Irving and Tryphena Pettis, Civil War Veterans

(click any image in this post to enlarge for reading)

Irving Sedgwick Pettis and Tryphena Angeline Pettis, brother and sister of my great-great grandfather Darius, both served in the Civil War also.

Irving enlisted August 21, 1862 in the 147th Infantry of New York and served in Company D, mustering in on September 22 or 23, a month before his 31st birthday. He left behind his wife of six and a half years, Martha Ophelia Treat, daughter Edith Arabelle (known as Belle, age 5) and infant Anna Grace, who was born August 9. He served until May 19, 1865, when he received a disability discharge shortly before the rest of the regiment mustered out on June 7.

Battles of the 147th Infantry of New York

Irving died August 7, 1903 at the age of 71. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Henry County, Illinois.

Tryphena Pettis was 27 when she enlisted as an Army Nurse on April 12, 1864. She served first at General Hospital No. 11 in Nashville, Tennessee, also called Small Pox Hospital (talk about doom!), and next at Sherman General Hospital, or Field Hospital, also in Nashville. She then went to Point of Rocks Hospital in Virginia, where she served until she was honorably released on June 1, 1865. She returned to Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, and was married to George W. Wilcox the next month.

Claimant's Affidavit written and signed by Tryphena Pettis Wilcox

General Affidavit of Hiram H. Waldo and Mrs. Mary J. Ashton
attesting to the fact that Tryphena Wilcox
was indeed the former Tryphena Pettis

General Affidavit of Margaret Haffers (or Hapfers) Beacom,
who worked with Tryphena at Point of Rocks Hospital

Documentation that Tryphena Pettis was on the muster rolls

Left, the affidavit of Tryphena Pettis' personal physician
Right, Tryphena Pettis' sworn statement of her disability claim
("head trouble, sore eyes, weak back,
rheumatism, catarrh, and general disability")

Pension Approvals

I've saved the best for last. By far, the most interesting documents in the file were the two below. On the left, Tryphena and George's marriage certificate. Any genealogist would be happy to have that, but I was particularly surprised and delighted to find that the marriage ceremony was performed by my great-great-great grandfather, Ezekiel T. Efner, Darius' father-in-law.

Marriage Certificate and Drop Report

And on the right, the delicately-named "Drop Report" stating rather bluntly that the pensioner had been "dropped from the roll because of Death."

Coming soon: the considerably more interesting
Civil War pension file pertaining to Darius Pettis