James Randolph Lough was my great-great-grandfather. Joseph was (must have been) James’ twin brother. They were both born in 1846 in Ohio and, based on the similarity of names, they were probably twins. I can’t find a specific birth date or birth place for either of them. And, I can’t find a name to fit the middle initial of Joseph.
Joseph was the son of Philip and Lucinda Lough. (My records are complete in disarray about the marriages of Philip and the births of his children. I show three wives and children by each wife. However, some of the children by each wife are born in years that intersperse with children from other wives. More research is needed, of course, to straighten out this chaos.)
In 1860, Joseph and James are living in Jefferson, Indiana, with their parents (Lucinda is the mom) and three younger siblings: Elijah, Martha, and Laura. He was still living there in 1863 when, on December 16, he enlisted in the Federal army. He was a private in Company F, 44th Indiana Infantry. He was 17 years old.
The 44th Indiana Infantry was a unit with a long record of service in the Federal army. It was organized at Fort Wayne, IN, on 24 October 1861. These men fought on both days (April 6 and 7) at Shiloh, suffering 33 killed and 177 wounded. They continued in service throughout the western war, fighting at Forts Henry and Donelson, Corinth, MS, Perryville, KY, Stones River, TN, Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge.
The 44th was sent back Tullahoma, TN, and served on provost duty (probably guarding the railroad) until September 1864. They returned to Chattanooga on 15 October and served on provost duty until they were mustered out of the service 14 September 1865. It is probable, then, that Joseph served as a guard from his enlistment until his discharge.
In 1870, Joseph was living with the P. W. Raines family in Avoca, IL, working as a farm laborer. His Soldier’s Home papers say that he lived in Quincy, IL, subsequent to his discharge. In 1880, he lives in Fairbury, IL, with his wife Hester and his 8-year-old daughter Luella. Interestingly, this census record lists Joseph’s place of birth as Indiana, as well as his father’s (who was born in Virginia—now West Virginia) and mother’s (who was born in Ohio).
From 1886 on, Joseph shuttled from one soldier’s nursing home to another. On 15 December 1886 he was admitted to the U.S. National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Leavenworth, KS. His disability is the loss of a hand, which occurred on 18 November 1881 in Fairbury, IL. His military record says he was a carpenter after his discharge, which might account for the way he lost his hand. However, another record seems to indicate that he contracted “lung disease” in Aug 1865. His cause of death is “pulmonary tuberculosis; chronic enboitis (?)” This may be one reason Joseph seems to be moved from one home to another, seeking treatment for a very difficult lung disease.
Here are his movements, according to records from the “U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938” and a 1910 census record:
7/26/86 (or 12/15/86), admitted to the Western Branch (Leavenworth, KS);
10/6/92, discharged.
2/16/93, readmitted to the Western Branch (Leavenworth, KS);
7/21/97, discharged and “dropped at request” (whatever that means);
5/28/98, admitted to the Marion Branch (Marion, IN);
9/1/00, transferred to the Western Branch (Leavenworth, KS);
12/5/03, transferred to the Danville Branch (Danville, IL);
10/21/04, transferred to the Mountain Branch (Johnson City, TN);
1/9/09, he is released from the Mountain Branch;
Sometime in here he was readmitted to the Western Branch (Leavenworth, KS). Though there is no record in the National Soldier’s records, the Federal Census of 1910 records him living at the National Soldier’s Home in Leavenworth, KS.
8/31/10, admitted to the Northwest Branch (Milwaukee, WI). Joseph died at the home in Milwaukee, 2/16/14. He was 68 years old. He is buried in the Wood National Cemetery, Milwaukee, WI.
As one might expect, Joseph’s health continually degraded as he grew older. It is unclear what the original complaint was that disabled him so that he entered the Soldier’s Home system. His first record shows that he lost his left hand in 1881. A subsequent record, though, seems to indicate that he was diagnosed with some sort of lung disease during the last month of his Army service. The record from the Milwaukee home indicates Joseph suffered from “arterio sclerosis, chronic (alcoholism?), rheumatism, loss of left hand, asthmatic, hypertrophy of prostate, varicose veins in left leg.” At least his “mental condition appears normal.”
IF, IF, IF, IF Joseph was an alcoholic (and that is not clear from the hard-to-read entry on the ledger), that might explain his “in-and-out” of so many of these homes, as well as his ultimate divorce from Hester. At least as early as 1898 Joseph is categorized as “Divorced (single)” in Soldier’s Homes records. The Federal Census of 1910 notes that he is divorced. Interestingly, when Hester Lough shows up in the Federal Census of 1900, she lives in Indian Grove, IL, with her son, Frederick (who is 19 at the time)—and she says she is “widowed”. The same thing occurs in the census of 1910, when she lives in Fairbury Ward 3, Livingston County, IL, and is still calling herself a widow. Who knows what pain and shame they might both have experienced in their later relationship, as Joseph was disabled and became more and more ill?
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