A Letter, A Notice, A Deed: What Happened to Michael Gilbride?

 

by Nancy Gilbride Casey

A son's letter found in a Civil War pension file reconnected Michael Gilbride, Union veteran of the 52nd Pennsylvania, Co. H, with his family in Pennsylvania, and later in Lowell, Massachusetts. He had left Pennsylvania sometime after 1870, and according to son John's letter, was never heard from again.¹

But the letter was just one surprise in Michael pension file. His original declaration for the invalid pension also stated, "That since leaving the service this applicant has resided in Idaho Territory and California and his occupation has been that of a laborer." ²

What took him away from his family? And what drew him to Idaho and California? 

Again, Michael's pension file delivers some clues about his circumstances before and after the Civil War.

From at least 1860-1870, Michael had worked as a miner in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The occupation of miner was distinct from other coal mining jobs, referring to ..."the workman who cuts the coal, as distinguished from the laborer who loads the wagons."³

A successful miner had to be in good physical condition, and affidavits in Michael's pension file attest to his fitness prior to the war. In his own declaration Michael stated, "That prior to his entry into the service above named he was a man of good sound, physical health, being where enrolled a coal-miner." Another affiant, James Morgan, stated that he knew Michael in Luzerne County "until the year 1872, when he came to California," and "...that at the time of such Enlistment his applicant was a coal miner and in the enjoyment of perfect health, Eyesight and use of his limbs..."⁴

In Michael's words, written by his lawyer:

"That while a member
of the organization aforesaid in the service
and in the line of his duty he re-
ceived a bullet-wound in his left
hand wrist, in a skirmish near
the Santee River, South Carolina,
about February 21st 1865.
That furthermore he has had the mis-
fortune of loosing his right eye, altho’ he
did not loose it while in actual service, still
he firmly believes that the exposures and hardships
he underwent in the army, helped toward the loss of the same.

He goes on to say...

"That he is now ⅔ dis-abled from ob-
taining his subsistence by manual
labor, by reason of his injuries above-
described received in the service of the United
States and he therefore makes this declara-
tion for the purpose of being placed on the
invalid pension roll of the United States"

Prior to the war, and shortly thereafter, he seemed well settled with his growing family. In Jenkins Twp., he owned real estate valued at $200 ($7,152 today), and $50 in personal property ($1,788 today).⁵ He purchased a home in Jenkins in January 1870, but quickly sold it in March of the same year.⁶

By June, he and his family were living in nearby Pittston. It could be that he sold the Jenkins home to take advantage of a better opportunity in the Pittston mines. By 1870 Michael's real estate was valued at $2,500 (over $56,000 today), and he was among the more prosperous miners in Pittston.⁷ It appears that perhaps his Civil War injuries did not hold him back too much in those early years.

However, two events during this time indicate there may have been trouble in the Gilbride household. 

First, this notice:

It appears that Michael and wife Sarah were separated in 1869, though she was still listed in the 1870 census as his wife, "whose place of abode on the first day of June 1870, was in this family"—an abode which also included five children under the age of 15.⁸

This discrepancy could be explained by the instructions given to the census enumerator that year: "In column 3 will be entered the name of every person in each family, of whatever age, including the names of such as were temporarily absent on the 1st day of June, 1870."⁹

So, were Michael and Sarah separated and concealing it when the census was taken? Was she already living elsewhere? Though they could have divorced civilly in Pennsylvania at the time, for Catholics, divorce was forbidden. So, they may have separated, and were living apart.

The second event was the recording of a deed in 1872 in Luzerne County, which hints at financial issues rather than personal. Here, Aaron Whitaker, Sheriff of Luzerne County, sold Michael Gilbride's Pittston property to Michael Reap, president of The Miner's Bank in Pittston.

"I, Aaron Whitaker Sheriff of the County of Luzerne in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, send greeting; Whereas by virtue of Fieri Facias hearing ____ at Wilkes=Barre the Third day of January Anno Domini One Thousand Eight hundred and Seventy=Two, I was Commanded that of the Goods and Chattels, lands and tenements of Michael Gilbride, late of our County Yeoman in my Bailiwick I should cause to be levied as well a Certain Debt of Two Hundred and fifty-dollars which Charles Pugh lately in our County Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County before our Judges at Wilkes-Barre recov-ered against him as for + 50/100 Dollars which in our said Court were adjudged for his dama-ges which he sustained by the detention of that debt..."

"...In pursuance whereof I, the said Sheriff having given due and timely notice of the day of sale, did on the seventeenth day of February= expose the Premises ⌃ aforesaid to sale by public vendue or outcry and sold the same to Michael Reap for the sum of Eighty-five Dollars he being the highest and best bidder, and that the highest and best bidder for the same."¹⁰

Ad for Miner's Bank in Pittston, Michael Reap, President.¹¹

 

The 1872 sale of the Pittston property directly aligns with James Morgan's statement that he knew Michael in Luzerne County "until the year 1872, when he came to California," as well as his son John's statement, "I have not heard from him since 1872."

M. Reap property on the D&H Canal, shown on an 1873 map of Pittston. The land description in the deed noted a location on Main Street, so this could be the property formerly owned by Michael Gilbride. At lower left is Morgan's Breaker, possibly owned by the James Morgan who knew Michael in the 1870s.¹²

The family split was complete. Michael was either in or on his way to Idaho or California, and the rest of the family relocated to Lowell, Middlesex, Massachusetts, no later than 1875—dated by Sarah's death there.¹³

Any one—or a combination of—the following reasons could account for the family's breakup:

• Michael's war injuries could have progressed and affected his ability to work the physically-taxing miner's life. Perhaps he overextended himself or was unable to earn as much.
  
• This could have led to the debt to Charles Pugh, which Michael was unable to pay.
  
• The loss of their Pittston home in such a public and probably humiliating way could have driven the family to seek a new home far from Pennsylvania. 
• Marital difficulties may have either precipitated or exacerbated Michael's financial woes, driving a wedge between the couple.
  
• The exploding need for workers in the Lowell cotton mills could have proven a tempting opportunity for Sarah and her children, as the mills employed both men and women.
• Michael may have sought to apply his remaining mining skills to rebuilding his fortunes in Idaho or California, perhaps intending to send for family members afterwards.

In future posts, more on Michael's move west, the Gilbride family in Lowell, Massachusetts, and a visit to a cotton mill.

Until next time...

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A Researcher's Aside—The value of revisiting old sources was brought home to me while writing this post. As I looked for newspaper mentions of the Gilbrides in Pittston and Lowell, I came across a clipping I made of the "Notice." I originally found it while searching for information on my direct ancestor Michael Gilbride, who was this man's nephew. Realizing then that it did not reference my target, I put it aside. Now, setting the notice into the context of the pension details, the family's separation and relocations, etc.,  it makes sense. The moral of the story: Always look over your old research!

IMAGE:  Trompe L'Oeil during 19th century by Carl Dietrich. Original from The Minneapolis Institute of Art. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel. In the public domain.

 

NOTES

¹ John A. Gilbride, letter to Commissioner of Pensions, 7 December 1901; combined with Michael Gilbride (Pvt., Co. H, 52nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Civil War), Invalid Application file, I.O.  523.651; Case Files of Approved Pension Applications; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15; Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

² Michael Gilbride (Pvt., Co. H, 52nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Civil War), Invalid Application file, I.O. 523.651, Applicant's declaration, 25 September 1884; Case Files of Approved Pension Applications; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15; Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

³ 1860 United States Federal Census, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Jenkins Twp., p. 302 (stamped), 176 (penned), dwelling 1369, family 1389, household of Michael Gilbride (32); database/image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7667/images/4292152_00319 : accessed 25 October 2022); citing citing National Archives & Records Administration microfilm publication M593, Washington, D.C. Also: 1870 United States Federal Census, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Pittston Twp., p., 25 (penned), dwelling 169, family 191, household of Michael Gilbride (40); database/image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7163/images/4278598_00684 : accessed 25 October 2022); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, Washington, D.C. Also: R.W. Raymond, A Glossary of Mining and Metallurgical Terms (Easton, Penns., : American Institute of Mining Engineers, 1881), p. 58, Miner, Penn.; digital image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/glossaryofmining00raymrich/page/58/mode/2up : accessed 3 November 2022); citing University of California Libraries, Berkeley.

⁴ Michael Gilbride (Pvt., Co. H, 52nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Civil War), Invalid Application file, I.O. 523.651, James Morgan statement, 9 August 1886. 

⁵ 1860 United States Federal Census, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Jenkins Twp., p. 302 (stamped), 176 (penned), dwelling 1369, family 1389, household of Michael Gilbride. Also: CPI Inflation Calculator (https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1860?amount=200 : accessed 7 November 2022).

⁶ Luzerne, County, Deed Book 138, p. 326, Jesse B. Schooley & Eliza Jane Schooley to Michael Gilbride, Jenkins Twp., 22 January 1870; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNT-S4S1 : accessed 5 November 2022); citing County Courthouse, Wilkes Barre; FHL Microfilm 008086762, image 463. Also: Luzerne, County, Deed Book 141, p. 269, Michael Gilbride & Wife to James O'Donnell, Jenkins Twp., 6 March 1870; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNR-Q4ZL : accessed 5 November 2022); citing County Courthouse, Wilkes Barre; FHL Microfilm 8086764, image 433. 

⁷ 1870 United States Federal Census, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Pittston Twp., p., 25 (penned), dwelling 169, family 191, household of Michael Gilbride.

⁸ "NOTICE," The Pittston (Pennsylvania) Gazette, 16 September 1869, p. 2, col. 5, Wife Sarah left Mich'l Gilbride's bed and board; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19613460/notice-given-by-michl-gilbride/ : accessed 5 November 2022). Also: 1870 United States Federal Census, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Pittston Twp., p., 25 (penned), dwelling 169, family 191, household of Michael Gilbride.

⁹  United States Census Bureau, "1870 Census Instructions to Enumerators," (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/technical-documentation/questionnaires/1870/1870-instructions.html : accessed 7 November 2022), last revised 8 October 2021.

¹⁰ Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 146, p. 398, Aaron Whitaker, Shff. to Michael Reap, 28 Feb. 1872; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNR-Q2K8?i=506&cat=228810 : accessed 4 November 2022), FHL microfilm 008086427, images 507 and 509 ; citing County Courthouse, Wilkes Barre. Fieri Facias: May you cause to be done. A writ ordering the local law enforcement to ensure that damages awarded by the court are properly recovered.

¹¹  "Miner's Savings Bank," advertisement, The Pittston (Pennsylvania) Gazette, 28 March 1872, p. 4, col. 4; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112578579/michael-reap-pres-of-miners-savings/ : accessed 7 November 2022).

¹² D. G. Beers, Atlas of Luzerne County Pennsylvania (Philadelphia : A. Pomeroy & Co., 1873), np, "Part of the Borough of Pittston); digital image, Luzerne County PAGenWeb (http://usgwarchives.net/maps/pa/county/luzerne/1873/pitts123.jpg : accessed 7 November 2022). In the public domain.

¹³ Samuel A. McPherties, Deaths, Vol. G., City of Lowell, Massachusetts, p. 84, #190, Sarah Gilbride, 16 March 1875; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9Q1-L3SM : accessed 14 October 2022); citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL film 004282177, image 310.