2020: The Last Civil War Pensioner

He was a Civil War soldier.

This is engraved on the gravestone of Moses "Mose" Triplett (1846-1938) in the Triplett-Hall Cemetery in Elkville, North Carolina.

Moses fought on both sides.

He is in the news lately because his daughter died May 31, 2020. Irene Triplett was the last person collecting a pension from the Civil War- 155 years after the War ended.

Moses died in 1938 when Irene was eight years old. See how a child of a Civil War soldier was still alive?

Death certificate for Mose Triplett, died 1938 in North Carolina.
(Ancestry.com)

There are probably more children among us, though they do not collect pensions. Irene qualified because she was considered a dependent "incapable of self-support by reason of physical or mental defect."

In the 1930 federal census, Irene was enumerated with her parents in Elk, Wilkes County, North Carolina. Irene was three months old. Her mother, Elida was 34. Mose was 83 years old.

Lydia Hall and Mose Triplett were married in 1924.

The 1890 Veterans Schedule lists Moses Triplett's service as the 3rd Regiment of Company F, North Carolina Mounted Infantry. They fought for the Union.

Moses originally served with a Confederate unit, the 26th. He deserted from a hospital in Danville, Virginia, on June 26, 1863- five days before this unit fought at the Battle of Gettysburg.

If anyone knows how many children of Civil War veterans are still out there, please comment below. There are still people alive today whose fathers served in the Civil War.

John Magai 1843-1916 Civil War Veteran

A stone for a veteran of the Civil War surfaced at Mount Hebron Cemetery in Montclair, New Jersey.

The stone is inscribed: SERGT JOHN MAGAI  CO I  4 U.S. CAV.

I wanted to find out more about this soldier. He was in a family plot. Locating him in a census with his family would help to identify him.

LLOYD OTTO MAGAI

1893-1953

ANN E MAGAI

1902-1986

John Magai, age 39, born in Austria (probably present-day Slovenia) was living in the Town of Union, Hudson County, New Jersey, in 1900 with his wife, Eliza [Gutberlet or variation], and their many children, including Loid [Lloyd], born in 1893. This fits the Lloyd on the tombstone next to John.

The Town of Union became part of Union City in 1925. Lewis Street became 38th Street.

John may have returned home in Europe a few times. He applied for a passport in New York in 1873, listing his birthdate as May 14, 1843.

An obituary for John Magai appeared in the Jersey Journal on August 18, 1916. He was a veteran who served the 5th New York Cavalry, which does not match the stone.

Next I viewed records at Fold3. John Magai, also known as Johannes Maggai, served in Company E of the 5th Regiment from 1864-1865, then Company I of the 4th Regiment of the New York Cavalry from 1865-1868.

For some reason, the 4th Regiment is on the gravestone, while the 5th Regiment is mentioned in the obituary.

John and Elizabeth probably married as he completed his service. The children were born from 1869-1893. All but Lloyd appeared to have been born in New York.

Lloyd served in the Army in World War I. His application for a headstone can be viewed in color at Ancestry.com.

Family Tip via Find A Grave

Family tree help came in the form of a request through Find A Grave.  Someone asked me to link Alfred Eyre (1819-1874) as the husband of Henrietta Funtman (1815-1887) and the father of Alfred DeCiplet Eyre (1848-1912).

The Find A Grave memorial page for Alfred Eyre showed a Civil War gravestone with a date of death as September 11, 1874.  The problem was that this Alfred Eyre was buried in Maine.  The Alfred Eyre in my family tree lived in England, then New York and New Jersey.  I needed to investigate.

Alfred DeCiplet Eyre, the son of Henrietta Funtman and Alfred Eyre, first married Letty Duryea (1848-1889) in 1868 in New York City.  Letty died in Jersey City in 1889 after bearing at least thirteen children.  In 1890, Alfred remarried to Letty's sister, Mary Evenshirer (1842-1916).  My line descends from Mary's first marriage to Stephen C Duryea (1814-1887).

Henrietta died in 1887 in Jersey City.  She is buried in Hoboken Cemetery in North Bergen, Hudson County, New Jersey in the plot of Jacob Duryea (1850-1928).  Jacob was a brother of Letty and Mary, the daughters-in-law of Henrietta.  This plot was maybe meant for Eyres because Letty was originally buried there.  Letty was re-interred in Fairview Cemetery in Fairview, Bergen County, New Jersey.  Alfred and Mary were buried with Letty.

Henrietta Funtman Eyre, died 1887, is not listed as buried in this plot, even though she has a stone.

Henrietta was elusive in records.  I found her with her husband and children in New York City in 1850 federal census and 1855 state census.  Her next definitive appearance is in 1887 when she died in Jersey City.  I lost track of her husband, Alfred.

I found an obituary for Jeannette Eyre, daughter of Alfred Eyre and Henrietta Funtman.  She was born around 1846 and died in 1856.  This is a great death notice because the grandfather, J M DeCiplet, is named.

So why would Alfred Eyre be buried in Maine?

Alfred Eyre was buried at Togus National Cemetery in 1874, indicating military service.  Ancestry.com has a database of occupants of National Homes for Disabled Soldiers.  Mrs Henrietta Eyre of Newark, New Jersey was the next of kin of Alfred Eyre, admitted to the Eastern Branch Home in Togus, Maine for a sciatic nerve injury.  Included was the date of death, September 11, 1874, regiment, and the location of the burial plot.

A civil war muster role provided the same regiment as the gravestone and the Home register:  New York 5th [Independent] Battery.

Glove cleaner was one of the occupations of Alfred Eyre's son, Alfred DeCiplet Eyre.
Alfred enlisted September 11, 1862.  Exactly 12 years later he died at a Soldier's Home.

The National Home for Disabled Soldiers in Togus, Maine, was the first established residential medical center for veterans and served the northeastern part of the United States.  Alfred Eyre ended up there because there was no such service available in New York or New Jersey.  I wonder if any of his family was able to visit him after his admittance.

Thank you to the Find A Grave contributor who requested this linking of family members, thereby completing some missing information in my family tree.