Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Civil War Ancestors - Enoch's Brothers

Enoch Adamson, one of my paternal great grandfathers, had at least one brother that also served in the Civil War.  I belive he actually had two brothers in the war, but I have not been able to positively identify the record of one of them.

The Adamson brothers were sons of Andrew Jackson Adamson, born 21 Dec 1817, Wayne County, Indiana, died 27 Oct 1869, Bremer County, Iowa, and Rachel Ann Garner, born 1816, Highland County, Ohio, died 25 Sep 1898, Kokomo, Howard County, Indiana.

Edom was the eldest Adamson child, born about 1835 in Delaware County, Indiana.  He married Lydia Timmons on 26 Apr 1860, Howard County, Indiana.  They had two children before the War.  Edom enlisted 12 Dec 1863 at Kokomo, Company A of the 130th Indiana Volenteers, commanded by E. W. Penny.  He was honorably discharged 21 May 1865 at Madison, Tennessee.

Edom Adamson applied for an invalid pension [File #50-334754] because of disability following the Civil War but was apparently rejected as he could not find doctors nor officers to back up his claim.  After reading the evidence, I believe he was entitled to the pension.

Edom first filed 15 Jan 1880; Edom stated he was then age 43 and a resident of Delaware County, Indiana.   At Nashville, Tennessee about March of 1864, he contracted a cold which settled in the lungs. Later near Decatur, Georgia, in the month of October he contracted chronic diarrhea. He has suffered from both since the War and cannot perform the manual labor required for farming. He received treatment in the Hospital at Madison Indiana, Ward 4, December 1864. Since leaving the service he has resided in Indiana, now living in Gilmore, Madison County, Indiana. One of the witnesses to his original declaration was Jonathan P. Adamson [a great-uncle, brother of his grandfather David Adamson.

From the Surgeon General's Office, 5 Aug 1881.  Edom Adamson was admitted to General Hospital, Madison, Indiana, Dec 9, 1864, from the soldier's home in Indianapolis with "Naphralgia". Mustered out 22 May 1865. No further record. [An Internet search indicates no disease called naphraliga, but nephralgia is pain of the kidneys.]

Physical examaintion by a Dr. Lomax in 1881, concluded that Edom did not have a permanent disability.  He did discover a slight irregularity in the dilation of the air cells of the left lung. He found no physical signs of chronic diarrhea although patient stated the diarrhea recurred about every two weeks for three or four days at a time. He described Edom as being 6' 1" tall, weight 165 lbs., complexion dark, age 45.
 
Testimony of a family physician seemed most damaging.  On 8 Feb 1882, Andrew F. Dayhuff of Kokomo certified that he was a regular practicing physician of 29 years standing. He was the Family Physician of Jackson Adamson, father of Edom Adamson, for about 10 years and was acquainted with Edom. He first commenced practicing with the family about 1854 until about 1864 when Jackson Adamson moved away from Howard County. [Andrew Jackson Adamson's family moved to Iowa, although some of the older sons did not.] He was acquainted with the older members of the family especially, and saw Jackson quite frequently and visited his entire family. He never heard of Edom having any disease of any kind and felt safe in saying that if anything of the kind had existed he would have been called to see him. "I considered him a stout hearty young man and to all appearance free from any disease whatever. This is from personal recollection."  Note:  it seems to me that Dr. Dayhuff may not even have seen Edom following the War!
 
Edom could not find the doctor who had been his hospital doctor; another doctor admitted he had forgotten him; there were no reigmental hospital records to be found. 
 
In additional testimony, Edom did say he had returned to Howard County, Indiana after the war, but from 1872-1876 had lived in Bremer County, Iowa and then returned to Indiana. 
 
24 Mar 1883. Affidavit of Robert Dungan, age 46 years, of Kokomo. He had known applicant Edom Adamson since 1860, lived two miles from him and saw him every few days. He knew him to be healthy and stout at the time of his enlistment. A day or two after his discharge he looked like a skeleton and was greatly reduced and emaciated. "I last saw him about two months ago and he does not look as healthy and stout as when he entered the service. When he was home on furlough in 1864, he was feeble and could hardly walk."  At least two other men of the community testified to similar conditions concerning Edom's health, and mentioned a terrible cough.
 
Also in 1883, two officers claimed they did not remember the state of Edom's health during the war and weren't prepared to furnish a statement.   Another doctor did file report that Edom had a chronic cough.  In December of 1885 a form letter was sent inquiring about the men of the community who had testified on behalf of Edom Adamson - the reply was "So far as I have personal knowledge and so far as I can learn, the written names are all considered honest men, and at the same time they are all men of but little force. Their testimony should be corroborated by something more substantial."   [I find this statement contradictory and condescending - either the men were "honest men" and truthful, or they were not!]
 
Edom Adamson had already died - on 14 Feb 1885 - a son continued to try and obtain recompense.  On 3 Dec 1885 there was a letter to Edward W. Davis, one of the earlier deponents, asking for another statement in his own hand. He stated that, "He knew Adamson had measles during his service and a bad cough. He met him again about four years ago and he was in very bad health. He still had a bad cough which was the cause of his death."

Edom's claim was reviewed the last time on 1 Nov 1887 and rejected on 14 Nov 1887 as he was deceased and no one within the knowledge of the Pension Office was entitled.  No widow's claim was made and, in fact, in 1870, Lydia and the children were not living with Edom, but were in the houshold of Charles Starr and his wife Patience in Cass County, Indiana.  By the 1880 census, Edom was living with his mother and two of his sons were with them.  I don't know if Edom and Lydia might have divorced and she remarried, or if she passed away before 1880.
 
The second Adamson brother was my great grandfather Enoch Reuben Adamson - his Civil War story is found in another post.  He did receive a pension for his service.
 
A third Adamson brother was John, born in 1843, and certainly of the right age to have served in the War.  The problem is a plethora of John Adamsons.  And I have not found any record of this John after 1860.  The service records for the soldiers from Indiana are not included in the database on Footnote.com.  
 
There is a John N. Adamson who enlisted on the same day as Edom and in the same company, 30 December 1863, Company A of the 130th Indiana Infantry Regiment.  He was a Private.  He is noted as being mustered out 2 Dec 1865 as a Corporal.
 
However, the child John Adamson, brother of Edom and Enoch, was not shown with a middle name or initial.  And I have not found John following the War. 
 
I have found a John N. Adamson living in Quincy, Adams County, Illinois in 1900 and 1910.  He gave his birth as Aug 1846, which seems a little late for the John of my search, but he was born in Indiana.  He had a younger wife, Emma, and a stepdaughter.  The problem with this John is that censuses show a John N. Adamson, age 3 in Wayne County Indiana in 1850 and age 13 in Randolph County in 1860 - a son of Simon and Anna Adamson.  This man used the middle initial "N" as a child and later in life - he would seem most likely to be the John N. Adamson of the 130th Regiment.
 
There was also a John Adamson in Co. G of the 57th Regiment serving along with Enoch Adamson.  In fact there may even have been two John Adamsons in the 57th Regt.  A Private John Adamson of Kokomo was killed in battle at Stone River, on 31 Dec 1863. And John W. Adamson of Kokomo was killed in battle at Kenesaw on 23 Jun 1864.  Since nothing can be found about John after the War, perhaps he was one of the soldiers who paid the ultimate price.