William AUSTIN

1827 - 1906  (79 years)

• Name	William AUSTIN
  Born	2 Nov 1827	Port Byron, Cayuga County, New York, USA   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Census	17 Jun 1880	Sullivan, Madison County, New York, USA   [3]
  Census	Jun 1890	Perryville, Madison County, New York, USA   [4]
  Census	16 Feb 1892	Sullivan, Madison County, New York, USA   [5]
  Census	15 Jun 1900	Fenner, Madison County, New York, USA   [6]
  Census	1 Jun 1905	Fenner, Madison County, New York, USA   [7]
  Died	8 Nov 1906	Auburn, Cayuga County, New York, USA   [2, 8]
  Buried	10 Nov 1906	Perryville Cemetery, Perryville, Madison, New York, USA   [2, 9]
  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 ship load, 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 I remember 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 her hair, 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 he has 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 increase in 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 maintain his original pension amount. His physical description: "fairly well developed in muscles and adipose", height 5' 4 1/2'', 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 as cirrhosis 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]
  Person ID	I44	Our Ancestors
  Last Modified	2 Apr 2019

  
  

  Family	Almeda HODGE,   b. 13 Jun 1847, , Madison County, New York, USA ,   d. 4 Mar 1903, Perryville, Madison County, New York, USA  (Age 55 years)
  Married	Abt 1876	New Boston, Madison County, New York, USA   [3, 10]
  Children	1. Minnie Belle AUSTIN,   b. 11 Nov 1877, Perryville, Madison County, New York, USA ,   d. 12 Oct 1966, Manlius, Onondaga County, New York, USA  (Age 88 years)   2. James Montgomery AUSTIN,   b. 31 Jan 1882, Fenner, Madison County, New York, USA ,   d. 26 Oct 1965, Canastota, Madison County, New York, USA  (Age 83 years)
  Last Modified	1 Oct 2019
  Family ID	F7994	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 2 Nov 1827 - Port Byron, Cayuga County, New York, USA Census - 17 Jun 1880 - Sullivan, Madison County, New York, USA Census - Jun 1890 - Perryville, Madison County, New York, USA Census - 16 Feb 1892 - Sullivan, Madison County, New York, USA Census - 15 Jun 1900 - Fenner, Madison County, New York, USA Census - 1 Jun 1905 - Fenner, Madison County, New York, USA Died - 8 Nov 1906 - Auburn, Cayuga County, New York, USA Buried - 10 Nov 1906 - Perryville Cemetery, Perryville, Madison, New York, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos

  AUSTIN, William & Almeda

  
  

  Headstones

  AUSTIN, William Co. H 10 N.Y. Cavalry, Died Nov 5, 1906, Aged 79 Yrs

  
  

• Sources

  [S184] Civil War Service Records, (Civil War Service Records, National Archives, Washington, DC), Company A, New York 10th Cavalry. [S400] New York Death Certificate, (New York State Dept. of Health, Albany), Certificate #47010 (1906). [S707] 1880 U.S. census, population schedule, (Digital images. 1880 U.S. census, population schedule, Ancestry.com Operations Inc Provo, UT, 2005, (www.ancestry.com)), Sullivan, Madison, NY, ED 74, p. 19 (penned), 444C (stamped), dwelling 204 family 210, William Austin. Image 19/24. [S173] 1890 U.S. census, Veterans Schedule, (Digital images. 1890 U.S. census, veterans Schedule, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, Provo, UT, 2005, (www.ancestry.com)), Perryville, Madison, NY, ED 79, p. 1 (penned), -- (stamped), dwelling 26 family 26, Wm Austin. Image 1/2. [S838] 1892 New York State census, population schedule, (Digital images. 1892 New York State census, population schedule, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, (http://pilot.familysearch.org)), Sullivan, Madison, NY, ED 2, p. 5 (penned), -- (stamped), dwelling --, family --, William Austin. Image 4/7. [S671] 1900 U.S. census, population schedule, (Digital images. 1900 U.S. census, population schedule, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, Provo, UT, 2004, (www.ancestry.com)), Fenner, Madison, NY, ED 10, p. 8, (penned), 120A, (stamped), dwelling 191 family 191, William Austin. Image 15/19. [S1766] 1905 New York State census, population schedule, (Digital images. 1905 New York State census, population schedule, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, (http://pilot.familysearch.org)), Fenner, Madison, NY, ED --, p. -- (penned), -- (stamped), house # 110, line # 17, George Ennis. Image 5/9. [S1014] Obituary, (The Oneida Post, Madison County Historical Society, 435 Main St., Oneida, NY), November 17. 1906. [S1620] Perryville Cemetery, (On-Line Database, Perryville Cemetery , Seibenbaum Rd,. Perryville, Madison, NY, (http://www.rootsweb.com/~nymadiso/)), Tombstone Transcription. [S695] Civil War Pension Record, (Civil War Pension Records, National Archives, Washington, DC), Company A, New York 10th Cavalry (1890).