Allen M. Thayer was born in 1844, probably in New York and probably the son of Martin George (1815-1845) and Sarah (Angle or Angel, b. 1817).
Martin and Sarah were both born in Cortland County, New York, and were married in Truxton, Cortland County in 1838. It is possible that the family left New York shortly after Allen was born and settled in Sparta, Kent County, Michigan where Martin possibly died. In any case, Sarah brought her family back home to Truxton, New York and by 1850 Allen was attending school with his two older siblings and the three were living with their mother and the Penelope Patrick (b. 1794) family in Truxton.
Allen stood 5’9” with blue eyes, brown hair and a dark complexion and was a 20-year-old lumberman possibly living in Sparta, Kent County, Michigan, when he enlisted in Company F on January 22, 1864, at Grand Rapids for 3 years, crediting Sparta, and was mustered the same day. (Andrew Myers of Sparta, who was probably the brother of Allen’s sister-in-law Elizabeth, joined Company F on February 8. His brother Peter had enlisted in Company C in 1861.) Allen joined the Regiment on March 27.
Allen was killed in action on May 12, 1864, at Spotsylvania, Virginia, and was presumably buried among the unknown soldiers at Spotsylvania.
No pension seems to be available.
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Monday, January 03, 2011
Asahel Adams Tewskbury
Asahel Adams Tewskbury was born on June 24, 1836, in Boston, Summit County, Ohio, the son of Elijah (b. 1809) and Matilda (Hinds, b. 1808).
New Hampshire native Elijah married Vermonter Matilda sometime before 1835 by which time they had settled in Ohio. Sometime between 1848 and 1850 Elijah died (probably in Ohio but possibly in Indiana) and Matilda remarried a widower (or divorcee) Justus Waite (or Wait). By 1850 Matilda and her children were living with Justus and his children on a farm in Fairfield, DeKalb County, Indiana. (Asahel’s stepbrother Walter Wait would join Company K of the Old Third in 1861.) Sometime in the early 1850s Justus moved his family to Michigan, settling first in Burr Oak, St. Joseph County, Michigan, and then pushing on to Blendon, Ottawa County.
In 1856 Asahel married New York native Sarah Ann Smith (1838-1874), in Allegan, Allegan County, and they had at least seven children, Orville (b. 1857), Clarissa or Clara (b. 1859), Alice (b. 1861), Ezra (b. 1866), Wilbur or Clarence (b 1867), Matilda (b. 1870) and Arthur A. (b. 1871). Asahel and his wife moved into a house next door to his mother and stepfather. By 1860 he was working as a farm laborer and living with his wife Sarah in Blendon. He still lived next door to his stepfather and mother and on the other side lived Wilbur Scott who would also join the Third Michigan.
Asahel was 25 years old and probably still living in Blendon when he enlisted in Company I on May 13, 1861. (Company I was made up largely of men from Ottawa County, particularly from the eastern side of the County.) He may have been wounded by a shell fragment on May 31, 1862, at Fair Oaks, Virginia. In any case, he claimed some years after the war that during the battle he “received an injury by a cannon ball passing in close to his head from which partial deafness of left ear, and slight paralysis of shoulders and neck have resulted. That he was knocked down by [the] cannon ball and rendered unconscious and for some time was unable to perform any duty.” He added that he did not seek treatment for his injury at the time although he was requested to go to the hospital since he had “a great dread of the hospital” and he was treated by the regimental assistant surgeon W. B. Morrison. He eventually recovered but apparently did not rejoin the regiment and was reported as a pioneer from July of 1862 through October. He was possibly wounded by a gunshot in one of his legs near Culpeper, Virginia in mid-October of 1863. In any case he was serving with the Brigade (probably as a pioneer) from April of 1864 through May. He was mustered out on June 20, 1864, at Detroit.
After his discharge from the army Asahel returned to his home in Blendon. By 1870 he was wortking as a farmer and living with his wife and childrenin Blendon. Sarah Ann died in 1874 and Asahel sent the two youngest children to live with his brother-in-law Milo Smith in Leighton, Allegan County. Around 1876 or so his oldest daugher, Clara, began keeping house for him and took care of him off and on for the remainder of his life, although she was not listed as living with him in 1880 and in any case he eventually married a second time to one Elvira (or Elvina) Chandler (d. 1912). By 1878 Asahel had left Ottawa County and settled in Middleville, Barry County where he was living in 1880 listed as a widower and working on a farm; severalof his children were still living with him. He was living in Middleville in December of 1886 when he became a member of the Old Third Michigan Infantry Association.
He was also a member of G.A.R. Hill Post No. 159 in Middleville, and he received pension no. 614500, drawing $12.00 per month by 1907 and $30.00 per month by the end of 1914.
He probably lived the rest of his life in Middleville, working for many years as as a farmer. According to his daughter Mrs. Clara Reynolds (a widow by 1915), on or about October 1, 1912, Asahel, suffering from “congestion of the liver” and “laGrippe,” became ill enough to require regular and daily attendance (it is possible that he went to live with his daughter but this is not known for certain).
In any case, he remained under her care until he died of congestion of the liver in Middleville on March 1, 1915, and was buried in Mt. Hope cemetery in Middleville.
New Hampshire native Elijah married Vermonter Matilda sometime before 1835 by which time they had settled in Ohio. Sometime between 1848 and 1850 Elijah died (probably in Ohio but possibly in Indiana) and Matilda remarried a widower (or divorcee) Justus Waite (or Wait). By 1850 Matilda and her children were living with Justus and his children on a farm in Fairfield, DeKalb County, Indiana. (Asahel’s stepbrother Walter Wait would join Company K of the Old Third in 1861.) Sometime in the early 1850s Justus moved his family to Michigan, settling first in Burr Oak, St. Joseph County, Michigan, and then pushing on to Blendon, Ottawa County.
In 1856 Asahel married New York native Sarah Ann Smith (1838-1874), in Allegan, Allegan County, and they had at least seven children, Orville (b. 1857), Clarissa or Clara (b. 1859), Alice (b. 1861), Ezra (b. 1866), Wilbur or Clarence (b 1867), Matilda (b. 1870) and Arthur A. (b. 1871). Asahel and his wife moved into a house next door to his mother and stepfather. By 1860 he was working as a farm laborer and living with his wife Sarah in Blendon. He still lived next door to his stepfather and mother and on the other side lived Wilbur Scott who would also join the Third Michigan.
Asahel was 25 years old and probably still living in Blendon when he enlisted in Company I on May 13, 1861. (Company I was made up largely of men from Ottawa County, particularly from the eastern side of the County.) He may have been wounded by a shell fragment on May 31, 1862, at Fair Oaks, Virginia. In any case, he claimed some years after the war that during the battle he “received an injury by a cannon ball passing in close to his head from which partial deafness of left ear, and slight paralysis of shoulders and neck have resulted. That he was knocked down by [the] cannon ball and rendered unconscious and for some time was unable to perform any duty.” He added that he did not seek treatment for his injury at the time although he was requested to go to the hospital since he had “a great dread of the hospital” and he was treated by the regimental assistant surgeon W. B. Morrison. He eventually recovered but apparently did not rejoin the regiment and was reported as a pioneer from July of 1862 through October. He was possibly wounded by a gunshot in one of his legs near Culpeper, Virginia in mid-October of 1863. In any case he was serving with the Brigade (probably as a pioneer) from April of 1864 through May. He was mustered out on June 20, 1864, at Detroit.
After his discharge from the army Asahel returned to his home in Blendon. By 1870 he was wortking as a farmer and living with his wife and childrenin Blendon. Sarah Ann died in 1874 and Asahel sent the two youngest children to live with his brother-in-law Milo Smith in Leighton, Allegan County. Around 1876 or so his oldest daugher, Clara, began keeping house for him and took care of him off and on for the remainder of his life, although she was not listed as living with him in 1880 and in any case he eventually married a second time to one Elvira (or Elvina) Chandler (d. 1912). By 1878 Asahel had left Ottawa County and settled in Middleville, Barry County where he was living in 1880 listed as a widower and working on a farm; severalof his children were still living with him. He was living in Middleville in December of 1886 when he became a member of the Old Third Michigan Infantry Association.
He was also a member of G.A.R. Hill Post No. 159 in Middleville, and he received pension no. 614500, drawing $12.00 per month by 1907 and $30.00 per month by the end of 1914.
He probably lived the rest of his life in Middleville, working for many years as as a farmer. According to his daughter Mrs. Clara Reynolds (a widow by 1915), on or about October 1, 1912, Asahel, suffering from “congestion of the liver” and “laGrippe,” became ill enough to require regular and daily attendance (it is possible that he went to live with his daughter but this is not known for certain).
In any case, he remained under her care until he died of congestion of the liver in Middleville on March 1, 1915, and was buried in Mt. Hope cemetery in Middleville.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Jerome B. Ten Eyck
Jerome B. Ten Eyck was born in 1838 in New York, probably the son of Peter (b. 1805)and Mary (b. 1810).
Jerome’s parents were both born in New York and presumably married there. By 1850 Jerome was attending school and living with his family on a large farm (his father owned some $2000 worth of real estate) in Seward, Schoharie County, New York.
Jerome eventually left New York and moved west, settling in Michigan by the time the war broke out.
He was 23 years old and probably living in Lansing, Michigan, when he enlisted as Fourth Sergeant in Company G on May 10, 1861, along with his cousin (?) James. (Company G, formerly the “Williams’ Rifles,” was made up predominantly of men from the Lansing area.)
Charles Price also of Company G, writing home on August 7, 1863, described Jerome Ten Eyck as “a fine fellow and a good friend.” Jerome was absent sick in the hospital in the Regimental hospital in April of 1862, by the first of June was in Yorktown hospital and still hospitalized in July. On June 20 Homer Thayer of Company G wrote that Ten Eyck had last been heard from two days before “in the hospital at Yorktown.”
However, by October Jerome had rejoined the Regiment and was serving as Acting Lieutenant and Orderly for Company G. According to A. W. Cowles, a regular correspondent for the Republican in Virginia, on November 10, 1862, “Orderly Ten Eyck, of Co. G, of the Third, was over to see us today. He is recovered from his long illness and looks like himself again.” On April 12, 1863, he was promoted as Second Lieutenant at Camp Sickles, Virginia, commissioned March 20.
By the middle of May Jerome was apparently acting commander of Company G. “Our company is in command of Jerome Ten Eyck,” wrote Edgar Clark on May 15, 1863, “and a good officer he is and a brave and gallant soldier. I cannot speak too highly of his goodness as an officer and gentleman.”
Jerome was transferred to Company E, replacing Lieutenant Charles Draper, and reported absent on detached service in Grand Rapids from July 27, 1863, recruiting for the Regiment, although according to one local newspaper, he did not in fact arrive in the city until late October. According to the Eagle on October 27, 1863, Jerome had just arrived in Grand Rapids that day to begin recruiting duty.
He remained absent on recruiting duty in Michigan through March of 1864, and was promoted to First Lieutenant on April 1, 1864, commissioned as of November 1, 1863, replacing Lieutenants David Crawford and Alfred Pew. Jerome eventually rejoined the Regiment and was wounded slightly in the shoulder on May 5, 1864, at the Wilderness, Virginia, and subsequently hospitalized in Annapolis, Maryland.
He was transferred as First Lieutenant to Company E, Fifth Michigan infantry upon consolidation of the Third and Fifth Michigan Regiments on June 10, 1864, commissioned Captain on June 10, and mustered on July 13 near Petersburg, Virginia. In July Jerome was acting Regimental Adjutant, and in September Acting Assistant Adjutant General for the Second Brigade, Third Division, Second Corps.
While the Regimental descriptive rolls list him as having been mustered out in October of 1864, in fact, he had grown rather tired of his service and sought to be released from duty at the expiration of his original term of service (which would have been June of 1864).
In October Jerome wrote to Lieutenant James McGinley, Adjutant of the Fifth Michigan infantry, that “I hereby certify that I have served three years continually in the Third (3) Regiment Michigan Volunteers, which Regiment I entered as Sergeant on the 10th day of June, 1861. -- was promoted 2nd Lieutenant April 16th, 1863,-- was promoted 1st Lieutenant March 1st, 1864, -- was promoted Captain July 13th 1864, was mustered in the service against my wish by General Orders No __ headquarters 2nd Corps, June 9th, 1864. I further declare that I have never signified my intention of remaining in the service of the United States for a longer period than three years from date of enlistment, and that I have not accepted a voluntary muster for three years, but accepted such a muster simply because no other musters were allowed, and that had I been permitted to exercise any option in the matter, I would have [refused] such a muster.”
The Republican wrote on November 9, 1864, that “Captain J. B. Ten Eyck, of this city, of the Fifth Infantry, has resigned his situation with that Regiment, and has been honorably discharged from the service under the recent regulation allowing all commissioned officers to leave the service honorably who have served three years. The number availing themselves of the order is said to be quite large. Captain Ten Eyck left here originally as a Sergeant in Co. G, Third infantry, and has been three years and four months in the service.”
Jerome may have returned to Michigan after his discharge from the army, although this is by no mean certain. He may have been living in Eaton Rapids, Eaton County by December of 1865.
In any case, he had moved to Washington DC by 1867 when he applied for and received his own pension (no. 124073) and indeed he lived in Washington for many years.
By 1870 he was working as a clerk at the Treasury Department and living at the Yeager boarding house in Washington’s Second Ward. By April of 1880 he was living at 1105 F Street in Washington, DC, when he testified in the pension claim of John Bissell who had also served in Company G during the war. In 1880 Jerome was single and working as a dentist in Washington, and working as a dentist with an office at 1601 O Street NW in 1890. It is also possible that around 1900 he was still living in Washington, DC, when he gave a statement in the pension application of one Lora Sunt, the former widow of William Agard, who had served in Company G, Old Third. By 1920 Jerome was a “member” of the John Dickson Home in Washington, DC.
Jerome was probably living in Washington where he died on February 18, 1927, and was presumably buried there.
Jerome’s parents were both born in New York and presumably married there. By 1850 Jerome was attending school and living with his family on a large farm (his father owned some $2000 worth of real estate) in Seward, Schoharie County, New York.
Jerome eventually left New York and moved west, settling in Michigan by the time the war broke out.
He was 23 years old and probably living in Lansing, Michigan, when he enlisted as Fourth Sergeant in Company G on May 10, 1861, along with his cousin (?) James. (Company G, formerly the “Williams’ Rifles,” was made up predominantly of men from the Lansing area.)
Charles Price also of Company G, writing home on August 7, 1863, described Jerome Ten Eyck as “a fine fellow and a good friend.” Jerome was absent sick in the hospital in the Regimental hospital in April of 1862, by the first of June was in Yorktown hospital and still hospitalized in July. On June 20 Homer Thayer of Company G wrote that Ten Eyck had last been heard from two days before “in the hospital at Yorktown.”
However, by October Jerome had rejoined the Regiment and was serving as Acting Lieutenant and Orderly for Company G. According to A. W. Cowles, a regular correspondent for the Republican in Virginia, on November 10, 1862, “Orderly Ten Eyck, of Co. G, of the Third, was over to see us today. He is recovered from his long illness and looks like himself again.” On April 12, 1863, he was promoted as Second Lieutenant at Camp Sickles, Virginia, commissioned March 20.
By the middle of May Jerome was apparently acting commander of Company G. “Our company is in command of Jerome Ten Eyck,” wrote Edgar Clark on May 15, 1863, “and a good officer he is and a brave and gallant soldier. I cannot speak too highly of his goodness as an officer and gentleman.”
Jerome was transferred to Company E, replacing Lieutenant Charles Draper, and reported absent on detached service in Grand Rapids from July 27, 1863, recruiting for the Regiment, although according to one local newspaper, he did not in fact arrive in the city until late October. According to the Eagle on October 27, 1863, Jerome had just arrived in Grand Rapids that day to begin recruiting duty.
He remained absent on recruiting duty in Michigan through March of 1864, and was promoted to First Lieutenant on April 1, 1864, commissioned as of November 1, 1863, replacing Lieutenants David Crawford and Alfred Pew. Jerome eventually rejoined the Regiment and was wounded slightly in the shoulder on May 5, 1864, at the Wilderness, Virginia, and subsequently hospitalized in Annapolis, Maryland.
He was transferred as First Lieutenant to Company E, Fifth Michigan infantry upon consolidation of the Third and Fifth Michigan Regiments on June 10, 1864, commissioned Captain on June 10, and mustered on July 13 near Petersburg, Virginia. In July Jerome was acting Regimental Adjutant, and in September Acting Assistant Adjutant General for the Second Brigade, Third Division, Second Corps.
While the Regimental descriptive rolls list him as having been mustered out in October of 1864, in fact, he had grown rather tired of his service and sought to be released from duty at the expiration of his original term of service (which would have been June of 1864).
In October Jerome wrote to Lieutenant James McGinley, Adjutant of the Fifth Michigan infantry, that “I hereby certify that I have served three years continually in the Third (3) Regiment Michigan Volunteers, which Regiment I entered as Sergeant on the 10th day of June, 1861. -- was promoted 2nd Lieutenant April 16th, 1863,-- was promoted 1st Lieutenant March 1st, 1864, -- was promoted Captain July 13th 1864, was mustered in the service against my wish by General Orders No __ headquarters 2nd Corps, June 9th, 1864. I further declare that I have never signified my intention of remaining in the service of the United States for a longer period than three years from date of enlistment, and that I have not accepted a voluntary muster for three years, but accepted such a muster simply because no other musters were allowed, and that had I been permitted to exercise any option in the matter, I would have [refused] such a muster.”
The Republican wrote on November 9, 1864, that “Captain J. B. Ten Eyck, of this city, of the Fifth Infantry, has resigned his situation with that Regiment, and has been honorably discharged from the service under the recent regulation allowing all commissioned officers to leave the service honorably who have served three years. The number availing themselves of the order is said to be quite large. Captain Ten Eyck left here originally as a Sergeant in Co. G, Third infantry, and has been three years and four months in the service.”
Jerome may have returned to Michigan after his discharge from the army, although this is by no mean certain. He may have been living in Eaton Rapids, Eaton County by December of 1865.
In any case, he had moved to Washington DC by 1867 when he applied for and received his own pension (no. 124073) and indeed he lived in Washington for many years.
By 1870 he was working as a clerk at the Treasury Department and living at the Yeager boarding house in Washington’s Second Ward. By April of 1880 he was living at 1105 F Street in Washington, DC, when he testified in the pension claim of John Bissell who had also served in Company G during the war. In 1880 Jerome was single and working as a dentist in Washington, and working as a dentist with an office at 1601 O Street NW in 1890. It is also possible that around 1900 he was still living in Washington, DC, when he gave a statement in the pension application of one Lora Sunt, the former widow of William Agard, who had served in Company G, Old Third. By 1920 Jerome was a “member” of the John Dickson Home in Washington, DC.
Jerome was probably living in Washington where he died on February 18, 1927, and was presumably buried there.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
James B. Ten Eyck
James B. Ten Eyck was born on July 18, 1838, in New York, probably the son of Cornelius (b. 1808) and Emma (b. 1811).
New York natives Cornelius and Emma were married, presumably in New York, sometime before 1836, and by 1850 James was attending school school with three of his siblings and living on the family farm in Vernon, Oneida County, New York.
Cornelius eventually moved his family west and settled in Michigan. By 1860 Cornelius was working as a carpenter and living with his wife and children in Lansing’s First Ward, Ingham County. James was probably living in Lansing, Michigan, in the Spring of 1861 when he became a member of the Lansing militia company called the “Williams’ Rifles,” whose members would serve as the nucleus of Company G.
James was 23 years old and probably living in Lansing when he enlisted as Second Lieutenant in Company G on May 10, 1861, along with his cousin (?) Jerome.
He was married to New York native Elizabeth Freeman (1842-1915), on June 9, 1861, and they had at least two children: Flora or Florence (b. 1864) and Grace (b. 1869). James was married just four days before he left for Washington, DC, with the Regiment. According to one report, “Lieut. Ten Eyck married on the 9th, . . . leaves a bride, and . . . goes direct from the altar to the field, leaving sad hearts behind [him]. Heaven grants [him] a safe return.”
During the first battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, James had suffered considerably. “Lieutenant Ten Eyck,” wrote the Republican on August 7, “acquitted himself most honorably in the recent engagement. He was on parole for the benefit of his health when the order to advance was given, but took his place promptly in the company and went forward with it, although he had to be carried a considerable of the way in an ambulance. He was the only commissioned officer of the company in the battle, Lieutenant Jefferds having been broken down with sickness, and Captain Price having been taken sick at Vienna, and returning to Washington [true]. After the battle Lieutenant Ten Eyck was too much exhausted to walk, and was borne some distance on the shoulders of a couple of men, and was subsequently taken on horseback by a mounted officer.” The paper added, “Lieutenant Ten Eyck states that, from information derived from prisoners and deserters, he learned there were ten thousand Negroes and three thousand Indians in the rebel army. The Negroes were trained to work the artillery, and the Indians had been told that the South were going to conquer the North and give the Indians back their lands.” Ten Eyck resigned on account of disability on July 29, 1861, and returned to Lansing on Friday, August 2.
Shortly after his return to Lansing Ten Eyck wrote the Republican to make a correction in one of the paper’s recent stories. “I notice that in your announcement of my return, as published in your local column of last week, you give me the credit of having command of my company in the battles of both Thursday and Sunday at Bull Run. This is a mistake. Lieutenant Jefferds had the command in Thursday's battle, I only acting as second in command. Lieutenant Jefferds was taken sick that night, and I only took command from that time -- having command on Sunday. Justice to him demands this correction, as nothing but sickness and inability prevented him from staying with his company, and not cowardice, as some of his enemies would endeavor to make out. Lieutenant Jefferds, when able, ever did his duty.”
It is not known how long James remained in Lansing after he was discharged from the army, but by the end of 1865 he had apparently settled in Eaton Rapids, Eaton County. He soon became a newspaper publisher.
On December 7, 1865, James became owner and publisher of the Eaton Rapids Journal. In his first editorial James wrote:
In commencing the publication of the Journal, we do so at the earnest request and with the promise of the hearty support of the citizens of the locality in which it is published; what the future of our experiment shall be -- its publication for a short or a long period -- depends alone upon the maintenance of these pledges, and the otherwise general support and patronage it will receive from the hands of the people. The Journal is intended to supply the want, so long felt, of means whereby to advertise to the public at large the business wants and resources of this section of the State, and that the Journal will do so can be proven alone by its future career, and not by any promise that wemight, perhaps, see fit to give now. Such promises on the part of a paper can alone be kept so far as the same is made the medium to advertise those wants and resources by those having such matters in charge. In fact, while a newspaper is indeed a means by which the people are expected to derive all kinds of intelligencer, from the knowledge of what th3e business of a place is by means of its advertising columns, to the latest general news, in order to do this it must have the advertising patronage of the place, a good subscription list, and both paid for as a means of doing it.
It is our intentiuon to make the Journal a paper worthy of a place at the fireside of every family in Eaton County, and as such, will contain as far as possible, all matters of interest transpiring in the County, the patest politcal, foreign, general and state news, the latest market reports, in fact, all matters of general interest and importance usually found room for in a weekly paper. But while the politicval news will be given more or less in its columns, the Journal will not be the organ of any party, and upon all political questions of the day will maintain a strict neutrality, believing that the intersts of the locality in which it is published can thus be better subserved, than by devoting its columns to the use of the long-winded and abusive articles usually found in papers of a political stripe, and which far toward engendering strife and ill-will rather than peace and harmony, a prosperous paper or a prosperous community.
With these few explanations of what are our intentions and expectations, we are content to make our bow to the public, and ask of the citizens of Eaton Rapids, and Eaton County in general, their future support and patronage.
The following week, the editor of the Eaton County Republican wrote that he had just received the first issue of the Eaton Rapids Journal, “published by J. B. Ten Eyck, $1.50 a year. Neutral in politics. The Journal is as well filled with reading matter, local news, advertisements, etc., as many older papers, and from its make-up, and the policy announced by its publisher, we have little doubt of its success. It will probably have less contempt for ‘politics’ as it grows older.”
He was probably the same J. B. Ten Eyck who was U.S. Postmaster in Eaton Rapids in the late 1860s and who was replaced by one H. M. Hamilton by February of 1869. By 1870 James had apparently moved to Bay County where he was working as the publisher of the Bangor (?) Herald and living with his wife and two daughters in Bangor, Bay County .
According to one source, however, James reportedly published the Eaton Rapids Journal until 1874 (?) when he sold the business to one Frank C. Calley (who subsequently changed the name of the paper to the Saturday Journal).
James died probably in Lansing or perhaps Eaton Rapids on July 2, 1873, and his remains were eventually reinterred in Mt. Hope cemetery in Lansing, section A lot 148 graves no. 7/8.
Elizabeth and Florence were living in Lansing’s Second Ward in 1880. In December of 1884 James’ widow was admitted into the Old Third Michigan Infantry Association as an honorary member. In 1908 his widow applied for a pension (no. 898453), but the certificate was never granted.
New York natives Cornelius and Emma were married, presumably in New York, sometime before 1836, and by 1850 James was attending school school with three of his siblings and living on the family farm in Vernon, Oneida County, New York.
Cornelius eventually moved his family west and settled in Michigan. By 1860 Cornelius was working as a carpenter and living with his wife and children in Lansing’s First Ward, Ingham County. James was probably living in Lansing, Michigan, in the Spring of 1861 when he became a member of the Lansing militia company called the “Williams’ Rifles,” whose members would serve as the nucleus of Company G.
James was 23 years old and probably living in Lansing when he enlisted as Second Lieutenant in Company G on May 10, 1861, along with his cousin (?) Jerome.
He was married to New York native Elizabeth Freeman (1842-1915), on June 9, 1861, and they had at least two children: Flora or Florence (b. 1864) and Grace (b. 1869). James was married just four days before he left for Washington, DC, with the Regiment. According to one report, “Lieut. Ten Eyck married on the 9th, . . . leaves a bride, and . . . goes direct from the altar to the field, leaving sad hearts behind [him]. Heaven grants [him] a safe return.”
During the first battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, James had suffered considerably. “Lieutenant Ten Eyck,” wrote the Republican on August 7, “acquitted himself most honorably in the recent engagement. He was on parole for the benefit of his health when the order to advance was given, but took his place promptly in the company and went forward with it, although he had to be carried a considerable of the way in an ambulance. He was the only commissioned officer of the company in the battle, Lieutenant Jefferds having been broken down with sickness, and Captain Price having been taken sick at Vienna, and returning to Washington [true]. After the battle Lieutenant Ten Eyck was too much exhausted to walk, and was borne some distance on the shoulders of a couple of men, and was subsequently taken on horseback by a mounted officer.” The paper added, “Lieutenant Ten Eyck states that, from information derived from prisoners and deserters, he learned there were ten thousand Negroes and three thousand Indians in the rebel army. The Negroes were trained to work the artillery, and the Indians had been told that the South were going to conquer the North and give the Indians back their lands.” Ten Eyck resigned on account of disability on July 29, 1861, and returned to Lansing on Friday, August 2.
Shortly after his return to Lansing Ten Eyck wrote the Republican to make a correction in one of the paper’s recent stories. “I notice that in your announcement of my return, as published in your local column of last week, you give me the credit of having command of my company in the battles of both Thursday and Sunday at Bull Run. This is a mistake. Lieutenant Jefferds had the command in Thursday's battle, I only acting as second in command. Lieutenant Jefferds was taken sick that night, and I only took command from that time -- having command on Sunday. Justice to him demands this correction, as nothing but sickness and inability prevented him from staying with his company, and not cowardice, as some of his enemies would endeavor to make out. Lieutenant Jefferds, when able, ever did his duty.”
It is not known how long James remained in Lansing after he was discharged from the army, but by the end of 1865 he had apparently settled in Eaton Rapids, Eaton County. He soon became a newspaper publisher.
On December 7, 1865, James became owner and publisher of the Eaton Rapids Journal. In his first editorial James wrote:
In commencing the publication of the Journal, we do so at the earnest request and with the promise of the hearty support of the citizens of the locality in which it is published; what the future of our experiment shall be -- its publication for a short or a long period -- depends alone upon the maintenance of these pledges, and the otherwise general support and patronage it will receive from the hands of the people. The Journal is intended to supply the want, so long felt, of means whereby to advertise to the public at large the business wants and resources of this section of the State, and that the Journal will do so can be proven alone by its future career, and not by any promise that wemight, perhaps, see fit to give now. Such promises on the part of a paper can alone be kept so far as the same is made the medium to advertise those wants and resources by those having such matters in charge. In fact, while a newspaper is indeed a means by which the people are expected to derive all kinds of intelligencer, from the knowledge of what th3e business of a place is by means of its advertising columns, to the latest general news, in order to do this it must have the advertising patronage of the place, a good subscription list, and both paid for as a means of doing it.
It is our intentiuon to make the Journal a paper worthy of a place at the fireside of every family in Eaton County, and as such, will contain as far as possible, all matters of interest transpiring in the County, the patest politcal, foreign, general and state news, the latest market reports, in fact, all matters of general interest and importance usually found room for in a weekly paper. But while the politicval news will be given more or less in its columns, the Journal will not be the organ of any party, and upon all political questions of the day will maintain a strict neutrality, believing that the intersts of the locality in which it is published can thus be better subserved, than by devoting its columns to the use of the long-winded and abusive articles usually found in papers of a political stripe, and which far toward engendering strife and ill-will rather than peace and harmony, a prosperous paper or a prosperous community.
With these few explanations of what are our intentions and expectations, we are content to make our bow to the public, and ask of the citizens of Eaton Rapids, and Eaton County in general, their future support and patronage.
The following week, the editor of the Eaton County Republican wrote that he had just received the first issue of the Eaton Rapids Journal, “published by J. B. Ten Eyck, $1.50 a year. Neutral in politics. The Journal is as well filled with reading matter, local news, advertisements, etc., as many older papers, and from its make-up, and the policy announced by its publisher, we have little doubt of its success. It will probably have less contempt for ‘politics’ as it grows older.”
He was probably the same J. B. Ten Eyck who was U.S. Postmaster in Eaton Rapids in the late 1860s and who was replaced by one H. M. Hamilton by February of 1869. By 1870 James had apparently moved to Bay County where he was working as the publisher of the Bangor (?) Herald and living with his wife and two daughters in Bangor, Bay County .
According to one source, however, James reportedly published the Eaton Rapids Journal until 1874 (?) when he sold the business to one Frank C. Calley (who subsequently changed the name of the paper to the Saturday Journal).
James died probably in Lansing or perhaps Eaton Rapids on July 2, 1873, and his remains were eventually reinterred in Mt. Hope cemetery in Lansing, section A lot 148 graves no. 7/8.
Elizabeth and Florence were living in Lansing’s Second Ward in 1880. In December of 1884 James’ widow was admitted into the Old Third Michigan Infantry Association as an honorary member. In 1908 his widow applied for a pension (no. 898453), but the certificate was never granted.
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