Dear Sir: How I Found My Civil War Veteran, Michael Gilbride

by Nancy Gilbride Casey

I have often wondered if our family had any Civil War veterans. Compared to some, ours is not the most deeply-rooted American family. The earliest ancestors who came to the United States were James Gilbride and his wife Mary Hart Gilbride, who arrived in the U.S. in April 1850, on their way to Pennsylvania. They brought with them several children:  Sons James (my 3x great-grandfather), Owen, and Francis, and daughter Rose.¹ But they also had two older sons, Michael and Martin, who must have emigrated at an earlier time.²

My first clue that we might have a Union soldier in our family history was a note in the book History of Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties, Pennsylvania. Here, a man named Michael Gilbride was noted as serving in the 52nd Pennsylvania, Company H.³ But was he part of our family?

Then, I found a second clue: Michael Gilbride, aged 37, registered for the Civil War draft in June 1863. He was an Irish-born miner then living in Jenkins Township, Luzerne, Pennsylvania.⁴ This also meshed with the known occupations of many of our Scranton-area male ancestors. Jenkins Township was located just to the southwest of the Borough of Scranton, so possibly some of the Gilbride men made their way to other area mines for work. 

Entry for Michael Gilbride in Civil War draft registration list.

This Michael Gilbride had also applied for an Civil War invalid pension on 2 October 1884, while living in Sacramento, California.⁵ Pension files contain all the correspondences from a veteran to the pension office, outlining not only his war service, but also injuries or diseases that he sustained then or developed since, attributable to his service. A man's service had to be verified with the War Bureau. He also had to submit medical examinations certifying his disability, and affidavits from his commander or fellow soldiers attesting to his service, before any action was taken to provide him a pension. Sometimes the process could take years...such was the case for Michael.

Knowing that these pension files can be chock-full of genealogical information, I requested a copy of Michael Gilbride's file from the National Archives, to determine if I could connect him to our family.

The file did not disappoint—and held a few surprises. 

Chief among the surprises was a letter from Michael's son, John A. Gilbride, of Lowell, Massachusetts, dated 7 December 1901.⁶

Transcription:

17 Gates St.

S. Boston,

Mass.

Commissioner of Pensions

Washington

D.C.

Dear Sir

   Could you inform

me of Michael Gilbride is

drawing a pension or if he ever

did. He enlisted in Scranton

Penna in August 1864 and 

discharged in June 1865. A

private in the 52nd Penna.

infantry. This information I

would like if you could give it - 

as his is my father and I have not

heard from him since 1872.

over

and I thought that this

may might be able to

Locate him. Thanking you

for whatever information you

might be able to give I

I Remain

Yours Truly

John A. Gilbride

Dec. 7, 1901.

P.S. The information in regard

to his Enlisting and discharge

the dates are as near as I can 

remember but - the years are correct - 

I think also the Regiment

 

Here was a man, identifying himself as Michael's son, living in a locality unknown to date in the Gilbride line—Lowell, Massachusetts. And that for whatever reason, his father had left the family back in 1872—nearly 30 years prior—never to be heard from again. John Gilbride clearly had the correct man: a Michael Gilbride who enlisted in Pennsylvania, with the correct regiment. What a smart idea John had to track his father down by writing to the Pension Bureau!

Unfortunately, the news was not at all good. Correspondence in Michael Gilbride's file between his lawyer and the Pension Bureau revealed that Michael had died in Sacramento on 24 September 1886, years prior to his son John's inquiry. It must have been a devastating blow.

While I had previously pieced together the lives of the younger children of James and Mary Gilbride, the eldest sons, Michael and Martin, had proven more elusive. John's letter changed that. It helped me begin to build Michael's family tree, and illuminate some of the family's circumstances.

Since uncovering this Lowell connection as well as Michael's residence, I have been able to track the family back into Pennsylvania, and connect them to the family of our immigrant Gilbride ancestors who settled in Palmyra, Wayne, Pennsylvania in 1850. Soldier Michael was the brother of my 3x great-grandfather James Gilbride, and uncle to my 2x great-grandfather, also named Michael.

Michael appears to have worked then in nearby Texas borough, also in Wayne County, as a laborer.⁷ He may have lived in Seely Mills, and possibly worked on the Delaware & Hudson Gravity Railroad, a major employer in the area of the time, and part of the coal transportation route connected to the Delaware & Hudson Canal.⁸

Michael married Sarah Ruddy on 29 December 1850 at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Honesdale.⁹ Seely Mills was about 2.5 miles from Prompton, where it appears Sarah lived at the time.¹⁰

Prompton, Seely Mills (later Seelyville), and Honesdale, in Wayne County, Penns.

The couple welcomed two sons into their family while living near Honesdale—John, our letter-writer, born about 1852—and Michael, born about 1855. ¹¹

By 1860 the family was living in Jenkins Twp., Pittston borough, Luzerne County, where Michael was "an early pioneer of coal mining."¹² There, the family grew to include two more children:

• Mary A. born December 1856
  
• Sarah J. born April 1859.¹³
  

The family moved to nearby Pittston, Luzerne County, sometime between 1860-1870; during that time the couple's last two children were born:

• Rosa E. born July 1861
  
• James, born September 1863.¹⁴ 

 

 

In August 1864, Michael voluntarily enlisted in the Union Army.¹⁵ Though he only served from August 1864-July 1865, his duty resulted in injuries which cost him dearly in the years to come. 

More on that in my next post.

Until next time...

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IMAGE

Top: Antietem, photograph by David Mark on Pixabay. 

NOTES

¹ District of New York, Port of New York, Manifest of the Ship Liverpool, 3 April 1850, lines 212-217, family of Jas. Kilbride; digital image, "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891," FamilySearch, (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939V-559C-54 : 22 June 2022), citing NARA microfilm publication M237, "Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York 1820-1897," Roll 86 ; FHL 00467741, image 607.

² Wayne County, Pennsylvania, probate file 1383, James Gilbride; Register of Wills Office, Honesdale.

³ History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming Counties, Pa, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Their Prominent Men and Pioneers (New York : W.W. Munsell & Co, 1880), p. 123); digital image, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/edition/History_of_Luzerne_Lackawanna_and_Wyomin/IMosAQAAMAAJ : accessed 26 September 2022).

⁴ Provost Marshall General's Bureau, Consolidated List of Enrollments, No. 103, 13th Congressional District, Luzerne and Susquehanna Counties, Pennsylvania, Schedule II, Class II enrollments, Jenkins Twp., line 15, Michael Gilbride, 37, June 1863; database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1666/images/32178_620305173_0173-00212 : accessed 27 September 2022), image 208; citing "Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registrations, 1863-1865, Vol. 3," National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

⁵ 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.

⁶ 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.

⁷ 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Wayne, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Texas Twp., p. 231B (stamped), line 30, dwelling 345, family 375, Michael Kilbrider, age 30; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/5519046:8054 : accessed 1 November 2022); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, Roll 835, Washington, D.C.

⁸ Nancy Gilbride Casey, "Wayne County PA Genealogy Plus," Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/95109304109 : accessed 1 November 2022), posting "What would a man have been working at in Texas, Wayne County in 1850 as a laborer..." 27 October 2022. "Based on the name of the owner of the boarding house (Mathias Keen) and other names on the page, I think that Michael Gilbride was living in Seelyville, which was not on the canal. The D&H Gravity Railroad ran through it however, and is a likely candidate for his employer."

⁹ Barbara Spellman Shuta, Dickson City, Pa. [e-address for private use,] to Nancy Gilbride Casey, email, 31 August 2022, “Fwd. Marriage Record”; St. John the Evangelist Church, Honesdale, Wayne, Pennsylvania, Marriage Book 1, entry 96, marriage of Michael Kilbride and Sarah Ruddy, 29 December 1850; digital image obtained from Dorothy Kieff, church staff, 20 August 2022.

¹⁰ 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Wayne, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Borough of Prompton., p. 240A (stamped), line 28, dwelling 39, family 39, Sarah Roudy, age 19; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/5519734:8054 : accessed 1 November 2022); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, Washington, D.C. 

¹¹ 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.

¹²  Ibid. Also: "John A. Gilbride is Buried in Lowell," The Boston Globe, 3 March 1925, p. 28, col. 8; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111317378/john-a-gilbride-buried-in-lowell/# : accessed 1 November 2022). "Mr. Gilbride was born in Scranton, Penn., his father having been an early pioneer in the coal mining region."

¹³ Barbara's report... 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.

¹⁴ 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: B. S. Shuta, Dickson City, [(E-address for private use]) to Nancy Gilbride Casey, email, 1 November 2022, "Marriage Record; Personal email file, "Barbara Reports and Correspondence; privately held by Gilbride Casey [(E-address for private use)], Tioga, Texas.

¹⁵ Compiled Service Record, Michael Gilbride, Pvt., Co. H, 52nd Pennsylvania Inf.; Carded Service Records of Volunteer Organizations: Civil War (Union), 1861–1865, Record Group 94, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1762-1984, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.