American Patriot - Daniel Howel 1759-1836

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness - Declaration of Independence

In honor of the 4th of July, a brief overview of my fourth great-grandfather, Daniel Howel (or Howell), veteran of Virginia Militia of Revolutionary War.

Daniel Howel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1759, likely to a Benjamin Howell. Around 1764-1767 the family moved to Virginia. The most likely path taken from Philadelphia to the area they settled in Virginia was the Great Valley Road. This road went from Philadelphia to the Shenandoah Valley then further south.

Daniel settled around Botetourt County, Virginia. He appears to have married at least twice, his last marriage to Frances Clarke. They had at least one child, a daughter, Christiane Howell who married Luther T. Aldrich.

Daniel served in the Revolutionary War off and on through the years 1776-1781 in the Virginia Militia. According to Daniel's Revolutionary War Pension file, he first served under the command of Capt. Walter Crockett and General Christy (or Christian) for a 5 or 6 month tour against the Indians of the Cherokee Nation in 1776.

His second tour was three to four months in 1776-1777 against the Cherokee under Capt. Harstone and Col. Martin. Daniel was at the treaty signed with the Cherokee at the Long Islands of Holston in Tennessee.

Daniel served a 30 day tour as a ranger under the command of Capt. Joshua Wilson and Lt. William Hangate in 1778.

Daniel's last tour was for one month under Col. Walter Crockett [most likely meant Hugh Crockett] and Capt. Eason in the Virginia Militia, marching into North Carolina, participating in the skirmish at Reedy Fork of the Haw River prior to the Battle of Guilford Court. He was discharged and returned to Virginia.

Records of Daniel Howel's Revolutionary War Service

1782 Daniel resided in Botetourt Co. Va.

1783 On rolls in Captain Eason's Company

1785 Listed in Botetourt Co. Census

1787 Botetourt Co Survey shows Daniel Howell as owner of 37 acres on the Mill Creek Branch of Little River

1794 Daniel Howel purchased additional 200 acres on Little River in Montgomery Co. and sold 104 acres

1795-1799 Family moved to Montgomery Co. Virginia, though the move may have been shifting county lines.

1810 census listed as resident of Christianburg, Montgomery, Va.

1820 census listed as resident of Blacksburg, Montgomery, Va

1831 Montgomery Co. was divided. The Howells ended up in Floyd Co.

He applied for a pension for Revolutionary War service on 21 Sep 1832.


Signature of Daniel Howel in 1832

From the Revolutionary War Pension for Daniel Howell, he was married to a woman named Frances who was looking for the remainder of the pension.

There is a marriage record of a Daniel Howell to Frances Sheckles in Loudon County, VA, however it is very unlikely that Daniel married Frances Sheckles due to the distance between Loudon County and the area that Daniel resided in for much of his life around Floyd/Montgomery/Botetourt County.

Daniel Howell died 5 Mar 1836 and his family subsequently moved west.

In the pension file, there is a letter form 1855 to John Howell in Vega, Henry Co, Iowa, which is next to Jefferson County where Frances Clarke Bartlett Howell Williams died. The letter indicates:

Dr. Sir; - Yours of the 23th ult. has been received. After a good long search I succeeded in finding the Pension papers of your father Daniel Howell - who drew a pension as a soldier in the Rev. War, while he lived in Jacksonville, Floyd Co. Va. From these papers it appears that his widow, Francis Howell, is entitled to 5 years half pay pension, commencing Feby 3. 1853- and she will be entitled to draw the amount due her form that time up to the 4th of March next on complying with the enclosed circular. Your truly, Bernhart Hann.

This suggests that John is helping his "mother" Francis and that they are in Iowa where Christians Howell and Luther Aldrich lived after their marriage. Frances Clarke Bartlett Howell Williams died and was buried in Jefferson County, Iowa.

Luther T. Aldrich, Private, 90th New York Regiment, Civil War Veteran

Luther T. Aldrich was born about 1824/25 in Dayton, Catttaraugus, New York to Turner Aldrich and Nancy Collins. Luther married Christiann Howell of Virginia on 14 April 1850 in Clark County, Missouri.¹  They had five children:

1. Lurman Aldrich (1850 - unknown)
2. Loren D. Aldrich (1852 - 1937)
3. Byron Aldrich (1854 - unknown)
4. Martin Aldrich (1856 - unknown)
5. Sophia Mary Aldrich (1859 - 1937) - married Thomas Francis Barrett 

According to a cousin who researched much of Luther’s early life, when “Luther was a small child, there was a prolonged drought in the  the area of  New York State where the family was living at the time.   There are horrific stories of children starving and eating tree roots  in the forest in the local history books of the time.  Luther and two  or three of his siblings were placed for adoption with a family  through the Quakers. Apparently, it was not an unusual practice at the  time.  At some point in time, the adoptive family that the Aldrich  children were with, emigrated to Iowa.   Luther's birth family  emigrated to Michigan. The parents in the adoptive family and some of  the children died about 1840 in what, if I remember correctly from the  local newspaper of the time, was a diphtheria epidemic.” 

Luther eventually returned to Cattaraugus County where in 1860 the Aldrich family is living in Dayton,  New York.  Luther is employed as a carpenter. 

Prior to the Civil War, Luther enlisted in the Mexican War, but the war ended prior to him reaching the field.  

Luther T. Aldrich enlisted in the Civil War at Villenova, NY in 1864 at approximately 40 years of age.²  He was a Private in the New York 90th, starting in Co. H. Luther was transferred to Company E on consolidation by special order No. 97, 28 November 1864, forming a battalion of six companies.  The 90th was part of the XIX Corps during Luther’s service.  Around the time of Luther’s service, the XIX Corps was part of the Army of the Shenandoah, 1st brigade, 1st division from about July 1864 to February 1865, according to the regimental history.  Subsequently, the 90th became the 1st brigade, 1st division (Provisional), Army of the Shenandoah to April 1865, ultimately ending the war in Georgia.³ 

The 90th was part of Sheridan’s Shenandoah Campaign in the later stages of the Civil War.  They saw action in the Battle of Winchester, September 19, Fishers’s Hill on September 22, the Battle of Cedar Creek, October 19.  All totaled, the regimental history indicates that the 90th lost 2 officers and 58 enlisted men in battle and 7 officers and 181 enlisted me to disease.

Luther was a member of Captain Edgar E. Brands Company. In the Fall of 1864 he saw action at Winchester and according to his pension file, he fell sick prior to the Battle of Cedar Creek.  According to American Battlefield Trust:⁴

“The Third Battle of Winchester was the bloodiest battle ever fought in the Shenandoah Valley, producing more casualties than the entire 1862 Valley Campaign. Sheridan lost 12 percent of his army with 5,000 of 39,000 soldiers killed, wounded and missing. Early suffered fewer casualties but he lost 25 percent of his army.”

According to information on the National Parks Service, the XIX Corps suffered a high casualty rate of 40%, equating to 2,074 men and “lost every regimental commander during its assaults on the Middle Field and Second Woods.”⁵  This battle has been called Third Winchester or the Battle of Opequon.  

Sketch of the Battle of Winchester. 1864. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/2005625092/.
Library of Congress, Geopgraphy and Map Division.

There is conflicting evidence in Luther’s invalid pension file regarding his being wounded in action.⁶ On a march, 17 October 1864, Luther fell violently ill with numbness.  Wm. R. Oaks, a  fellow soldier, indicated that Luther was taken sick five miles from Winchester “on the pike running towards newTown, while guarding a suply train”.  He was carried from the line of duty into camp at Winchester, Virginia.  A surgeon was called on 18 October when Luther suffered severe chills and spitting of blood.  The surgeon directed Luther be taken to Sheridan Hospital, Winchester, Virginia. 

A war department record from Luther’s Civil War pension file signed by Thomas Ward in the Co. E and Regimental books show him, “wounded in action at Cedar Creek Va. Oct. 19th 1864”. According to the War Department Surgeon General’s Office, a letter dated November 23, 1882 indicates Luther was admitted to Sheridan field hospital on October 15, 1864 with pneumonia, transferred on October 18 and admitted to Jarvis G.H. [General Hospital] Baltimore on October 20.  The letter indicated a gun shot wound to the right shoulder, wounded September 19, 1864 in Winchester. Luther entered G.H. [General Hospital] Chester on October 22 with a convalescent furlough on November 4, readmitted on November 22 and returned to duty February 23, 1865.  The above information was from sworn testimony of Charles Dye, Pension file of Luther Aldrich. 

Sheridan's army following Early up the Valley of the Shenandoah.1864. Drawings. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004660195/ Library of Congress. Prints and Photographs Division.

Luther indicated in his affidavit that the regimental surgeon did not see him during sick call, so together with his captain, they went to an unknown regiments sick call where Luther was told to report to Sheridan Hospital. 

Wm R Oaks testified that Luther’s doctors gave him nothing, and the captain took him to a doctor in the New Hampshire regiment and said nothing could be done and he should be sent to hospital, which was Sheridan hospital. 

Luther remained a night and according to the records was then sent to Martinsburg, Virginia and received treatment from the Sanitary Commission only.  The following morning he was sent with others to Jarvis Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.  There was no record for Martinsburg on file.

He remained for a day or two before being shipped to Philadelphia among non-wounded sick to make room for wounded from the Battle of Cedar Creek. He was moved to Chester Hospital in West Chester, Pennsylvania where he remained until late February 1865. Luther indicated he was in ward 14 under the care of a surgeon by the name of Bates or Gates. The ward physician was Steine. His treatment included a glass of porter and tablespoon of cod liver oil daily until 1 January 1865.

A partial letter, undated, from Luther to the Commissioner of Pensions indicates his troubles in seeking treatment.

Luther indicated that while at the sergeants (“sergents”) headquarters (“hed quarters”) near Havre de Grace (“havadegess”), Maryland, Company E was stationed at backwater.  He was unable to get treatment, the  regiment departed to Washington where he was discharged and sent home.

In an 1884 statement, Charles Dye claims that he was present when Luther became ill and was with him when he was sent to the hospital. Dye indicated he was unaware of any gunshot wound and had no record of it. Charles Dye was a lieutenant for 90th N.Y.

Much of Luther’s pension application was filled with affidavits and “Examining Surgeon Certificates”.  He described his illness in detail, with chills, spitting of blood, and nervous prostration.  In one incident, Luther had has finger badly cut by a saw while in the mill due to the shaking.

By 1885, the doctor made notes on the Surgeon Certificate that “ His hand trembles [and] is unable to write or use them in his former occupation a millwright.  In fact is so feeble is unable to do any manual labor.”  By 1885 a medical review indicates that Luther is approved for his invalid pension “disease of lungs [and] resulting disease of heart [and] nervous prostration result of malarial poisoning.”  The intermittent fever throughout his service time

Luther died 2 October 1888 in Scranton, Pennsylvania.⁷  He was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Dunmore, Pennsylvania.

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1 Wilma (Suter) Walker and Wilma (Walker) Dunlap, Marriage Records of Clark County, Missouri, 1837-1865 ^↩
2 Ancestry.com, New York, Town Clerks' Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War, ca 1861-1865 (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011;), Database online. ^↩
3 Dyer, Frederick H. (Frederick Henry). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion : Compiled and Arranged from Official Records of the Federal and Confederate Armies, Reports of the Adjutant Generals of the Several States, the Army Registers, and Other Reliable Documents and Sources. Des Moines, Ia. : Dyer Pub. Co., 1908. http://archive.org/details/08697590.3359.emory.edu. ^↩
4 American Battlefield Trust. "The Third Battle of Winchester." American Battlefield Trust. Accessed May 28, 2018. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/third-battle-winchester. ^↩
5 NPS.gov. "12. OPEQUON or Third Winchester (19 September 1864)." American Battlefield Protection Program. Accessed May 28, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/abpp/shenandoah/svs3-12.html. ^↩
6 Deposition of Claimant, DATE, Luther T. Aldrich (Pvt., Co. E, 90th New York Infantry, Civil War; Pvt. Co. H, 90th New York Infantry, Civil War), Invalid Pension Application no. 390,232, certificate no. 307,155; combined with Christianna Aldrich’s, widow pension application no. 391,176, certificate no. 264,308, 1861-1900; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veteran Affairs; National Archives, Washington, D.C. ^↩
7 Ancestry.com, Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011;), Database online. ^↩

Analyzing Photos and Images for Clues

Which Brothers Do You See? 

An Analysis of Photo Identities Using Additional Resources

The thrill of finding an ancestor's photo, painting, or image is something all genealogists appreciate. The ability to finally put a face to the names and dates and more importantly to the life story is one where you truly see your ancestor in a different way.

Yet, we all have the the inevitable issue that not all our ancestor's were thoughtful enough to place names and dates on the backs of photos. Recently, cousin Lara Beth shared 4 photos discovered in great-great grandmother Mary (nee Aldrich) Barrett's home after she passed away.

Mary was born Sophia Aldrich approximately May 1859 in Dayton, Cattaraugus, New York¹ to Luther Tisdale Aldrich and Christiann Howell. She had four brothers, Loren, Lumen (or Lurman), Byron and Martin and the photos were only numbered 1-4 and originally attributed to her brothers, using an estimate of the apparent ages of each man in the photo.

The Four Photos thought to be the Aldrich Brothers.

                       

               

Sophia (Mary) Aldrich changed her name to Mary when she married Thomas Francis Barrett about 1879 in Bradford, McKean, Pennsylvania². After spending time in the Bradford, McKean, PA followed by time in Bolivar, Allegany, NY the family then settled in the Scranton area.   The rest of Thomas Francis' family had settled in the Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston area of Pennsylvania after immigrating from Ireland.

Thomas Francis Barrett was born to John J. Barrett and Anne Cormac Mannion in County Mayo, Ireland about June 1852³,⁴,⁵. John J. and Anne had 5 sons, Michael, John Erigena, Thomas Francis, Charles J., and Edward M. (the M is thought to stand for Mannion).  All but Michael immigrated to the United States while it is believed Michael immigrated to England⁶,⁷.

Recently, during some re-organization of family research and information, something we are all familiar with doing, I came across some newspaper images of Thomas Francis' brothers, John E. and Edward M. Barrett. John E. Barrett was the editor of The Scranton Truth and a prominent citizen in Scranton, while Edward M. Barrett became an Alderman for the city of Pittston. The newspaper images created one of those moments where you begin to think the mind is playing tricks and you say, "I know I have seen that face before."

I took the newspaper images and began to review the four photos originally attributed to the Aldrich brothers.  The two newspaper images for Edward M. Barrett were compared to the middle image (one of the four photos) leading to a first guess that the original photos might not be the Aldrich brothers, but actually, four of the five Barrett brothers.

Image of Alderman
Edward M. Barrett from
The Scranton Republican
June 30, 1919, Page 5

Comparison of One Photo to Two Newspaper Images of Edward M. Barrett

     

Image of Edward M. Barrett
 from Piston Gazette, March 17, 1913 compared to original photo

A separate newspaper image of John E. Barrett was then examined relative to another of the four original photos:

Comparison of John E. Barrett Newspaper Image to One of Original Four Photos

                       

                             Image of John E. Barrett from

                    The Scranton Republican

                 April 28, 1934, Page 16

One of the original
four photos

I shared my thoughts with both cousin Lara Beth and cousin Marilyn.  As cousin Marilyn indicated, they are "wearing the same style of clothing".  I then received what I thought was a much more critical analysis from my son in regards to the John E. Barrett comparison, "They’re both chubby, they have a mustache and the hair goes the same way." No need for fancy software or facial recognition from his point of view.  However as Marilyn and my son pointed out, using style of clothes, hair and unique features is the start of identifying particulars of photos.  In this instance, the comparison is quite accurate which lead us to believe we are looking at John E. Barrett and the other is of Edward M. Barrett.  The potential conclusion is that the images are likely the Barrett brothers from County Mayo, Ireland.

We were now left with two unidentified images from the original four. Unfortunately, no image of Thomas Francis Barrett in a newspaper or other journal has been found. A sketch of Dr. Charles J. Barrett was located in a newspaper and the three images are compared below:

Comparison of Dr. Charles J. Barrett to Two Unidentified Original Photos

Image from The Scranton Truth
January 18, 1905, Page 8

I

     

 

It is thought that Thomas Francis was older than Charles J. Barrett from multiple census records, but only Charles was found to have a baptismal record from Ireland in 1858⁸.

Therefore it is inconclusive at the moment to which photo might represent Charles and which is Thomas. A clue might be the groomed mustache of the man in the photo on the right similar to the mustache in the sketch of Charles J. Barrett, but it is difficult to conclude much more.

One additional clue that gives further evidence to the identification that these are the Barrett brothers comes from information on the back of each image, in which it identifies Henry Frey as the photographer with an address in Scranton, PA.  Henry Frey was located in City Directories⁹ to have a photographic studio in Scranton where John E. Barrett and Thomas F. Barrett resided, the other brothers were in nearby Pittston.   The Aldrich brothers lived in the Cattaraugus County area of New York state and no evidence has been found indicating they visited or lived in Scranton. 

  

There is an image number on the back of at least one photo, thus if any original material survives from the Henry Frey studio, perhaps associated identification information could be found.

The continued improvement in software perhaps to utilize facial recognition from the newspapers to the photos would provide greater impartiality to the photo identification process. In addition as newspapers continued to be digitized, perhaps additional images of Thomas F. and Charles J. will become available to aid in identifying the remaining images.

Thus, the current evidence allows my first glance at two photos, one of which is likely my great-great grandfather, Thomas Francis Barrett, an immigrant from County Mayo, Ireland and the feeling of that connection is something all genealogists remember.

Note: Kind thanks to Lara Beth Woelkers for sharing the photographs and humoring a cousin's constant questions about the photos.

1Ancestry.com, New York, State Census, 1875 (Provo, Utah, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013)

2Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2006), Year: 1910; Census Place: Scranton Ward 20, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1360; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0132; FHL microfilm: 1375373

3Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2006), Year: 1910; Census Place: Scranton Ward 20, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1360; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0132; FHL microfilm: 1375373

4Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2004), Year: 1900; Census Place: Scranton Ward 20, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania; Roll: T623_31077_4115108; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 0113; FHL microfilm: 1241422

5Ancestry.com, 1880 United Statess Federal Censys (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010), Year: 1880; Census Place: Bradford, McKean, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1154; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0132; FHL microfilm: 1255154; Page 177C; Enumeration District: 082; Image: 0063.

6The Pittston Gazette (Pittston, Pennsylvania) Friday, April 28, 1899, Page 3.

7The Scranton Republican at Newspapers.com, The Scranton Republican (Scranton, Pennsylvania) Thursday, April 27, 1899, Page 10.

8Ancestry.com, Ireland, Select Catholic Birth and Baptism Registers, 1763-1912 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014).

9Scranton, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1901, Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

© 2014 William C. Barrett