Josiah Fetherolf - A Friend Remembered

Next week I will be posting letter #2, which was written on October 19, 1861, and has been the reference for these last two posts.  Last week I wrote about a good friend of JWD and how this research project continues to shed new light on the life of my GG-grandfather.  As I mentioned previously in discussing Francis Dengler, the revelation that he was a good friend of JWD is what makes this project fun and interesting.

I had my father over for a visit last week and we discussed the "Dengler Connection".  It was very satisfying to see the excitement in his eyes as he learned a previously unknown fact about JWD.   When I was younger, my father and I collaborated extensively on the letters and spent hours discussing and postulating on the meaning and significance of certain references within them.  He is the primary reason for my continued fascination with the life of JWD and the various connections with history.  Dad is a history buff.  So am I.  I guess it was that common love of history that afforded us the opportunity to spend time together researching and...just plain bouncing ideas off each other.  While he spent the last 40 years educating me on JWD and the content of the letters...providing translation of the Pennsylvania Dutch colloquialisms, etc...it was me who provided the surprises!

First surprise.....
About 30 years ago, I made my first trip the National Archives to research JWD's Civil War records and to make photocopies of them for later usage.  That lead to the revelation of the "big family secret" that laid dormant for 70 years...more on that in another posting.  First big surprise!  I remember him saying..."So that's the big secret!".   Then I was hooked.  Could I find more facts, details that I could give back to him?

Another surprise....
Pension records indicate that he was not married during the war.  My father had been under the belief that he was, due to a letter which references his wife.  Depositions in the pension application have refuted that assumption.

Latest.....
The "Dengler Connection"....Dad always thought that Dengler was a merchant in Pottsville or Minersville, Pennsylvania...and that JWD used him as a posting point for his parcels sent home.  Now, we know that Francis Dengler was a fellow soldier...albeit in another regiment (162nd PVI), and that he was a very good friend.


One last item I will insert in today's blog is JWD's other good friend, Josiah Fetherolf.  Fetherolf is frequently referenced in the letters (4 times) and is clearly another good buddy of JWD.  Preliminary research suggests that Fetherolf, unlike Dengler, never was a soldier in the war.  I have scanned various roster files from many Pennsylvania regiments that recruited men from the Deep Creek and Schulykill county region and have found nothing.  Additionally, a search through the Pennsylvania State Archive ARIAS system for a "soldier card", proved unsuccessful.  Lastly, the headstone of Josiah Fetherolf shows no indication of participation in the war.

A few people have asked me why I research these other men vs. a more dedicated approach to JWD and the battles, generals, leaders, etc... I guess I have decided that many others have already analyzed and dissected battles, battlefields, generals, politics and weaponry and can do it much much more effectively...I have decided that I like researching connections....those items that can bolster an otherwise mundane soldier's letter and bring it to life.  A connection that can provide those relationship, heartaches, concerns, that would be lost if not highlighted....and lastly...I would like to share the names and insights into other soldier's referenced in these letters to allow anyone who may be researching their veteran ancestor, to get that same thrill of finding them in some obscure and potentially forgotten letter.

Jim D.

The Dengler Connection - A Comrade, A Friend

In reading the letters this week, I was fascinated by the various names referenced in JWD's letters throughout the war.  I started to investigate the names most often referenced and to make my own determination of the relevance and importance to the life of JWD.  My simple premise was this...the more a name is mentioned...the more impact that person had on the life of JWD.  Not deep psychology...just a simple premise.   This posting is dedicated to the first person specifically mentioned in a JWD letter. 

As a reference, the next letter to be published is dated October 19^th, 1861, and hence will be posted on October 19th, 2011.  It was written by JWD while he was encamped at the Fort Elizabeth, a coordination camp just outside the walls of Fort Monroe, Virginia.  By the timeline that I have, he had been there approximately 3 weeks and was waiting for his regiment’s "marching orders".  We all know now, that those orders would be to attach the 48^th PVI to the Burnsides Expedition to North Carolina.  This letter provides my first insight into the friends and colleagues of JWD.  There are a total of 12 friends and family, and 1 general mentioned in this letter.  For purposes of this blog, I will attempt to research these people to understand their connection to JWD and to show any connections to JWD through out the war and after the conclusion of the conflict.

The first person mentioned in a JWD letter was a “Francis Dengler”.  I have concluded that Francis Dengler was actually Henry Francis Dengler, one of the “First Defenders” and a good friend of JWD. Francis Dengler was born on May 17, 1841 and died on November 6, 1912.  He was mustered into the 6^th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Company E, on April 22^nd, 1861 and served there for 3 months until his enlistment expired in July, 1861.  After a 14 months gap in time, Dengler re-enlisted into the 162nd Pennsylvania Regiment, 17^th Cavalry Company H, on September 22^nd 1862 eventually mustering out on June 16^th, 1865.


**** UPDATE:  October 7, 2012.....
After being contacted by a descendant of the Dengler family, I have found that my assumptions in the paragraph above were incorrect.  In the numerous references by John W. Derr to "Dengler", he reference to this person as..."Dengler", "Francis Dengler", "Francis", "Henry F. Dengler", "Henry Francis Dengler", "H. Dengler", or "H.F. Dengler".   I always assumed that these were one in the same person.  They were not.  Francis Dengler was the father of Henry Francis Dengler.  Henry F. Dengler always went by the name Henry.  References in the letters to Francis, vs. Henry F., were related to the situation at hand.  John referred to Henry whenever he was discussing shipping items home or having items carried back from home, since in the role as Quartermaster in 17th Pa. Cavalry, Henry had better access to shipping and transportation and contact with the home front.  Francis Dengler, however, was a hotel and tavern owner, and was the postmaster for Barry, Pa, during the Civil War.  

The beauty of this blog is that I get as much out of it as I give.  People have been gracious enough to provide information, photographs, and corrections as appropriate...and for that I and grateful.  Thank you Mary Anne.

Civil War soldier service records courtesy of the Pennsylvania State Archive ARIAS system.

Henry Francis Dengler began his military service as a private, ultimately finishing his Army service as a Quartermaster Sergeant.  His role was to provide for the supplies to the regiment and thus spent most of his time procuring arms, ammunition, farrier’s supplies, food, clothing…etc…

Francis Dengler must have been a close friend of JWD, given that he is mentioned in no less than 9 of the letters.  JWD relied on Dengler to transport his pay, conduct business at home, and even to carry his “likeness” back to his parents during the course of the war.  I was trying to understand why Dengler was able to travel home more frequently than most soldiers during the war…was it because he was a Quartermaster Sergeant and had the ability to travel to procure supplies? 

I tried to correlate the service records of the 48^th PVI and the 162^nd PVI to understand how often these regiments crossed paths during the course of the war….and more specifically…the path of JWD.   Given that the 6^th PVI was dissolved in July of 1861 and the 162^nd PVC was only organized in November of 1862…I am still at a loss to understand how JWD and Dengler crossed paths in late 1861 and early 1862….more research is needed.  As far a battles are concerned….the 48^th PVI and the 162^nd PVC were in closer proximity in the years 1864 and 1865 than during 1863…with the 162^nd PVC staying in primarily in the Virginia/Pennsylvania theaters and the 48^th PVI being dispatched to the Kentucky/Tennessee theaters.  1864 saw both regiments converging in the Virginia theater and later both were part of the Grand Review in Washington, DC in May of 1865.

The October 19^th, 1861 letter will be the first of many references to this neighbor and close friend of JWD, and will shed light on the camaraderie and mutual support soldiers provided each other during this difficult time in their lives.

Jim D.