John Hines, Jr. was born in Ireland about 1840. He arrived in the U.S. with his parents, John Hines and Mary Finch in 1846. By the 1850 US Census he was listed as a 13-year-old farm laborer for Nicholas Masters, wealthy farmer in the northern part of Schaghticoke. In the 1860 US Census he continued as a farm laborer, now working on the farm of William Harrington in Easton.
In August of 1862, John enlisted in Company I of the 123rd NY Infantry Regiment in Cambridge. The 123rd was the Washington County Regiment, forming at the same time as the 125th in Rensselaer County. John gave his age as 24 and occupation as farmer when he enlisted. He had blue eyes, light hair, and olive skin, and was tall, 6 feet! While John enlisted as a Private, he was already a Corporal by September.
NYS Muster Card for John Hines, Jr.
The 123rd arrived in Virginia in early September 1862, just like the 125th, but was not sent to Harpers Ferry, so avoided the fate of the 125th– which surrendered en masse to the Confederates. Instead, after a calm winter, it suffered 148 killed- over 1/10th of its number, at the battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. Then the 123rd went to Tennessee. It participated in the battles at Kennesaw Mountain and Peach Tree Creek in Georgia in May and June of 1864, and then went on Sherman’s March to the Sea. It spent the spring of 1865 in North Carolina, before mustering out on June 8 near Washington, D.C.
John was sick in the hospital in Murfreesburg, Tennessee from August 1864 for quite some time. He recovered enough to be “wounded accidentally” on October 9, 1864, a time in between the battle of Atlanta in July and the March to the Sea in November-December. It’s unclear if he had recovered to be part of Sherman’s operation, but on February 28, 1865, he was promoted to Sergeant. John was mustered out with the regiment in June, at which time his address was given as North Easton, N.Y.
John is included in the records of the town clerk in Easton just post-war. He reported that John had enlisted for a $137 bounty, gave his parents’ names, and gave a long explanation of his service. Unfortunately, the image quality online is poor. It reports that he was at Gettysburg, which is true- the 123rd was peripherally involved there. It also says that he suffered an injury by the right eye, refused a medical discharge, and confirms the promotion to Sergeant.
By the 1870 US Census John had moved to Schaghticoke, where he remained for the rest of his long life. He married wife Mary that year, and the census lists them: John, 33, a farmer with property worth $1362, Mary, born in New York, 23, keeping house, with their daughter Mary, 10- months- old, and a 22-year old farm laborer, Michael Murphy. By the 1880 US Census they had added daughter Anna, then 7, and son John, 11-months- old. They also had a house servant, Phoebe Davenport, age 23, and two farm laborers, Charles Wickes, 17, and William Kipp, 26. Surprisingly to me, the census stated that John was renting the farm, rather than that he owned it.
John applied for an invalid pension in April of 1882, based on a wound of the head, which certainly could have been the injury by the right eye. He received $4.00 per month. I wonder if he was blind in one eye? He was one of the charter members of the local G.A.R. post that same year.
John appears in the 1890 Veterans Schedule for Schaghticoke. He reported his service in the 123rd, but not that he had ended up as a Sergeant. He did state he had been wounded, and added that he now suffered from rheumatism. The 1900 US Census found him and Mary still farming, just the two of them in the household, with one farm laborer, John Welch. The census stated that Mary had had four children, with just one surviving. Their son Johnnie had died in 1899 at age 20, but I don’t know about the others. The census data misses one of the children totally.
The eldest daughter, Mary, was the surviving child. She married a man named Charles Reinhart. They were living with John and Mary Hines as of the 1905 NY Census. Charles gave his occupation as carpenter at that point, and John was still farming at age 64. By the 1910 US Census, Charles and Mary were listed as the heads of the household including her parents. Charles was now a farmer, and John listed as a laborer.
Apparently farming did not work out for son-in-law Charles. By the 1920 US Census, he and Mary, both 51, were living on East Street in the village of Schaghticoke, and Charles worked in the twine mill. They had had a daughter, Annie, in 1912. Mary A Hines had died in 1919 of tuberculosis, but veteran John still lived with them, though he was no longer working. His last name is not given, but he is identified as the father-in-law of Charles. Charles’ mother, Lydia, also lived with them. John died in 1921 of “acute indigestion.” He and Mary are buried in Elmwood Cemetery, along with son Johnnie, and Charles and Mary Reinhart. John’s service in the 123rd in indicated on his tombstone.
Tombstone of John Hines in Elmwood Cemetery, and a close-up
Researching James Hickey is complicated by the large number of James Hickeys in New York in the 1800’s. I did find James in the 1865 NY Census for the village of Schaghticoke. He was 26-years-old, born in Ireland, and still listed as a soldier. He and wife Ellen, age 24, also born in Ireland, lived in a house worth $1500 with four other families: James Camfield, a blacksmith born in Ireland, was head of a large family, Catherine Clark was an Irish widow with a child, and Martin Wolf was an elderly man, with several family members living with him.
I did find James on the N.Y.S. Draft list of 1863 in Schaghticoke as a married laborer aged 24. And he married Helen (Ellen) Wheeler in St. John’s Catholic Church in April 1863. So James had been in town and had been married for a couple of years before 1865. He was one of 77 Schaghticoke men who were actually drafted, and one of three men who actually served in the military after being drafted. He enlisted in the 7th N.Y. Heavy Artillery in December of 1863 in West Troy (Watervliet.) He gave his age as 27, his occupation as laborer, and had gray eyes, brown hair and a ruddy complexion. He was 5’6” tall.
James Hickey NYS Muster Card
The 7th N.Y. Heavy Artillery was formed as the 113th Infantry in August of 1862. In December the unit was converted to the 7th H.A. James did not join the regiment until a year later. It had participated in the defense of Washington, D.C., relatively easy duty, until 1864. James was just in time for it to be in action at the very bloody battle of Spotsylvania, in May 1864, going on to Cold Harbor and the siege of Petersburg. James was wounded in action on June 3, 1864 at Cold Harbor. He was discharged for disability on June 12, 1865 at Fort McHenry, Maryland. His disability is not specified, though presumably it was connected to his wound.
James lived until at least 1884, as at that date he applied for an invalid pension…from the Dakota Territory! There was an Ellen Hickey, age 28, born in Ireland, listed on the 1870 US Census in Schaghticoke, working as a house servant in Downs Hotel. I was ready to make her James’ widow, but evidently not! There are just too many James Hickeys in the 1880 US Census, and I cannot find the correct one in the Veterans Schedule of 1890, so James’ story after the war will have to remain untold- except that he went West. As there was not an application for a widow’s pension, perhaps he and Ellen had separated, or she died before he did.
Daniel Herrington was born in Vermont in the 1820’s. I think that by the 1850 US Census he was a farm laborer in Hoosick, working on the farm of William Tifft. By the 1860 US Census he was in Schaghticoke, an ostler (a man who worked with horses in the stable) in the hotel managed by Francis Collard in the village. He had a personal wealth of $125.
In summer of 1862 he enlisted in Company E of the 1st NY Mounted Rifles in New York City. Other men from Schaghticoke, including Calot Baker, son of the local physician, and Edgar Lohnes were in the same unit. Daniel was 34 when he enlisted, with hazel eyes, black hair and a dark complexion. He was 5’5”. He gave his occupation as farmer. The record card said he was a teamster in April of 1863 and company cook in September.
NYS Muster Card of Daniel Harrington
The 1st NY Mounted Rifles served in Virginia, mostly with the Army of the James. In September of 1865 the unit, including Daniel, reenlisted at Point of Rocks, Virginia as the 4th Provisional NY Volunteer Cavalry, and was mustered out in November for good.
Daniel was listed in the 1865 NY Census for Schaghticoke as a 35-year-old soldier. He had a personal estate of $800. Somehow over the course of his service, Daniel had managed to meet and marry a woman named Margaret. She was born in Washington County, and was 40-years-old in 1865. She had had five children and this was her third marriage. Two of her children, Mary and Margaret Miller, age 10 and 7, lived with Daniel and Margaret. In the 1860 US Census, I did find a Margaret Miller, age 35, in Argyle, with daughters Mary and Margaret, age 5 and 2, and husband Edward, 50. This is probably the same woman.
I cannot find Daniel and family after the 1865 census, but thanks to the magic of ancestry.com, I found Daniel in the National Home for Disabled Soldiers in Leavenworth, Kansas in 1886. It is certainly the correct Daniel Harrington/Herrington, as the military service is identical. Oddly, I cannot find that he had a pension.
In the hospital records, Daniel is described as born in Vermont, age 64, 5’3” tall, with dark hair and eyes. He was suffering from general debility and old age. He was listed as single, a resident of Rossville, Kansas, with his nearest relative a Gabey? Herrington of South Shaftsbury, Vermont. I have not been able to find Herringtons in the census for South Shaftsbury. Daniel spent a long time in that hospital, dying on August 29, 1896 of senile dementia, nephritis, and uracemic convulsions. He was buried with a government tombstone in St. Elizabeth’s Cemetery in Washington, D.C. It seems odd that Daniel was buried so far from the hospital in Kansas, but that may have been government policy at the time. I do not know what happened to his wife and step-children.
Ambrose, Charles, and William were three of the sons of William and Mary Ann Herrick. William Sr.’s parents, Amaziah and Annanisa, came to Pittstown by 1840, from Dutchess County. They died in 1850 and 1851 respectively, and are buried in the Tomhannock Methodist Church Cemetery. William became a farmer and bought land in Schaghticoke, at the northeast corner of Hansen and Bracken roads. The 1850 US Census listed him and his family: William, age 42, had an estate of $1800, wife Mary Ann Wallace was 34. They had children: Charles, 14; Mary, 12; Ambrose, 7; Harriet, 5; William, 3; and Frances, 5/12. farm laborer, James Barry, a 35-year old from Ireland, lived in the family. By the 1860 US Census, the family had reached its largest, with four more children: Emma P., Rufus, Caroline, and Smith. This census listed Charles and Ambrose as farmers, along with their dad.
When the war began, Ambrose went right to Troy and enlisted in the 2nd NY, the first Rensselaer County Regiment, in April 1861. He gave his age as 19, and was a butcher, with hazel eyes and dark hair, 5’6 ¾ tall. Ambrose had some sort of problem and was sentenced by a court martial in June 1862 to loss of $3 pay. Apparently he was confined at a Union prison in Alexandria, Virginia from November 1, 1862 to April 7, 1863. He returned to duty just in time for the battle of Chancellorsville May 1, and to be mustered out with the regiment in Troy later in the month, as the end of its two-year enlistment. I will return to Ambrose later.
NYS Muster Roll for Ambrose Herrick
His father died in 1862, while Ambrose was away, leaving his mother with many small children. According to an article in the Troy newspaper in 1863, Mary Ann lost the farm to foreclosure the next year. William’s probate file reveals he owed money to everyone, from the blacksmith to the doctor to a friend who paid his pew rent at the Schaghticoke Hill Methodist Church.
Next to enlist was William, or Willie, who enlisted in the 21st NY Cavalry, the Griswold Light Cavalry, in Troy in July 1863. He gave his age as 18, though he was 15. One could see how this could happen- his father dead, his mother losing the farm….inducements to enlist. Plus Ambrose had returned. When he enlisted he said he was a farmer, and had blue eyes and brown hair. He was 5’6” tall, big for his age. I think William must have had a great time in the cavalry. It participated in over fifty small engagements, with very few casualties, all over Virginia and West Virginia, until the end of the war. Then it was sent to Colorado, where Willie was mustered out from Fort Collins in September 1866.
NYS Muster Card of William Herrick
Big brother Charles W. Herrick came very late to the Civil War. He enlisted in Company F of the 194th NY Infantry, the last regiment recruited in the state for the war, on April 4, 1865 in Allegany, N.Y Perhaps he waited to enlist because of his responsibilities to his widowed mother and siblings. According to his card, he was born in Rensselaer County in 1838 and was a butcher with blue eyes and brown hair, 5’8 ½” tall.
The 194th had begun recruiting in January 1865 in Elmira. It was mustered in in late March and mustered out in May in Elmira, never going South. Seven of its soldiers died of disease during that time. So Charles returned home in a month.
NYS Muster Card of Charles Herrick
The 1865 NY Census for Schaghticoke listed the three soldier brothers at home, all as laborers. This was clearly not true, as William, here listed correctly as 17-years-old, was in Colorado in the cavalry. Also, none of the brothers was listed in the portion of the census which recorded men who were or had been soldiers. I don’t know why not. I thank Gretchen Dunham, a Herrick descendant, who clued me in to look about service information about Ambrose and William, and provided other information on the family.
In that census, widow Mary A., born in Washington County, is listed with all ten children, from Charles W., 27, to Smith, 6. She remained in Schaghticoke, despite having lost her farm. The same year, Ambrose was recorded in the Pittstown Town Clerk’s roster of Civil War veterans, as living in Tomhannock. Mary Ann died in January of 1866, leaving her four youngest children as minor orphans. Emma became the ward of her sister Mary and her husband George Colegrove of Troy. Rufus, Caroline, and Smith became the wards of William Smith Wiley of Pittstown. He was the son of William Sr.’s sister Anna. By the 1870 US Census, Smith was living with another Smith Herrick, age 66, in Pittstown, William’s older brother. I don’t know where the other children were.
By that census, Charles was the only one of the family remaining in Schaghticoke. He had married a woman named Margaret. The census gave his age as 30, hers as 24. They lived in the village of Schaghticoke, where he was a butcher. Margaret was the child of Allen and Eliza Way. Her brothers Ira, 20, and Andrew, 18, lived with the Herricks. Ira worked as a butcher with Charles, and Andrew as a clerk in the store. Ten years later, the 1880 US Census reported that Charles “keeps a meat market.” He and Margaret were still in the village. In the 1890 Veterans Census, Charles reported that he had “served 24 days” in the war, but that his discharge papers had burned in a fire in 1879.
Having written a number of biographies of soldiers, I assumed I knew the end of the story of Charles and Margaret: gradual decline to death of a childless couple. I couldn’t find them in the 1900 US Census, but lo and behold, in the 1905 NY Census, there is Charles, now 66, and still a butcher in the village of Schaghticoke, but his wife is Marion E., age 28! And they have four children: Allan R., 8; Verna M.,5; Arthur, 2; and Margaret, 1. According to his son Arthur’s memoir, “Stand Proud Sonny”, first wife Margaret had been sickly after the birth of a child who died, then died herself of fever.
The Herricks lived on Main Street, just north of Diver Library. The house is gone and the lot has eroded away. The slaughter house was at the rear of 92 Pleasant Avenue. In February 1910, Charles had a heart attack and his widow had to begin supporting the family. She became a twister in the twine mill. Charles died in 1911, and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery, along with many other Herricks.
Tombstone of Charles Herrick at Elmwood Cemetery
The 1915 NY Census listed widow Marion, called Mae, now 38, working in the twine mill in the village, as were Allan and Verna. In 1920, Marion applied for a widow’s pension based on Charles’ short service. By the 1925 NY Census she no longer had to work. Son Allen was a mail carrier, Margaret was a school teacher, and Arthur was a printer’s helper. Verna had evidently married, as a granddaughter, Doris Bulster, lived with the family. Marion remarried in 1926, to a man named Archie Armstrong, who had roomed in the Herrick house with his wife years earlier and been widowed himself. She lived until 1960. She and Archie are both in the Herrick plot at Elmwood. I find it interesting that though Arthur speaks of the G.A.R. members in Schaghticoke during his youth, he does not mention his own father’s service in his memoir.
As for brother Ambrose, I just can’t find him in the census, except for the 1890 Veterans Census, when he appears in Putnam, Washington County. He reported the time of his service in the 2nd New York correctly, but stated he was a Lieutenant rather than a Private. He was also in the 1892 NYS Census for Putnam, aged 49, a laborer, along with wife Sarah, 37, and children Elmer, 6; Lewis F., 4; and Mary L, 2. His widow, Sarah, applied for a pension from NYS in 1898, so we know that he had died by then.
I have found even less about the youngest Herrick brother. In part, William Herrick is just too common a name. There are several possible men of the correct age in the 1870 US Census, but I don’t know if any is the correct one. I did not find William in either the 1890 Veterans Census nor that he had applied for a pension. This may indicate that he had died by that time, but I just don’t know.
History of the Town of Schaghticoke 