Flanagan wrote: > I am still seeking my G-Uncle, Elijah Hamler, b. 1845, Sussex Co., NJ. > Out of the ten children of William H. and Noyetta Hamler, Elijah > ("Lige") is the only one that I have not been able to trace past the > Civil War. He's also the only one of my Dad's Uncles whom I have a > story on, passed from father to his son. This makes me think that > Elijah died in the Civil War-- but how do I prove it? The story was > that Elijah went to serve in the Civil War, under-age, as a drummer. > > Elijah's two older brothers who fought in the Civil War both served in > Virginia (the family was all from Sussex County, New Jersey). Can I > assume that Elijah also served in Virginia? How do I find him if he > died on the battlefield? > > Someone suggested that he might have come home and died before the > Census of 1870... Does anyone have access to the Census of 1865, > Sussex County, NJ? > > Would appreciate any kind of help I can get... > > Kathleen > [email protected] Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System shows 4 HAMLER men from NJ in the 9th NJ Inf: William H. Abner, Abram, and James E. Also Andrew in the 27 NJ INF and Andrew H in the 2nd NJ. However -- if he ran away from home to join up, he quite likely lied about his name as well as his age. He could have used a middle name, or his mother's maiden name, or almost any name he cared to choose; recruiters weren't fussy. And there is little likelihood, unless he was *caught* at it, of the lie being recorded as a lie in his service record. However, you *could* always order up one of the records from one of the known soldiers and see if there's accidentally something useful in there. [That's how I discovered one of my great-greats had fought: he was named in his son's file as the person who picked up his son's final pay check, and his rank and unit were given.] And BTW, this family is in Warren County in 1860 Cheryl

*Thanks* very much, Cheryl. I have military records for Wm. H., Andrew H., James E. & Abner; never have seen an "Abram Hamler" before, though I have been doing research for my northern New Jersey family for years! I wonder if the two Andrews were actually the same man... Haven't found any relative other than Andrew H. Hamler and he spent his life trying to to get the "deserter" tag taken off of him. He said that a military doctor on the field had told him to "go home." I wonder if when he later heard scuttlebut to the effect that he had been listed as a deserter, he re-upped.... I don't know of a single other Andrew Hamler in NJ during the Civil War either. I guess that's something to look into... Many thanks for the data and advice! Kathleen [email protected]