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.

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Philip Shaffer, Early Settler of Muskingum County, Ohio

Philip Shaffer, father of Louisa (Shaffer) Bayles, was born in either Pennsylvania or New Jersey in about 1789. According to some genealogies, he married Suzanna Drake in 1810. The Shaffers lived in Pennsylvania, where their two oldest children, Stephen Drake and William H. Shaffer were born. At some time between 1814 and 1817 the Shaffers headed west, to Ohio.

Note that Shaffer (and its variants Shafer, Schafer, Schaefer, etc) is a very common surname. In some cases we don't know if the records list our Philip Shaffer or not.

The oldest of the Shaffer daughters, Laura Ann, was born in Ohio in October of 1817. It isn't known where the Shaffers were living at that time.

In the 1820 Census, there was a Philip Shaffer living in Hanover Township, Butler County, Ohio. In his household were one man and one woman age 26-45 (could be Philip and Suzanna), two boys and a girl under age 10 and one young man and one young woman age 16-26. Two in the household were involved in agriculture. Based on the known birthdays of the Shaffer children, the two boys would have been about 7 and 6, and there should be two girls, ages 2 and a few months. It's not clear why the youngest daughter would not have been counted. The identify of the 16-26 year-olds is also unclear - they could be relatives or hired help. This Philip was a distiller in Millville.

More research is needed to show that it was our Philip living in Butler County in 1820. (Note that there is a different Philip Shaffer living in Licking County, Ohio in 1820. The ages on that census entry do not appear to match our Shaffer family at all, however). No Philip Shaffer was listed in either Butler or Licking when the 1830 Census was taking.

Move to Muskingum, Ohio
It is not known when exactly the Shaffers moved to Muskingum County. In 1823, Philip Shaffer "of Muskingum" purchased land in nearby Knox County, so we know he had arrived by that time.

By 1830, Philip and his family were living near Frazeysburg, in Jackson Township. According to the Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Muskingum County, Ohio: Jackson Township:

The people of Jackson are healthy and contented; they love their fine sill-side scenery, and the traveler winding his way up the slopes in long stretches sees at each summit a new and pleasant landscape. The early settlers of this township were allured hither by the fertility of the lands in the valley of Wakatomaka Creek, like those who settled nearest to the valley of the Muskingum.

The 1830 Census lists Philip and his household as: one man and one woman age 30-40 (Philip and Suzanna), one boy under age 5 (John Calvin, newborn), one girl age 5-9 (Mahala 6), two girls age 10-14 (Laura 13, Elmira 10), and two boys age 15-19 (Stephen 17, William 16).

An 1832 Plat Map shows Philip's property northeast of Frazeysburg (in the upper right corner, in square labeled 9). You can see the same area on a present-day Mapquest Map.

Philip was an active member of the community.

Squire McCann recalls an old log shanty used for school, church, and singing, which stood two and a half miles from Frazeysburg. Philip Shaffer was an early singing teacher, having taught in 1831 and 1832.(Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Muskingum County, Ohio: Jackson Township)

Suzanna Shaffer died in 1837, two weeks after their youngest child, Simon, was born. Philip never remarried.

He continued living in Jackson Township for almost twenty more years. Then, at some time between 1850 and 1860, Phillip and his younger children, including his married daughter Louisa (Shaffer) Bayles followed the National Road west to Fayette County, Illinois. Louisa died in Howard's Point, near St. Elmo in 1864. Her older brother, John Calvin Shaffer, returned to Frazeysburg with his family.

It is not known if Philip lived the last years of his life in Illinois, or eventually returned to Ohio with his son. Hopefully, we'll be able to find that information.

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Home Sweet Home: Life in 19th Century Ohio

As mentioned in a previous post, Thomas and Louisa (Shaffer) Bayles came to Illinois from Ohio. Thomas Bayles was born in (West) Virginia, and moved to Muskingum County at some time before 1849, when he married Louisa Shaffer. The Shaffer family settled in Jackson Township in Muskingum County in the 1820s, and Louisa was born and grew up there. Thomas, Louisa and their children moved west to Fayette County, Illinois in about 1859.

Another of our ancestors Edward Holben moved from Ohio to Illinois. The Holben family moved to Harrison Township, near Lodi in Medina County in the early 1830s. Edward moved west to Christian County, Illinois in 1862.

It is likely that the Shaffer and Holben families grew up with similar values - and may have enjoyed the same music.

To give a sense of life in Ohio in the 1800s, the Library of Congress has put together an on-line exhibit focusing on the music of the times, called Home Sweet Home. You can either look at the sheet music (often with nicely illustrated covers and, of course, supplying the lyrics) or listen to the recordings.

The exhibit emphasizes music published in Cincinnati in the 1840s-1860s, but the popular songs would likely have been familiar throughout Ohio.

You can either listen to the music for its own sake, or explore the exhibit to understand how the music expressed the values of the times.

For example "You never miss the water till the well runs dry" (recording,
sheet music) emphasizes both the "traditional habits of thrift" as well as "calculated risks in the persuit of self-advancement". Much lighter is "Galop", which sounds like it's strictly for dancing (Recording, sheet music)

Take a listen!

Links

•Home Sweet Home: Life in 19th Century Ohio from the excellent "I Hear America Singing" exhibit.

•Video from dance instructional manuals - scroll down to "Mid Nineteeth-Century" to see how they would have danced to the music in the Home Sweet Home exhibit.
•Additional mid-19th century sheet music: Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music and America Singing.

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The Bayles Family: Migration Along the National Road

In about 1859, Thomas and Louisa (Shaffer) Bayles uprooted themselves from their home in Muskingum County, Ohio and migrated 400 miles with their children to a new home in Fayette County, Illinois. (Map). It is probably no coincidence that the major overland route from the east to the western states, the so-called "National Road", passed through Muskingum County, crossed Indiana, finally terminating in Fayette County.

Construction of the National Road begain in Maryland in 1815. Surveying, grading, clearing, laying stone and building bridges took decades. The route finally reached Vandalia, Illinois in 1838. In the succeeding years many settlers traveled the road from Ohio into Illinois. Many of them, like Thomas and Louisa Bayles, settled in Fayette County. Others continued west.

Thomas and Louisa settled, at least briefly, in Cumberland (now Otego) Township, near Hickory Creek. The Bayles family eventually moved closer to the town of St. Elmo, in Avena Township, where Thomas was a farmer.

By the 1860s, the expanding network of railroads was already making the National Road obsolete. Taverns, inns and other businesses that had prospered with the traffic eventually disappeared. The 20th century brought a revival of the road - today highway 40 closely follows the original route.

Louisa died in 1869, and is buried in Howard's Point. Thomas remarried (twice) and moved to Missouri in 1890. He died in Kansas City in 1901.

Links
THE NATIONAL ROAD
The National Road (National Park Service Exhibit)
History Magazine: The National Road
History of the National Road (with emphasis on Fayette County, Illinois).
The National Road: a Photo Essay (covers Maryland through Ohio)

FAYETTE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
Map of the National Road into Fayette County, Illinois
1875 Township Map of Fayette County (large image)
History of Vandalia, Illinois

MUSKINGUM COUNTY, OHIO
Photos of the National Road near Zanesville
The National Road in Eastern Ohio (note: lots of graphics)
Zanesville, Ohio History

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Mini bio: Thomas M. & Louisa (Shaffer) Bayles

Brief biography of Thomas M. Bayles (1826-1901) and his wife Leatha "Louisa" Shaffer 1832-1864). Their position on the family tree.

Thomas M. Bayles
Birth: February 1826 in what is now West Virginia
Parents: unknown
Known residences:
--- 1850 living in Jefferson Township, Muskingum County, Ohio
--- 1860 living in Cumberland (Otego Township), Fayette County, Illinois, near Hickory Creek P.O.
--- 1865 served in Illinois 7th Cavalry, Company G (Civil War)
--- 1870 living near Vandalia, Sefton Township, Fayette County, Illinois
--- 1875 (December) moved to Prairie City, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma)
--- 1880 (Fall) moved back to St. Elmo, Fayette County, Illinois
--- 1890 living in Brandsville, Howell County, Missouri
--- 1891 living in Grandin, Carter County, Missouri
--- 1899 living in Kansas City, Missouri
--- 1900 living in Vandalia, Fayette County, Illinois (may have been visiting son?)
--- 1901 living at 1611 Spruce Ave., Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri
Occupation: farmer
Death: February 13, 1901 in Kansas City, Missouri, buried in Union Cemetery in Kansas City.

Leatha "Louisa" Shaffer
Birth: May 17, 1832 in Muskingum County, Ohio
Parents: Philip C. Shaffer & Suzanna Drake(?)
Death: April 25, 1864 at Howard's Point, Fayette County, Illinois;

Marriage and Children:

Marriages:
- Thomas M. Bayles married Leatha "Louisa" Shaffer on April 19, 1849 in Muskingum County, Ohio. Louisa died in April 1864.
- Thomas M. Bayles married Mary Ann "Mollie" Turney on October 13, 1864 in Fayette County, Illinois. Mollie died in February 1868.
- Thomas M. Bayles married Eurania Ellen (Shaffer) Carter, widow of Joseph Carter (and sister of Louisa Shaffer) on November 3, 1868 at St. Elmo, Fayette County, Illinois. Eurania died in 1907.

Children of Thomas & Louisa (Shaffer) Bayles
--- Columbus Warren Bayles: born 1849, married Mary E. Smith and Nancy Ann Bennett
*** Esther Jane Bayles: born 1850, married Robert Smith Mabry, Jr., then Elkanah Smith
--- Artemus W. Bayles: born 1852, married Priscilla Hoffacre, and Lou ?
--- Ruhama Helen Bayles: born 1854, married Isaac Jerome Fogler
--- Corwin Tremont Bayles: born about 1857, married Laura Moore?
--- Sarah Florence Bayles: born 1861, married George W. Kepner

Children of Thomas & Mollie (Turney) Bayles:
--- Carrie Ellen Bayles: born 1865, married Stephen Dudley Mabry

Children of Thomas & Eurania (Shaffer Carter) Bayles:
--- Thomas Bayles born about 1869
--- Robert H. Bayles born 1870, married May Delia ?
--- Charles A. Bayles born 1872

Posts about Thomas and Louisa (Shaffer) Bayles
• Civil War Soldiers of Fayette County, Illinois
•The Bayles Family: Migration along the National Road
•Home Sweet Home: Life in 19th Century Ohio
•What is the Ancestry of Thomas Bayles?

Off-site Links
• 1860 Census, Fayette Co., Illinois, p. 67, Thomas Bayles and family.

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