F am ily Portrait Chapter 1: Chester W illiam Celley L eft to right: Cynthia Celley F air, her son (R alph F air), her husband (G rant F air), Jerem iah Carr, Cynthia Carr, E lvira Carr Celley, Chester W. Celley, W illie A. Celley, L ula Y oung Celley.
Year 1830 1835 1840 1845 1850 1855 1860 1865 1870 1875 1880 1885 1890 1895 1900 History Relationship Residential Born Jun 2 1827 Woodbury, Vermont Woodbury VT (1827) Marriage: Miranda Chamberlin (1849-1850) Chester William Celley Civil War (1861-1865) Battle of Fredericksburg (1862-1862) Middlesex VT (1840) Marriage: Elvira L. Carr (1854) Ellenburg NY (1850) Child: Clara O. Celley (1859) Died Jul 29 1902 N. Calais, VT Buried Robinson Cemetery, Calais VT Child: William Austin Celley (1865) Child: Cynthia Edna Celley (1869) Child: Elvira Celley (1870) Calais VT (1889-1902) Woodbury VT (1851-1862) Pittsburg, NH (1860-1860) Pitsburg, NH (1862-1862) Eden VT (1863-1864) Danville VT (1864-1865) Woodbury VT (1865-1900) Age 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 Chester William Celley was born June 2, 1827 in Woodbury Vermont to William Celley (Cilley) and Fanny Norcross. He is described as 5 feet 8 inches high, light complexion, blue eyes, brown hair in his military records. We know little of his early years, but we do know he attended school, because later in life one of his neighbors testified that they were schoolmates together. His family was living in Woodbury in 1820 and 1830, in Middlesex in 1840, and in Eden in 1850.
At an unknown date, he moved to New York and married Miranda Chamberlin. In 1850, he and his wife (listed as Amanda ) were enumerated in the census living in Ellenburg, New York. It appears as though there were three family groups living in the household, with the occupation of wheelwright for each head. Perhaps Chester moved to Ellenburg to learn the wheelwright trade, or perhaps all the employees of the local carriage shop boarded together. Little is known of Miranda/Amanda other than the fact that she was born in New York. There are three young Chamberlin boys listed a couple households away on the same census living with a McClane household. Perhaps they are her younger brothers, and something happened to her parents. According to Chester s pension file, Miranda died in 1850 in Willsboro. After his wife s death, Chester returned to Woodbury and worked in Asa Town s carriage shop as a wood worker. Asa (a.k.a Asaph) Town was a brother of Elisha Town, whom Chester s cousin Phoebe Celley had married. As was the custom then, Chester was allowed to take time off from the shop to help his father about his haying in Eden.
On December 25, 1854 in Cabot, VT, he married the 16 year old Elvira Carr of Woodbury, daughter of Jeremiah and Cynthia Carr. They are listed in the 1860 census living in Woodbury with Elvira s parents and their new daughter Clara, who was born 01 May 1859 in Woodbury. Chester s occupation is listed as day laborer. In the summer of 1860, perhaps soon after the census was taken, Chester ventured out to Pittsburg NH to look around the country. He worked for Tim Blanchard chopping trees. After a month or so, he returned to Woodbury, but then came back to Pittsburg again two years later, and boarded with Daniel and Hannah Day. He took up a lot and was clearing it for a homestead. On August 14, 1862, he enlisted from Pittsburg into the Union Army and entered Company H, led by Captain Normand Smith, in the 13 Regiment of the NH Volunteer Infantry. The company mustered September 20, 1862 in Concord NH. Chester was a bit sick while in Concord. As he described it, I took a bad cold and bloated, my bowels were swollen; the surgeon said I had inflammation of the bowels. On October 5, the company left the state for Washington DC. While it is unknown how long the journey took, and how they traveled (probably by railroad), they had arrived before October 31, because Chester was reported sick in quarters that day. He testified, I think we were doing guard duty at Long Bridge, I took a very severe cold; my joints all ached.
Harper's Weekly, June 8, 1861 The Advance Guard of the Grand Army of the United States Crossing the Long Bridge over the Potomac at 2:00 AM on May 24. At the extremity of the bridge a company of soldiers is stationed, and, for form's sake, sentinels parade to and fro. The passage across the bridge is, however, unobstructed during day, and wagons are constantly passing and repassing. The bridge is one mile long, is not covered, and about a quarter of a mile of the central part is built of masonry, with low parapets, and resembles a country road. The rest of the bridge is wood. It is about the width of three carriages, and has two draws, one on the Washington and one on the Virginia side. These are almost constantly open for the passage of small armed propellers, with which the Potomac swarms. A company of flying artillery is stationed on the bridge every night, near the Virginia shore, with the draw raised in front of them. At the Virginia terminus is a small hotel, where Colonel Lee's picket-guard was recently quartered. It is now almost deserted. Besides the cold, he also had a recurrence of diarrhea, but he seemed reluctant to admit it, for he didn t mention it in his first pension application (though he did in a later one), and he didn t attend surgeon s call for it. Perhaps he understood that this was not a good illness for the cook to have: I was cook for my company after I got out to VA. I went to see the surgeon in the evening before the call and he gave me some quinine and whiskey. I kind of got
over the diarrhea; that is, it bothered me along, but I got the boys to help me so that I was not laid up by it. I kept along and did not attend surgeon's call nor go to hospital; but the surgeon knew who I was, and if I wanted anything I went to the surgeon and got it, and went back again to my duty. According to his tent-mate John W. Heath: After we got to Washington DC at Arlington Heights, he was troubled pretty bad with the diarrhea. He and I tented together most of the time and were on duty together. I laid in my tent while there, and I got him to write a letter for me, and he had the diarrhea so he had to go out while doing it; I remember that because I asked him not to mention it in the letter. It should be noted that of the 618,000 deaths on both sides during the Civil War approximately two thirds (414,000) were the result of disease, primarily diarrhea and dysentery. Of 1,155,266 cases of acute diarrhea, 2,923 were fatal, and of 170,488 cases of chronic diarrhea, 27,558 were fatal. There was one time that only two men in our company was fit for duty. I was one and Addison Chase was the other. That was only for a day or two, two or three weeks before the Fredericksburg fight when in camp at Falmouth VA. The water was the cause of the diarrhea, I always thought. (Gardiner W Smith) During this time, the company was stationed at Fort Albany just outside the capital. Harper's Weekly, November 30, 1861 Fort Albany, Near Alexandria, Virginia These are among the most important of the works which have been lately erected for the protection of the Federal Capital, and are believed to be impregnable. The Arlington Historical Society describes what happened to the local area during the years of the Civil War: In 1865, the area now known as Arlington County (then called "Alexandria County") lay devastated. During the years 1861-1865, the entire county was occupied by Union troops in defense of the nation's capital. Crops were trampled and destroyed Livestock was confiscated by the military or sold for a fraction of its value and driven away on hoof to feed the troops Barns, outbuildings and private homes were occupied, damaged or destroyed to accommodate more than 100,000 Union troops who were either stationed at the 22 forts and other
encampments in Arlington, or who swarmed through the "gateway" to and from the South during the four years of war. Only a few Arlington residents living in Arlington County in 1860 were still there in 1865. At the end of the war, the entire County was completely devoted to the defense of the nation's capital. The company marched to Falmouth VA December 5-9., and there prepared for the battle at Fredericksburg. On December 11, Union engineers laid five pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock while under fire.
On the 12th, the Federal army crossed over, and on December 13, General Burnside mounted a series of futile frontal assaults on Prospect Hill and Marye's Heights that resulted in staggering casualties. Wave after wave of Union soldiers were mown down by Confederate troops firing from an unassailable position in a sunken road protected by a stone wall. By 2 p.m., the bodies of more than 5,000 Union soldiers littered the plain in front of Marye's Heights. A wartime photograph showing rifle pits in front of the Marye House. The house now serves as the home for the president of Mary Washington College.
Chester s regiment (led by Col. Aaron F. Stevens, part of the First Brigade led by Col. Rush C. Hawkins in the Third Division led by Brig. Gen. George W. Getty), was sent in after dark, when it was already clear that the attempt was futile. The final Union effort began after sunset. Colonel Rush C. Hawkins' brigade, the fifteenth such Federal unit to charge the Sunken Road that day, enjoyed no more success than its predecessors. Darkness shrouded the battlefield and at last the guns fell silent. The hideous cries of the wounded, "weird, unearthly, terrible to hear and bear," echoed through the night. Of the 12,600 Federal soldiers killed, wounded, or missing, almost two-thirds fell in front of the stone wall. (A. Wilson Green, staff historian for Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park) The captain of his company, Normand Smith said, I am sure he was in line of duty at time of his injury but it was pitch dark when the charge was made and I could not see how or when he was injured. Chester was hit by a piece of a shell on the back of the neck, and then a moment later got a bayonet wound in his leg about six inches below the knee. We don t know for sure if it was enemy inflicted or not. In addition, a bullet just grazed the hide on the outside of my left knee. He was only one among a great many wounded or worse in the charge on Marye s Hill. Estimated total casualties: 17,929. William Chappel recalled the moment Chester was wounded: He stood at my right hand and was the soldier nearest to me when we charged on the rebel works in the evening and I saw him fall beside me on the charge and I did not know at the time whether he was killed or wounded as we were compelled to leave him and I have not seen him from the time I saw him fall on the field until today.
Chester recalled, When I got wounded I was left on the ground. I could not walk much, was found in the night by James Young. I met Celley on his way back to town. I came across him in going off the field when I got hit. He was wounded and lame; he used his gun for a crutch to get along with. I helped to get him off of the field and carried him to a house where they kept the wounded, used it for a hospital. (James J. Young) Gardner W Smith also helped him: I did not see him when he got hit, but I heard him say I have got hit and hurt. This was after we got repulsed in making the charge by the stone wall on the heights. I assisted him back to the rear, carried his luggage and assisted him across the pontoon bridge. He could hobble along, did not need to be carried. He had a wound in his leg, a bayonet wound, the left leg. I did not know that he had any other injury at that time. He might have got it as the shells were pretty busy all the time we were under fire. He might have had half a dozen other wounds that was not serious and I not know about it, but this one of his leg I did know because I saw it and the blood. After making his way off the field of battle, Chester was treated for his wounds at the regimental hospital in Falmouth from December 13 to December 25. He was then transferred to Ascension Hospital in Washington DC, also known as 9 th Street Church Hospital, since it was housed in Ascension Church at 9 th Street. He stayed there until January 15 1863 when it was broken up as a hospital, and was then transferred to Carver General Hospital.
Ward in the Carver General Hospital, Washington, D.C. On March 12, 1863, Chester was discharged from the service on a medical certificate of total disability due to paralysis. After that, he made his way back to Pittsburg New Hampshire, arriving about the end of March or beginning of April. He stayed at Daniel Day s house for a few weeks nursing his wounds. Then, instead of returning to Woodbury, where we presume his wife and child were then living, he wandered around for a few years. First he went to Eden and stayed with his father for a year. From there he went to Danville VT and worked as a watchman at Benjamin Greenbanks Woolen Mill for about a year, then to Montpelier for a short time. At some point, he also lived in Plainfield VT for a time. Chester and Elvira had a second child, Willie Austin, who was born 07 Sep 1865 in Montpelier. Apparently, Elvira was with Chester during at least some of this wandering. Soon after the birth of Willie, the family returned to Woodbury. Greenbanks Hollow Bridge The bridge crosses Joe's Brook just upstream of a broken dam. In 1840 Benjamin Greenbanks came from England to start a large-scale woolen cloth factory. This mill was one of the largest in New England, employing about 45 men, women and children.
Twin daughters, Cynthia Edna and Elvira were born 05 Dec 1869, somewhere in Vermont. Elvira died in infancy. No census record for the family has been found for the year 1870. Chances are good that they were still living in Woodbury, however. Chester can be seen on an 1873 map of Woodbury near his father-in-law, Jeremiah Carr. In Woodbury in 1872 or 1873, he resumed his job at Asa Town s carriage shop, which was now Henry Town s carriage shop, though his injuries prevented him from working full time, and his salary was much reduced. He was poor and was so broken up that he would work by the hour, sometimes two hours a day and sometimes more. I paid him 25 cents an hour at first and after that 20 and long to the last 17 cents. (Henry Town)
In 1876, he lived with Norman Lawson in Montpelier for 6-8 months. In 1877 or so, Henry Town offered Chester the use of a farm of his if he would pay the taxes on it. Chester quit trying to work in the carriage shop and made a living the best he could as a farmer. His son Willie and perhaps one or more of his sons-in-law did most of the heavy work. In 1878, on April 6, Chester s father William died in South Woodbury, where he had been living since sometime between 1860 and 1864. His mother had died there previously, on 24 Jan 1865. On December 26, 1879, Chester filed for a pension claiming bayonet wound of left leg, shell wound of neck and resulting partial paralysis, rheumatism, and resulting disease of heart. Over the next several years, numerous affidavits were filed, depositions taken, and various forms submitted, which resulted in a small pension for Chester ($4 per month, increased by degrees over the subsequent years to $24), and a mountain of material for his biographer. Chester, Elvira and children Willie and Cynthia are listed in the 1880 census at Woodbury. Chester s friend Martin Wheeler moved in with the Celleys in 1883 or so and helped with chores in return for his board. Ever since I have been at his house, his wife has had to dress him. Sometimes I have seen him helpless nearly a week to a time, so he could not get out doors nor hardly off his bed. He can't do hard manual labor. He can team, drive and team, but he can't pitch, mow, nor can't chop. He can ride a machine and do light work, rake with a horse, so he can ride. Apparently, he also found work building roads. I have known Mr. C.W. Celley for twenty years. He has worked for me some. He can't do hard manual labor. He could drive a team, and that is what I have
employed him to do at work on the road. I have been selectman for the last two years and made commissioner. He could drive a team and that is about all he could do. (Rev. Zimri B. Wheeler) On May 29, 1885, Chester filed for an increase in his pension, and May 2 1889 filed again, this time adding chronic diarrhea to his list of claims. Norman Lawson described his condition in support of the claim as follows: He has been crippled up with those troubles ever since the war. He has not done no right hard work at no time since the war. His trade is wheelwright and he has worked at that what he could. He could not do steady work at that at no time and he had to give that up a good many years ago. For the next couple of years, he seems to have bounced back and forth between Woodbury and Calais, and was perhaps separated from his wife for a while again. In 1889, he is listed as living in North Calais (Route 25, 200 sugar trees, farmer 100 acres), but in a deposition given April 22 of the same year, he says his residence is South Woodbury and his post office is North Calais. In 1900, he is found in the census living in Woodbury as a boarder with another family and giving his occupation once again as carriage maker, while his wife Elvira is listed as living in Calais with her son Willie, daughter-in-law Lula, and granddaughter Edna. The family with whom Chester was boarding was related to him by marriage. Norman Lawson, who testified twice for Chester, was Chester s cousin: His mother was a sister to my mother and we have been intimately acquainted and I was always intimate with him before the war even as much so as my own brother; living with him in NH which will account for my wishing to see him so much after he enlisted. Chester s mother was Fanny Norcross, and Norman s mother was Ruth Norcross. They were two of the daughters of Noah Norcross and Fanny Rollins. Norman married as his second wife Ida Chase, and they had a daughter Daisy. Norman died in 1890. The family with whom Chester is found living in 1900 is headed by C. Hathaway, wife Ida, and stepdaughter Daisy Lawson. Presumably these last two are Norman s widow and daughter.
Chester W Celley died July 29 1902 in Calais VT of mitral insufficiency and sclerosis of arteries. His widow Elvira collected half his pension until her death 11 Apr 1912 in North Calais. Three affidavits in support of Elvira s pension claim state that Chester and Elvira always lived together during the years of their marriage as man and wife. Compiled by Rachel Purpel, February 2006 Sources: Most of the material is quoted accurately from Chester W. Celley s pension file, National Archives & Records Administration. Some background material has been shamelessly plagiarized from reputable sources on the internet.