John Giles Fonda
Born: March 8, 1822
Birthplace: Montgomery County, New York
Father: Giles Fonda 1789 – 1852
(Buried: Old Carthage Cemetery, Carthage, Illinois)
Mother: Maria Bauer Dockstader 1791 – 1845
(Buried: Old Carthage Cemetery, Carthage, Illinois)
1st Wife: Mary McConnell 1826 – 1876
(Buried: McConnell Geddes Cemetery, Fountain Green, Illinois)
2nd Wife: Kate Rebecca Freemore 1850 – 1911
(Buried: Mount Hope Cemetery, San Diego, California)
Children:
Julia Fonda 1854 – 1859
(Buried: Oakland Cemetery, Warsaw, Illinois)
Frank Fonda 1857 – 1903
(Buried: Riverview Cemetery, Arkansas City, Kansas)
Mary Ellen "Nellie" Fonda Clapp 1859 – 1945
(Buried: Riverview Cemetery, Arkansas City, Kansas)
Occupation before War:
Surveyor and Engineer with J. Wilson Williams
Visited the Island of Cuba
Served in the Mexican – American War rising to the rank of Lt.
1849 – 1854: County Surveyor in Carthage, Illinois
1859 – 1861: Assistant Engineer of Warsaw & Rockford Railroad
1860: Spent the Summer months in Colorado, and New Mexico
Civil War Career:
1861 – 1862: 1st Lt. in 2nd Illinois Cavalry Regiment
1862: Major of 12th Illinois Cavalry Regiment
1862: Lt. Colonel of 118th Illinois Infantry Regiment
1862 – 1865: Colonel of 118th Illinois Infantry Regiment
1863: Led his men in the Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi
1863 – 1865: Served with his regiment in Louisiana
1865: Brevetted Brigadier General for his service in the War
Occupation after War:
Farmer near Fountain Green, Illinois
Commissioner of Southern Illinois Penitentiary
Chief Engineer to construct levees between Warsaw and Quincy
Died: December 10, 1910
Place of Death: Fountain Green, Illinois
Age at time of Death: 88 years old
Burial Place: McConnell Geddes Cemetery, Fountain Green, Illinois
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