Remembering our Ancestors

Today, I have been reminiscing about some of my research and remembering our ancestors. Joseph Thomas was one of the first ancestors that I spent a lot of time researching and wanting to know more. There is still more to find out and connections to make. Below is a post I did last year about Joseph.

How are you remembering your ancestors this Memorial Day??

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Joseph is my husband's 3rd great-grandfather.

Joseph was born in 1830 probably in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania and he died 3 Apr 1865 in Hopewell, Prince George County, Virginia from wounds received during the Civil War.

Joseph married Elizabeth Jane Savage (I blogged about Elizabeth's burial search before) 19 June 1854 in Fishing Creek Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania. Joseph and Elizabeth had 7 children:

Daniel W. Thomas
John W. Thomas
Joshua Eugene Thomas (My husband's 2nd great-grandfather)
Parvin Oscar Thomas
Ella G. Thomas
William James Thomas
Anna E. Thomas

I have also been lucky enough to find Elizabeth's Widow's Pension file at Fold3; I have it on my to do list to go through it and document everything in Legacy.

The following is a timeline of his time in the Civil War.

Date	Battle	Joseph Thomas	Richmond - Petersburg Campaign June 1864 - March 1865	Siege of Petersburg September 1864 to April 1865	Appomattox Campaign March 28 to April 9 1865
Summer 1864	Regiment was recruited in the city of Philadelphia Co H 198 PA Inf	{Joseph joins 2 September 1864}
9 Sep 1864	Organized at Philadelphia
15 Sep 1864	Mustered into the United States service
19 Sep 1864	Left Camp Cadwallader PA
20 Sep 1864	Arrived at Washington DC
21 Sep 1864	Boarded steamers Weems and Thames for City Point
22 Sep 1864	Arrived in City Point
24 Sep 1864	Arrived at the headquarters of the First Brigade to which they were assigned to the First Division of the Fifth Corps.
30 Sep - 2 Oct 1864	Battle of Peebles Farm
8 Oct 1864	Reconnaissance to Boydton Road
27 - 28 Oct 1864	Boydton Plank Road, Hatcher's Run
8 Nov 1864	Abraham Lincoln is re-elected president defeating Democrat George B. McClellan
6 - 12 December 1864	Warren's Raid to Weldon Railroad
31 January 1865	Congress approves the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution to abolish slavery. The amendment is then submitted to the states for ratification.
3 February 1865	Peace conference between President Lincoln and Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens fails
5 - 7 February 1865	Dabney's Mills, Hatcher's Run Three killed and thirteen wounded
29 Mar 1865	Junction, Quaker and Boydton Roads
29 Mar 1865	Marched toward Dinwiddie Court House and encountered the enemy near the Old Saw Mill (Battle of Lewis Farm near Gravelly Run) twenty-eight were killed and one hundred and seventeen wounded.	{Joseph is wounded 29 March 1865 at Lewis Farm}
Mar 30 -31 1865	White Oak Rd
31 Mar 1865	Moved off and encountered the enemy at White Oak Swamp. six killed and forty six wounded
1 April 1865	Five Forks one killed and fifteen wounded	{Joseph dies 3 April 1865} {Joseph is buried 4 April 1865 at City Point National Cemetery in Hopewell Virginia}
9 April 1865	Appomattox Court House General Robert E. Lee surrenders his Confederate Army to General Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia
14 April 1865	Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary go to Ford's Theater to see the play "Our American Cousin." During the third act of the play John Wilkes Booth shoots the president in the head at approximately 10:13pm.
15 April 1865	Start their march home. President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 am. Vice President Andrew Johnson assumes the presidency.
18 April 1865	General Joseph E. Johnston surrenders to General Sherman near Durham in North Carolina.
22 April - 2 May 1865	Guarded railroad at Wilson's Station
26 April 1865	John Wilkes Booth is shot and killed in a tobacco barn in Virginia.
2 - 6 May 1865	Continue their march home through Petersburg.
	The Fifth Corps was assigned a permanent camp on Arlington Heights, near the former mansion of Robert E. Lee
4 May 1865	Abraham Lincoln is laid to rest in Oak Ridge Cemetery, outside Springfield, Illinois.
9 May 1865	Marched through Fredericksburg.
12 May 1865	Reached Arlington Heights
22 May 1865	A large farewell party was held in the Fifth Corps' First Division camp, to honor General Griffin. Four huge hospital tents had been put together, to accommodate Division officers and their invited guests. For the occasion, Chamberlain had designed, and Tiffany's in New York had created, a pin in enameled gold of a red Maltese cross against a white background--a miniature replica of the Division's flag. The cross was outlined in diamonds, with a center diamond costing about $1000. Chamberlain was chosen by his fellow officers to make the presentation speech, and he pinned the badge to his commander's uniform. Griffin was quite overcome by the honor paid, and simply bowed his thanks to the assemblage
23 May 1865	Grand Review
4 June 1865	Mustered out of service.
5 June 1865	Broke camp and marched to Washington D.C.
6 June 1865	Arrived in Philadelphia at 9 o'clock in the morning.
12 June 1865	They were paid and discharged and able to return to their families.