Wesley SROUFE

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1880 US Census living in Washington Twp, Noble, Indiana
Wesley Shrouf, 57, farming, b Ohio
Elizabeth C, 40, keeping house, b Ohio
Angeline, 11, b Indiana
John A, 10, b Indiana
George A, 8, b Indiana
Stephen, 5, b Indiana
Mary A, 1, b Indiana
William N Rockey, 12, stepson, b Indiana
Margaret J Rockey, 10, stepdaughter, b Indiana
Aaron B Rockey, 8, stepson, b Indiana
David J Rockey, 5, stepson, b Indiana
.................

Wesley Sroufe Sr
Born 1822 I believe in Greene Co, OH
Died Jan 25, 1888 Hecla, Whitley Co, IN
That is now Etna or very close to Etna
Wesley did not have the $500 that it took to stay out of the Civil War so he had to serve the whole duration of the war 1862-1865. While he was away in the war his wife, Mahalla & 2 or 3 of their children died. The rest of his children were scattered around with different family members. When he got back he gathered up his children like a mother hen & re-married.
According to what I found in his Civil War records Wesley was not in good health at all when he got back from the Civil War. I know that his unit marched to Vicksburg, MS, then over to Atlanta, GA & back up. The papers said he had a hard march to the sea with Sherman.
When Wesley died, Elizabeth, had a bunch of kid to take care of. She moved from Noble Co to Whitley Co & bought 20 acres on State Rd 5 North of Larwill. That 20 acres was called 'the home place' & most of the Sroufe children lived there after Elizabeth died & they were adults. In 1966 a neighbor of Amelia's in Syracuse helped himself to the house that she was living in & the 20 where they grew up.
Elizabeth was a very good cook. However, she had quite a temper. The 3 Sroufe girls were very close & had quite a lot of suitors in their day.


Wesley Sroufe Sr 1822-1888, was a Private in Company F of the 59th Indiana Volunteer Infantry from Noble Co., IN. He was mustered in on January 10, 1865 at Kendallville, IN. He was mustered out at Louisville, KY on July 17, 1865 at the close of the Civil War.

Wesley went through Fort Wood NYH (New York Harbor) with Captain William Churchhill to ‘March to the Sea’ with Sherman (General George Sherman) in April & May of 1865. They started at Raleigh, NC & went north through St. Petersburg & Richmond, VA & on up to Washington, DC. He then went to Louisville, KY, where he was discharged July 17, 1865 at the end of the Civil War.

Fort Wood was a star-shaped fortification on Bedloe’s Island (now Liberty Island). It’s walls were used as the distinctive base for the Statue of Liberty. There were several forts in the New York Harbor.

Before the Civil War shoes were not made for left & right feet, they were straight so they could be worn on either foot. The march northward was long & hard. Wesley developed varicose veins in both legs, an abdominal hernia & hemorrhoids. His legs & feet were swollen so badly that his shoes split. He ended up walking much of the way barefoot which caused an infection in his foot from exposure which resulted in a crippled foot. He used his handkerchiefs & other bandages at night to wrap his legs & abdomen to help him get some sleep. He did not trust hospitals, especially since joining the army. He said ‘The sight of the sick & wounded in their suffering in the Army Hospital would be enough to kill him.’ He’d rather suffer anything that go to the hospital. It appears that he refused any medical care while he was in the army. Unfortunately, he suffered the rest of his life from these conditions & they got progressively worse. He died January 25, 1888, from shock following surgery to remove a malignant tumor on his upper right thigh caused by his varicose veins. A doctor’s report said the tumor had burst & was further complicated by a strangulated ventral hernia & hemorrhoids. His records say he was a stout & hardy man before he entered the war. When he was filing his pension papers he said he could do only about a half a day’s work because of his ailments.

Before his death, Wesley Sroufe was totally or $8 per month incapacitated. It took his widow, 3rd wife Elizabeth, three years to get her widow’s pension of $8 a month plus $2 each for her four minor children. She did laundry & whatever she could for people so she could provide for her children. Elizabeth could write, at least sign her name. Wesley could not write.

About 1993 I talked to Wesley’s grandson, Samuel Sroufe of Fort Wayne. He was 95 years old at the time & was a great help to me in putting Wesley Sr’s children & wives together. He said Wesley did not have the $500 (some Civil War records say $600) that it took for Wesley to buy his way out of the Civil War so he had to serve & he was in the Civil War the entire length of the war. When he returned, his wife Mahalla Amelia had died, along with some of his children from a plague that went through the area. When he got back home he gathered up his remaining children like a mother hen gathering up her little chicks. He found a new wife, Ellen & had more children. Unfortunately, Ellen died & he married a widow, Elizabeth, who had four children. Wesley & Elizabeth had four more children giving Wesley 14 children plus 4 step-children. It stands to reason why it’s been so difficult to put Wesley’s family together.

Wesley was in Co F of the 59th Regiment of the Indiana Volunteers. His regiment fought in the battle of Vicksburg, MS. I have been to the Vicksburg Civil War Battleground & there are 3 or 4 monuments for his regiment. Then his regiment headed east to Atlanta to catch up with General Sherman & then they headed north to Washington DC. These are records from Co F of the 59th Ind. Reg. I have not found any records where Wesley was mustered in before Jan 1865 for him to make that trip to Vicksburg, MS, or to be in the war before 1865. Possibly there are more records for him that I have not found.

Somewhere along the line Wesley was with Captain Carpenter, but I don’t know where.

According to the records, Wesley was 5’ 10½” tall, weighed 160 lbs. & had dark complexion.

The family Bible is mentioned in the pension papers. I assume it stayed with Elizabeth, Wesley’s widow, until she died in 1916. Then it probably went to one of the girls, Mary, Amelia or Cecilia. Since Mary was the oldest she would likely have gotten it. Since Mary never married or had a family, I assume it went to Amelia or Cecilia after Mary’s death. After Cecilia’s husband died she & Amelia lived together in Syracuse. A ‘friendly neighbor’ who looked after the two aging women ended up with their house & I believe the 20 acres on State Rd 5 north of Larwill that they called ‘The Home Place’. Elizabeth bought the 20 acres after Wesley Sr died. She lived there until her death & then Mary lived there, possibly with Amelia & Cecilia. Later Wesley Jr & his family lived there. After Amelia died in 1970, the ‘friendly neighbor’ told her nieces & nephews that they could go in the house & take whatever they wanted, but it had to be soon. Several of us went there one night. There were very few lights & it was difficult to see in the house. After we got home my Mom had some sleigh bells & I realized that I had laid some sleigh bells down that I wanted & I didn’t have them. I went back a couple of days later & the house was bulldozed down. I know from visiting the aunts that there was tons of old stuff in that house. If the family Bible lasted to that house, that’s were it was destroyed, along with a lot of other family treasures.
(Judy G, 15/4/2013)

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Titel	HELD-Hornikel-Rockey-Linn
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Hochgeladen	2019-04-27 14:52:34.0
Einsender	Karl Held
E-Mail	karl.held1@btinternet.com
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