while the annexation process was going on and Sarah was in her last days.  The Pension Act of 1907 was passed 6 February 1907 and allowed for Civil War soldiers to collect a pension for old age.  In James' case, he was allowed to collect a pension of $15 per month because by 1907, he was 70.  He had to file a new claim to get the old age pension, since he was already receiving money for his disabilities from the war. 

Act of Feb. 6, 1907 Pension Card for James Fielding provided in the pension file for James Fielding from NARA sent to Kelley Wood-Davis 29 Jan 2020 by Deidre Erin Denton, genealogist

After having a number of denied claims for pension increases over the years since he was making the maximum allowed monthly pension as it was, James, of course, applied for a new claim.  The application for increase was filed on 14 Sept 1907, his 70th birthday, while he living at the house on Norwood Drive, though the address was still 54 Norwood on the application.  His witnesses of character for that pension application were James C. McIntyre, who lived at 1315 Penna Avenue and knew James Fielding for 35 years, and Phillip McDonough, who lived at 3124 Brighton Road and knew James Fielding for 20 years.  This increase was granted on 31 December 1907 and continued for a few years until the next pension act, in 1912, increased his monthly sum yet again.

James continued to live in the house himself, which I assume reverted to his ownership when Sarah died.  But in January of 1909, he moved to the Central Branch Home for Disabled Veterans in Dayton, Ohio.  This was the same home in which Jacob Bupp, my hangman's ropemaking ancestor, lived.  

But four of his children continued to live in the home.  Daughter Nellie was a widow and had two young children who likely lived with her.  Son James H. was disabled and blind.  Son Marcus was a bachelor and son Edward was just coming out of a divorce at the time.  The children lived there as late as 1925, per a plat book from that year.  There was a great deal of correspondence in James Fielding's pension file that dealt with the house after James' death, but that's another blog post for another time.

Sources Used:

Act of Feb. 6, 1907 Pension Card for James Fielding, certificate number 11390, Co. E, 155 Pennsylvania Infantry; Scanned copy provided in the pension file for James Fielding from NARA sent to Kelley Wood-Davis 29 Jan 2020 by Deidre Erin Denton, genealogist; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives

Act of February 6, 1907, present claim for James Fielding, certificate number 11390, private, company E, 155 PA Vol. Inf.; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Additional Evidence and General Affidavit in the matter of James Fielding, claimant, filed 24 April 1905; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 954: 46, Robert W. Bissell to Sarah V. Fielding, recorded 6 November 1896; FHL microfilm 1531620.

Brief for Reopening for Claimant James Fielding, Private, Company E of 55 Pa Vol Inf (Rejected 22 January 1903); citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Brodt, Zach. "Record #12 - 1911 Pittsburgh Directory," University of Pittsburgh, Archives & Manuscripts @ Pitt, 22 May 2014 (https://pittarchives.tumblr.com/post/86495928408/record-12-1911-pittsburgh-directory : accessed 16 December 2021), information on the merger of Allegheny City.

Charles W. C. Wood and Birdie B. Fielding Marriage License and Certificate, (23 April 1901), Allegheny County Marriage Licenses: File Number 13279; Department of Court Records, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania.

"Death Record," obituary, The Pittsburgh Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 7 October 1906, Page 6; Mrs. Sarah V. Fielding; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 July 2016).

Hopkins, G. M. Real estate plat-book of the city of Allegheny: Wards 9-11, 14 and 15, Volume 2 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: G.M. Hopkins & Co., 1902); digital image, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 29 January 2021), plate 9, viewed property of Mrs. S. V. Fielding.

Hopkins, G. M. Real estate plat-book of the city of Pittsburgh: Wards 23-24, 26 and Part of 22 and 25 (Volume 4, revised 1939) (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: G.M. Hopkins & Co., 1925); digital image, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 16 December 2021), page 23, Perry South, viewed 2704 Norwood Avenue, owned by "J. E. Fielding et al."

Increase for Invalid Pension for James Fielding cert. no.11390, rejected 22 Jan 1903; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Invalid Claim for Increase for James Fielding, Co E 155 Regiment of Pa Inf Volunteers, cn 11390, filed 1 July 1902; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Invalid Claim for Increase for James Fielding, Co E, 155 Regiment Pa Inf Volunteers, no 11390, filed 9 June 1903; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Invalid Claim for Increase for James Fielding, co E, 155 Regiment of the Pa Inf, claim number 11390, filed 14 December 1904; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Jones, Diana Nelson. "The day the City of Allegheny disappeared: Pittsburgh gobbles smaller neighbor as Alleghenians vote 'no' but to no avail," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 9 December 2007; online archives (https://www.post-gazette.com/ : accessed 16 December 2021); https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2007/12/09/The-day-the-City-of-Allegheny-disappeared/stories/200712090229.

Miles, Lisa. Resurrecting Allegheny City: The Land, Structures & People of Pittsburgh's North Side (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: L. A. Miles, 2007.

"Notice of Sarah Fielding's death," death notice, The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 6 October 1907, Page 32; online images, Google News (https://news.google.com/newspapers : accessed 31 July 2016).

"Official," official notice, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 17 April 1900, Page 7; Petition for Damages, costs and expenses of the improvement of a sewer on Norwood Avenue. Sarah V. Fielding was charged $20; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 July 2016).

"Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 13 July 2020), Entry for Edward McD. Fielding and Annie Cremians, 8 Jan 1902, referencing Allegheny County marriages, v. 57, page 782, ln D-19845; citing various county courthouses, Pennsylvania.

"Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 July 2016), Entry for Sarah V. Fielding; died 4 October 1907; Certificate number: 95518; citing Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1898 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1898), 376, "Fielding James, 54 Norwood av, A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 27 July 2016).

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1899 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1899), 445, "Fielding James, agt, 54 Norwood av, A(llegheny)"; digital image, Univerity of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 27 July 2016).

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1900 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1900), 432, "Fielding James H, lab, Norwood av n Hawkins av, A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 27 July 2016).

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1901 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1901), 472, "Fielding James agt 54 Norwood av A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 27 July 2016).

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1902 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1902), 506, "Fielding James agt 54 Norwood av Allegheny"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 27 July 2016).

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1903 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1903), 596, "Fielding James lab Norwood and Hawkins av, A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 27 July 2016).

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1904 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1904), 575, "Fielding James H lab 54 Norwood av A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 27 July 2016).

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1905 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1905), 530, "Fielding James H agt 2704 Norwood av A(llegheny); digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 27 July 2016).

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1906 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1906), 591, "Fielding James, 2704 Norwood, A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 27 July 2016).

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1907 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1907), 606, "Fielding Jas, 2704 Norwood, A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 27 July 2016).

Pittsburgh directory, 1908 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1908), 554, "Fielding Jas, 2704 Norwood, A(llegheny); digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 27 July 2016).

Rooney, Dan and Carol Peterson, Allegheny City: A History of Pittsburgh's North Side (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Universityof Pittsburgh Press, 2013), 130-144.

Sarah V. Fielding entry, Allegheny City Registration of Deaths, volume 15: page 95, Allegheny County City County Building, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

"Society in Pittsburgh and Allegheny City," The Pittsburgh Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 20 September 1903, 10; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 20 July 2020).

Soldier's Application for Increase of Pension for James Fielding, filed 14 Sept 1907; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Surgeon's Certificate for in the case of James Fielding Co E, 155 Reg't Pa Inf, Applicant for Increase pension number 11390, filed 8 Feb 1899; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Surgeon's Certificate for in the case of James Fielding Co E, 155 Reg't Pa Inf, Applicant for Increase pension number 11390, filed 29 Oct 1902; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Surgeon's Certificate for in the case of James Fielding Co E, 155 Reg't Pa Inf, Applicant for Increase pension number 11390, filed 7 Oct 1903; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Surgeon's Certificate for in the case of James Fielding Co E, 155 Reg't Pa Inf, Applicant for Increase pension number 11390, filed 28 Feb 1905; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

James Fielding: The Grand Army of the Republic and the 1890s

This is the fifth blog post in a series on James Fielding, one of my more fascinating ancestors. After his early life, his stint in the Civil War, having to change his profession, and his police officer days, he changed careers yet again, this time becoming a chiropodist.  During this time period, he was also heavily involved in the Grand Army of the Republic.

First, let's dig a little into the history of the Grand Army of the Republic, because it was a fascinating secret society in its heyday.

The Grand Army of the Republic was organized and chartered first in Illinois in 1866.  It was the brainchild of a enlisted Army surgeon by the name of Benjamin Franklin Stephenson.  By 1890, it had reached its peak with over half a million members in over 8,000 posts, including five presidents.  

Three objectives were the basis for organization; fraternity, charity and loyalty .  They had local meetings and "camp-fires" that were actually pretty popular.  There were annual state and national meetings, called encampments in which railroads had special trains and discounts and tents were set up so that veterans could relieve their war days. There was a special fund for needy veterans, widows and orphans.  Through the GAR, soldier's homes were set up.  The Civil War was significant in reuniting a divided nation and the GAR helped raise funds for memorials and memories to remind people of this.  

To become a member of the GAR, one had to have been honorably discharged from one of the branches of the US military between April of 1861 and December of 1865.  He could not have been part of the Confederacy and he had to apply to his local post, where the post decided his membership by vote.  The posts were organized similar to Masonic lodges, with similar rituals.

Members wore a double breasted coat that was dark blue with bronze buttons and had gold cord.  They also wore a bronze star badge on their lapels so that they could be easily identified as a member of the GAR.  They referred to their brothers as "comrades" and held votes for post positions.

James Fielding was a member of GAR Post #3, also known as the Gen Alex. Hays Post.  Alexander Hays was a general who started out in the Civil War as the colonel of the 63rd Pennsylvania Regiment and was promoted a few times through the course of the war before his death on 5 May 1864 in the Battle of the Wilderness.  (The 63rd Pennsylvania Regiment was the regiment John D. Wood served in that I wrote a history of long ago. His son Charles married Birdie Fielding, James' youngest daughter.)

Photograph of Brig. Gen. Alexander Hays that was taken sometime between 1860 and 1864. Photograph source: Library of Congress

As the GAR grew, so did its focus from being just a fraternal organization to a political one.  As the GAR grew, so did the idea that the organization could present demands upon legislators.  Pension bills became a point in which the GAR lobbied hard.  In fact, because President Grover Cleveland vetoed a comprehensive pension bill that Congress enacted in 1887, he lost the 1888 election because G.A.R. members pushed the pension rhetoric into the polls, helping to elect Benjamin Harrison as president instead.   

It is not known when James first joined Post #3 of the Grand Army of the Republic, but on 9 January 1888, he was elected as inside guard in the post.  He may have joined the GAR because of the pension issue, as several claims he made to increase his pension were rejected before he was elected an officer in the post.  

James Fielding was working as a chiropodist at the time he was elected officer.  Chiropodists worked on feet, removing ingrown toenails, calluses, and corns.  Sometimes they plied their wares as street traders, but by the time of James Fielding's tenure as a chiropodist, many had established offices.  In 1888, James had an office at 543 Wood and in 1889, he had an office at 811 Penn Avenue, which appears to have been an office building of sorts in Pittsburgh, per searches of the newspapers of the day.  He appeared to have this job off and on until 1898, per city directories.  Interestingly enough, he took out an advertisement right under his listing in the 1891 Pittsburgh area directories that read: 

J.F. Diffenbacher's directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1891/1892 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Diffenbacher & Thurston, 1891), 318, "Fielding Jas, chiropodist, 7 Jackson, A(llegheny)" Source: Historic Pittsburgh

On 21 April 1888, James filed a Re-Rating Arrears and Increase of Pension claim stating he needed his pension corrected because his rate of pension of $4 a month was "unjustly low and disproportionate to the degree of his disability."  John Burke and Samuel Moore, both of Pittsburgh, were his witnesses, and P. J. Lockwood was his attorney.  A notation on the front of the claim stated "Claimant objects to being sent to the board before which he was last examined." On 3 April 1889 the pension was increased to $12 per month, as this was the first successful claim.  

This coincided with the Grand Army of the Republic's biggest victory in politics, as President Harrison signed into law the Pension Act of 1890, which allowed any and all persons who had served ninety days in service in one of the branches of the United States military during the Civil War, were honorably discharged,  never part of the Confederacy, and who were suffering from some sort of disability that incapacitated them from manual labor to receive funds from the United States.  The pension was to be at least six dollars a month, but not exceeding twelve dollars a month.  It was also the first time in the history of United States pension acts that the soldier or sailor's rank was not considered.

On 1 Dec 1890, James was elected as officer of the guard to Post #3.  Though the post was in the city of Pittsburgh at the time, James was still living in Allegheny City, where he resided at 7 Jackson Street.  This was the address listed on his daughter Emma's marriage license application in December 1890 when she married William McKim.

In December 1894, the GAR ran this about him in The Pittsburgh Press "Comrade James Fielding, Post 3's old warhorse, had returned from Williamsport and will reside permanently in this city.  As usual, he will have charge of the annual distribution of Christmas turkeys to the widows of the Post."

The reason for his relocation to Williamsport lies in his Appeal for Reconsideration that was received 8 August 1892 which states: "...he believes injustice has been done him.  He feels that the Allegheny Board must be prejudiced against him.  He respectfully requests that he may be ordered to Washington D.C. for reexamination at the time of the GAR Encampment, or the Williamsport, Pa."  On 15 February 1893, James was examined again by doctors, this time in Williamsport.  The physicians felt he was entitled to a pension increase for both his dislocated shoulder and for his bayonet wound.  But he never received those pension increases due to the Pension Act of 1890.  

For whatever reason, James returned to Allegheny City and took up his duties as a comrade of Post 3 again.  He resided on Leland Avenue, where wife Sarah was charged $21.11 cents for sewer repairs in December of 1898.  It is very likely that while James moved to Williamsport for a period of about a year, his family stayed in Allegheny City.

In September of 1895, Louisville in Kentucky became the first city south of the Mason-Dixon line to host the annual Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic.  It was the largest convention ever in the city. 

James Fielding was part of the advance guard of the Pittsburgh posts, which left, probably by train, on 5 September 1895.  He was instructed with procuring headquarters for the Pittsburgh contingent, which he found in room 17 at the Law Temple on Green and Fifth streets.  The encampment was a success, though several were killed due to a cannon explosion the morning of the parade and a grandstand collapsed at the fireworks display. It was reported later in September that "Comrades H. A. Moore and James Fielding came in for a great deal of praise for the manner in which they performed their duties at Louisville."

Not much else is known about James' work with the Grand Army of the republic after the Louisville Encampment.  He was mentioned in a May 1892 article as one of the members of Post 3 who was visiting schools for Decoration day.  This was the biggest legacy left by the GAR.  The celebration of what was then Decoration Day became the national holiday of Memorial Day.  Though it was a Southern tradition started in Virginia, it eventually was pushed to become the celebration it now is by the Grand Army of the Republic.

The Grand Army of the Republic dwindled because Union veterans began to die off, with the last remaining member, Comrade Albert Woolson, dying in 1956.

James' story continued though, as he owned a house in Allegheny City for many, many years.  But that's a story for another post.

Sources:

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Appeal for Reconsideration Filed for James Fielding, received 8 August 1892; Scanned copy provided in the pension file for James Fielding from NARA sent to Kelley Wood-Davis 29 Jan 2020 by Deidre Erin Denton, genealogist; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

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