William Evans Jenkins & family.

I would like to thank Troy Jenkins for sending me this information on his family.

I too am a native Kansan but am now a naturalized Texan. I saw your post on Indiana Soldiers and thought I would send you some information I found of my Great-Great Grandfather, William Evans Jenkins. He served in Company C of the 69^th Indiana Infantry with the rank of Musician and survived the war and moved to Vermilion County, Illinois with his family not long afterward. He had two brothers, John Finley and Richard Cochran Jenkins, who both served in the 8^th Indiana Infantry and died in the war, Richard of smallpox in St. Louis and John in battle at Opequan Creek in Winchester, Virginia. William married after moving to Illinois and settled in Fithian where he was a charter member of GAR Post 741. He attended the 1915 69^th Indiana reunion and died in 1917. His grandson Albert was born in Fithian but ended up in Hutchinson, KS, which is where both my father and myself were born.

I am also sending you some information on three other of my family members. William Henry Musselman was born in Chillicothe, Ross Co, Ohio May 16, 1841 to Jonathan and Sarah Musselman. He later moved with his family to Greene County, Illinois and joined Co F, 1^st Missouri Volunteer Cavalry 0n August 7, 1861. His father Jonathan enlisted in B Co., 61^st Illinois Infantry on December 28, 1861 as a private and was mustered out February 7, 1865.. William attained the rank of Sergeant and was mustered out September 1, 1865 in St. Louis. He married Katie Brown there and moved back to his parent’s home in Illinois. His father died in 1871 in Woodville, Illinois and is buried at Belltown cemetery in Greene County, Illinois.

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His wife Katie died not long after that. He remarried to Alpharetta Wise. Alpharetta’s father, Marquis De Lafayette Wise, known as Lafayette, was born in 1829 in Gallatin County, Kentucky. Lafayette enlisted in H Co., 107^th Illinois Infantry on September 4, 1862 as a sergeant and was mustered out June 21, 1865. William and Alpharetta moved to Pawnee County KS, along with his mother Sarah. His father-in-law also moved to Kansas, living in Winfield where he was a member of GAR post 85 and Lafayette died December 16, 1889 and is buried in Winfield. William joined GAR post 8 in Larned, Kansas and he died March 22, 1895 and is buried in Larned Cemetery. I have attached a photo of William that appears to be not long after the war.

 William was born in 1844 in Camden, Preble Co, Ohio and is buried in Stearns Cemetery in Muncie, IL, just south of Fithian. He also left a strong military heritage as his grandson Albert served in the US Navy during WWII and his great grandson Gary (my uncle) and myself both served in the US Army during the cold war, Gary in the mid 1950’s and I in the late 1980’s.

William date of birth was July 17, 1844 and his death date was February 12, 1917. He married his wife Harriet E. Black on April 21, 1870. She also had two brothers in the war. Austin Black served in C Co., 25th Illinois Infantry and died in 1861 of typhoid fever in Jefferson City, MO. Samuel Black served in F Co., 26th Illinois Infantry and survived the war and was also a charter member of GAR Post 741 in Fithian, IL. William and Harriet had 8 children, 6 sons and 2 daughters.