“To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?” ― Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BCE - 43 BCE)

Jacob Egner Truckenmiller
Compiled by Don Miller
(Last update: 13 May 2016)

On August 1, 1715, Sebastian Truckenmiller was born in Berwangen, Baden-Württemberg Germany. He married Catherine Schambach in Germany and on October 17, 1732, Sebastian and Catherine arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on board the pink John and William from Rotterdam via Sunderland, England. The Truckenmillers settled in Upper Milford Township in what was then Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Before the time of the American Revolution, Sebastian and Catherine’s son, Jacob Truckenmiller, settled in Delaware Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, where he was a millwright and miller. This Jacob Truckenmiller was born August 29, 1759 and died August 23, 1823 in McEwensville, Pennsylvania. Jacob Truckenmiller had a son who was also named Jacob K. Truckenmiller who was born March 22, 1790 and died April 15, 1880. ^[19]

Jacob Egner Truckenmiller, the subject of this essay, was born February 23, 1827, in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania to Jacob K. Truckenmiller and Sarah Egner. Jacob, Jr., was the oldest son but had three sisters who were older. After the birth of Jacob, Jr., Jacob, Sr. and Sarah had four more children: three sons and a daughter. Jacob, Sr., is enumerated in the Turbut Township of Northumberland County in 1820 ^[1], 1830 ^[2] and 1840 ^[3], as a farmer in 1850 ^[4] (White Deer Twp., Union County, Pennsylvania), a laborer in 1860 ^[5] (McEwensville, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania), and a weaver in 1870 ^[6] (Delaware Twp., Northumberland County, Pennsylvania).

Canal Worker

I have no substantiated information about Jacob, Jr., from the time of his birth until he was married in 1850, but my theory (in 2015) is that he was in the home of his father Jacob, Sr. in 1830 and 1840. Again, this is a theory, but I believe that sometime between 1840 and 1850 he began work in some capacity on the canal system that was so prevalent in this area. The West Branch Division of the Pennsylvania Canal (West Branch of the Susquehanna River) ran through Watsontown and connected to the main Susquehanna River at Northumberland. From this junction point, it was possible to take the North Branch Division of the Pennsylvania Canal north to Sayre, Pennsylvania, where it connected with the Chemung River. Going north on the Chemung River to Elmira, New York, the waterway connected with the Chemung Canal. The Chemung Canal ran from Elmira to Watkins Glen, New York and the southern end of Seneca Lake. Travel north across Seneca Lake led to the Cayuga-Seneca Canal system which went through Seneca Falls, New York and from there onto the Erie Canal. While the route sounds very circuitous, it was commonly used to transport coal and lumber from central Pennsylvania to the Erie Canal. At Rochester, New York, a trip down the Genesee River led to Le Roy, New York. Albion, New York is literally ON the Erie Canal, and Byron, New York is just a short distance from the Erie Canal.

With this geographic overview in mind, let us examine the events in the life of Jacob, Jr. On January 3, 1850, Jacob E. Truckenmiller of New Columbia, Union County, Pennsylvania (on the Western Branch of the Susquehanna River) married Lucy Ann Darrow of LeRoy, New York at the home of Lucy's sister, Frances Darrow and her husband, Harrison Terry, who was a farmer in LeRoy. At the time of their marriage, Jacob was almost 23 years old and Lucy either 15 or 16 years old. (Hmmm…)

While Jacob was working in New York, their first three children were born: Charles Egner Truckenmiller (born June 28, 1851 in Seneca Falls, New York), Deforest Hassinger Truckenmiller (born July 10, 1852 in Albion, New York) and George William Truckenmiller (born June 10, 1854 in Byron, New York). These cities would be consistent with Jacob, Jr. working for the canal system in some capacity. In about 1855, Jacob and Lucy moved with their three sons to McEwensville, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. It was at about this same time that the railroads began arriving in the area and making the canals obsolete. While they were living in McEwensville, Frank N. Truckenmiller was born December 21, 1856 and Sarah M. Truckenmiller was born March 11, 1859. The 1860 Federal Census ^[7] enumerated the family in McEwensville on July 10, 1860 when Jacob was employed as a moulder. For some reason, the 1860 census enumerated Deforest Truckenmiller (age 7) with the family of David Yoder who was a farmer in the Chillisquaque Township of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. ^[8] Jacob and Lucy’s last child, Fanny V. Truckenmiller, was born June 29, 1861 in McEwensville.

Civil War

On April 12, 1861 the American Civil War officially began when Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. After a string of Confederate victories during the summer of 1862, governors of northern states sent President Lincoln a letter urging him to initiate a massive troop call up to “insure a speedy finish of the Rebellion.” The thinking seemed to be that the Union could suppress the rebellion by overwhelming the enemy with sheer numbers of troops. Lincoln responded on July 4, 1862 with a call up of 300,000 men divided across the various northern states. Pennsylvania’s quota was 21 regiments; a regiment normally consisted of ten companies each with about 100 men, making Pennsylvania’s total obligation 21,000 men. (Reading Times, Reading, PA, 23 July 1862, page 3 ^[9]). At a more local level, this call up meant that Northumberland County would be responsible for the equivalent of two companies (200 men). As a point of reference, the population of Northumberland County in 1860 was 28,922. From Governor A.G. Curtin’s proclamation, 21 July 1862:

To sustain the Government in times of common peril by all his energies, his means, and his life if need be, is the first duty of every loyal citizen. The President of the United States has made a requisition on Pennsylvania for twenty-one new regiments, and the regiments already in the field must be recruited.

Enlistments will be made for nine months in the new regiments and for twelve months in the old. The existence of the present emergency is well understood. No patriot will pause now to investigate its causes. We must look to the future. Everything that is dear to us is at stake. Under these circumstances, I appeal with confidence to the freemen of Pennsylvania. You have to save your homes and your firesides, your own liberties and those of the whole country. I call on the inhabitants of the counties, cities, boroughs, and townships throughout our borders to meet and take active measures for the immediate furnishing of the quota of the State. Let those who cannot go themselves contribute to provide bounties equal at least to those offered by the adjoining States.

The conduct of our men already in the field has shed immortal luster on Pennsylvania. Let their brethren fly to arms to support them, and make the victory speedy as well as certain.

A.G. CURTIN, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

The 131st Regiment was recruited from Lycoming, Northumberland, Union, Snyder and Mifflin counties. At the company level, Company A came from Lewisburg, Mifflinburg and vicinity; Company B came from Watsontown and vicinity; Company C came from Shamokin, Sunbury and vicinity; Company D came from Lewistown and vicinity; Company E came from Milton and vicinity; Company F came from Selinsgrove, Middleburg and vicinity; Company G came from Williamsport; Company H came from Muncy and vicinity; Company I came from Williamsport and Jersey Shore; and Company K came from Lewistown and vicinity. ^[10] “To expedite organization, men were offered commissions who should recruit a certain number of men. Under this call the 131st Regiment was recruited.” ^[11] Jacob E. Truckenmiller volunteered for service in the army at Watsontown, and, as a result, ended up in Company B.

Sketch by Jasper Green of Camp Curtin near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Recruits from all over Pennsylvania arrived at Camp Curtin (named for the governor) which was located about two miles north of Harrisburg. They were so enthusiastic that many lied about their age so they would fit into the targeted age range (18 to 45 years), resulting in some recruits being less than 18 and others being older than 45. By consensus they arrived at the tasks to be performed by people at each rank. The uniforms that were issued were randomly handed out so that almost no one got a correctly-fitting uniform. ^[12]

Col. Peter H. Allabach	Capt. David Bly	1st Lt. Joseph Hutchison	2nd Lt. Joseph Irvin

Within the 131st Regiment, Peter H. Allabach a dentist from Harrisburg was the Colonel; William B. Shaut a journeyman tailor from Williamsport was the Lieutenant Colonel; Robert W. Patton a jeweler from Lewistown was the Major. For Company B, David Bly of Watsontown was the Captain; Joseph G. Hutchinson of Watsontown was the First Lieutenant; and Joseph M. Irvin of McEwensville was the Second Lieutenant. Among these men, only Peter Allabach had previous military experience (in the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848).

The 123rd, 131st, 133rd and 134th Regiments were grouped into a brigade under the command of Colonel Allabach. Each soldier received 100 rounds of ammunition and five days’ rations. Ultimately this brigade became the Second Brigade of the Third Division that was commanded by General Andrew A. Humphreys. The Third Division was, in turn, a part of the Fifth Army Corps commanded by General Fitz John Porter. And the Fifth Army Corps was part of the Army of the Potomac commanded by General George McClellan.

Brig. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys

On August 17, 1862, orders were received to leave Camp Curtin and head to Washington. The following day, the 131st Regiment was loaded into box cars on a North Central Railway train headed for Washington. The train arrived in Washington later that same day. The very next day the 131st Regiment was ordered to cross the Potomac River into Virginia. At the time they crossed into Virginia, uniforms for the officers had not yet been received, so these men still wore their civilian clothes. They ended up tenting at Camp Chase in Fort Albany at Arlington, Virginia, near the site where the Pentagon is located today. Toward the end of August, the men finally received their weapons. “They were not rifles, nor even a good ordinary gun, but an indifferent lot of arms – a job lot – which were refused and condemned. We, however, soon received the best arms in the service – a splendid Springfield musket.” ^[13]

The Second Brigade was at Frederick, Maryland, when the Battle of Antietam began. They were ordered to go to Antietam as reinforcements and marched all night to do so. But when they arrived at Antietam, the Confederate Army had slipped away and the 131st did not see action in this battle. When President Lincoln discovered that General McClellan had allowed the Confederate Army to escape, he replaced General McClellan with an unwilling General Ambrose Burnside.

Burnside’s ultimate plan was to race to Richmond, the Confederate capital, before Robert E. Lee could move his Army of Virginia to counter Burnside. Fredericksburg was chosen as the point at which the Rappahannock River would be crossed. Lee became aware of Burnside’s movements and decided to stop his advance to Richmond at Fredericksburg. Burnside’s army arrived at Falmouth, across the Rappahannock from Fredericksburg before Lee’s army arrived on the other side of the river. Because the Confederates had blown the bridges at Fredericksburg, the Union army was dependent on pontoon bridges to cross the river, and a bureaucratic mix up by General Halleck at Harper’s Ferry caused the arrival of the bridges to be delayed until Lee’s army had arrived in Fredericksburg. When the bridges finally did arrive, Confederate sharpshooters in the town of Fredericksburg began killing the Union army engineers who were trying to put the bridge together. This resulted in a long sequence of Union artillery fire into town in the hope of driving the sharpshooters away. Ultimately, only when some of the Union soldiers were sent across the river by boat were the sharpshooters driven out of town. Finally about a day later, the pontoon bridges were assembled and the slow movement of the large Union army across the river began.

Pontoon bridges at Fredericksburg	Men waiting to cross the Rappahannock River on pontoon bridges

The main fighting of the Battle of Fredericksburg occurred on December 13, 1862. The Confederate forces occupied the high ground above Fredericksburg in an area called Marye’s Heights, a knoll about a mile long at the base of which was a stone wall. To get to the stone wall, Union forces had to cross the river, go through the town of Fredericksburg and then cross an open field. The Confederates behind the stone wall were able to easily pick off Union soldiers as they started crossing the open field. By the time darkness arrived and the battle ended, there were seven separate Union attempts to take the stone wall. All seven attempts met with failure and massive casualties. Jacob Truckenmiller, the 131st Pennsylvania Volunteers and Humphreys’ Brigade were in the second to the last assault which began at about 4:30 pm and lasted until about 7:00 pm when the sun set. At some point during those 2.5 hours, Jacob was hit “by a piece of shell which broke his thigh bone and also by a ball passing through the same limb above the knee.” People at the rank of private had absolutely no information about the overall plan of attack or about the rationale for this or that maneuver. Imagine that you are in the sixth or seventh wave and you are waiting to attach the stone wall. You observed that all of the preceding waves met with deadly failure. And yet when your captain issues the order to charge, you do so!

Sketch done by Alfred Waud of General Humphreys’ charge at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Union troops are in the foreground and the Confederates are at the bottom of the small hill in the distance across the open field. Confederate cannon are at the top of the small hill.	Regimental flag of the 131st Pennsylvania Volunteers

Map of Fredericksburg Battlefield. Blue arrow points to place where I suspect Jacob Truckenmiller was hit.

During the battle the huge number of casualties along with the extremely intense firing meant that most people who were wounded had to be left on the battlefield until the end of the battle. Disgustingly, the bodies of many of the Union dead were simply left on the battlefield where their personal effects were stolen by Union soldiers, by Confederate soldiers or by townspeople. One reporter observed that immediately after the battle the open field looked like a sea of blue, but that it turned into a sea of white after the uniforms of the dead soldiers were stripped off of them. To steal rings, it was not uncommon for the thief to simply cut off the finger of the dead person. Jacob was taken to the “Division Hospital for Humphreys’ Division opposite Fredericksburg” where he died two days later on December 15, 1862. ^[15] I think (but cannot yet prove) that this Division Hospital was located in Chatham Manor, a mansion located on the opposite side of the river from Fredericksburg. Both Walt Whitman and Clara Barton worked at Chatham Manor treating Union soldiers after the battle. This obituary appeared in the local newspaper in Watsontown, Pennsylvania:

Truckenmiller – In the hospital, Fredericksburg, 15 of December, 1862, Jacob E. Truckenmiller, aged 35 years, 9 months, 22 days. The deceased was one of the nine months volunteers in the Watsontown Company, 131st Pennsylvania Regiment. He was wounded in the second days fight at Fredericksburg by a piece of shell which broke his thigh bone and also by a ball passing through the same limb above the knee. A wife and six children, also parents and friends, are left to mourn the loss of one beloved. His last words were, “It is nothing to die when one is prepared.” He is now sleeping in the grave, a victim to his noblest zeal and love for his country. They have wrapped him in his blanket and laid him down to rest in the little mound opposite Fredericksburg, where the wild birds shall chant his requiem, and spring flowers shed their fragrance around his tomb.

Supposedly just before he died, Jacob said, “It is nothing to die when one is prepared.” Probably he actually said nothing due to his weakened state, and this newspaper account was part of the psychological need that almost everyone had for glorifying the war. In the final analysis the casualties of the 131st Pennsylvania Volunteers in the battle were 2 officers and 20 enlisted men killed, 6 officers and 132 enlisted men wounded, and 15 enlisted men captured or missing, for a total of 175 men out of approximately 1000. In the entire battle on the Union side there were 1284 killed, 9600 wounded and 1769 captured or missing out of 114,000 total. On the Confederate side there were 608 killed, 4116 wounded and 653 captured or missing out of 5377.

This photo of the Fredericksburg National Cemetery was taken by the National Park Service. Candles mark each grave and normally there were three to five bodies in one grave. Most of the graves are unidentified.

There is a tombstone for Jacob in the Stitzel Cemetery in McEwensville, Pennsylvania ^[16], but I suspect that he is not actually buried there and that the tombstone is just a memorial. I base this conclusion on the fact that his obituary indicates that he was buried in a “little mound opposite Fredericksburg,” on the fact that transporting bodies home from a battle that the Union lost would not be a trivial venture given that they were deep inside enemy territory, and on my suspicion that by the time the war ended almost three years later, no one really cared enough to try to find his grave and move him back to Pennsylvania.

Kathi Wertman who lives in Northumberland County (in 2015), gave me this letter from Henry Jefferson Hartranft of Company B, 131st Pennsylvania Volunteers, to his father after the Battle of Fredericksburg:

Dec. 18, 1862
Fredericksburg

Dear Father,

It is through the all prevailing mercy of God that I am spared this morning with health and strength and have the opportunity, among the living. I received a letter from Mary last evening. Glad to hear that you were all well and enjoying every blessing necessary for the promotion of life. We have seen some pretty rough times since I have written to you the last time.

Dec 13th Sat. Crossed the Rappahannock about three o’clock after laying on the opposite side from morning waiting for orders to cross. Lay in town about one hour and was then ordered out into the battle field where we were about one hour and three quarters under a raking fire the whole time and right in front of the enemies breast works. In our company we had one killed on the battle field and 13 wounded. One has died since. We retired from the field about dusk and encamped when the firing ceased along the edge of the town during the night. Leaving but a short distance from our battle line we got all our wounded off the field during the night.

Sunday the 14th, 1862. Arose about 4 o clock in the morning. Went back to town and got a new supply of ammunition and were then marched out near our old line of battle, where we were kept as a reserve during the day. There was considerable firing done by the Sharp Shooters, but now general engagement took place. We lay in danger during the day, but had only one man wounded. That was our Second Lieut. In the evening we retired from the field back to town and quartered in the streets during the night and next day.

Monday the 15th 1862. Were in town during the day, also during the night. We were moved around in order to deceive the enemy, getting no rest during the night at all.

Tuesday the 16th 1862. Left Fredericksburg about four o clock in the morning and again crossed back to the opposite side of the river. Lay two miles on this side of the river until morning and then marched about 4 miles further when we found ourselves back to our old camp that we left on the 11th of December. I for one was glad when we got back for I have seen as much fighting as I care about for nine months at least.

List of killed and wounded:

Killed

John Conley

[DM2015: Pvt. John Conley died Dec. 13, 1862]

Wounded:

R.A. Guffey - head slightly	[DM2015: Pvt. Richard A. Guffey]
J.L. Durham - knee	[DM2015: Cpl. James L. Durham died Dec. 31, 1862]
D.L. Reeder - shoulder	[DM2015: Cpl. Daniel J. Reader]
J. Wollaver - elbow	[DM2015: Pvt. Jeremiah Welliver]
C. Star - foot	[DM2015: Pvt. Charles E. Starr]
J. Lodge - foot slightly	[DM2015: Cpl. Joseph Lodge]
Y.W. Hagg - bowel	[DM2015: Pvt. George W. Haag]
Y. Daugharty - hurt	[DM2015: Pvt. James Daugherty]
D.W. Denius - hurt	[DM2015: Pvt. D. Webster Dennis]
J. Hackel - disabled by a concussion of a shell	[DM2015: Cpl. John Heckel]
G. Wertz - shoulder	[DM2015: Pvt. George Wertz]
J. Truckenmiller	[DM2015: Pvt. Jacob E. Truckenmiller died Dec. 15, 1862]
Lieut. Kerwin - head slightly	[DM2015: Lt. Joseph M. Irwin]

I must close for this time hoping this may find you all well. after you have read this please hand it to John McWilliams. I send my love to Mother, Brothers and Sisters. So good bye. Hoping this cruel war may soon end and we may all soon return to our quiet homes.

I still remain your affectionate son,
H.J. Hartranft
Write soon

Post Mortem Events

Following the death of Jacob, his widow Lucy was left in McEwensville with six children and no income. On January 12, 1863, she filed an affidavit at the Court of Common Pleas in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania requesting a widow’s pension to support herself and her six children. ^[17] Her claim was received with the Federal government on March 20, 1863. The claim gives details of Jacob’s death and along with the names and birthdates of each of the six children. At the time of Jacob’s death, Lucy was 29 years old, their son Charles was 11, son DeForest was 10, son George was 8, son Frank was 5, daughter Sarah was 3 and daughter Fanny was 1. Lucy had only lived in McEwensville for about five or six years, and following Jacob’s death, she and the children moved in with the family of her sister, Frances Darrow Terry, who was living in Rochester, New York. On May 19, 1864 Lucy finally began receiving pension checks in the amount of $8.00 per month from the Federal government. ^[18] ($8.00 in 1864 is equivalent to $121.21 in 2015.)

Pvt. Wellington Wenrick

One of Jacob’s fellow privates in Company B of the 131st Pennsylvania Volunteers was named Wellington Wenrick. Wellington had a brother named Theodore Wenrick who was about ten years younger than Jacob Truckenmiller and three years younger than Lucy Darrow. At some point earlier than 1864, Theodore Wenrick had an extramarital affair with Hannah Beck in Union County, Pennsylvania, which resulted in Hannah becoming pregnant. Theodore was forced to marry Hannah (i.e. a “shotgun” wedding) and she subsequently gave birth to their child, William Henry Wenrick. But Theodore was definitely not committed to the marriage, and somehow…perhaps through his brother Wellington…he became acquainted with the newly widowed Lucy Ann (Darrow) Truckenmiller in McEwensville. After Lucy went to Batavia, Theodore went to nearby Rochester in the summer of 1864 and began calling himself John Adams. On September 5, 1864, “John Adams” and Lucy Truckenmiller were married in Rochester, New York, by Rev. Asa Sax. John, Lucy and Lucy’s Truckenmiller children Charles, Deforest, George, Frank, Sarah and Fanny then settled in Attica, New York. In 1865 Lucy gave birth to John Adams’ son, George Adams. In May of that same year, Lucy’s son Frank Truckenmiller, then 8 years old, died while living in Cameron, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania while living with the family of Daniel Yoder. Frank is buried in the Lewistown Memorial Cemetery in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. ^[20] It is not clear to me why Frank was not in New York with his mother, but similarly odd arrangements had occurred in the past. In the 1860 Federal Census ^[8], the then 8 year old Deforest Truckenmiller was not living with Jacob and Lucy in McEwensville. Instead Deforest was living with the same Daniel Yoder family. And in 1862 when Jacob was killed, Lucy indicates on her pension application that Deforest (age 10) was living with the family of Daniel Yoder in Northumberland County; Charles (age 11) was living with the family of Peter Taylor in Delaware Township, Northumberland County; and George (age 8) was living with the family of Lewis Raymond in Union County. ^[17] I do not have a clue why the children were not living at home.

After Lucy married John Adams, she notified the government and stopped receiving her widow’s pension, and money provided by the government for the Truckenmiller children was handled by a court appointed guardian in Attica named C.W. Krauss. In 1868, the family was living in Bethany, New York, and on November 20, 1868 (about four years after Lucy married John Adams), Lucy discovered that “John Adams” was actually Theodore Wenrick and that he had a wife a child in Pennsylvania before he married Lucy, and that there had never been a divorce. So Lucy packed up the children and went back to Batavia where she lived with a friend, Mary Jane Robinson. Lucy then petitioned the government for reinstatement of her widow’s pension on the grounds that her marriage with ‘John Adams’ was not legitimate. Theodore/John refused to identify the girl (discovered to be Hannah Beck in 2015) to both Lucy and to the government investigator. This request for reinstatement of the pension was ultimately granted. They lived with Mary Robinson until October, 1869, when it appears that Theodore Wenrick/John Adams moved to Batavia and that Lucy and the children moved into his house. ^[21]

In the 1870 Federal Census ^[22], “John Adams” (age 29), Lucy Truckenmiller (age 36), Sarah M. Truckenmiller (age 11), Fanny V. Truckenmiller (age 9) and George B. Adams (age 4) are enumerated in Batavia, Genesee County, New York. It is not clear to me where the three surviving Truckenmiller boys – Charles (age 19), Deforest (age 18) and George William (age 16) – were living in 1870. About two months after the 1870 census was taken, Lucy gave birth the ‘John Adams’ second child, Lulu Anna Adams, in Batavia. In the 1870 census, ‘John Adams’ lists his occupation as a blacksmith, and from an affidavit accompanying Lucy’s pension application, we learn that he was a blacksmith for a railroad.

On December 4, 1873, Deforest Hassinger Truckenmiller (age 21) became the first child of Jacob and Lucy to marry, marrying Hannah Steele who was also from Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. I am not sure where they were married but it would seem logical that they were married in Northumberland County. The first child of Deforest and Hannah, Lula Truckenmiller, was born in Pennsylvania in February 1875, but their second child, Claude Alonzo Truckenmiller was born in Illinois on March 2, 1877. So sometime between 1875 and 1877 at least Deforest and Hannah moved to Illinois. The 1877 City Directory for Joliet, Will County, Illinois, lists D.H. Truckenmiller as an “agent” living at 84 South Eastern Avenue. ^[23] But the 1878 City Directory for Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska, lists Deforest H. Miller (no longer Truckenmiller) as an “agent for Martin and Kennedy” living at 218 Douglas Street in Omaha. ^[24] Martin and Kennedy was a supplier of farming supplies based in Kansas City with a branch office in Omaha; apparently Deforest sold sewing machines. The third child of Deforest and Hannah, Raymond Agusta Truckenmiller, was born in Omaha on January 11, 1879.

About this time, Charles E. Miller, oldest son of Jacob and Lucy Truckenmiller, worked as a fireman. We have this tintype showing him in his uniform for what is apparently Hose Company 1 (H1). Unfortunately we do not know the city in which he worked, but it seems likely that it is somewhere in the Chicago area.

Charles E. Miller

At the time of the 1880 Federal Census, we find John Adams and Lucy Adams living on Cottage Grove Avenue in Hyde Park, Cook County, Illinois, with their children George, Lula and Guy Adams, and Sarah Miller and Fanny Miller (no longer Truckenmiller) – the children of Jacob and Lucy Truckenmiller. John Adams was a carpenter and both Sarah and Fanny Miller were artists. ^[25] The census lists D.H. Miller, his wife H.E. Miller, and their children Lula, Claude and R.A. Miller, living in Hastings, Adams County, Nebraska. Deforest was a “Mch. Agent.” ^[26] In about 1881, Fanny Truckenmiller married Edward Charles Stevens, probably in Chicago, and on August 13, 1882, George William Miller (no longer Truckenmiller) married Mary Sheehan in Hyde Park, Illinois. A few months later, Deforest Truckenmiller and his wife Hannah apparently separated, because on November 12, 1882, Deforest married his second wife, Sarah "Sadie" Smutz, in nearby Washington County, Kansas. Deforest and Sadie had one child, a daughter, Hazel Leona Miller, who was born on September 1, 1883, in Clay Center, Kansas. Apparently Deforest and Sadie separated shortly after Hazel was born; family rumor has it that he might have joined the Wild West Show organized by William Cody (Wild Bill Hickok). On January 27, 1886, Charles E. Miller (no longer Truckenmiller) married Jane Ellen Prickett in nearby Grundy County, Illinois.

The state of Nebraska conducted a state census in 1885, and that census lists Hannah Truckenmiller (now using the surname Truckenmiller again) as a widow living with her children Lula, Claude and Ray in Hamilton County, Nebraska, near Hastings. ^[27]

A very brief obituary for Fanny Truckenmiller appears in the Chicago Daily Tribune on May 12, 1893 on page 6 ^[28]:

STEVENS – At her residence, 4748 Evans Av., May 10, 8 p.m., Fannie V. (nee Truckenmiller), wife of E.C. Stevens, in her 32nd year. Funeral Sunday, May 14, 1 o’clock p.m., at Christian Church, 37th and Indiana Ave., thence by carriages to Oakwoods. Friends of the family invited.

We have not been able to find Jacob and Lucy's daughter, Sarah Miller, in any records after the 1880 Federal Census.

Theodore Wenrick/John Adams died on August 30, 1907 and is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Joliet, Will County, Illinois. ^[29] John and Lucy’s daughter, Lulu Adams, is also buried in this cemetery. ^[30] John and Lucy's son, Guy Adams, enlisted in the U.S. Army on December 30, 1899, in Peoria, Illinois, and is enumerated in the 1900 Federal Census at Fort Monroe, Virginia. In 1908, Guy Adams married his wife Elsie, and they lived in Joliet, Illinois and Gary, Indiana. Guy died sometime before 1950 when his widow is named in a Joliet city directory.

Descendants of Charles E. Miller

Charles E. Miller married Jane Ellen Prickett on January 27, 1886 in Coal City, Grundy County, Illinois. Charles and Ellen had two children while they were living in Illinois: Frank Ellsworth Miller was born on November 26, 1886 in Joliet, Will County, Illinois, and George William Miller was born on September 20, 1888 in Coal City, Grundy County, Illinois. In 1889, the Miller family homesteaded in Yuma County, Colorado, and all of their remaining children were born there in Yuma County: Deforest Hassinger Miller was born on May 26, 1890; Mae Blanche Miller was born on April 11, 1892; Marion Willard Miller was born on April 12, 1897; and Roscoe Miller was born on December 27, 1898. In 1899 the family moved to Brush, Morgan County, Colorado where they are enumerated in the 1900 Federal Census. Then in 1901, the family moved to Greeley, Weld County, Colorado, where Charles and his two older sons began working for the Great Western Sugar Company. In 1911, the family moved to Kersey, Weld County, Colorado. Charles and Ellen lived there until Charles died on July 6, 1932

George William “Bill” Miller, the second son of Charles and Ellen, married Mary Irene Collins on August 22, 1912, in Greeley and Bill worked in the Great Western Sugar factory in Eaton after their marriage. Bill and Mary Miller had a son, Floyd Wendell Miller, who was born on April 8, 1916, in Greeley. I am Don Miller, the son of Floyd and Dorothy Miller, born October 21, 1952 in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas.

Following the death of my father in 1968, my sister, Mary Anne Miller, began researching our family history. She was able to determine the basic information about Charles and Ellen Miller, our great grandparents, but no one in the extended family knew very much about the parents of Charles, and we resigned ourselves to the idea that this line of the family would probably be a dead end that we would never get past. The story in my own family was that Charles left home at an early age and never went home again. There was also a story that he might have been a drummer boy in the Civil War. After the birth of my son in 1985, I joined my sister's search, but had equally bad luck. I wrote to many of my father’s first cousins to see if they might have any anecdotes about Charles. Most of the stories I got back contained only the basic information that we already knew. However, my dad’s cousin, Charles Leslie Miller, said this in a letter dated January 1, 1991:

You ask about grandfather, Charles Egner Miller. I think I was about 13 or 14 when he died. He told some things about the Erie Canal and all the good fruit they had in Pennsylvania. He did talk about doing stone masonry work, but I have no idea where or when. In fact, they kept a stone Bible, carved from white marble on the table that he had made. As far as I know they were never involved with any church. The only information I have about his family is that his father died when he was quite young. Later his mother remarried. Grandfather did not get along with the stepfather and left home when he was around thirteen years old, and he said he never went back home. We thought that his family probably came from either Holland or Germany. He still had the accent and sentence structure of the German language, like, “Throw the cow over the fence some hay,” pronouncing “W” like “V” and so forth.

I got one additional lead about the parents of our Charles E. Miller from his marriage license filed in 1886 in Grundy County, Illinois. On that license the father of Charles was listed as Jacob E. Miller and the mother was M.E. Egner:

In spite of this story, and in spite of a lot of attempts, this line remained a mystery until the summer of 2014. In 2012 I submitted a DNA sample to Ancestry.com, and in May of 2014 I noticed that I shared the surname Egner with another person at Ancestry.com. After looking at the tree data they submitted I noticed that the person in their tree named Egner was female and that she married a man named Jacob Truckenmiller. Jacob and Sarah (Egner) Truckenmiller had a son named Jacob E. Truckenmiller. This Jacob E. Truckenmiller had a son named Charles E. Truckenmiller whose birthday was exactly the same as my Charles E. Miller (June 28, 1851). And Jacob E. Truckenmiller had additional sons named Deforest Hassinger Truckenmiller, George W. Truckenmiller and Frank Truckenmiller. All of these names were used by my Charles and Ellen Miller for their own children.

I contacted the other Ancestry.com user who turned out to be Rich McKee from Sacramento, California. Rich, my sister Mary Anne and I worked intensively for a week or so trying to determine if there actually was a connection, and, if so, how we were connected. The key to establishing the link was when we got a copy of the Civil War pension documents that Jacob E. Truckenmiller’s widow, Lucy, submitted following his death. The pension document listed the exact birthdates and birth places of all six of Jacob’s children. Their son Charles E. Truckenmiller was not only born on the same day as our Charles E. Miller, but he was also born in Seneca Falls, New York. The 1850 Federal Census enumerated about 4300 people in Seneca Falls, New York. In such a small town, the chances of two people being born on the same day to different parents seem quite low. Add to that the idea that both people would have the given name, Charles, and that the father would be named Jacob E., and this convinced us that Charles E. Truckenmiller was the same person as our Charles E. Miller. Later we discovered that all of the children of Jacob and Lucy had, at some point in their lives, used the surname Miller rather than Truckenmiller. The particulars of the story from the pension application matched the information I got from my father’s cousin back in 1991: the father died when Charles was young; the mother remarried; Charles left home at an early age. Finally as I was convinced we had the story correct, I went back to a family tree diagram that my sister gave me in 1968. On that diagram created in 1968 my sister had written in a possible surname for the father of Charles Miller:

The clue had been sitting right in front of me for 30 years and I never really paid attention to it!

Descendants of Deforest Hassinger Truckenmiller

My new-found cousin Rich McKee connects with Jacob E. Truckenmiller as follows. Jacob E. and Lucy (Darrow) Truckenmiller had a son named Deforest Hassinger Truckenmiller (b. July 10, 1852 in Albion, Orleans County, New York, d. Unknown). Deforest Hassinger and Hannah (Steele) Truckenmiller had a son, Raymond Agusta Truckenmiller (b. January 11, 1879 in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska, d. November 8, 1946 in Wheatland, Platte County, Wyoming). Raymond married Emma Edna Casteel and had a daughter, Sylvia Helen Truckenmiller (b. January 26, 1907 in Arcadia, Valley County, Nebraska, d. February 20, 1992 in Vallejo, Solano County, California). Sylvia married Myron William Mix and had a daughter, Shirley May Mix (b. October 9, 1924 in Hay Springs, Sheridan County, Nebraska, d. August 15, 1992 in Vallejo, Solano County, California). Shirley married William Merle McKee; Rich McKee is the son of William and Shirley.

In January 2016, Ancestry.com's DNA testing led to yet another connection with Jacob E. Truckenmiller. After his marriage to Hannah Steele, Jacob and Lucy's son Deforest married again on November 12, 1882, this time to Sadie Smutz who was born in Polk County, Iowa, on November 22, 1856. Deforest and Sadie had a daughter, Hazel Leona Miller, born September 1, 1883 in Clay Center, Kansas. Hazel married William Sherman Bray on November 25, 1901, in Leavenworth, Kansas. Hazel and William had a son, Charles Radner Bray (b. July 16, 1910 in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, d. May 27, 1969 in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri). Charles married Beatrice Margaret King and had a daughter, Eleanor Jean Bray (b. August 1, 1931 in Missouri). Eleanor married James Powell Johnston and had a son, David M. Nichols. David Nichols is my other newly found Truckenmiller cousin.

Additional reading

Here are some additional information sources:

1. Canal Boatman: My Life on Upstate Waterways, by Richard Garrity, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, New York, 1977. ISBN: 0-8156-0191-3/GACBP
2. Watsontown, McEwensville, and Delaware Township: A Real Photo Postcard History, by Richard Swope, Jr., Heritage Trails, New Hope, Virginia, 2006. ISBN: 0-936441-04-6
3. Roster of members of Company B., 131st Pennsylvania Volunteers, compiled by Capt. David Bly.
4. Photos taken on 9 May 2015 at the Fredericksburg, Virginia, Battlefield.
5. Family Group Sheet for the family of Jacob and Lucy (Darrow) Truckenmiller.
6. Family Group Sheet for the family of Theodore Wenrick/John Adams and Lucy Ann Darrow.
7. Family Group Sheet for the family of Charles E. and Jane Ellen (Prickett) Miller.
8. Family Group Sheet for the family of Deforest Hassinger and Hannah (Steele) Truckenmiller.
9. Family Group Sheet for the family of Deforest Hassinger and Sadie (Smutz) Miller.
10. Family Group Sheet for the family of George W. and Mary (Sheehan) Miller.

Loose Ends in 2015

There are several things that I don't yet know that would add significantly to this essay:

1. Some firm evidence for the whereabouts of Jacob Egner Miller between 1827 and 1850. Employment records from a canal boat company in Pennsylvania or New York would be wonderful!
2. Why did the children of Jacob and Lucy change their surname from Truckenmiller to Miller?
3. Where is Lucy Ann Darrow buried?
4. Any additional information about the children of Jacob and Lucy.
5. Why didn't the young Truckenmiller boys live with their parents during some of their early years?
6. What prompted the move to Illinois? Could the Truckenmiller boys have also worked on barge canals, and if so, was the Illinois and Michigan Canal that ran thrugh Chicago, Joliet and Grundy County the reason for the move?
7. Who are the parents of Jane (Darrow) Cook, Frances (Darrow) Terry, and Lucy (Darrow) Truckenmiller/Adams? My sister has amassed some pretty convincing evidence that their father was Amaziah Darrow, but addition information is always welcome.

If you have information to add, please contact me by clicking here.

References

1. 1820 Federal Census - Turbot Twp., Northumberland, Pennsylvania - Line 6
2. 1830 Federal Census - Turbot Twp., Northumberland, Pennsylvania
3. 1840 Federal Census - Turbot Twp., Northumberland, Pennsylvania
4. 1850 Federal Census - White Deer Twp., Union, Pennsylvania - Line 29
5. 1860 Federal Census - McEwensville, Northumberland, Pennsylvania - Page 113, Line 4
6. 1870 Federal Census - Delaware Twp., Northumberland, Pennsylvania - Page 8, Line 6
7. 1860 Federal Census - McEwensville, Northumberland, Pennsylvania - Page 118, Line 13
8. 1860 Federal Census - Chillisquaque, Northumberland, Pennsylvania - Page 29, Line 16
9. The Reading Times, Reading, Pennsylvania, 23 July 1862, page 3.
10. History of the 131st Pennsylvania Volunteers, War of 1861-5, by Capt. Joseph R. Orwig, Co. A, 131st Penn. Vol., 1902, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, page 12.
11. History of the 131st Pennsylvania Volunteers, War of 1861-5, by Capt. Joseph R. Orwig, Co. A, 131st Penn. Vol., 1902, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, page 4.
12. History of the 131st Pennsylvania Volunteers, War of 1861-5, by Capt. Joseph R. Orwig, Co. A, 131st Penn. Vol., 1902, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, page 9.
13. History of the 131st Pennsylvania Volunteers, War of 1861-5, by Capt. Joseph R. Orwig, Co. A, 131st Penn. Vol., 1902, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, page 20.
14. History of the 131st Pennsylvania Volunteers, War of 1861-5, by Capt. Joseph R. Orwig, Co. A, 131st Penn. Vol., 1902, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, page 19.
15. Affidavit of Capt. David Bly, Co. B, 131st Penn. Vol., 31 December 1862, in support of Lucy Truckenmiller's pension application.
16. Find A Grave.com, grave 67353685.
17. Affidavit of Lucy Truckenmiller's in support of her pension application.
18. Increase of Widow's Pension notification.
19. Genealogical and biographical Annals of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, by J.L. Floyd & Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1911, page 403 - 406.
20. Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lewistown, Pennsylvania, burial records.
21. Affidavit of Mary Jane Robinson in support of Lucy Truckenmiller's pension application.
22. 1870 Federal Census - Batavia, Genesee County, New York - Page 50.
23. 1877 Joliet, Illinois City Directory, page 190.
24. 1878 Omaha, Nebraska City Directory, page 212.
25. 1880 Federal Census - Hyde Park, Cook County, Illinois - ED 191, Page 30.
26. 1880 Federal Census - Hastings, Adams County, Nebraska - ED 55, Page 7.
27. 1885 Nebraska State Census - Hamilton County, Nebraska - ED 379, Page 4.
28. Chicago Daily Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, May 12, 1893, Page 6.
29. Find A Grave.com grave #77640799.
30. Find A Grave.com grave #82167149.