Trying to track down Martin Monaghan

[Toblerone1]

Hi all,
this is my first attempt at trying to track down a civil war ancestor of my partner. we are hoping to visit Gettysburg next year and I would like to try and get some information for him before we go.
His family story is that Martin left Ireland and went to fight in the civil war but was killed in Gettysburg on 1st July 1863 but I have nothing to back it up. his wife and 3 children came back to Ireland so there are no records for them in the states either. I did manage to find the attached document for him but it says that he deserted the day he enlisted -could this be right? (Line 7)
Can anyone point me in the right direct to look for more info on him from Ireland?
Thanks so much

 

[lupaglupa]

My first thought is that Martin Monaghan is too common a name to take the record as belonging to him. What else do you know about Martin that might help us narrow the search?

 

[lupaglupa]

There is a Martin Monahan who enlisted in the 163rd New York Infantry Regiment. He was transferred to the 73rd under the name Martin Monehan. He was reported missing July 2nd at Gettysburg. They must have thought he was alive and AWOL because they have several notes about him being ordered to return for duty.

At enlistment he was given as born about 1829 in Ireland, brown hair, hazel eyes, fair complexion, 5 foot 7 inches tall, and working as a laborer.

 

[Tom Elmore]

Union Casualties at Gettysburg, by Busey and Busey, does not list a Martin Monaghan as being a casualty in that battle. Nor does he appear in the companion volumes, Confederate Casualties at Gettysburg.

However, variants of the surname include Monehan and Manihan, and the New York Military Museum roster of the 73rd New York does list a Martin Monehan of Company K, 73rd New York as missing on July 2. It is possible that he was captured by Barksdale's brigade and paroled on the field, perhaps making his way back to the regiment by way of Camp Elder, Pennsylvania.

See also: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/barksdale’s-brigade-reaches-and-crosses-the-emmitsburg-road.188511/

The 73rd New York was recruited principally in New York City, particularly among members of the fire department.

 

[Fairfield]

If the man in the attachment is your man, he was a member of the US army and not a state regiment. HDS has such a soldier--Regular Army, Unassigned; but there is not very much information about him (not even whether or not he survived).

However, unless my eyesight is at fault (or my ability to follow a straight line on the attachment), didn't this soldier desert before Gettysburg?

 

[Allyn]

I checked passenger lists, just off chance. There were a handful of Martin Monaghans, under various spellings, but only one of about the right age. There was also a Catharine Monahan, age 20, aboard the same ship, but there was no indication of relationship.

ship Columbia, Liverpool to New York, arriving 19 Oct. 1860
Martin Monohan, 32, Ireland
Catharine Monahan, 20, Ireland

If this is the right man, the date makes it unlikely that he came specifically to join in the fighting, but oral histories are sometimes slightly skewed.

 

[Toblerone1]

thank you for all your replies - this is the only other info we had on him - his last child was born in 1857 in ireland so he travelled after that. I cant find his birth record but we think he was born approx 1840 going on the birth dates of his siblings but wouldnt rule any date out. i couldnt find passenger lists for his wife and children so im thinking he possibly went on his own and she was to follow but never got there but that is speculation on my part

 

[Story]

his wife and 3 children came back to Ireland so there are no records for them in the states either.

What was his wife's name? Children?

@lupaglupa

I'm thinking the 1870 Federal Census (specifically for NYC and environs) might be worth a peek.

 

[lupaglupa]

There is an 1865 Census in New York that lists military information - it's very helpful for linking soldiers to their families. But I don't find Martin there. And he's not in the 1890 Veterans Census either.

With so little definite information it will be hard to make a certain ID. We don't know immigration dates or locations, though given the time period (that 1857 date is very helpful) we can guess he came into New York. Most newly immigrated Irish stayed in New York or went nearby.

Monaghan could be spelled in the USA any number of ways. His birthdate isn't exactly known and men didn't always tell the truth about their ages. And we can't rule out that the record @Toblerone1 found isn't also correct - Martin certainly wouldn't be the first bounty jumper we ever saw.

Even without definite information on him, the record from the NY 73rd fits a lot of the particulars. He's an Irish born laborer about the right age. He was recruited in NYC which fits immigration patterns. And he goes missing at the same battle and about the same date the family is told he died. That kind of persistent family legend usually has a core truth to it. I'd say the family had information from a friend or fellow soldier who knew him well enough to write back to them or the local parish priest with news of his death.

The sticky bit for me is the fact that he didn't die at Gettysburg. The New York muster roll for the 73rd says "Ordered to rejoin his regiment from August Gen'l Hosp. Alex. VA May 17, 1864 but failed to do so." So we know he both survived the battle and was deemed fit enough to return to service. But his records end there and where he went is anyone's guess. Maybe he had a friend send news of his death to the family in Ireland and went west. Or didn't even bother - it's pretty easy to get lost in New York City.

One other possibility that wouldn't be unusual for us to see - he could have enlisted under an assumed name and the death is recorded under that name with no apparent link to Martin Monaghan. For instance, if the record of his enlisting in the US Army and then deserting is correct, Martin might have chosen to reenlist under a different name. He rejoins the army and is killed at Gettysburg under that name. A man who knows him well enough to know his real name alerts the family to Martin's death. But as no one files a pension claim that gives us information between Martin and the assumed name, we don't have that info. Enlisting under an assumed name wasn't that uncommon, it could have happened here.

I realize I'm throwing a lot of stuff at the wall here and we have no way of knowing what sticks. If I had to guess I'd say the man in the 73rd is our guy and he went AWOL from both the Army and his family back home. @Toblerone1 has your partner ever done DNA testing? If Martin made a new life for himself here he likely had more children and they likely have descendants.

 

[Bob Velke]

This is a pension index card (from FamilySearch.org) for a Martin Monaghan from Brooklyn who served during the Civil War.

It is an unusual card because this Martin Monaghan was not a soldier but a civilian contractor (e.g., clerk, teamster, wagonmaster, interpreter, or guide) for the Army. That would explain why he doesn't have any service records.

 

[lupaglupa]

Interesting. There is another Martin Monaghan who served from New York. He shows up in the 1890 Veterans Census. But he wasn't at Gettysburg.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

From what's been presented so far, cannot see any evidence that Martin Monaghan ever saw any active military service, let alone was present at Gettysburg. (Found the shown spelling of this last name was not uncommon in the era). From the attached record in the OP, it appears he enlisted in the U.S. regular army on Jan. 6, 62 and deserted later on that same day. Oral histories transmitted through multiple generations also do not provide conclusive evidence.

 

[Story]

Interesting. There is another Martin Monaghan who served from New York. He shows up in the 1890 Veterans Census. But he wasn't at Gettysburg.

How did you determine that?

 

[lupaglupa]

How did you devine that?

He gives his unit information in the Census, which correlates to his muster roll information for the New York regiment he served in, which was not at Gettysburg. So while I can't be 100% certain he wasn't at Gettysburg, he is shown serving a term with another regiment elsewhere.

 

[Story]

I'm being a foil, not quibbling here. I've run into 1890 Veterans Census entries where the census takers recorded the least common denominator.

I'm thinking that a timeline would be good to establish so for each of your points, I ask "when"?

Martin Monahan who enlisted in the 163rd New York Infantry Regiment.

He was transferred to the 73rd under the name Martin Monehan.

He was reported missing July 2nd at Gettysburg.

 

[Fairfield]

He gives his unit information in the Census, which correlates to his muster roll information for the New York regiment he served in, which was not at Gettysburg. So while I can't be 100% certain he wasn't at Gettysburg, he is shown serving a term with another regiment elsewhere.

But if he was the MM who served in the Regular Army, he certainly could have been at Gettysburg because the RA had several units in action there (there even is a monument to them)

 

[lupaglupa]

But if he was the MM who served in the Regular Army, he certainly could have been at Gettysburg because the RA had several units in action there (there even is a monument to them)

True. That enlistment does not overlap the dates of the enlistment in the 73rd. But the enlistment of the man in the 1890 Veterans Census does.

 

[Fairfield]

True. That enlistment does not overlap the dates of the enlistment in the 73rd. But the enlistment of the man in the 1890 Veterans Census does.

There's no way of knowing that because the dates for the Regular Army Monaghan are unclear. The NY Monaghan served in 1862 so it is possible that both are the same man.

Also, if the Family Story is correct--that MM was killed in 1863--he wouldn't have filled out an entry for the 1890 census. If he was an immigrant, a frequent pattern was for the man to come over, establish himself and then send for his family; if this was the case here, there might have been no family in the U.S. to file for a pension or fill out an entry. If the NY Monaghan filled out an enty but the RA Monaghan did not, this may be the scenario.

The problem is that Family Stories are very untrustworthy.

 

[lupaglupa]

There's no way of knowing that because the dates for the Regular Army Monaghan are unclear. The NY Monaghan served in 1862 so it is possible that both are the same man.

Also, if the Family Story is correct--that MM was killed in 1863--he wouldn't have filled out an entry for the 1890 census. If he was an immigrant, a frequent pattern was for the man to come over, establish himself and then send for his family; if this was the case here, there might have been no family in the U.S. to file for a pension or fill out an entry. If the NY Monaghan filled out an enty but the RA Monaghan did not, this may be the scenario.

The problem is that Family Stories are very untrustworthy.

We're all mixing the different records differently.

I doubt we can ever figure out what happened to the Martin Monaghan who is @Toblerone1 's partner's ancestor. Unless he did skedaddle and father a second family and there are DNA links.

 

[Story]

True. That enlistment does not overlap the dates of the enlistment in the 73rd. But the enlistment of the man in the 1890 Veterans Census does.

Perhaps I'm being dense, but can you provide specific dates from what you're seeing?

Those picayune details might lead to epiphanies