The Hyphen Family Lineage

Note: Alfred Stuver

Alfred's birthplace was a minor mystery owing to apparently inconsistent place names in the few documents I've been able to find. There are at least three different newspapers that carried his obituary - the Huntington Press (issue of 18 Jan 1928, sourced from the newspapers.com website) and the Huntington Herald (also 18 Jan 1928, sourced from the files of the Huntington Public Library), both of Huntington, Huntington Cty, Indiana, with the third being a Bluffton, Wells Cty, Indiana newspaper clipping contained in the files of Jane Anne Thomas, without note of the paper's name or date. (Alfred's eldest daughter, Effie Stuver, was a Bluffton resident and married into a prominent local family, and a few brothers of Alfred's first wife, Melissa Forst, were in business in Bluffton as well - hence the obituary being carried in that paper.) Two of those three obituaries give his birthplace simply as "Altoona, Pa.," while the third (the Herald) names his birthplace "Altona, Bethlehem township, Northampton county, Pa." A first glance at "Altoona" would suggest the city in Blair Cty, halfway across Pennsylvania from Northampton Cty. Alfred's older sister Mary was born in Bethlehem, Northampton Cty, and his father is reported to have been born in Northampton Cty and was resident there for some time prior to the family's migration to and through Ohio (specifically listed there in the 1850 US Census). Further research indicates that a community named Altona in Bethlehem Twp had long since been annexed into the city of Bethlehem since Alfred's birth, and enough years had gone by that its previous 19th-century existence was likely unknown to the early 20th-century residents of Indiana, hundreds of miles away. Additionally, the family was resident in Bethlehem as of the 1850 US Census.

Alfred's Civil War service isn't in any question - there was ample documentation of his pension for service and injury, including copies of his service records and pension, as well as affidavits from various people for his second wife, Martha Jane (Cooper) Stuver, to support her continuing to draw a widow's pension after Alfred's death. He served as a member and Commander of the Huntington Post (#137) of the Grand Army of the Republic, the fraternal organization of veterans and widows of the Civil War, as was documented in many of the proceedings of the Department of Indiana division of the GAR. I've made initial reviews of many of the documents, though age and poor copying capability make some of them difficult to decipher, and they do seem to confirm that he was an enlisted infantryman in the 55th Ohio Regiment, Co. B (though one obituary reports him as having served in Co. F of the 17th Ohio Regiment). Family oral history indicates that he lied about his age to enlist as a boy, sometimes putting him as young as thirteen, but his age would really have been fifteen at the start of the war and his enlistment date appears to have been just days after his sixteenth birthday. The writings of Jane Anne Thomas give his service as including the Second Battle of Bull Run, after which he spent six months in the hospital (though whether for injury or illness is unclear), and that he later fought at the Battle of Chancellorsville, where he was critically injured when he was shot through the left side of his skull with a musket ball. He was left for dead on the battlefield, lying there for three days before he was found. In most of her writings Jane Anne gives that he was found by the Confederate Army while searching for survivors, and was put in a prison hospital until returned late in the war in a POW exchange, though she occasionally writes that he was found by an officer of the Union Army. I think the first possibility the more likely one, as Chancellorsville was a Confederate victory and the area would likely have been under Confederate control after the immediate combat was complete.

Though Alfred survived, his injuries were certainly life-altering. His granddaughter, Mary Alice (Bayha) Thomas, recalled that he was plagued with headaches most of his life, and his depressed and erratic behavior (whether due to cognitive issues or simply as a result of chronic and severe pain) was frequent enough that it occasionally made the local newspaper (notably the Huntington Daily News Democrat, 7 Oct 1908, p1).

After the war and his return to his parents' family (then living in Warren, Huntington Cty, Indiana), Alfred farmed with his father and worked as a carpenter, and later served for many years as Justice of the Peace for Huntington County (Annual Reports of the Officers of the State of Indiana, v1, p204). His name appears often in Huntington newspapers, as his activities in law enforcement and local politics kept him somewhat visible. After retiring from that position, he returned to farming in his later years just outside the city of Huntington. During his earlier post-war years, he married the seventeen-year-old Melissa Forst, who gave birth to their only child (Elfrieda) in late 1869 before dying in childbirth with their second in 1874. Two years after her death, he would marry twenty-two-year-old Martha Jane Cooper, who would give him three sons and another daughter.

In the files and photo collection maintained by Jane Anne were photos of a man named Samuel J. Ream, which were kept in the same albums as Alfred's family photos. "Sam" is noted as the best man at Alfred's second wedding, and in other writings and notes of Jane Anne's he is described as a close friend of Alfred's. A closer look revealed the two men were brothers-in-law, as well - Martha Jane was the younger sister of Sam's wife Elizabeth Anna Cooper, with the couples' weddings occurring only four months apart. The two young women were born to English parents, recent immigrants who arrived in America and settled in Indiana sometime after the birth of Elizabeth (born in England in 1850) and before that of Martha Jane (born in Indiana in 1856). The two couples appear to have remained close over the years, as Sam and Elizabeth named their daughter Martha Jane, and in later years Alfred (acting in his role as Justice of the Peace) would preside over Martha Jane Ream's wedding (to Charles Burket).

Despite having three sons, Alfred's only known descendancy stems from his daughters - firstborn Elfrieda and youngest child Anna Mae. "Effie" would go on to give her father five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren (eight of those born before Alfred's death), and Anna Mae would give him two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. His eldest son, William, married at least once and appears to have been divorced at the time of his death, with no children; "Will" shared his home with his parents in their later years. Middle son John married Ovilla Weston in 1900, and remained with her until his death in 1957; they had no children. Youngest son Charles appears to have led a particularly colorful life, including trouble with the law and wandering the country in a relatively carefree fashion; it is not known if he married or had any children, but no record has been found on either count thus far.

[Obituary for Alfred Stuver, paper and date unknown.]

[headline] Alfred Stuver, 82, Called By Death
[second headline] Father of Mrs. Effie Bayha, of Bluffton, Dies at Huntington.

Huntington, Ind., Jan 18 - Alfred Stuver, 82, a veteran of the Civil war, who was left for dead several days on the battlefield of Bull Run, died Tuesday afternoon at his home, 1387 William street. Mr. Stuver enlisted on October 14, 1861, in Company F of the Seventeenth regiment of the veteran reserve corps. The wounds suffered at Bull Run kept him out of most of the war. Funeral services will be held at 2 o'clock Thursday afternoon at the St. Peter's Reformed church with Rev. R.B. Meckstroth in charge. Burial will be at Mt. Hope cemetery. Mr. Stuver was born October 7, 1845, at Altoona, Pa. His marriage was to Melissa Forest [sic], February 11, 1869. Mrs. Stuver died June 18, 1874. The second marriage was to Martha Jane Cooper, December 24, 1876. Surviving are the widow and the following children: Mrs. Effie Bayha of Bluffton; Mrs. Roland Poe, William S. Stuver, John S. Stuver and Charles W. Stuver, all of Huntington. Mrs. Emma Stoy of Huntington, and Mrs. Sevilla Kiger of Plymouth, are sisters, and Jacob Stuver of Frankfort, is a brother.

[Obituary for Alfred Stuver, from the Huntington Herald, 18 Jan 1928; from the files of the Huntington County Public Library.]

Alfred Stuver, eighty-two years old, Civil war veteran, died at noon Tuesday at his home, 1387 William street after being in failing health for five years. He suffered a troke [sic] of paralysis last Thursday morning.

Mr. Stuver was born October 7, 1845 at Altona [sic], Bethlehem township Northampton county, Pa. He was the son of Jacob and Anna Stuver. His marriage to Melissa Forst took place February 11, 1869. Mrs. Stuver died June 18, 1874. The second marriage was to Martha Jane Cooper December 24, 1876.

The widow survives. One daughter, Mrs. Effie Bayha of Bluffton, survives of the first marriage. There are also five grandchildren and four great grandchildren of that union.

Children of the second marriage are three sons, William S. Stuver, John S. Stuver, and Charles W. Stuver and one daughter, Mrs. Roland Poe, all of this city. There are two grandchildren. Sisters are Mrs. Emma Stoy of this city and Mrs. Sevilla Kiger of Plymouth and a brother, Jacob Stuver lives at Frankfort, Ind.

Mr. Stuver was a Civil war veteran, having enlisted October 14, 1861, as a member of Company F of the Seventeenth regiment of the veteran reserve corps. He was wounded in the battle of Bull Run and was left on the field of battle, supposedly dead. He was found twelve days later by his own officer and recuperated during a long furlough.

Funeral services will be held Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the St. Peter's Reformed church with the Rev. R.B. Meckstroth in charge. Burial will be at Mt. Hope cemetery.