Brothers Aubrey and Archibald D were early participants in the Civil War, taking part in the raising of a company that would be part of the 16th Maine Infantry, a 3-year unit. Both were mustered into service on 14 Aug 1862, Aubrey as sergeant of Co E (later promoted to 2nd Lt). Arch, initially captain of the same company, would become Major of the regiment, but was mortally wounded (in left clavicle) in battle, and died in Douglas Hospital, Washington, DC on 30 May 1864 (the 29th is also seen for death date). While the "Register of Deaths of Volunteers" lists him as buried in the Soldiers' Home Cemetery in DC, the Sixteenth Maine book (pg 230) says "His remains were brought to Turner and buried with Masonic honors". The Colby College website has a photo of Arch D Leavitt: http://lgimages.s3.amazonaws.com/data/imagemanager/18248/arch_leavitt.jpg Arch was a graduate of Colby College, Waterville, Class of 1862. His fellow fraternal brothers in Delta Kappa Epsilon, upon hearing of his death, had the following "Tribute of Respect" printed in the Portland Daily Press, on 30 June, 1864 (pg 3).
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REUBEN TOWLE LEAVITT Jr, the son of Reuben T and Nancy M (Brown) Leavitt, was born in Pittsfield, NH on 11 Nov 1839 [NH vr]. He died on 30 Aug 1919 and was buried in Floral Park Cemetery, Pittsfield, NH [NH Death Rec]. He was married, on 4 Sept 1871 in South Berwick, Maine [ME Marr Rec], to EMMA A WATSON, the daughter of John and Betsey (Kenniston) Watson. She was born 26 Aug 1845 in Pittsfield, NH, and died there on 13 June 1932 [NH Death Rec]. During the Civil War, he enlisted on 16 Aug 1862 and was mustered in on 5 Sept, serving in Co. F of the 12th NH Infantry. He was wounded in the Battle of Chancellorsville on 3 May 1863, being shot through the left knee, and was taken prisoner. He was released 12 days later, having had no care given his wounds and, as a result, would be disabled for life. Sent to an army hospital, he would not consent to his leg being amputated, and was discharged on 21 Nov 1863. See the "History of Pittsfield, N.H. in the Great Rebellion" [pg 104-105, on archive.org] He and his family removed to Concord, NH prior to the 1850 census, and had lived in Kittery for seven years (while father Reuben Sr was a lighthouse keeper), but was soon back in Pittsfield.
Reuben and Emma had three children:
i. Lila Maude Leavitt b. 26 Sept 1872, d. 2 July 1882 ii. Harry Edgar Leavitt b. 5 Apr 1879; d. 12 Oct 1969 iii. Inez Maude Leavitt b. 22 July 1883; d. 13 May 1902 According to the book LEAVITT Descendants of Thomas Leavitt, the Immigrant 1616-1696, and Isabella Bland (pg 143), his ancestry was: Reuben T Jr (Reuben T, Reuben T, Benjamin, Thomas, Aretas, Thomas) John Wood Leavitt was sixteen years and six months old when he left the family farm in East Winthrop, Maine , and took the 10-mile trek to Augusta. He had just enlisted, on the 20th of November 1863, as a "20"-year old, enrolled by "A.S." (Arnold Sweet) Richmond, a fellow townsman and acting deputy provost marshal. As a private in the Seventh Maine Battery (of Light Artillery), he was mustered into service for three years, on 30 Dec. 1863. Through the month of January, 1864, while other volunteers continued to arrive, the men were formed into detachments and drilled on a daily basis at Camp Coburn in Augusta. At the end of the month, John Leavitt received a state bounty of $100, as well as a U.S. bounty of $60 and $13 monthly advance pay. The unit left the capital on the morning of 1 Feb. and headed south. Transported via rail and steamer, the 7th Battery arrived in Washington, DC on the morning of 5 February 1864, and settled into Camp Barry, the Artillery Camp of Instruction. Having already left a few men behind in Augusta due to sickness, the camp life and change of climate continued to take its toll. A letter, written by someone stationed at Camp Barry and published in the Oxford Democrat on 8 April 1864, pg 2, mentioned the 7th Battery: "It came here with 143 men...[ ]. There has been much sickness in this company since its arrival. Four have died..." John W Leavitt was one of those four men, succumbing to double pneumonia on the 16th of March, 1864. He was two months shy of his seventeenth birthday. His body was returned home, where he was buried in the East Winthrop Cemetery, beside his sister Mary, who had died in 1860, at age 14. Notes/sources:
Photos taken 21 Sept 2019 (by S. Dow) Descendants of John Leavitt Through His Son, Israel and Lydia Jackson (pg 77) History of the Seventh Maine Light Artillery (archive.org) Seventh Maine Battery Descriptive Roll (pg 63); Monthly Return (pg 195); Muster In Roll (pg 108 pay, pg 109); Muster Out Roll (pg 130) Maine, Civil War Enlistment Papers: John W Leavitt (Declaration of recruit) - being under 21 years of age, a parent or guardian needed to sign a consent form. As seen below, John's father Hiram H. Leavitt signed off on his son being 20 years old. JOHN LEAVITT was born on 10 June 1836 in Exeter, NH, the son of John and Abigail (Lee) Leavitt. He died in Exeter, NH on 8 Mar 1906 [NH VR], and was buried in Exeter Cemetery.
His wife was IRENE S DOLLOFF, the daughter of Stephen P and Judith A (Rowell) Dolloff. They were married on 28 Nov 1861 in Brentwood, NH. She was born in Exeter, Nov 1838 [1900 census], and died on 26 Oct 1911 in Exeter [NH VR]. John was a Civil War veteran, serving in Co E, 13th NH Infantry. He enlisted on 9 Aug 1862, age 25, and mustered in as a private on 09/19/62. He was transferred on 13 Oct 1863 to the 19th US Veteran Reserve Corps, Co D; He was discharged on 13 July 1865. John and Irene lived their lives in Exeter, NH, where he worked as a farmer and shoemaker. According to the 1900 census, Irene had two children, but neither were living. Census records do not record any children in their household, so it seems they died while young. His ancestry, according to the LEAVITT Descendants of John, the Immigrant, Through His Son, Moses book (pg 101): John (John, John, John, John, Moses, John) |
gravestones and their storiesMore than just names and dates engraved on a grave stone, a look into the Leavitt families found in our cemetery photographs. Archives
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