Footnote.com has once again turned up more documentation for my file. I was looking for more information on Joseph West, my 2nd great grand-uncle and found his Civil War pension index record. The record gave his death date and location. It seems that his wife was still living because the record was marked for widow.
I had read in an article published about Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and her people about Joseph and his life in Pittsburgh up until 1907. According to the pension document he lived until 1918. I had previously found him in the Census records up to 1900 but couldn’t locate him or his wife Mary in the 1910 record.
What I knew about Joseph was that he was born July 23, 1844 in Pennsylvania, possibly in the Butler county area. He had 2 brothers and 2 sisters and he was the oldest son. His parents were Ulrich and Barnhart Ena Eyth West, they were both born in Württemberg, Germany. His father immigrated with his grandfather and uncles around 1824. I am still looking for their immigration/naturalization information. In an article it states that his grandfather was killed when he was kicked by a horse.
Joseph would join the army as a private in Company I, Seventh Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, Captain C C Davis and Colonel George E Winecoop commanding around 1862-1863. He enlisted as a private and remained in the army until 1865 having been promoted to Corporal, December 18, 1864 and then to Sergeant, June 9, 1865.
After the war Joseph would marry Mary J Gue, move to the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, have 11 children and most of them remained in the Pittsburgh area.
One of the things that surprised me was that his brother John, born January 1846, would join the Company I, Seventh Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry on March 19 1864. For the next year the brothers would fight in the same battles throughout Georgia and Western Tennessee together. John’s pension record is also on footnote.com and has his death date listed as July 2, 1925 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
After the war John would marry Mary M Bond, stay in the Butler area and have 9 children. I sent to the national archives to see if I could get more clues about the brothers and their ancestors. I still have outstanding questions on the name of their grandparents and even where their father is buried. According to courthouse records for 1900 he is suppose to be buried in North Cemetery, Butler, Pennsylvania but his plot cannot be located.