Civil War Soldiers of Fayette County, Illinois: Mabry, Bayles, and Shaffer (and Weiser too)

The Illinois State Archives (a wonderful genealogy resource) has put the Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls online. These not only give the unit that the soldier served in, but also gives a physical description at the time of enlistment.

Unfortunately, I can't link to the entries themselves. Anyone wanthing to look at the records will have to do their own search. Instead, I've summarized the information below. I'll note any information that is incorrect or requires explanation.

Residents of Fayette County, Illinois

The earliest enlistor of our relatives was Dudley Henry Mabry, brother of Robert Smith Mabry, Jr. He enlisted as a first lieutenant in the 35th Illinois Infantry, shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. He resigned 1 year into his 3 year tour. Several of his sons subsequently enlisted.

Dudley H. Mabry
(brother of Robert)
Rank: 1 LT - Company H - Unit: 35 IL US INF
Residence: FAYETTE CO, IL
Personal Characteristics
Age: 45 - Height 5' 9" - Hair: LIGHT
Eyes: BLUE - Complexion: FAIR
Marital Status: MARRIED
Occupation: FARMER
Nativity: LOGAN CO, KY
Service Record
Joined When: JUL 3, 1861 - Joined Where: VANDALIA, IL
Joined By Whom: JAS F. HAN - Period: 3 YRS
Muster In: AUG 29, 1861 - Muster In Where: ST LOUIS, MO
Remarks: RESIGNED JUL 16, 1862

Our ancestors Robert S. Mabry, Jr. and Thomas M. Bayles both joined the Illinois 7th Cavalry in March of 1865, for the period of one year. The ranks of the 7th Cavalry had been severely depleted over the winter of 1864-1865, when many of the soldiers succumbed to disease. In joining the 7th Illinois Cav., they joined young William Mabry, who enlisted at the age of 15 in 1863 and served as the company bugler, and George W. Mabry and Joel N. Mabry, who joined in spring of 1864. At the end of the war, all of them were mustered out of the army in November of 1865 in Nashville.

William D. Mabry
(Son of Robert's brother Joel B. Mabry)
Rank: PVT Company: F Unit: 7 IL US CAV
Residence: SEFTON TOWNSHIP, FAYETTE CO, IL
Age: 15 - Height 5' 1" - Hair DARK
Eyes BLUE - Complexion DARK
Marital Status: N/A
Occupation: FARMER
Nativity: IL
Service Record
Joined When: DEC 15, 1863 - Joined Where: OLNEY, IL
Joined By Whom: CPT O'KEAN - Period: 3 YRS
Muster In: DEC 15, 1863 - Muster In Where: OLNEY, IL
Muster Out: NOV 4, 1865 - Muster Out Where: NASHVILLE, TN
Muster Out By Whom: CPT CHICKERING
Remarks: VETERAN MUSTERED OUT AS BUGLER

George W. Mabry
(Robert's youngest brother)
Rank: PVT - Company: F - Unit: 7 IL US CAV
Residence: LOUDEN CITY, FAYETTE CO, IL
Personal Characteristics
Age: 25 - Height: 5' 9" - Hair: LIGHT
Eyes: BLUE - Complexion: LIGHT
Marital Status: N/A
Occupation: FARMER
Nativity: IL
Service Record
Joined When: FEB 24, 1864 - Joined Where: VANDALIA, IL
Joined By Whom: CPT BISHOP
Muster In: May 24, 1864 - Muster In Where: CAMP BUTLER
Muster Out: NOV 4, 1865 - Muster Out Where: NASHVILLE, TN
Muster Out By Whom: CPT CHICKERING
(note that George W. Mabry may have served for 3 months in 1861 as a Seargent in Company H of the 8th Illinois Infantry. A John R. Mabry, possibly Dudley's son, served as a 2nd Lieutenant in that unit for the same period)

Joel N. Mabry
(son of Robert's brother Dudley)
Rank: PVT - Company: F - Unit: 7 IL US CAV
Residence: VANDALIA, FAYETTE CO, IL
Personal Characteristics
Age: 21 - Height: 5' 8" - Hair: LIGHT
Eyes: GRAY - Complexion: LIGHT
Marital Status: N/A [note: unmarried]
Occupation: FARMER
Nativity: IL
Service Record
Joined When: APR 13, 1864 - Joined Where: VANDALIA, IL
Joined By Whom: CPT BISHOP - Period: 3 YRS
Muster In: MAY 9, 1864 - Muster In Where: CAMP BUTLER, IL
Muster Out: NOV 4, 1865 - Muster Out Where: NASHVILLE, TN
Muster Out By Whom: CPT CHICKERING

** Thomas M. Bayles **
(great grandfather of Neil Mabry and Robert S. Mabry's future father in law)
Rank PVT Company G Unit 7 IL US CAV
Residence SEFTON TOWNSHIP, FAYETTE CO, IL
Personal Characteristics
Age 39 - Height 5' 7" - Hair LIGHT
Eyes GRAY - Complexion LIGHT
Marital Status N/A [note: married to his second wife Mary Ann "Mollie" Turney]
Occupation FARMER
Nativity IL [note: actually born in Virginia]
Service Record
Joined When MAR 2, 1865 - Joined Where OLNEY, IL
Joined By Whom CPT SCOTT Period 1 YR
Muster In MAR 2, 186: NOV 4, 1865 Muster Out Where: NASHVILLE, TN
Muster Out By Whom: CPT CHICKERING

** Robert S. Mabry **
(grandfather of Neil Mabry)
Rank: PVT Company F Unit: 7 IL US CAV
Residence: SEFTON TOWNSHIP, FAYETTE CO, IL
Personal Characteristics
Age 34[note: actually age 39] - Height 5' 11" - Hair: DARK
Eyes: GRAY - Complexion: DARK
Marital Status N/A [note: widower]
Occupation: FARMER
Nativity: KY
Service Record
Joined When: MAR 8, 1865 - Joined Where - OLNEY, IL
Joined By Whom: CPT SCOTT - Period: 1 YR
Muster In: MAR 8, 1865 - Muster In Where: OLNEY, IL
Muster Out: NOV 8, 1865 - Muster Out Where: NASHVILLE, TN
Muster Out By Whom: CPT CHICKERING

William W. Mabry
(Son of Robert's brother Dudley H. Mabry)
Rand: PVT - Company: F - Unit: 7 IL US CAV
Residence: SEFTON TOWNSHIP, FAYETTE CO, IL
Personal Characteristics
Age: 20 - Height: 5' 6" - Hair: LIGHT
Eyes: GRAY - Complexion: LIGHT
Marital Status: N/A [single]
Occupation: FARMER
Nativity: IL
Service Record
Joined When: MAR 8, 1865 - Joined Where: OLENY, IL
Joined By Whom: CPT SCOTT - Period: 1 YR
Muster In: MAR 8, 1865 - Muster In Where: OLNEY, IL
Muster Out: NOV 4, 1865 - Muster Out Where: NASHVILLE, TN
Muster Out By Whom: CPT CHICKERING

Several other Mabry and Bayles cousins enlisted in other Illinois military units:

James C. Mabry
(son of Robert's brother Joel B. Mabry)
Rank: PVT - Company: E - Unit: 32 IL US INF
Residence: VANDALIA, FAYETTE CO, IL
Personal Characteristics
Age: 24 - Height 5' 8-1/2" - Hair: DARK
Eyes: BLUE - Complexion: DARK
Marital Status: N/A
Occupation: TEACHER
Nativity: MASSAC CO, IL
Service Record
Joined When: Mar 24, 1864 - Joined Where: Vandalia, IL
Joined By Whom: CPT JENKINS - Period: 3 YRS
Muster In: MAR 24, 1864 - Muster In Where: CAMP BUTLER, IL
Muster Out: JUL 1, 1865 - Muster Out Where: ST LOUIS, MO
Muster Out By Whom: CPT HAMILTON

Simon C. Shaffer
(this is likely the youngest brother of Neil's great grandmother, Louisa (Shaffer) Bayles)
Rank PVT - Company: H - Unit: 97 IL US INF
Residence: VANDALIA, FAYETTE CO, IL
Personal Characteristics
Age: 24 - Height 5' 7" - Hair: DARK
Eyes: Blue - Complexion: DARK
Marital Status: SINGLE
Occupation: FARMER
Nativity: OH
Joined When: AUG 15, 1862 - Joined Where: VANDALIA, IL
Joined By Whom: J M ERWIN - Period: 3 YRS
Muster In: SEP 8, 1862 - Muster In Where: CAMP BUTLER, IL
Remarks: TRANS DEC 1, 1862 TO NON COM STAFF AS PRIN MUSICIAN
[transfer record lists his last name as Schaffer]
Rank: PMUS - Company: HQ - Unit: 97 IL US INF
Remarks: DIED MAR 17, 1863 ON HOSPITAL BOAT ON MISSISSIPPI RIVER
[at this time many of the soldiers were sickened by small pox]

Simon was the only Mabry-Bayles relative who did not make it home from the war. The Shaffer family moved to Fayette County in the 1850s, but appear to have returned to Ohio in the early 1860s, perhaps after Simon's death.

John Weiser, who didn't live in Fayette County, but has an interesting story

John Weiser, brother of Neil's grandmother, Barbara (Weiser) Holben, had a farm near Beardstown in Cass County. He enlisted as a private in Company A of the 27th IL US Infantry in 1861, and served for 3 years. His story takes on a sort of soap opera quality, because he was supposedly declared dead during the war and his "widow", Ann "Dorothea" (Musch) Weiser, remarried. This was probably quite a shock when John returned to his farm. He subsequently took his three children and moved with his widowed mother (Mary (Grumber) Weiser) to Christian County, where his brother Philip and sister Barbara were living with their families.

More to Come: A post about Robert Smith Mabry's life in the 1860s is in the works. Stay tuned.