Civil War veterans honored in local cemetery

Over the past few years of columns I have talked about my gg- grandfather, William Joseph Coady, who in an effort to prove his service in the Civil War and thereby obtain a stipend for his wife (who was much younger than he) and children, walked from the Alma, Nebraska area to Shelby, Indiana to complete his quest. Unfortunately, he froze to death in a barn where he had taken shelter before being successful and my gg-grandmother had to finish, then as a widow, obtaining the correct paperwork and receive a small amount of support every month. She had two children at home when he died and Social Security did not exist then.

SWNGS has, on their website, a place for today’s generation to enter their Civil War patriots and note any information they might have on their service. This column is going to be dedicated to attempting to entice you to take a moment and add your ancestor to that list.

From an article in the McCook Tribune came the following names of Civil War Soldiers buried in Riverview Cemetery. You might remember that the GAR placed the statue of a soldier front and center in the cemetery to honor those listed here.

Farnsworth, Ed W. and J. B.; Irwin, W. M; McCabe, J.B.; Weaver, Franklin; Clements, D. A.; Turner, C.; Brown, M.B.; Smith, Gordon; Keithly, David; Battershell, Moses; Cooley, R. S.; Fox, George E.; Scott, T. M.; Conrad, E. H.; Rushong, Joseph; Miller, Lyman; Benjamin, W. H.; Simmerman, G. H.; Curtis, Orlando; Yager, Martin; Johnson, Wm; Phillips, Andrew; Matthews, Wiley; Thomas, A. J.; Pate, Thomas J.; Shaff, Abraham W.; Snoke, Samuel; Proctor, J.W.; Ward, Chester; Williams, John; Gerver, John D.; Groves, Peter; Smith, W.H.; Steinmetz, Jacob; Cratty, Wm. H.; Porter, John H.; Reynolds, First Name Unknown; Porter, John; Olcott, B. F.; Hamilton, W. S.; Long, Wm.; Franklin, Volcanes; Dodge, Sidney; Creager, Peter; Nettleton, A. C.; Burns, Wm. P.; Dillon, George W.; Mitchell, Howard C.; Harlan, A.C..

These are, of course, not all the Civil War soldiers buried in McCook or even Red Willow County, but the second part of this equation is that we are hoping to honor Civil War soldiers buried in Riverview as part of our second cemetery tour this June. Due to that fact, not only am I asking that you enter their information on the www.swngs.org website, but that you also help us confirm that they are buried in Riverview (several soldiers were moved there from other locations when the GAR erected that statue) and that you consider helping us by having someone in your family portray your ancestor for the tour. The portrayer does not have to be a male because as in my gg-grandmother’s instance, her story completes his. If you know your ancestor to be a veteran of the Civil War, that he is buried in Riverview and find that he is not listed above, I would like to know that also.

If you’re not interested in entering the information on the website yourself, I will gladly do it from your written record mailed to: S. L. Doak, PO Box 761, McCook, NE 69001. You may contact me to indicate your willingness to participate in the cemetery tour by texting: 308-340-8221 or emailing me at sdoak@swnebr.net. PLEASE do not attempt to call me at that number because I rarely answer phone numbers I don’t recognize due to all the sales calls that appear on my phone.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give us in our attempt to honor these men who served in what was arguably one of the worst wars in the history of mankind.