Colonel A. J. Greenfield Ringgol Cavalry Officer Dies in Chicago Home

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1. Washington Pennsylvania Daily Reporter - Jan 15, 1931 - page 10 - microfilm located at Citizens Library, Washington, PA

John B. Taylor, Beallsville, Civil War Veteran, Dies

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• From Washington Pennsylvania Daily Reporter, Feb 23, 1931, page 11 - Citizens Library, Washington, PA

Death Roll Jan 23, 1907 - James E. Bayne, Dr. William Denny

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• From Washington Reporter, Wed Jan 23, 1907 - microfilm, Citizen's Library, Washington, PA

Death Roll Jan 15, 1907 - Lemuel Leggett, Edgar Ruff Williamson

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• From Washington Reporter, Tuesday Jan 15, 1907 - microfilm at Citizen's Library, Washington, PA

Ringgold Cavalry - Civil War

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Ringgold Cavalry and the Civil War

Elwood's stories of the old Ringgold cavalry, 1847-1865;
by John William Elwood
Type:
Book; English
Publisher:
Coal Center, Pa., The author, J. W. Elwood, 1914.
OCLC:
213517302
Related Subjects:
Pennsylvania Cavalry. -- Ringgold Battalion, 1847-1864. Pennsylvania Cavalry. -- 22d Regt., 1864-1865. United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories -- Pennsylvania Cavalry -- Ringgold Battalion. United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories -- Pennsylvania Cavalry -- 22d.

The copy of Elwood's Stories that I own is a reprint of the original. Since the original book was published before 1923, it is now in the public domain and so it has been reprinted by different publishers. The one I purchased was from Higginson Book Company and cost about $40. http://www.higginsonbooks.com/.

I found an original version of the book once online and it was selling for well over $200. I also found a listing for this book that said it was published by Closson Press. http://www.clossonpress.com/. However, I just checked both Higginson Books and Closson Press and could not find this book listed on either site. I did find a few used copies at Amazon for around $35. Higginson Books and Closson Press are both worth a look though as they have a large collection of genealogy related books that they publish and reprint.

If you enjoy Civil War History, you will enjoy reading this account of the history of the original Ringgold Cavalry which became known as Co A. The books covers the activities and battles that the Ringgold were involved in during the war but also gives a glimpse into the personalities of the soldiers that comprised the comany and that mostly hailed from the Beallsville area and many of whom are now interred in the Beallsville Cemetery.

The author of this book, Sergeant John W. Elwood is buried in Beallsville Cemetery. One of the Ringgold Cavalry companies left Beallsville and the farewell point where everyone met to see their soldiers off, was the National Hotel which is located across and down the street from Beallsville Cemetery.

The photo on the left is from a collector's series 1 in the Pennsylvania Historic Towns of Washington County by Patrick Connors. In case the caption is too small or fuzzy to read it states: "The Ringgold Calvary [sic] was organized in Beallsville at the time of the Civil Was. On the morning of June 22, 1861, Captain John Keys of Beallsville [buried in Beallsville Cemetery] and the original 70 men of the Ringgold Calvary [sic] departed Beallsville from this national Hotel. A rousing address was delivered from the steps of the hotel where over seven thousand were present to say good-by. It was great event in the hisory of the country and Beallsville."

The National Hotel is on the left and you can see the steeple of the Beallsville Methodist church up the street on the right. The Beallsville Cemetery, although not connected to that church, is located right behind it.

You can see the tombstones of both Captain John Keys and John Elwood at the Beallsville Cemetery website. The John W. Elwood papers are located at the Emory University Library in Atlanta, Georgia. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122552377&referer=brief_results

Summary/Abstract
Chiefly correspondence, veterans' reminiscences, clippings, and other papers, relating to Elwood's research and writing of Elwood's Stories of the Old Ringgold Cavalry (1914), a history of the Ringgold Cavalry, which subsequently became Company A of 22nd Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment; together with legal and financial papers, photos, and papers (1883-1904) relating to a controversy in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Beallsville, Pa. Includes family correspondence and military papers of Capt. James P. Hart.

The Twenty-second Pennsylvania cavalry and the Ringgold battalion, 1861-1865; written and comp. by Samuel Clarke Farrar ...Pub. under the auspices of the Twenty-second Pennsylvania Ringgold cavalry association.
by Samuel Clarke Farrar
Book; English
Publisher:
[Akron, O. and Pittsburgh, The New Werner company] 1911.
OCLC:
166631584
Related Subjects:
Pennsylvania cavalry. -- 22d regiment, 1864-1865. Pennsylvania cavalry. -- Ringgold battalion, 1847-1864. United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories -- Pennsylvania cavalry -- Ringgold battalion.

This is another book that is now in the public domain and can be found in reprinted versions. This too gives detailed accounts of the battles and activities on the Ringgold Cavalry and the history of how the original company was eventually joined by several companies composed of men that came from many of the communities that surrounded the Beallsville area. In the back of this book, there are roster listings of the various companies. These include, names, rank, muster in dates, muster out dates.

The author of this book Dr. Samuel Clarke Farrar, became a well known principal in the Pittsburgh School district. He kept a diary while he was serving in the war and this diary is now housed in the archives at the Heinz History Center. http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/hswp/hswpbibl-idx.pl?type=fulbib&byte=6910861&rgn1=record While I was working there as an intern, I had the pleasure of transcribing the diary into electronic format. It was so interesting to read of the daily activities, skirmishes, battles, leaves of absences and trips home, Samuel's service as a trumpet player in the company band, etc. during the war. One of the most interesting excerpts described the reaction of the men in the camp when the death of President Lincoln was announced and the memorial ceremonies that the soldiers held in honor of their president.

Dear Esther : the Civil War letters of Private Aungier Dobbs, Centerville, Pennsylvania ...
by Aungier Dobbs; Ralph Haas; Philip Ensley
Type:
Book; English
Publisher:
Apollo, PA : Closson Press, ©1991.
ISBN:
1558560890 9781558560895
OCLC:
26764706
Related Subjects:
Dobbs, Aungier, Dobbs, Esther Ann Smith, United States. -- Army. -- Ringold Cavalry Regiment (1861-1864) More Subjects ...

I have not had a chance to read through this whole book but it appears to be very interesting. It consists of photos, transcripts of about 300 letters from Aungier Dobbs to his wife Esther during his service in the Ringgold Cavalry, supporting historical commentary and history of the Ringgold and other Civil War related information. Again, many veterans now burind in Beallsville are mentioned in these letters as is my GG Grandfather Joseph and his father George Hill. This book is on my to-read list. This book may be hard to find. It is out of print and not in the public domain so can not be reprinted. It took me a year to finally find a used version online and I have to say, I spent way too much on it. Probably the best thing to do is go to the WorldCat listing to find a library near you that has a copy of the book.

There are many other sources of information for Civil War research. Below are just a few:

1. Samuel P. Bates wrote History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861 - 1865.
2. The War of the Rebellion records are now available on line at http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html
3. The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database at http://www.civilwar.nps.gov/cwss/

Hillsborough / Scenery Hill PA

When I was growing up my Grandfather Hill used to like to talk about the family history. Unfortunately, like most teenagers I wasn't really that interested. I'm kicking myself now for not paying more attention and taking advantage of the knowledge and interest he had. Fortunately, he saved everything, was great at labeling people in photo albums, taking pictures of everything and everyone. He was an avid letter writer with many friends and family members and he saved many of the cards and letters he received. When we would visit my grandparents in Washington PA, we used to sit for hours and watch the slides that he had taken of family get-togethers, the grandchildren, aunts and uncles, etc. Fortunately some of that soaked in.

I did have the foresight at one time when I was in college to ask Grandpa to write a diary of his life and I gave him a blank book. He wrote faithfully until his health started failing. I didn't know that he had stopped writing though until he was gone. He had written in detail about his life growing up in Centreville, PA (near Beallsville) and about many of his relatives that also lived in the area. He sketched out the family tree and was very proud of the fact that we were descendants of a Revolutionary War Veteran (he even started writing a letter explaining our connection in hopes that one of the granddaughters would become a member of the DAR which I'm proud to say I finally did some 5 years ago!). He stopped writing when he got to the time of his life when he was a Freshman at Penn State. There is so much more I wish he had written about - his time at school, his service in the war, his courtship and marriage to my grandmother, the family they had (the children that they lost young). I am thankful for what I do have and that my dad and his brother have been able to fill in many of the gaps. I'm also thankful that my grandparents both lived well into their 80s and that I did pay some attention to much of what the talked about. I was also fortunate enough to inherit the slide collection of a few thousand slides, all his photo albums, boxes of letters, family trees that he had created, boxes and boxes of family memorabilia. These things have fueled my love of genealogy and have made my family research so much easier. Grandpa gave me a great start even though I didn't appreciate it at the time.

Grandpa was also very proud of the fact that one of our Hill ancestors built the Century Inn in Scenery Hill. This tavern was built in 1794 and has been in continuous service ever since. People such as Lafayette and Andrew Jackson among others, are listed in their guest books. We held our Hill Family reunion at the Century Inn pictured below.

"Hill's Tavern - this tavern, in continuous operation since 1794 when it was opened by Stephen Hill, is one of the oldest on the National Road. It was a popular stop for stage coaches and waggoners"

This is my Grandfather Hill under the Hill's Tavern sign outside of the Century Inn.

My 4th great grandfather Stephen Hill built the inn and there is a plaque with his name on it next to the front door of the Inn.

Stephen's father George served in the Revolutionary War and is buried in a small family Cemetery not far from Beallsville. The George Hill/John Welsh Cemetery listing and photos are on the cemetery website.

Stephen's grandson, Joseph Welsh Hill, served as Quartermaster Sergeant in Co B. of the Ringgold Cavalry in the Civil War. This is another source of interest that Beallsville Cemetery holds for me as there are many, many Ringgold Cavalry soldiers buried here as well as many other Civil War and other war veterans. My Grandfather Heston McKinley Hill served in the Navy during World War I.

Joseph Welsh Hill - Co. B Ringgold Cavalry - Civil War


Heston McKinley Hill - Navy - World War I

Scenery Hill is located on the Rt 40 - the famous National Pike. It was formerly named Hillsborough after Hillsborough County Down Ireland where my Hill family came from in the mid 1760's. The Hill family settled the town and named it for their homeland (which research has indicated was probably named for the Hill Family).

Scenery Hill/Hillsborough Sign

Hill Fort in Hillsborough, County Down, Ireland

Century Inn menu from 1965. A shrimp dinner was $2.75 !!

Below are several old postcard and photos of the Century Inn that I have collected.