James Leary - Massachusetts (?)

[Fritz1255]

This is a little complicated, so please bear with me. I am trying to track down a Civil War relative. The man's name was James Leary (or possibly O'Leary). The only direct information I have about him is from a family history written in 1904 by his sister's son-in-law, a Stratton D Brooks:

Born in January 1844. Joined the Army, probably in Boston. Was seen in Alexandria during the War. Never heard from again.

The only person who would have seen him in Alexandria during the war was his brother-in-law Gillman Stuart (father-in-law of Stratton Brooks and husband of the sister above), who was in the 31st Maine. He was in Alexandria at the end of the war with the rest of the 31st. They were both grew up in Machiasport, ME, although Leary was born in Nova Scotia. I did a little searching, and discovered a James Leary living in Fall River, born in about 1844 in the 58th Massachusetts. The 58th was also in Alexandria with the 31st, and they were both mustered out on the same day. Leary was killed in a railroad accident in 1870, which explains why he was never heard from again. Case closed, right? Not quite!

I got service records for both Leary and Stuart, which show muster rolls and pension applications. Whole I definitely have the correct Gilman Stuart, there were at least a couple of surprises in Leary's records:

1. He was listed as being born in Ireland, even though he was born in Nova Scotia
2. He was apparently completely illiterate – he could only leave a mark for his name. He is listed in previous census records as being in school, so it is a little hard to believe that he was such a poor student that he could not even write his own name.

Hard to say if the above means that the person is not my relative, but one thing might – if he were not in Alexandria at the end of the war. This James Leary was wounded and captured at the battle of Weldon Railroad on Sept 30, 1864. He was paroled at Varina, VA on October 8th, and apparently spent the remainder of the war in hospitals recovering. He was discharged at Readville, MA on June 21st, 1865. The question is whether he went to Alexandria from there. The Muster-out Roll shown below mentions his discharge on June 21st. It also shows Muster-out on July 14th, 1865 near Alexandria. It is signed by the same "Knapp" who signed the previous Muster Rolls, so it came from somebody directly associated with the 58th. My question is, if he was listed on the Muster-out Roll, does that mean that he was physically there in Alexandria, or was this just a paperwork closing that listed everyone in the unit who was still alive, present or not?

There is another James Leary listed as being born in 1844 in Worcester, MA in the 4th Mass Cavalry. As far as I can tell, he was never in Alexandria, and his family information shown on Ancestry.com shows an entirely different family tree, so that is definitely not my James Leary. Any other ideas? Assuming the information from the family history is not totally bogus, it is possible that he enlisted in a state other than MA, or that his age was listed incorrectly – I have one other relative who listed himself as several years older than he actually was.

 

[Brendan]

I think broadening your search to include a wider age range is a good idea. In my experience, Irish of that period tended to give widely different ages/years of birth from one record to the next. Granted, your James was born in Nova Scotia, so that may not be the case for him. But, if he enlisted in '61, he might have claimed he was 18 (the legal enlistment age), which would have given him a birth age of about 1843. Who knows. A lot of Eastern soldiers spent time in Alexandria at one point or another, as you've probably been finding out, so that may not narrow down the search too much. You also might want to consider New York regiments as well. I've found a fair number of Bostonians in some New York City-based units, although I haven't seen evidence that those units were actually recruiting in Boston. Some recruits flocked to NYC simply because they hoped it would get them into the action sooner. Pick the brains of any old relatives you might be able to contact who could have more info. One last thing--not to complicate things further, but some men enlisted under aliases. The pension records will show real names alongside aliases, though I don't know if your James applied for a pension, seeing as he died young.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

This is a little complicated, so please bear with me. I am trying to track down a Civil War relative. The man's name was James Leary (or possibly O'Leary). The only direct information I have about him is from a family history written in 1904 by his sister's son-in-law, a Stratton D Brooks:

Born in January 1844. Joined the Army, probably in Boston. Was seen in Alexandria during the War. Never heard from again.

The only person who would have seen him in Alexandria during the war was his brother-in-law Gillman Stuart (father-in-law of Stratton Brooks and husband of the sister above), who was in the 31st Maine. He was in Alexandria at the end of the war with the rest of the 31st. They were both grew up in Machiasport, ME, although Leary was born in Nova Scotia. I did a little searching, and discovered a James Leary living in Fall River, born in about 1844 in the 58th Massachusetts. The 58th was also in Alexandria with the 31st, and they were both mustered out on the same day. Leary was killed in a railroad accident in 1870, which explains why he was never heard from again. Case closed, right? Not quite!

I got service records for both Leary and Stuart, which show muster rolls and pension applications. Whole I definitely have the correct Gilman Stuart, there were at least a couple of surprises in Leary's records:

1. He was listed as being born in Ireland, even though he was born in Nova Scotia
2. He was apparently completely illiterate – he could only leave a mark for his name. He is listed in previous census records as being in school, so it is a little hard to believe that he was such a poor student that he could not even write his own name.

Hard to say if the above means that the person is not my relative, but one thing might – if he were not in Alexandria at the end of the war. This James Leary was wounded and captured at the battle of Weldon Railroad on Sept 30, 1864. He was paroled at Varina, VA on October 8th, and apparently spent the remainder of the war in hospitals recovering. He was discharged at Readville, MA on June 21st, 1865. The question is whether he went to Alexandria from there. The Muster-out Roll shown below mentions his discharge on June 21st. It also shows Muster-out on July 14th, 1865 near Alexandria. It is signed by the same "Knapp" who signed the previous Muster Rolls, so it came from somebody directly associated with the 58th. My question is, if he was listed on the Muster-out Roll, does that mean that he was physically there in Alexandria, or was this just a paperwork closing that listed everyone in the unit who was still alive, present or not?

There is another James Leary listed as being born in 1844 in Worcester, MA in the 4th Mass Cavalry. As far as I can tell, he was never in Alexandria, and his family information shown on Ancestry.com shows an entirely different family tree, so that is definitely not my James Leary. Any other ideas? Assuming the information from the family history is not totally bogus, it is possible that he enlisted in a state other than MA, or that his age was listed incorrectly – I have one other relative who listed himself as several years older than he actually was.

I believe men's names remained on the muster-roll regardless. ( at least in the Union Army )

James Leary

Residence Fall River MA; an 18 year-old Blacksmith.

Enlisted on 9/18/1862 at Fall River, MA as a Private.

On 9/23/1862 he mustered into "D" Co. MA 3rd Infantry
He was Mustered Out on 6/26/1863 at Camp Hooker, Lakeville, MA

On 3/26/1864 he mustered into "G" Co. MA 58th Infantry
He was discharged for wounds on 6/21/1865


He was listed as:
* Wounded 5/12/1864 Spotsylvania Court House, VA
* POW 9/30/1864 Poplar Grove Church, VA
* Wounded 9/30/1864 Poplar Grove Church, VA
* Exchanged 11/25/1864 (place not stated)


Other Information:
born in 1844
Member of GAR Post # 1 (William Logan Rodman) in New Bedford, MA
died in Fall River, MA

(After war, was killed on railroad crossing)

After the War he lived in New York City, NY

Sources used by Historical Data Systems, Inc.:

- Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War
- GAR Dept of Massachusetts 1866-1947 (Sargent)
- Research provided by HDS subscriber
(c) Historical Data Systems, Inc. @ www.civilwardata.com

.........................................................................................................................

James Leary

Residence Fall River MA; a 19 year-old Weaver.

Enlisted on 10/10/1861 as a Private.

On 10/18/1861 he mustered into "G" Co. MA 26th Infantry
He Re-enlisted on 1/1/1864
He was Killed on 9/19/1864 at Winchester, VA


Sources used by Historical Data Systems, Inc.:

- Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War
(c) Historical Data Systems, Inc. @ www.civilwardata.com

 

[Fritz1255]

Thanks for the replies! As far as consulting older relatives, I am the oldest that I know of, so that is not an option. The James Leary that I have a service record for is the first one in east tenn root's reply. He was listed as "absent" in many of the previous muster records when he was recovering from wounds. So it sounds like the muster-out report shown above is just a close-out of the muster, whether or not the soldier was present? It sounds more and more like this is not my James Leary.