This collection contains four letters from Henry Seiger to Anna Roland in Marietta, Pennsylvania and one letter in German that was either to or from Anna Roland. Henry Seiger was in the 12th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment, which was also known as the 41st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He served in Company D, the Kepner Fencibles, under the command of Captain Samuel Wilt. Folder 1 contains the transcriptions, Folder 2 contains the original letters.
System of Arrangement
Folder 1 contains the transcriptions, Folder 2 contains the original letters.
Images have been provided for research purposes only. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
LancasterHistory retains the rights to the digital images and content presented. The doctrine of fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. Fair use includes comment, criticism, teaching, and private scholarship. Any images and data downloaded, printed or photocopied for these purposes should provide a citation. All other uses beyond those allowed by fair use require written permission.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-570
Other Number
MG-570
Classification
MG0570
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Letters transcribed by WP, 2010; Processed by PP, 8 December 2010.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Series #, Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
This collection was given in memory of the donor's maternal grandparents, David S. Warfel and Clara Haverstick Warfel.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
This collection has not been cataloged. Original documents may be used by appointment--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection items may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
The William McCaskey Civil War Papers contain letters written by William Spencer McCaskey to his brother, Jack and sister-in-law, Ellen during his service in the U.S. Army during the Civil War. In most letters, he writes about politics, life in camp, members of his unit, their brothers, and the campaigns in Georgia and South Carolina with General Sherman. Related biographical data and images are among the contents of this collection.
Admin/Biographical History
William Spencer McCaskey was born near Paradise, Lancaster County, in 1843. The family moved to Lancaster in 1855, where William received his education in public schools. And in 1859, he began an apprenticeship at the printing office of the Examiner, where he worked until the outbreak of the Civil War.
Just days after Fort Sumter was fired upon in April 1861, William joined the army and served with Company F of the 1st Pennsylvania Infantry until he mustered out in July. He joined Company B of the 79th Pennsylvania Regiment as 1st Sergeant in September of that year; this company of Lancastrians served under Col. Henry A. Hambright and Lt. Col. David Miles. They engaged in battles in Kentucky and Tennessee before they returned to Lancaster in 1864 and re-enlisted. Company B joined Gen. Sherman's army in May 1864. As they moved through Georgia and South Carolina in Sherman's March to the Sea, William wrote about the campaign, the residents, and affects that the Union Army's actions had on the South.
Capt. McCaskey mustered out in July 1865, and in spite of the many objections he had voiced about army life, he re-enlisted in 1866 after receiving a recommendation of the commission of second lieutenant from Thaddeus Stevens. William commanded troops throughout his career on the frontiers of Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Texas, and Missouri and also during the Spanish-American War in Cuba and the Philippines. He retired at the rank of Major General in October 1907.
John Piersol "Jack" McCaskey is better known to Lancastrians as J. P. McCaskey, a teacher and publisher. He began teaching at the Boys' High School in Lancaster in 1855, accepted the position of principal in 1865, and later became superintendent. Jack married Ellen Margaret Chase in 1860.
This collection contains documents beginning with the American Revolution and continuing through the War of 1812, Mexican War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. There are account books, notes and written letters, vouchers, inspections of camps, receipts of payments, honorable discharge certificates, lists of absentees, envelopes used during the Civil War, and lists of unpaid fines during the service of the Pennsylvania Militia soldiers. There are also newsletters and articles relating to World Wars I and II and the Korean War for advertisement and description of items including the history of the Philadelphia Naval Base.
The Civil War Collection consists of material acquired over many years from different sources. Coverage is of Lancaster County soldiers and of daily life in the county during the Civil War. The collection contains records of various military units, family correspondence, "Home Front" papers, Civil War era diaries, the Captain John R. Bricker/Dept. of Commissary papers, celebration and reunion materials, images, newspaper clippings, and general orders.
System of Arrangement
The collection is organized by category into ten series.
The oversized documents of Series A, C, F, and H are oversized and filed flat in Box 4.
Series A Military Units: Series A contains documents of military units, including muster rolls, enlistment papers, discharge certificates, assignment and promotion records, and papers of individual soldiers and officers.
Pennsylvania Volunteers
Pennsylvania Militia
Certificate of State Regiments
U.S. Regiments
Series B Civil War Families
Benjamin Reed Family
Soldier's Letters
Series C The Lancaster Home Front
The Bounty Funds
Pension Claims
Articles
Letters
Series D Lancaster Notables
Series E Civil War Era Diaries
Series F The Captain John R. Bricker/Dept. of PA Commissary Papers
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Civil War Collection (MG0018), Series #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Restrictions are noted at the item level.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-18
Classification
MG0018
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Much of the collection was cataloged prior to 1997. Added to database 23 March 2022.
Collection consists of records of the Grand Army of the Republic and allied organizations. Most papers are from G.A.R. Post 478 (Mount Joy) and Post 84 (Lancaster). Included are minute books, burial records, membership applications, correspondence, national and state G.A.R. orders, encampment information, and Post correspondence. Many records are in book form.
Soldiers and sailors honorably discharged from the Army, Navy or Marine Corps of the U.S. who fought in the cause of the Union from Apr. 12, 1861 to Apr. 9, 1865 were eligible to become members of the Grand Army of the Republic. Allied Orders include: Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic, Woman's Relief Corps, Sons of Veterans U.S.A. (later Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War) and their Auxiliary, as well as the Daughters of Veterans (later Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War).
Lebkicher Family Civil War Letters and Discharge Papers
Description
Lebkicher Family Civil War Letters and Discharge Papers contain letters from Lebkicher family members before and during the Civil War. There are discharge papers for Jonah R. Duke and William H. Lebkicher who enlisted with Captain J. Miller Raub's Company D, 122nd Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers in August 1862. William (1846-1929) re-enlisted and his letters continue to 1865. Some of the letters concern transportation by train and subsequent wrecks and derailments, the rioting in Lancaster, the shortage of food and feed for animals, and the soldiers getting used to the shelling of their camp by the rebels. The majority of letters were written during the Civil War.
Admin/Biographical History
For more information about William H. Lebkicher, please see the Hershey Community Archives website. https://hersheyarchives.org/encyclopedia/lebkicher-william-henry-lebbie-1845-1929/
Lebkicher Family Civil War Letters and Discharge Papers (MG0258) https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/4b929d84-1c6a-4e1f-8bc2-523672636170
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Lebkicher Family Civil War Letters and Discharge Papers (MG0258), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org. Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Accession Number
1998.MG0258
Other Numbers
MG-258
Other Number
MG-258
Classification
MG0258
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Organized and finding aid prepared by JM. Finding aid typed by KS and SH, 2013. Added to database 10 January 2022.
This collection contains the diaries of Gilbert and Edith Bushong.
The first diaries in this collection (Folder #1), written by Gilbert Bushong who is 14 years old, are dated from 3m 17 1850 - 5m 29 1852 and April 20, 1853. The topics covered are the everyday events of family life and farming activities. He also writes about school life, and butchering hogs, and trips to visit family and friends.
The second part of this collection (Folder #2-5) was written by Edith Paxson Bushong and dates from December 31, 1858 - April 5, 1862, after Gilbert presents her with a new diary journal on his return from a trip to Lancaster. Edith writes mostly about the welfare of her family and friends, including news of marriages, births, illnesses, and deaths.
She also writes about life on the farm, her housework routine, and news of the Civil War, including the battle at Gettysburg.
Admin/Biographical History
Gilbert Bushong was the son of Henry Bushong and Esther Valentine. He was born on 2 December 1836 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and died on 10 December 1911 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He was a farmer in Eden Twp., Lancaster County. Gilbert was a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers) and an abolitionist who helped, with family members Henry and Jacob Bushong, to run the Underground Railroad for runaway slaves during the Civil War at Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania.
Edith D. Kinsey Paxson was born on 14 January 1836 and died 2 December 1914 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. She was the second daughter of Elwood H. Paxson and Elizabeth Moore White. She married Gilbert Bushong on 20 December 1855. The Bushongs owned a farm along what is now Valley Road, Route 372, on the eastern side of Eden Twp. and received their mail at May Post Office. They are buried together at Sadsbury Meeting Cemetery in Chester County.
Children of Gilbert and Edith Bushong:
1. Dr. Charles Henry Bushong (1 October 1856-20 December 1903). He was married twice, to sisters who were twins, Anna W. Keene and Nora E. Keene. One died and he married the other.
2. Frances E. Bushong (18 May 1858-16 November 1861).
3. Marion E. Bushong (20 March 1860-March 1937). She married Sanders M. Collins on 20 December 1884. Their children were Edith Bushong Collins (1886-1966) and Wallace Collins (b. 1899). Edith never married. She kept house for her father and was a school teacher. Wallace married Marion Chandler.
4. Marvin E. Bushong (7 June 1878-27 October 1936). He married Lydia Rakestraw on 10 September 1903. Their children were Henry Rakestraw Bushong (b. 28 July 1904) and Gertrude (b. 4 August 1909). At 21, Marvin was appointed a Justice of the Peace of Eden Twp. and in 1908 was elected Clerk of Quarter Sessions at Lancaster County. Later, he was associated with the Pennsylvania Water and Power Company, and in 1933 was vice-president of the Safe Harbor Water Power Corp.
The General Thomas Welsh Family Papers is a collection of original correspondence, official documents, and ephemera. Many of the papers were created by or directed to Thomas Welsh between approximately 1843 and his death in 1863. They provide glimpses into his youth, his experiences in the Mexican War, his life in Columbia between the wars, and his rise in rank to Brigadier General during the Civil War.
The collection contains correspondence with his wife and family from 1861-1863. There are also official correspondence and documents related to Welsh's military service, autobiographical pieces, correspondence following his death, obituaries, and family papers into the early twentieth century. Other items in the collection include genealogy pages from the family bible, photographic images of Thomas Welsh and family members, two scrapbooks, newspaper issues and newspaper clippings, written notes from recollections of one of Welsh's daughter, and a biographical sketch of Welsh written by his son.
Admin/Biographical History
Thomas Welsh (1824-1863) was a Lancaster County native (born and raised in Columbia), who rose from hardscrabble origins to local fame, first as a Mexican War hero, and then as a brigadier general during the Civil War. He was well known and well respected as a no nonsense officer, for his leadership and gallantry in battle, for his dedication to the service of his country, and for his concern for the welfare of his men.
Welsh lost his father at the age of 2, and went to work to support his family at age 8. He had very little formal schooling, and was largely self-educated. In 1843, at age 19, he left Lancaster County for Washington City, then went west as an itinerant carpenter/laborer to Cincinnati, Little Rock, and Fort Smith.
When the Mexican War broke out in 1846, he enlisted in a Kentucky regiment, and was severely wounded at the battle of Buena Vista (1847) from which he never fully recovered. Returning home to Columbia, he re-enlisted as a second lieutenant, assigned to the 11th U.S. infantry regiment in Mexico City. Within days of his arrival in Mexico City, he was declared unfit for service on account of his battle wound, and sent home again.
Back in Columbia as a civilian, he dabbled in politics, and received a patronage job in the Pennsylvania Main Line of Public Works (the rail and canal system connecting Philadelphia and Pittsburgh). After several years, he opened up a grocery and dry goods store in Columbia's canal basin. He also became an insurance agent. In 1857, he was elected Justice of the Peace, and his reputation grew as a community leader. By 1860, he was president of the Borough Council, a founding member of the Columbia Board of Trade, Vice President of the Columbia Cricket Club, and a canal boat operator, in addition to a dry goods merchant, insurance agent, and Justice of the Peace. He had a wife, 5 surviving children, and legal guardianship of his sister's 4 children.
When Confederate forces shelled Fort Sumter, marking the beginning of the Civil War, Thomas Welsh raised and organized the first company of volunteers from Lancaster County, and took them into the field as their Captain. Within days, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment, which served out its 90-day enlistment in the Shenandoah Valley.
Returning to Harrisburg, he was appointed Commandant of Camp Curtin, the problem-plagued processing center for new recruits. In short order, Welsh cleaned up the camp's poor sanitary conditions, improved the health of the camp, and implemented soldierly discipline and training.
In October 1861, he resigned from his camp duties, and as Colonel of the 45th Pennsylvania, led his regiment into the field. After brief service outside of Washington, they were sent to South Carolina in December, where they were posted to Otter Island. After the battle of James Island, they were recalled to Newport News, in July 1862, then sent to guard Aquia Creek.
In September, now in brigade command in Burnsides' 9th Corps, Welsh chased Lee's Confederate army west into central Maryland. His brigade broke the enemy line in Fox's Gap, on Sept. 14, then 3 days later achieved the furthest Union advance at Antietam, reaching the edge of Sharpsburg, and nearly cutting off Lee's only avenue of escape. Welsh's gallantry earned him a field promotion to brigadier general, which Congress confirmed on March 13, 1863.
The 9th Corps (Welsh now in command of the 1st Division) was sent west in the spring of 1863, then dispatched south to support Grant's investment of Vicksburg. After Vicksburg fell, they turned east and defeated Confederate General Johnston at the Battle of Jackson. Welsh contracted malaria in the southern swamps, and died in Cincinnati upon their return north. One of his men later recalled, "Had he lived, Welsh would undoubtedly have attained a much higher command. 1
1. Beauge, Eugene, in Albert, Allen D., Ed., History of the Forty-Fifth Regiment Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry 1861-1865, Williamsport, PA: Grit Publ. Co, 1912, p. 79.
System of Arrangement
The collection is arranged in series:
Series A Thomas Welsh before the Mexican War
Series B Mexican War, 1846-1848
Series C Between the Mexican War and the Civil War, 1848-1861
Series D Civil War
Series E Post-Civil War
Series F Miscellaneous Family Papers
Series G Papers from the families of Gen. Thomas Welsh and Blanton C. Welsh
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available. Original documents may be used by appointment. Please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org at least two weeks prior to visit.
Copyright
Images have been provided for research purposes only. Please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
LancasterHistory retains the rights to the digital images and content presented. The doctrine of fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. Fair use includes comment, criticism, teaching, and private scholarship. Any images and data downloaded, printed or photocopied for these purposes should provide a citation. All other uses beyond those allowed by fair use require written permission.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Some items are photocopies from other collections--researchers must obtain permission for reproduction and publication from the owner of the original material.
Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pa.
Classification
MG0828
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Almost all of the papers have been passed down through successive generations of Welsh's descendants, from Thomas Welsh's wife and children to his granddaughter, Emilie Benson (Welsh) Wiggin, to her daughter Nancy Jane (Wiggin) Townsend. After Nancy Townsend's death, her son Charles Townsend passed them on to his cousin, Richard Wiggin (grandson of Emilie Benson Wiggin) in 2015.
A few papers passed out of the family's possession and found their way into other collections. Richard Abel of Columbia, PA began collecting Welsh papers and artifacts some years ago, and subsequently transferred this collection of Welsh materials to Richard Wiggin in 2012.
Letter to Deborah T. Simmons Coates from [a sibling], 1837
Letter to Elizabeth Coates from Alice, 1862 (Elizabeth Jackson Coates, future wife of Marriott Brosius)
Civil War diary of Marriott Brosius, 1863-1865, with damage from bullet that shattered his arm (original, digital copy of images of each page and transcription)
Note from Gertrude (donor's g-g-grandmother) to her daughters Gertrude and Helen regarding the diary
Framed certificate: Commission to 2nd Lt., 97th Infantry
Pass for leave, Marriott Brosius, 1863
Digital and hardcopy of "Marriott Brosius story"
Digital and hardcopy of "Marriott Brosius military regiment history"
This collection has not been cataloged, but may be used by appointment. Please contact Research@LancasterHistory.org at least two weeks prior to visit.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.