Rosters
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Submitted by
John Churchill John Churchill was born in Lamoille County, Stowe, Vermont, on Oct. 2, 1802 to his parents William Churchill and Eunice Badger. Family history shows that John’s grandfather was Sgt. Ichabod Churchill who was born in Middleboro, Mass. He had been a minuteman under Capt. Amos Wade during the Revolution. Ichabod left his home in Middleboro in 1776 and relocated to Windsor County, Woodstock, Vermont. There Ichabod raised a large family of 18 children between two wives. Our John Churchill must have known him as Ichabod did not die until Aug. 9, 1826, at Windsor, Vt. Ichabod was descended from the original settler of Plymouth, Mass. also who was known as John Churchill (1622-1662). This original settler married Hanna Pontus (1623-1690). The original John Churchill of Plymouth we believe came to America to escape the instability of England and the coming civil war there. We do not believe he himself was particularly religious but his wife’s family certainly was. This John Churchill married well and prospered in the Plymouth Colony and became a freeman. They were given land in the original distribution and the later generations went to nearby land grants to Middleboro. These people survived terrible hardships and the second generation of settlers let relationships with the Indians go bad resulting in the King Phillip War. Many of the original settlers all married each other’s families. This resulted in our John Churchill being related to at least 13 of the original passengers on the Mayflower to include Gov. William Bradford, William Brewster, Myles Standish and John Alden. Our John Churchill must have had quite an idea of his family history. I can find no particular wealth build by the family to this point and it appears they were moving west farming on small properties. An 1850 census shows our John Churchill living in Stephenson Co., Lancaster, Ill. in 1850. It shows he was 47 years old and that his wife Experience (Hale) was with him. They show 7 children at that time who were Luther Bernard (my g grandfather) who served in the 12th Iowa in company B, James age 16 of which next to nothing is known, Emily who later married Edward Stone, Safronia who married George Nye and is believed to have been killed during the war, John Franklin, who died young in 1856, Abigail Williams who married Charles Allison, and lastly Edwin who was born in 1844. Records reflect that of this family my g grandfather (Luther Bernard) first joined the Northern Army in 1861, 12th Iowa- Company B. He probably was at the battle of Ft. Donaldson, Feb. 12-16, 1862. He was mustered out on April 4, 1862. We know that Luther had joined a Iowa regiment but later returned to Stephenson Co., Ill. after the war. His father’s family was clearly in Waucon, Iowa, as we find our John Churchill and his youngest son Edwin, age 19, enlisting in the 27th Iowa-company B on Mar. 11, 1864 at Center, Iowa. He was to be paid a bounty of $300 of which I believe he received $60 up front and an advance of $12. His enlistment papers described him as gray haired, 5’6 with blue eyes and of good character. He also notes that he was 42 years old. This was a clear lie as he was born in 1802. John and his son Edwin train as infantry and are shipped down river to participate against the rebellion. Military records reflect that John Churchill became very ill with chronic diarrhea. He was placed in the Adams Military Hospital in Memphis. There are three dates of death shown. The official date was July 4, 1864, but hospital records show he died either the 24 or 25th of June. My guess would be that he died the night of the 24th or early 25th of June. An assistant surgeon signs that he died on the 25 of June, 1864, although another record shows the 24th. John is buried in the Memphis National Cemetery (not Nashville as reflected wrongly in the Ancestry.Com site). His son Edwin continues to serve to the end on the war, although he transfers out of the 27th Iowa to his older brother’s old unit the 12th Iowa. Edwin survives the war and we believe he became a postmaster in Leavenworth, Kansas. John’s widow (Olive Experience Hale Churchill) applies for a pension, number 58833 and certificate number 58503. She dies on Oct. 13, 1878, in Waucon, Iowa. I can only wonder what she thought about her 61 year old husband going off to war. Luther Bernard Churchill married Mary Jane Hawkins on Feb. 15, 1853, at McConnels Grove, Ill. Luther and Mary Jane have five children who are Herbert DeForest, William T., Abigail Experience, John Lincoln, and my grandfather Frank Elmer. Luther and his wife Mary Jane in late life are living in Arizona. We believe he followed John Lincoln there and may have lived with a grandchild. We know for sure that Luther Bernard Churchill was in the Sawtelle Old Soldiers Home in Los Angeles, Calf. and he died there around 1910. We know for sure he was buried in the Masonic Cemetery with his wife Mary Jane in Sonora, Calf. It is known that John Lincoln married Betty Swaty. They had children and they became Mormons. My grandfather (Frank Elmer Churchill) left Ill. at a young age and we are told he rode into Indian Territory and was a cowboy in early life. He came to Jacksonville, Texas near the turn of the century and married my grandmother Maggie Bell Love. This was a good marriage for him as this brought some farming land. He later became a druggist and investor and had two sons, my father Frank Love Churchill and Winston. These two boys were known to be sons of a rich man. The stock market crash of the 1930s changed all of that and Frank Elmer soon died, nearly broke. This pretty much sums up the Yankee side of my family-indentured servant to rich man, rags to riches to rags and so forth in how many generations. An interesting point is that Frank Elmer married Maggie Bell Love, the daughter of a staunch Texas southerner who served against the northern army in the Red River Campaign.
Frank Love Churchill, Jr.
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