"...never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced...-- Abraham Lincoln 1863
In the Civil War (1861 to 1865) eleven Southern states seceded from the U.S. and formed the Confederate States of America.
American pioneers migrated west to settle areas not previously inhabited by European Americans.
The 1890 census materials was lost in a 1921 fire.
Jacob Branstitre was born on December 4, 1838 in Dinsmore Township, Shelby County, Ohio. He was the son of Daniel Branstiter and Elizabeth Baker. According to his Civil War records, he was six feet tall and had black hair, gray eyes and a medium complexion. He was a blacksmith.
He served in Company C of the 106 Illinois Infantry. He enlisted as a private when he was 23 years old on August 2, 1862 in Lincoln, Illinois. His residence at that time was Madison, Logan County, Illinois. He served with his brother-in-law, Daniel Baker.
Company C of the 106 Illinois Infantry. The Regiment was mustered into service on September 18, 1862 and deployed to Jackson, Tennessee. They served as provost guards in Jackson and along the railroad. Part of Company C was sent eight miles north of Jackson to Carroll station. On December 17th Jackson was attacked and the part of Company C surrendered on the morning of December 20th. That night the remainder of Company C was attacked in the block house and after a severe fight drove the enemy off.
After that the Regiment was sent farther north to guard railroad stations. Some paroled prisoners were exchanged late in the summer of 1863. The Regiment was ordered to Bolivar in March, and about May 31st it moved to Vicksburg. While en route their boats were fired on.
After serving in the trenches of Vicksburg the Regiment was sent forty miles up the Yazoo River to repel a Rebel force. Returning by forced marches, they were harassed by the enemy and suffered from the extreme heat. The Regiment lost more on that trip than from
any other cause during its term of service. The Regiment served in the lines at Vicksburg until after the surrender.
Immediately after Vicksburg, it was ordered to Helena and took part in the capture of Little Rock. They took a prominent part in the battle of Clarendon, and performed service at Duvall's Bluff, Pine Bluff, Hot Springs, Lewisburg, St. Charles, Dardanelle and Brownsville. The Regiment was mustered out of service July 12th, 1865, at Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Jacob married Chloe Jane Wiley on June 30, 1867 in Logan County, Illinois. Chloe was born in 1845 in Illinois. Her parents were James and Katherine Wiley.
Jacob and Chloe had seven children:
James Oliver Branstitre (April 23, 1868),
Roy Weston Branstitre (November 16, 1874),
Francis Marion Branstitre, (November 16, 1874),
John Wesley Branstitre (September 25, 1877),
Maud Ethel Branstitre (April 11, 1883-May 31, 1885),
Charles Henry Branstitre (March 17, 1888), and
Fay Branstitre Hayden (December 2, 1890).
In 1870 the young family was in Prairie Creek, Logan County, Illinois. The household consisted of Jacob age 33, Chloe age 26 and two year old James. Jacob was a farmer.
In 1876 they moved to Nuckolls county where he purchased two hundred and forty acres of uncultivated railroad land and built a sixteen by twenty-four feet house where they lived until 1910 when they moved to Edgar, Nebraska.
Chloe died on May 25, 1897 in Nebraska. He married Rosina Adalina Perry Gunn on February 28, 1902 in Nuckolls County, Nebraska. Rosina was born December 18, 1874 in Clay County, Nebraska.
He had
always given his political allegiance to the republican party in the interest of which he takes an active part. Both he and his wife are consistent and prominent members of the Presbyterian church and he is also identified with the Grand Army of the Republic.
He died May 13, 1925 and is buried in Edgar Cemetery in Clay County.
