Amos L. Tucker and the Battle of Petersburg

Our trip to the National Archives this week provided me with the answer I needed regarding the circumstances and date of death of ancestor Amos L. Tucker.

The widow’s pension papers had documentation that stated:  Amos L. Tucker was a private in Company C, 179^th regiment, New York Volunteers. It was stated that: “ The adj general reports Amos L. Tucker enrolled September 3, 1864; mustered in September 5, 1864, and “Missing in Action April 2, 1865.”

A declaration was made by Davis C. Marshall of Hector, New York, a lieutenant of the 179^th New York Volunteers that he was present at the action at Petersburg April 2, 1865, and that he was called to identify the casualties and in so doing recognized the body of Amos L. Tucker.

A copy from the marriage record of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Mecklenburg, New York states that the marriage of Amos L. Tucker of Enfield and Martha J. Vangosbeck of Mecklenburg, NY took place on February 17, 1864. The witnesses of this document were Alexander Agard and Noah Agard.

Admitted on October 2, 1866, Martha was to receive a pension of $8.00 per month, commencing on the date of death, April 2, 1865. Martha died 21 July 1877.

In 1893, Amos’s mother, Caroline (Lanning) Tucker applied for his pension. She died the next year, before approval.

Amos Tucker’s Civil War Pension

Application for Civil War Pension by Martha Tucker November 1865

This morning, curled up by the fire with coffee cups in hand, hubby and I decided to make a trip to the National Archives next week. He is still searching for the burial place of John Pye, a New York State Civil War soldier hubby has been searching for years on behalf of a woman in our Newtown Genealogy Club. Recently one of our neighbors presented hubby with a problem with one of her Upstate New York ancestors, and so we will also be searching for a pension record on behalf of widow Rosebelle Greene.

I admit I haven’t paid attention to my Civil War ancestor Amos Tucker as I intended to in my 6 May 2015 blog. At that time I was gung-ho to research these sites:

The 1860 census.

Search enlistment registers, service records, etc. on FamilySearch.org, Ancestry and Fold3.

Check compiled military service records at NARA (and on Fold3)

Martha (van Gosbeck) Tucker died young, I won’t find her in the 1890 Civil War Veterans and Widow Schedule, but this is a GREAT resource for others.

Cyndi’s list

Library of Congress

National Park Service

Regimental Histories (A great idea!)

CW150 Legacy Project

Historical societies and museums.

The Civil War Trust is a wonderful resource and had great maps.

In searching for Amos L. Tucker this morning, Ancestry now has pension application forms available online and we were able to locate applications from both Amos’s wife, Martha, in November 1865 and another from Amos’s mother, Caroline Lanning Tucker dated March 1893. (Martha died in 1877). Martha’s application has a certificate number; Caroline’s does not, which leads me to believe her application was never granted (Caroline died in 1894). I look forward to reviewing these files to see what information they hold and hopefully will clear up the events surrounding Amos’s death.