A Guide to the
Monfort Letters
Below is an alphabetical listing of information about people,
events, terms, etc. found in the Elias Riggs Monfort
Papers.
Page
images and transcriptions
of letters in the collection are available.
Students from GW143/144 "Autobiography: History" (Fall 2013, Winter
2014, and Fall 2014) and His167 (Winter 2019), all taught by Sarah McNair Vosmeier,
contributed to this document.
Absalom Baird was a Union general in the Civil War. He lived from 1824 to
1905. When this
letter was written, Baird was 39 years old. On April 28th, 1862, he
was named brigadier general USV. Baird commanded the 27th Brigade of the
Cumberland Division in Ohio. He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1896 for
his work in Jonesboro.
Source: Mark Mayo Boatner III, The Civil War Dictionary
(New York: David McKay Company, 1959), pp. 38-39.
-- Cheyann Fletcher, HC 2018
Harvey Crampton was a lieutenant in the 75th Regiment of the Ohio Infantry,
serving with Elias Monfort. Later, he led the 146th Regiment (Ohio
National Guard) as a colonel.
Source: "U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865," s.v. "Harvey
Crampton" (75th Regiment, Ohio Infantry), Ancestry.com; "Movements of the
National Guard," Cleveland Morning Leader, 14 May 1864, p. 4.
-- Rachel Mabbitt, Amber Holden, Noah Braun, and Jake
Metzler (HC 2022) and smv.
Emancipation
Proclamation
|
President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863,
freeing slaves in the states that were then still in rebellion. Many
northerners objected. For instance, Lincoln's party did poorly in the
1862 elections, once voters learned of his plans, and the stock market also
declined on news of the proclamation.
Source: Mark E. Neely, Jr., The Abraham Lincoln Encyclopedia
(New York: Da Capo Press, 1982), 103-5.
--
smv
George Evans enlisted as a private in Company M of the 6th Regiment, Ohio
Cavalry.
Source: "U.S. Civil War Soliders, 1861-1865," s.v. "George W.
Evans" (6th Regiment, Ohio Cavalry), Ancestry.com.
-- research by Brian Hayes, Delaney Benner,
Zach Dean
This South Carolina fort is famous as the location of the heroic charge by
the African-American soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment (on July
18, 1863). In making the assault under heavy fire, the soldiers of the
54th proved that African Americans could serve "as gallantly as any troops
could," as one reporter put it. Almost half of the men making the charge
were killed, including their white commanding officer, Robert Gould
Shaw. The famous Robert Gould Shaw Memorial, by Augustus
Saint-Gaudens, commemorates the event, as does the movie Glory
(1989).
Sources: "Exhibit 54th Mass Casualty List," American Originals,
National Archives and Records Administration, http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/54thmass.html
(accessed 20 Nov. 2014); "Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment," Boston
African-American National Historic Site, http://www.nps.gov/boaf/historyculture/shaw.htm
(accessed 20 Nov. 2014).
-- smv
Margaret Monfort attended Glendale Female College, where her father was
principal. This college was in Glendale, Ohio. It had been called the
American Female College, but the name was changed to Glendale Female College
after her father, Rev. Joseph G. Monfort, and others took over the
management. This college was more on the lines of a finishing school, a
private boarding school and a public school during day. The school had four
divisions of studies, and the girls were highly supervised by adults.
Religion was important: everyone walked to church together on Sundays.
Competition from better private schools and coeducational colleges made
financial difficulties, and in the 1920s, it closed.
Sources: 1860 United States Census, s.v. "Margaret Monfort," Hanover
Jefferson County, Indiana, accessed through Ancestry.com; Mary Lynn Bryan
and Barbara Bair, The Selected Papers of Jane Addams: vol. 1: Preparing
to Lead, 1860-81. (University of Illinois Press 2003), 190-191.
-- Ashley Templeman, HC
2017
Elias Riggs Monfort and Andrew L. Harris were both officers in the 75th Ohio
Volunteer Infantry (OVI).
Source: Joseph B. Foraker, James S. Robinson, and H. A. Axline,
Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the
Rebellion, 1861-1866, Volume 6 (1886), 235.
-- Drew Shafer, HC
2018
Oliver Otis Howard was born on November 8, 1830, in Leeds, Maine. His
father's name was Rowland Baily Howard, and his mother's name was Eliza Otis
Howard. He was a Union general in the Civil War. In 1854, Howard graduated
from West Point, and he ranked 4th out of 46 students. He married Elizabeth
Ann Waite on February 14th, 1855, and they would have seven children
together. In the late 1850s, Howard was serving in Florida, and he converted
to evangelical Christianity. He became so interested in that religion that
he gave serious thought to becoming a priest. He was an instructor of
mathematics at West Point in September 1857. He fought in many battles and
gained many promotions. In the Battle of Fair Oaks, Howard was wounded, and
the injury required him to have his right arm amputated above the elbow. He
also fought in the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863, which is the
battle that Sam Ruckman was accused of running away from.
Source: David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, ed., Encyclopedia
of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History
(Santa Barbara, Cal.: ABC-CLIO, 2000), II: 1008-1010.
-- Zach Barnes, HC
2018
Joseph "Trygood" Hurt was born in Ohio and lived in Ohio most of his life,
not including his time served Company F of the Ohio Infantry's 75th
Regiment. Hurt served his entire Civil War tenure as a private. Also known
as Trygood and Hirt, he was approximately twenty-eight years old in
1862. According to the 1860 census, Hurt was married to Maria Hurt and
had one child, Martha A. Hurt, while sharing a home with William. C.
Whitacre and Tevitha Whitacre, both young children at the time. Hurt and his
family lived in Salem, Warren County, Ohio.
Sources: "U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865," s.v. Trygood Hurt,
ancestry.com, http://www.ancestrylibrary.com/ (accessed 22 November
2013); 1860 United States Census, s.v. Joseph Hurt,"
http://www.ancestrylibrary.com/ (accessed 22 November 2013).
-- Cody Reister, HC
2017
Capt. Emil Marthell was Commissary of Subsistence on Folly Island, South
Carolina, in 1863. (The "C.S.V." in his signature line stands for
"Commissary of Subsistence of Volunteers." He was court martialed in January
1864 for neglect of duty and fraud. According to the charges, he embezzled
over $2000 from the transactions he controlled as Commissary, and he
"did willfully conceal or destroy, or cause to be destroyed, all memorandum
books of the sales of Commissary Stores" for September through December,
1863. He was acquitted in January, but the Major General who
reviewed his case the following month "disapproved" the acquittal,
nevertheless releasing him on a technicality.
Sources: General Court Martial Orders from the Headquarters,
Department of the South, 1862-1868, available
through the Library of Congress. War Department, General Orders
No. 15 (Washington, D.C.: [Government Printing Office], 1861), available
through the Internet Archive.
-- smv
Abram Miller was a Union officer in the Civil War. He was born in Ohio. On
April 5th, 1862, he became the Lt. Colonel in the 10th Indiana Regiment. On
August 24th, 1862, he became the Colonel of the 72nd Indiana Regiment.
Source: Mark Mayo Boatner III, The Civil War Dictionary
(New York: David McKay Company, 1959), pp. 550-551.
-- Cheyann Fletcher, HC
2018
Note that ERM used both the "Montfort" and "Monfort" spellings.
Elias Riggs Monfort was born in Greensburg, Indiana, on March 2,
1842. He had two younger siblings: in 1860, Francis was
sixteen years old, and Margaret was fourteen. They were both
in school then. (There was also a twenty-year-old woman named
Isabelle Ferry living in the household in 1860, as well as six
servants.) He had an uncle whose name was also Elias; that
uncle served for sixty years as a Christian missionary in Turkey.
The Monfort family moved to the Cincinnati area in 1855 because J. G.
Monfort became principal of the Glendale Female College. E. R.
Monfort was educated in Cincinnati and at Glendale, and he entered Hanover
College in 1859. In the year the Civil War began, on June 18, 1861, he
joined Company A, 6th Ohio volunteer infantry. Six months later, he
was commissioned a second lieutenant in Company F, Ohio 75th Infantry
Regiment. In January 1863, he was promoted to captain. He was
injured by a gunshot to the hip at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, he
became disabled. Unable to fight, he was decommissioned on December 9th,
1863. He returned to Hanover College in 1864, and he graduated from
Hanover the next year. He graduated from a Cincinnati law school in 1867
and started working at the Ohio Court.
By 1880, Monfort's household included his wife, Emma (Taylor) Monfort, and
three children (Joseph, Hannah, and Margaret), along with two servants.
Monfort worked as an editor in 1880. Their neighbors were the Swansons and
the Reeders. In 1910, he was a postmaster. He died on
July 29th, 1920, in Oaks Corner, New York. He was buried back in Hamilton
County, Ohio, in the Spring Grove Cemetery.
Sources: 1860 United States Census, Springfield, Hamilton, Ohio,
digital image s.v. "Elias R. Monfort," Ancestry.com; Memoirs of the
Lower Ohio Valley: Personal and Genealogical vol.1 (Federal
Publishing Company, 1905), 24-26, (accessed through
https://books.google.com, 4 Nov. 2014); 1880 United States
Federal Census, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, digital image s.v
"Elias Riggs Monfort," Ancestry.com; "Capt. Elias Riggs Monfort"
www.findagrave.com; "U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles,
1861-1865," s.v. "Elias R. Monfort," Ancestry.com; 1910 United
States Census, Cincinnati Ward 3, Hamilton, Ohio, Ancestry.com.
– research by Kevin Christie, HC 2018,
Diane Jackson, HC 2017, Asumi Oba, HC 2018, Brittany Slaughter, HC 2018,
Drew Stutz, HC 2017, Sarah McNair Vosmeier, Eddy Wagner, HC 2017.
In Elias Riggs Montfort's letter to his sister on the 8th of October 1863,
he mentions that he received a letter from Frank, who says he is studying
hard since he left Hanover. Although little information is given about
Frank, it still allows for a starting point in the investigation of his
life. Knowing that he attended Hanover sometime before 1863, I found from
the Hanover archives that his full name is actually Francis C. Montfort. He
began his freshman year here in June 1860, joining his brother, Elias, who
was already in his sophomore year; so there was about a year between them.
Frank continued his studies at Hanover until 1862, his junior year. However,
surprisingly, his brother's name did not appear in this year, which was
supposed to be his senior year. It seemed unusual that he would
suddenly drop out when he had one year left to complete school. After
searching through Hanover's history, I found that in the year 1862 to 1864
Hanover's "enrollment dropped and many students withdrew to enter armies,"
so an understanding of why he drops out becomes apparent. The fact that
Frank continued on with his studies gives a sense of his character. A
clearer image of his character then comes from the 1920 census, showing that
he became a minister, which suggests that he believed that violence was not
the answer.
Sources: Elias Riggs Monfort to Margaret C. Monfort, October
8, 1862;
Annual Catalogue and Circular of Hanover College
(Madison, Indiana: Wm. P. Levy & Co's Printing and Binding
Establishment, 1860) 6; "Hanover College History" (
http://library.hanover.edu/archives/hchistory.php);
1920 United States Federal Census, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio,
digital image s.v "Francis C. Monfort,"
Ancestry.com.
-- Carlton Mhangami, HC
2018
Elias Monfort’s mother, Hannah (Riggs) Monfort, was born in New
Jersey. She was forty-four years old in 1860. Three of her children
were living at home then.
Source: 1860 United States Census, Springfield, Hamilton
County, Ohio, digital image s.v. “J. G. Monfort,” Ancestry.com.
-- Asumi Oba, HC 2018
Elias Monfort's father was born in Ohio. The Monfort family
moved to the Cincinnati area in 1855 because J. G. Monfort became principal
of the Glendale Female College. In 1860, he was forty-six years
old and the principal at the Glendale Female College and had a total worth
of $15,000 in 1860. The Monfort household included six servants, whose labor
probably supported the school. Five of those servants (all women between 26
and 32 years old) were born in Ireland, and the other (a man) came from
Prussia.
Source: 1860 United States Census, Springfield, Hamilton County,
Ohio, digital image s.v. “J. G. Monfort,” Ancestry.com.
-- Drew Stutz, HC 2017, Asumi Oba, HC 2018,
and smv
Elias Riggs Monfort later married Emma Taylor, and their first child was
Joseph T. Monfort. Joseph was born in Indiana in about 1870. He did receive
schooling while he lived in the Hamilton County, Ohio, region. He was an
older brother to Hannah and Margaret Monfort. Joseph would grow up and be
married between 1900 and 1910. He would have two children with his wife,
Anna S. Monfort. His sons names were Elias Riggs Monfort, Jr., and Joseph S.
Monfort.
Sources: 1880 United States Census, s.v. "Elias Riggs Monfort,"
Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, accessed through Ancestry.com; 1900
United States Census, s.v. "Jos T. Monfort," Cincinnati, Hamilton County,
Ohio, accessed through Ancestry.com; 1910 United States Census, s.v. "Jos
T. Monfort," Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, accessed through Ancestry.com.
-- Layne Taylor, HC
2017
Monfort, Margaret
(Maggie)
|
Margaret Monfort was born in 1846 in Indiana and was Elias Riggs Monfort's
youngest sister. (He was four years older). The 1860 census shows that
Maggie Monfort was part of a wealthy family and that she attended school
that year. Her father was principal at the Glendale Female College, which is
mentioned in the History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; Their
Past and Present. This implies that Maggie was attending that
college during the war.
Sources: 1860 United States Census, Springfield, Hamilton County,
Indiana, digital image s.v. "Margaret Monfort," Ancestry.com; History
of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; Their Past and Present
(Cincinnati, OH: S.B. Nelson & CO., Publishers, 1894), 443.
-- research by Diane Jackson, HC 2017 and Michele
Navarrete, HC 2017
Monfort, Sarah Elonor (Thompson)
|
Sarah Monfort was born in 1826 and lived in Gettysburg during the Civil
War. Elias Riggs Monfort seems to have stayed with her family while he
was recovering from wounds received at the Battle of Gettysburg. In 1860,
her siblings Jane, J. Cassatt, and Maria C. Thompson were living with her
mother, Mary Thompson. (G.A. Evans gives news of "Mrs. Thompson," "Mariah,"
Jane and perhaps Cassatt.) In the years after the war, Sarah Monfort lived
next door to her siblings. Cassatt was a laborer, Maria was a teacher,
and Jane did tailoring and kept house. In 1880, Sarah Monfort supported
herself by taking in boarders -- something she may have done immediately
after the battle as well. She had two daughters living at home
in 1870: Mary was twelve at the time of the battle, and Jennie was
nine.
Sources: "Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967," digital
image s.v. "Sarah Elonor Montfort" (1827-1908), Ancestry.com; "Pennsylvania,
Death Certificates, 1906-1967," digital image s.v. "Maria C Thompson"
(1824-1910), Ancestry.com; 1870 United States
Census, Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania, digital image s.v. "Sarah
E. Monford," Ancestry.com; 1880 United States Census,
Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania, digital image s.v. "Sarah E.
Monfort," Ancestry.com.
-- research by Laura Estevez-Madiedo (HC 2022), Elizabeth
Smith (HC 2021), and smv
Newburg, Virginia [West Virginia]
|
Newburg was too small to appear on a map showing the whole country, which
makes sense, as Monfort describes it as only having "10 or fifteen
inhabitants." But from Monfort's letter we know that it was about thirteen
miles away from Newport and lay along the Baltimore West Union Railroad.
Sources: George B. Davis, Leslie J. Perry, and Joseph W. Kirkley, Atlas
to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, ed.
Redfield Proctor, Stephen B. Elkins, and Daniel S. Lamont, compiled Calvin
D. Cowles (Hong Kong: Fairfax Press, 1983), 135, 140, 171.
-- Brianna White, HC
2017
Parkersburg, Virginia [West Virginia]
|
Parkersburg lies on the Ohio River approximately seventy-five miles
southwest of Marietta. It is now in the state of West Virginia, but
that area had been Virginia before the state split off during the Civil War.
Although Monfort does not go into detail about it, the town was large
enough to merit recording on a map from the era showing the full country. In
this border town between Ohio and Virginia, the Cincinnati Hillsborough
Railroad turned into the Baltimore West Union Railroad, also known
regionally as the B. & O. Railroad. The railroad's path went East along
the northern border of what is now West Virginia, just south of Maryland,
through Union, then Clarksburg, before arriving in Grafton, which lay on the
Monogahela River.
Sources: George B. Davis, Leslie J. Perry, and Joseph W. Kirkley,
Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate
Armies, ed. Redfield Proctor, Stephen B. Elkins, and Daniel S.
Lamont, compiled Calvin D. Cowles (Hong Kong: Fairfax Press, 1983), 135,
140, 171.
-- Brianna White, HC
2017
John Pope was a collateral descendant of George Washington, and his uncle
was an United State Senator from Kentucky. After four years, he won brevets
of lieutenant and captain for gallantry in the Mexican War. Pope went from
lieutenant to captain to brigadier general to major general. He even
commanded former superiors.
Pope blamed other people for his mistakes. He allowed R. E. Lee to divide
and put back together the two wings under Jackson and Longstreet.
McClellan took over after that and forced Pope to take a back seat. Pope's
order reflected poorly on his command, and people disliked him.
Source: Ezra J. Warner, Generals in Blue: Lives of the
Union Commanders (Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State
University Press, 1964), pp. 376-377.
-- Daijon Johnson, HC
2014
Col. Robert Reily led the 75th Ohio Regiment, and he was killed at the
Battle of Chancellorsville, May 2, 1863. Before the battle, he had
told his men "Some of us will not see another sunrise. If there is a
man in the ranks who is not ready to die for his country, let him come to
me, and I will give him a pass to go to the rear, for I want no
half-hearted, unwilling soldiers or cowards in the ranks to-night."
Source: Stephen W. Sears, Chancellorsville (Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1996), 269.
-smv
Reynolds, Gen. Joseph Jones |
E. R. Monfort served in the Union Army under General Joseph Jones Reynolds.
General Reynolds was born in Flemingsburg, Kentucky, in 1822. His family
moved to Lafayette, Indiana, when Reynolds was fifteen. In 1839, Reynolds
joined the U.S. Military Academy, graduating in 1843. After that, he served
many military positions and briefly taught at several universities,
including West Point and Washington University. At the start of the Civil
War, he was living in Indiana once again. Due to his vast military
experience, he was appointed colonel of the 10th Regiment of Indiana, and
was promoted to general in 1861. He served with the 10th Regiment until
1862, when he resigned to attend business affairs.
In August
1861, Monfort refers to a "camp of 21 thousand rebbles [sic] under
Genl. Lee" and expresses concern that a battle will soon start. General
Robert E Lee's forces did indeed attack Monfort's brigade under General
Reynolds on September 11, 1861 -- less than a month after the letter was
written. However, General Reynold's forces were able to successfully keep
control of the area for the rest of the year.
Source: David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, ed., Encyclopedia
of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History
(Santa Barbara, Cal.: ABC-CLIO, 2000), IV: 1633.
-- Jennifer Gilly, HC 2018
Rosecrans, William Starke
|
Rosecrans was a well-respected general in the Civil War. He was under the
command of Indiana native William Henry Harrison before he became a general
himself. Rosecrans received the nickname "Old Rosy" while he was a student
at West Point Academy. With much experience from the Mexican War, Major
General George B. McClellan appointed Rosecrans General of the 23rd Ohio
Infantry as soon as the Civil War began. On September 19, 1862, Confederate
General Earl Van Dorn attacked Rosecrans in Corinth. These two officers had
much hate towards each other after the Battle of Luka. In 1868, President
Andrew Johnson appointed Rosecrans to be the minister to Mexico. William
Rosecrans passed away on March 11, 1898, and his remains are in Arlington
National Cemetery.
Source: David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds., "William
Starke Rosecrans." Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political,
Social, and Military History. Vol. 4 (Santa Barbara, California,
2000).
-- Reilly Reingold, HC
2018
.
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
|
Elias Riggs Montfort wrote
about the Shenandoah Valley while on the march during the Peninsular
Campaign in the American Civil War. His regiment was part of the army
originally intended to reinforce the Union positions outside of Richmond,
Virginia. The infamous Confederate General, "Stonewall" Jackson, led his
army to prevent the reinforcements from reaching their intended
destinations. Jackson was defeated the Union at Winchester and was then
pursued by General Banks. Jackson repelled General Bank's army at Front
Royal and then won another battle at Winchester. Jackson then defeated
General Fremont's and General Shield's armies and threatened to attack
Washington. Jackson turned back near the end of May, which caused the Union
troops, including those of Elias Riggs Montfort's regiment, to pursue
Jackson into the Shenandoah Valley.
Sources: "From the Shenandoah Valley," New York Times, 14
June 1862. http://www.nytimes.com
(accessed November 24, 2013); "Operations in the Virginia Valley," New
York Times, 1 May 1862. http://www.nytimes.com
(accessed November 24, 2013); R.C. Shriber, "The Battle of Winchester," New
York Times, 31 March 1862, http://www.nytimes.com
(accessed November 24, 2013); Snyder, "Important from Virginia," New
York Times, 24 August 1862, http://www.nytimes.com
(accessed November 24, 2013); "Three Days Later from Europe," New
York Times, 17 June 1862, http://www.nytimes.com
(accessed November 24, 2013); "The Repulse at Fort Royal," New York
Times, 25 May 1862, http://www.nytimes.com
(accessed November 24, 2013); C. H. W., "From the Shenandoah Valley," New
York Times, 14 June 1862, http://www.nytimes.com
(accessed November 24, 2013).
-- Mason Cheng, HC 2017
Philip Henry Sheridan was a Union general during the Civil War. After
graduating, he spent eight years on the frontier; he was promoted in 1861.
He also served as a quartermaster, as colonel in the 2nd Michigan Calvary,
as brigadier general, and finally as major general. During the Battle of
Chattanooga, Sheridan overtook the Confederates in a position they had
considered "impregnable," which turned U.S. Grant's attention toward
Sheridan, assigning him the position of overseeing the entire cavalry of
the Army of the Potomac. This brought General Sheridan into "world
prominence."
Source: Ezra J. Warner, "Philip Henry Sheridan," Generals
in Blue (Louisiana State University Press, 1964), 437-438.
-- Darien Miller, HC
2018
William Strickland was 62 years old at the time of the 1850 census. He was
born in Pennsylvania and lived in Tennessee at the time. Three others
lived with him at the time: Rachel Strickland, Elizabeth Strickland, and
F. W. Strickland. Rachel was 52 and was his wife, whom he married on
November 3, 1812, when he was around 24. F W and Elizabeth were 20 and 23
respectively and probably were his children. He was known mostly for his
architecture work but also painted and sculpted. In 1818 Strickland won a
competition to design the Second Bank of the U.S. This building was
constructed in 1824, with a mixture of designs from Georgian and Greek
Revival. He also proposed an idea for a new room for the House of
Representatives around 1844. Strickland died when he was 66, in 1854.
Sources: 1850 United States Census, s.v. "Wm Strickland,"
Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, accessed through Ancestry.com;
Agnes
Addison Gilchrist, William Strickland: Architect and Engineer-
1788-1854 (Philadelphia, University of Philadelphia Press, 1950)
1-5, 100-103.
-- Brandi Buchanan, HC 2018
Emma Taylor was born May 1842 in Ohio. Her father's birthplace was in New
Hampshire, and her mother's birthplace was in New Jersey. There were nine
people living in her house in 1860. She was nineteen years old at the time
of the census, so that would make her 22 when she was writing to her
brother, Gordon, during the war. The Taylor family lived in Millcreek,
Hamilton county, Ohio in 1860. She married Elias Riggs Monfort in 1867;
they were both born in 1842.
Source: 1860 United States Federal Census, s.v. "Emma Taylor,"
Millcreek, Hamilton County, Ohio, accessed through
Ancestry.com; 1900 United States Federal Census, s.v. "Emma J.
Monfort," Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, accessed through Ancestry.com.
-- Trey Sparks, HC 2017, and Andrew Howard, HC 2018
Joseph Gordon Taylor was born in about 1839 to Eli and Hannah Taylor, who
were living in the state of Ohio. In 1860 (before the outbreak of the
Civil War), Joseph was 21 years old. He worked as a bank teller and lived
with eight family members in Millcreek, Hamilton County, Ohio. After his
involvement in the war, Joseph lived in Washington, Decatur County,
Indiana, and had a listed estate value of $30,000 in 1870. Oddly, the 1860
Census incorrectly lists Joseph as "Gorden Taylor," whereas the 1870
census lists him as "J G Taylor."
Sources: 1860 United States Census, s.v. "Gorden Taylor,"
Millcreek, Hamilton County, Ohio, accessed through Ancestry.com;
1870 United States Census, s.v. "J G Taylor," Washington, Decatur County,
Indiana, accessed through Ancestry.com.
-- Josh Ford, HC 2018
Kate Taylor was born in about 1837, two years before her brother J.
Gordon Taylor. In 1860, they were both living at home (with four
other siblings) with their parents in Millcreek, Ohio.
Source: 1860 United States Census, Millcreek, Hamilton County,
Ohio, digital image s.v. "Kate Taylor," Ancestry.com.
-- smv
An envelope addressed to John Torrence shows that he was part of Company
F, 75th Regiment, Ohio Volunteers. As that was Elias Monfort's company as
well, they must have known each other in that context. It is not clear why
a letter addressed to him is in the Monfort Collection.
-- smv
Vallandigham, Clement Laird |
Mentioned by Joseph Gordon Taylor in his June 17, 1863, letter
to Emma Taylor and in one
from October 21, 1863, Clement Laird Vallandigham acted as the functional
leader of the Copperheads. Taylor described him as leading a "peace party"
and regarded that role as traitorous. Vallandigham was a pacifist, making
it clear as to why a soldier such as Taylor resented him. A congressman in
the antebellum period, he strongly opposed Lincoln's presidency. Due to
his opposition to Lincoln, Vallandigham was annihilated in his attempt to
get reelected in 1862. Disliked and distrusted by the Union and the
Confederacy alike, he eventually relocated to Canada in 1863. Vallandigham
returned to the United States after the war, wisely choosing to forgo his
life in politics. He instead opted to return to his old work as a lawyer.
Sources: Stewart Sifakis, Who Was Who in the Civil War
(New York: Facts on File Publications, 1988), 670.
-- Josh Ford, HC 2018
.
Hanover Historical Texts Project
Hanover College Department of History