Early Lowell and the Civil War

I was looking something up in Charles Cowley's "Illustrated History of Lowell" and I read something that interested me.

Who was Robert E.K. Whiting and how did end up a Major-General in the Confederate Army in the Civil War?

Robert Edward Kerr Whiting

Robert's grandfather and great grandfather served in the American Revolution. Timothy Whiting Sr. and Timothy Whiting Jr. from Billerica. After winning America's independence, Timothy Jr. moved to Lancaster, Massachusetts and settled there. He had thirteen children with two wives. Levi Whiting was born to Timothy and his first wife Abigail Kidder on January 27, 1790.

Levi Whiting was a career Army man in the 1st Artillery and he fought in the War of 1812. He served in the U.S. Army for forty years until his death in 1852. He married Mary Ann Cushing of Maine in 1823 in Biloxi, Mississippi.  They had seven children all born around the United States during Levi's assignments.

St. Anne's Church in Lowell was built in 1825. Levi Whiting and his wife had all their sons baptized at St. Anne's while they were residing in New York:

• William Henry Chase Whiting - baptism July 13, 1828 - born in Biloxi, Mississippi
• John McMahon Whiting - baptism July 13, 1828 - born in Houlton, Maine
• Jasper Strong Whiting - baptism July 13, 1828 - born in Louisiana
• Frederick Underhill Whiting - baptism August 28, 1831 - born in New York
• Robert Edward Kerr Whiting - baptism October 28, 1832 - born on Governor's Island, NY

I  tried to determine why would this family come to newly created Lowell for their son's baptisms? They came three different times.

Lowell connections:

1. Robert's grandfather, Timothy Whiting Jr. of Lancaster was a Mason and on December 10, 1809 he went to Whiting's Hall in Chelmsford (now Lowell) at the site of the Franco American School and installed the Pentucket Lodge of Mason's. He did this as the District Deputy Grand Master. 
2. Jessee Phelps of Lancaster was the first overseer of Merrimack Manufacturing Company. Jessee was also a Mason and the Deacon at St. Anne's Church. Timothy Whiting's second wife's maiden name was Lydia Phelps.

John and Frederick do not live to see the Civil War.  His two surviving brothers were William Henry Chase Whiting and Jasper Strong Whiting. They would not survive the American Civil War.

William was a West Point graduate class of 1845 who was number one in his class. Supposedly he had the highest class rank that stood until General Douglas MacArthur graduated.  He served in the United States Army Engineers and surveyed many areas of the country. Jasper Strong Whiting graduated from Bowdoin College and was also a Civil Engineer doing surveying work for the U.S. Army.  It looks like Robert was employed as a surveyor as a private citizen. During the time of the civil war he was the superintendent of Green-wood Cemetery in the Bronx. I can find no record of Robert E.K. Whiting serving in either the United States or Confederate army.

Jasper Strong Whiting enlisted in the Confederate Army with the rank of Major. He died of Scarlet Fever on Christmas Day in 1862 in Richmond, Virginia. He left a wife and infant son.

William Henry Chase Whiting resigned from the U.S. Army in February 1862 and offered his services to the Governor of Georgia. He ended up a Major General defending Fort Fisher at the end the war. He participated in the first battle of Fort Fisher that repelled Benjamin Butler's army. During the second battle of Fort Fisher he was shot two times and was taken a prison of war to Fort Columbus on Governor's Island in New York. He died March 10, 1865 on Governor's Island of dystentry. His funeral was held in New York City and he was buried at Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY. His mother, brother and two sisters attended his funeral. His wife had him reburied in 1900 in North Carolina. He left no children.

Robert E.K. Whiting died at Lake George, New York in 1871 and is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx that he designed and managed. He left a wife, an infant son & daughter. Here is his grave:

courtesy of findagrave.com

The Confederate General that was baptised in Lowell is Robert's brother William Henry Chase Whiting. Because Robert's brothers married Southern ladies and spent such a large portion of their lives in the South their allegiance to the South is not that surprising. There are a few more Lowell connections that I will share in a future post about Major General William Henry Chase Whiting. Stay tuned!

Nelson Joseph Loucraft - Pvt 33rd Massachusetts Regiment Company D

Nelson Loucraft, Sr. is one of those ancestors that drives you crazy. You find tidbits of his life here and there. He was born in New York in the summer of 1841 to Joseph Lucraft and Zoe Charron.

I married a Loucraft and everyone asks how do you spell that? LOUCRAFT - "oh just like it sounds". But in research documents it is spelled so many different ways. Loncraft, Loncroff, Lewcraft, Leucraft, Loucraff...... So, imagine my surprise when I found that Nelson Loucraft Sr. had served over three years as a private in the Union Army with the iconic 33rd Massachusetts Regiment Company D.

Source:  Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War, Volume 3.

As part of the 33rd regiment he would have been in the presence of Abraham Lincoln in his review of the troops. He would have been at Chancellorsville, Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg, Atlanta and Sherman's March to the Sea. Amazing civil war scenes.

Here is the monument to the 33rd Massachusetts Regiment at Gettysburg.

Monument at Gettysburg National Park

From the tablet on the front of the monument:

The Thirty Third Massachusetts Infantry
Detached from the Second Brigade, Second Division, Eleventh Corps on July 2nd, 1863. After supporting the batteries in action on  Cemetery Hill, while in position in a line extending westward from near this spot, withstood and assisted in repulsing a charge of the enemy’s infantry in its front. Loss in the battle eight killed, thirty six wounded.

When Nelson returned from the Civil War he married a fellow soldier's sister from Billerica, Nancy Haulton (Houlton) on November 10, 1865. They show up in the 1870 census in Lowell with two children, the 1880 census in Lewiston Maine & Topsham Maine with six children. Shortly after that they return to the Lowell area but Nelson and Nancy appear to lead separate lives. Nancy dies in 1899 at the age of 53 and is buried in St. Patrick's Cemetery in Lowell without Nelson.

Sadly, Nelson gets arrested several times for drunkenness and spends some time at the jail on Thorndike street. This jail with later become a Catholic high school - Keith Academy. Future generations of Loucrafts will spend a lot of time here.

Did the horrors of the Civil War break Nelson? When did he die? Where is he buried?

Nelson and Nancy had six children who were by all accounts successful and productive members of their communities.

• Mary married Joseph McDermott and settled in Billerica with 7 children
• Nelson married an Irish woman and had a farm in Chelmsford and had 5 babies all dying as infants and then his wife died so he moved to Cuba and became a sugar farmer there, remarried and had 7 healthy children
• Frank married late in life and had a store on Gorham Street in Chelmsford
• Charles married and died young but had 2 children in Chelmsford
• Etta married Leslie Fralick and had 2 children in Billerica
• George married and lived in Billerica and served in the U.S. Navy in the Spanish American War

 My next step is to try to find some pension records for Nelson. Fingers crossed!