A Book in the Making

Yes, yes....it has been awhile since my last post.  Frankly, without the inspiration of the letters during this 15 month hiatus from his writing...I am finding subject matter to cover...hard to come by.  In general, almost all of the standard Civil War historical events have been covered ad nausea by scholars much better equipped to research and postulate about the meanings and historical significance of specific events.  For me...the contribution I can make is adding that little bit of flavor on top of the research as it applies to my ancestor's involvement in certain documented events. So...that's my excuse...and I'm sticking with it.

I have received a number of letters/emails from faithful followers of the blog asking me whether I am still alive.  Yes...I am still alive...however uninspired I might be.  Only 10 months until the next batch of letters come out and they promise to be more exciting that some of the earlier ones.  Well...as exciting as John W. Derr can make them.   He is still fixated on his financial situation and events at home, but there are more references to battles (The Battle of the Crater) and the longing for the war to end.  

What I am thinking of doing between now and then is to document his post war...post mortem events.   These are the events that show the struggle of a partially disabled war veteran in a post war world.  Events of his prior 4 years over shadowing the mundane life in the farm fields of Pennsylvania in the late 1860s and 1870s.  His life...a short 11 years post war...documents a struggle that many veteran soldiers experience.  Essentially, a life filled with condensed excitement and danger followed by the slower pace of normal life.  A situation experienced not only by the Civil War veteran, but veterans of most wars.  Had there been a "Wounded Warrior" organization back in the second half of the 19th century, John Derr would have been a recipient of their good works.  After his death in 1876, his widow...Magdalena Derr...would struggle with two small sons.  One of which was my great grandfather, George Washington Derr.  The records...as documented in the National Archives under the Civil War Pension Records...show a struggle by Magdalena (or Molly as she was known) to find some level of support for her and her two sons.

Back in 1987, I made a trek to the National Archives to do my first second level research on John W. Derr and his life in the Civil War.  Having been exposed to stories...and the letters...and being an adult, I became more and more interested in the more subtle details of his life.  1987 was when I uncovered the "Big Family Secret" which had been buried and lost over the prior decades.  A secret that my grandfather knew, but took with him to his grave.  Not even my father knew the secret.  So...for those who might be interested in researching detailed family history...let this be encouragement...or....discouragement.  For me...more information is better than less.  However, people must recognize that family secrets can really be family skeletons.  Be prepared to have some notions about your family shattered and be prepared to look at life a little differently.

Well...there's the teaser.  I guess this will be my inspiration for the next 10 months to document online these information bits.  Stay tuned....

Oh...another thing....I am very fortunate to have two wonderful daughters.  One of which just had a baby son who can help carry on the tradition.  My daughter is also a gifted writer.  She has been imploring me to co-author a book with her on the total life of John W. Derr and his wife Molly.  The book has begun, so watch for potential chapter portions online here.


Jim D.

The Sad Tale of Private William Romberger

Charles Laudenschlager - 1864 (12 years old)

Applications for Civil War pensions by widows and children alike, lead the researcher to interesting facts about family and circumstances.  Such is the sad tale of Private William Romberger, 172nd Pennsylvania Drafted Militia.

The ongoing research into my Civil War past where I live vicariously through my ancestors, has taken me from one great great grandfather to another.  This blog has acquainted the readers with my most documented ancestor, John W. Derr (48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry) as well as my less documented ancestor, John Z. Wagner (6th & 55th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantries).  Further research lead me to another....William Romberger.


William Romberger was married to Sarah Klock on July 24, 1859.  They had one child together, Franklin Lewis Romberger, who was born on October 18, 1860.  Prior to his marriage to Sarah Klock, William was married to another woman, who's name and circumstances are lost to time.  However, he had four children by that woman, one of which was Catherine Amanda Romberger...my great great grandmother.  Catherine would eventually marry Charles Laudenschlager...a banker in the Klingerstown area of Pennsylvania.  Catherine Amanda Romberger was born on July 17, 1854.  So...this would make William Romberger my great great great grandfather.

Charles Laudenschlager - 1864 (12 years old)

William, having been widowed from his first wife, was raising his children on his own prior to meeting and marrying Sarah.  This part of the history line comes from oral history from my father, passed down from his mother...and so on.  It is known that William, a common laborer, was very poor and had few resources from which to live and raise a family.  After his marriage to Sarah, this situation did not improve.  As a result William elected to become a "substitute" for another local man who was drafted into the 172nd Pennsylvania Drafted Militia.  So in November of 1862, William signed the paperwork as a substitute for Isaac Albert, having more than likely received a bounty for his act.  The 172nd Pennsylvania Drafted Militia., organized and moved to Camp Curtin in Harrisburg, Pa. to begin the normal training and outfitting done by Pennsylvania regiments during the war.  It was on November 21, 1862, that William...having received a leave/pass, decided to travel the 65 miles northwest to Jackson township in Northumberland to visit relatives over a long weekend.    On the morning of November 22, 1862, William's carpet bag (suit case of the day) was found floating in the Susquehanna River between Harrisburg and Dauphin township.  A search for William was conducted by the army, but to no avail.  On November 25, 1862, Captain James Roney filed a missing persons notice with the City of Harrisburg on behalf of William Romberger.  

Affidavit from Captain James Roney - 172nd Pennsylvania Drafted Militia

History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5; prepared in compliance with acts of the legislature, by Samuel P. Bates.

In January of 1863, the body of William Romberger was found, positively identified, and returned to his home.  Later in 1863, William's wife, Sarah, applied for a pension for her dead husband.  This request was denied by the War Department for the following reason: "Rejected.  Soldier not in line of duty when drowned".

The result was that Sarah, being destitute, parceled out her children to friends and family who could better care for them.  

Later, in 1882, after Sarah's death, the adult children filed a petition with the Pension Office, for a "Pension of Minor Children", to help recover monies lost during their childhood.  This too was denied on the same grounds as the prior submission.   The family never recovered the monies from the federal government.

Eventually Catherine Amanda Romberger would marry Charles Laudenschlager.  They would have a number of children, one of which was a little girl named Minnie...Minnie Laudenschlager.  Minnie would one day marry a George Young.  In 1910 they would have a daughter, Catherine...named for her grandmother Catherine Amanda.  That little girl would eventually grow up to become my grandmother, Catherine Derr when she married my grandfather James Monroe Derr...the grandson of John W. Derr.   Hence the tapestry woven for my family in the sad tale of William Romberger.

Jim D.

John W. Derr..."When ya' comin' back?"

As previously mentioned in prior posts, there is a 15 month gap in the letters of John W. Derr spanning January 1863 and March of 1864.  During this period of time, there was a bit of a lull in the action for the 48th PVI after the tragic battle of Fredericksburg.  Fortunately for John...and myself by extension...he was still convalescing in the hospital in Philadelphia from his wounding at the Second Battle of Bull Run.  The battle of Fredericksburg in December of 1862 was where John H. Derr...mentioned previously in other posts...was wounded.  John H. Derr would die a month later in January of 1863 of these wounds and was buried at the  National Cemetery in Washington, DC.

http://www.jwdletters.com/2012/01/visit-to-distant-relative.html

Subsequent counter offensives were ordered by General Burnsides in early January, which were later rebuffed by President Lincoln, after significant protests from subordinate officers.  Later in January, General Burnsides would be replace by General Joseph Hooker via General Order 20, after Burnsides request to the president to relieve Hooker and other generals, was rejected.

January and February of 1863 saw little action for the 48th PVI and in fact paved the way for their eventual transition to provost duty in Lexington, Kentucky.  It was around this time that John W. Derr returned to duty with the 48th PVI.   Below are JWD's muster records for the period, which initially proved confusing, but later became clearer.

Muster rolls for November/December 1862, January/February 1863, and March/April show JWD as present for duty.  So, I was a bit confused by this since his letters shows him transferring to the Broad and Cherry Streets Hospital in Philadelphia in mid-December of 1862.   Later I was able to obtain ancillary muster roll cards from the the Broad and Cherry Streets Hospital, which showed him present there.  I suspect that the standard unit muster rolls were augmented after the fact to ensure he was paid out of the appropriate regimental pay bucket.  It would also appear that included in John W. Derr's  muster roll cards was John H. Derr, previously mentioned.  The writing looks similar to a "W." but is actually an "H." and is consistent with the fact that John H. Derr was wounded at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862.  One other interesting note on the John W. Derr muster card from November/December of 1862 is that he deserted.  In actuality, he transferred from the Georgetown College Hospital on December 13, 1862 to the Broad and Cherry Street Hospital in Philadelphia.  I guess one part of the army did not coordinate with the other and his record shows him as deserted...when they could not find him in Washington DC during roll call on December 31, 1862.

48th PVI Co. D muster rolls (Nov 1862 - April 1863):

Then I found these which seem to confirm that he was still in the hospital until later January 1863:

I am confident...based on family oral history...that he spent time in Kentucky and Tennessee.  Additionally, his re-enlistment in December 1863 at Blains Crossroads in Tennessee, confirms this.

Additionally, I was able to find an official record of JWD's capture and parole that he describes in his letter in September 1862 after the Second Battle of Bull Run....

Jim D.