| Notes |
- His date of birth is calculated from his age at death; 79 years, 0 months, and 7 days.
[S. Griffiths - September 2008]
The following is an excerpt from a letter written by Leta (Wilds) VIRGIL to her daughter Greta (Virgil) HOLMES in 1969. It talks about her grandfathers:
"... Almeda's second husband, William Austin, step father to my mother was the Grandfather I remember.
... Grandfather Austin I loved, in my eyes he was a grand old man, he was so good to my mother and she loved him also.
My brothers, sisters and myself used to sit by the hour and listen to his tales of the sea, he had been a sailor on a whaling vessel in his younger days, he told us of storms at sea, and how they harpooned the whales, and got the whale oil and stored in large wooden barrels until they had a shipload, then took it to some port to sell.
He was in the union of the civil war, in the Calvary, in one battle his horse was killed and he was wounded in the leg, he caught another horse that the rider had been killed, he got a "medal of honor" for bravery in battle.
After the war he was a member of the legion of "the Grand Old Army" similar to our "American Legion" of today. On memorial day celebrations he was always "Grand Marshall" of the day, and led the parades in his home town (Perryville). As a small child Iremember marching in those parades, from the school house to the cemetery, until I was 12 years old. I was the oldest grandchild on both sides of my parents families.
Grandpa Austin taught me to play cards, checkers and dominoes, and we had many games, he could always win, he said that was all the entertainment they had evenings at sea and he sure loved to play any one of them.
He used to say he had traveled the "Seven Seas". One story he told us was about seeing what the sailers called a "mermaid" a big fish that came to the surface at sunrise and stayed on top of the water, and from a distance looked like a girl combing herhair, in the sun its fins were golden colors.
As I remember him, he did not do any heavy work, had a garden, and was a horse dealer, always had a nice driving horse and a couple nags for trading, he was a pretty sharp and shrewd dealer, he sure knew horses.
He was always neatly dressed in a suit.
He had a disability pension from the Army.
Grandfather Austin was always good natured and polite, so you can see why he was a "Grand old man" in my eyes.
He read a lot also, at the time I was born he was reading a novel, one heroine by the name of "Leta" that he liked, and wanted me to have that name."
[Courtesy of Leta Dineen - August 24, 2012]
William was a veteran of the Civil War. His tombstone has him listed as being a member of Company H of the NY 10th Cavalry. His Civil War service and pension records indicate that he was in Company A, New York 10th Cavalry.
Civil War Service Record (National Archives, Washington, DC):
Enlisted as a Private on September 12, 1861 at the age of 32.
Enlisted in Company A, 10th Cavalry Regiment New York on September 27, 1861.
POW on August 31, 1862 at Centerville, Virginia.
Paroled on September 1, 1862 at Manassas, Virginia.
Sent to Camp Sangster (Camp Parole) near Annapolis, Maryland.
Rejoined Company A, 10th Cavalry Regiment New York on December 16, 1862.
Detailed duty as Teamster.
Reenlisted as a veteran on December 31, 1863 at Warrenton, Virginia.
Transferred in Company A, 1st Prov'l Cavalry Regiment New York on July 10, 1865.
Mustered out Company A, 1st Prov'l Cavalry Regiment New York on July 19, 1865 in Cloud's Mills, Virginia.
During the Civil War, a prisoner of war could be paroled. The soldier signed a pledge not to engage in service until he has been properly "exchanged". An exchange is pretty much what it sounds like, a captured Union soldier exchanged for a captured Confederate soldier. However,with the parole system, this is done entirely on paper. In theory, the paroled soldier would return home or to a parole camp. He could only return to active duty when he was exchanged on paper for a soldier from the other side. In practicality, many men immediately returned to their units, or joined another unit (often under a different name). Some, though, held by their parole, even at the threat of conscription or worse. They took and oath and meant to stand by it. Camp Sangster, often called Camp Parole was one of these places: a Union-held camp where Union troops- parolees - captured by the Confederates awaited prisoner exchanges. Here they got a shave, a bath and a clean set of clothes.
On July 3, 1890 William AUSTIN applied for a Civil War disability pension as provided for by an Act of Congress of June 27, 1890. The Act of Congress provided a pension to Civil War veterans that were "disabled from obtaining his subsistence by manual labor by reason of the disability." He claimed his disability was rheumatism and piles (hemorrhoids). On October 28, 1890 he was directed to report for a medical examination at the Hotel Brunswick, Oneida, Madison, New York. He reported for the examination on November 19, 1890. The doctor found evidence of rheumatism in left shoulder, left wrist & hand and right knee. He also had hypertrophy of the heart. He was awarded a monthly pension of $12.00.
In 1893 he requested an increase in his pension. On the pension claim he stated that he "has rheumatism in shoulders and left arm for 20 years, that he is faint at times, has pain in the region of his heart, and short of breath when he exercises; that hehas piles ... that have troubled him for 25 years." On November 15, 1893 he reported for a medical examination. The doctor's report says that he has hypertrophy of the heart and piles. He also stated that " ... objective signs of rheumatism are negative. All joints, tendons and ligaments are normal in size and action." OnJanuary 13, 1894, the Bureau of Pensions cut his monthly pension to $6.00. He had 30 days to appeal. On January 20, 1894, William submitted four affidavits from current/previous employers, John Hill, Charles Myers, Oran F. Britt, & Agnes Warlock, stating that he was unable to complete a full day of work and that he received reduced wages. His pension file does not contain any addition information about his request for an increasein his pension. There is a record in his file that his pension was dropped when he died in November 1906 and that he was last paid $12.00 in October 1906. It appears that he was unsuccessful in getting an increase in his pension, but was able maintainhis original pension amount.
His physical description: "fairly well developed in muscles and adipose", height 5' 41/2'', weight 135 pounds (5'6" 136 pounds in 1893), complexion dark; hair dark; eyes dark.
Although both medical examinations stated that William had hypertrophy of the heart, his death certificate has the immediate cause of death ascirrhosis of liver, contributory cause as heart failure.
[S. Griffiths - September 2008]
Obituary:
On Sunday William Austin, formerly of this place was brought here for burial, the funeral being held in the church at 11 o'clock. For about a year Mr. Austin had resided with his daughter in Auburn. He is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Eva Wilds of Oran and Mrs. Minnie Cox of Auburn and one son, James Austin of this place. Mr. Austin was a veteran of the Civil War.
[The Oneida Post - November 17, 1906]
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1827 - 1906 (79 years)
