A Civil War Soldier: Pvt. Ezra DICKINSON (1798 - 1886)

How Related: My 4th-great-grandfather

Born: 26 August 1798 in Sharon, Litchfield Co., Connecticut

Parents: Philip DICKINSON (1770 - 1859) and Phoebe HUTCHINSON (1773 - 1858)

Siblings: Are you ready for this? Ezra was one of 14 children!

• Philip, Jr. (dates unknown)
• Irena (1792 - 1841)
• Eliza (1794 - 1830)
• Nathaniel (b. 1796)
• Delana W. (b. 1798)
• Martha "Patty" (1802 - aft. 1892)
• Laura (b. 1803)
• Harriet Amanda (b. 1805)
• Elisha (1808 - 1893)
• Samuel (1811 - 1897)
• Amelia (1814 - 1845)
• Mary (1817 - 1872)
• William (1819 - 1901)

Married: Ezra married five times! His first wife was my ancestor.

• Cynthia PHILLIPS (1802 - 1852), 20 November 1820 in Johnston Twp., Trumbull Co., Ohio
• Hannah Elizabeth (LOUNSBERRY) MAXWELL (1802 - 1871), 15 August 1852 in Elkhart Co., Indiana
• Sarah R. WOODBURY (1821 - 1878), December 1874, possibly in De Kalb Co., Indiana
• Mary [--?--] (1810 - 1882), before 1880, probably in De Kalb Co., Indiana
• Rebecca (WALDRON) SIBERT (1822 - 1899), 22 April 1883, probably in Auburn, De Kalb Co., Indiana

Children: Of course, since Ezra had lots of siblings and lots of wives, it would only stand to reason that he would have lots of children! Amazingly enough, all his children were from his first wife, Cynthia, which might explain why she died young.

• Elizabeth (b. c. 1822)
• John F. (b. c. 1825)
• Philip Reuben (1827 - 1912)
• son (b. c. 1828 - 1830)
• Wallace William (c. 1831 - 1897)
• son (c. 1833 - c. 1848)
• Sherman S. (b. c. 1836)
• Mary E. (1838 - 1924)
• Harriet Anna (1840 - 1918)
• Lucy May (c. 1842 - 1872) - my ancestor
• Sarah Ann "Sally" (1846 - bef. 1900)
• child (dates unknown)

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Source: Civil War Pension Index Cards of Ezra Dickinson. Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900. National Archives and Records Administration. Publication T289. Digital image purchased at Footnote [http://www.footnote.com/].

Mustered in: 22 Nov 1861 in Company F, 44th Indiana Infantry, probably in Butler, De Kalb Co., Indiana; private; age 63!

Side Served: Union

History of Unit: 44th Indiana Infantry

Discharged: 28 Apr 1862, for disability

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Biography or Information of Interest: Born into a family that had settled in America during Puritan times, Ezra was distantly related to Emily Dickinson, the poet. His grandfather, Elisha Dickinson, served in the Continental Army during the Revolution. Like many Connecticut families, they migrated to the Western Reserve in Northeastern Ohio, settling first in Trumbull County. After living in Indiana for some time, Ezra moved his family to a farm near Hicksville, Defiance Co., Ohio to be near a school for the deaf, since three of his children were deaf-mutes. All three--John, Sherman, and Harriet--grew up to marry and have children, unusual for that time. Ezra's family later returned to De Kalb Co., Indiana, where he signed up to serve in the Union Army at the age of 63, stating that he was 45. His brother William, and his sons Philip and Wallace also served in the Union Army. You can read Ezra's biography from the History of De Kalb County, Indiana here (some dates in the biography do not match our records).

Died: 17 September 1886 in Auburn, De Kalb Co., Indiana

Source: Tombstone of Ezra Dickinson, Evergreen (Auburn) Cemetery, Union Township, Indiana. Photograph taken at the request of Miriam Robbins Midkiff by Find A Grave volunteer Donald Ladd. Digital copy in the possession of Miriam Robbins Midkiff, Spokane, Washington. 2008.

Buried: Evergreen (Auburn) Cemetery, Union Twp., De Kalb Co., Indiana