1.6.14

The Captain and the Captain's Wife

Henry H. Daniels was my paternal grandmother's maternal grandfather -- that is, my father's mother's mother's father. There's a nice sort of symmetry about that. He was born in Michigan in 1840, of English immigrants George Daniels (Lincolnshire) and Ann Twidale (Yorkshire). At this point I know very little about his family, but I know the following, thanks to 2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry web site:
  • Henry H. Daniels was residing in Hudson at the outbreak of the Civil War.
  • He enlisted, in Hudson, as Sergeant in Company B 2nd Michigan Infantry, on the 10th of May 1861. He was 21 years old at this time.
  • He was promoted to Command Sgt. on 25 August 1862 (Acting Aide-de-camp to Colonel Fenton, 1st Brigade). He was transferred on the same day from Company B to Staff.
  • He was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant on 17 September 1862. He was transferred on the same day from Staff to Company H.
  • He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on 24 February 1863 (Acting Aide-de-camp 1st Brigade, 1st Div., 9th Corps). He was transferred on the same day from Company H to Company D.
  • He was transferred on 27 May 1863 from Company D to Company I.
  • He was promoted to Captain on 12 March 1864 of Company C.
  • Promoted to Adjutant on 26 March 1864. He was transferred on 29 March 1864 from Company I to Staff.
  • He was transferred on 28 July 1864 from Staff to Company C.
  • He was discharged for wounds on 05 November 1864 as Aide-de-camp on staff of Colonel Leasure. 

His wife was Martha L. Hale, born around 1842 in New York state.Bentley family lore had it that she was related to the famous American patriot Nathan Hale (1755-1776). However, records are very spotty and inconsistent; it appears that her father, Hiram (1805-1861), was the son of a Nathaniel Hale (b. 1758), and I so far can't get the dots to connect. Oh well! At any rate, she looks a bit dour, doesn't she? But obviously she was in Henry's heart during the war -- and he looks pretty wistful about it (I'm assuming he's getting ready to leave for duty, with his Sergeant's stripes).



This book briefly lists the actions of the 2d Infantry...

"This Regiment left Detroit on the 5th of June, 1861 — the first of the three years' Regiments in the field from this State — with an aggregate force on its muster rolls of 1,013, to which 102 had been added previous to the 1st of July. Its first engagement was at Blackburn's Ford, Va., July 18th, 1861. During the winter it lay near Alexandria, Va., and in March was moved under McClellan to the Virginia Peninsula. It took part in the siege of Yorktown; in engagements at Williamsburg, May 5th; at Pair Oaks, May 21st; at Charles City Cross Roads, June 30; at Malvern Hill, July 1; and at Chantilly, September 1. Its casualties at Williamsburg were 17 killed, 38 wounded, and 4 missing; at Fair Oaks, 10 killed and 47 wounded. Major General Israel B. Richardson, who entered the service in this war as commanding officer of the 2d, when it was organized, died in October last, of wounds received in the battle of Antietam, in which he commanded a division of Union forces. On the 30th of November the aggregate of the Second Infantry, present and absent, was 642. It is in Burns' Division off the ninth army corps of the army of the Potomac..."


Here are the Danielses some years later in Cripple Creek. Henry took his daughters Alice and Louise west and joined the mineral rush like his inlaws-to-be the Orrs, in the Colorado mining industry.



There are some great photos on MiningArtifacts.org.


Perhaps surprisingly Henry is buried in Oakland, California, but his grandson Hugh wound up as an Oakland attorney. So there you go.

Finally, I just discovered a distinguished-looking Henry in the gloriously titled "Representative Men of Colorado in the Nineteenth Century: A Portrait Gallery of Many of the Men who Have Been Instrumental in the Upbuilding of Colorado, Including Not Only the Pioneers, But Others Who, Coming Later, Have Added Their Quota, Until the Once Territory is Now the Splendid State." (Rowell Art Publishing Company, 1902 - Colorado - 272 pages) Outside of this honor I can't find evidence of what made him so "instrumental," but I'll take their word for it!



Reference sites include Michigan In the War, Find a Grave, and FamilySearch.

22 comments:

  1. Sounds as though his was a life well lived. The photos are very well preserved and that's an interesting ornamental frame that some of them have. I've not seen it before/

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    1. It's really kind of amazing how much those older generations went through in a lifetime.

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  2. My mother's family believed they were descended from a signer of the Declaration of Independence, but modern records don't confirm that.

    It is possible that the representative men were those willing to pay to be included.

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  3. If I have formal portraits at all of my ancestors, it's ONE. They managed ONE formal portrait. So I'm really envious that you have portraits of the Daniels at various periods of their lives.

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  4. One day you'll find out why Henry was 'instrumental'. I like his face.

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  5. A wonderfully rich post - and there is a challenge in digging under the surface of the formal poses to see the real people beneath. A great choice for our themeless week.

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  6. How neat that you have all of these photos and actually can identify who they are! I have so many nameless photos of my ancestors...it's very discouraging. Interesting history you have shared here too!

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    1. Now I want to go through my own photo albums and write down the names so my grandchildren will know!

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    2. That's a great idea and one that I wish my grandparents had thought of and done.

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  7. Great to have all those details from books and military records. I know I have some ancestors who fought on that side of the Civil War, but haven't learned much about them, since the Rebels were closer "kin." Your photos are absolutely lovely!

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    1. That's interesting, having split loyalties like that - I think virtually all my U.S. relatives were northerners at the time.

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  8. What a treasure of history here, throughout all these lovely photos. Uncovering the story of our ancestors is so rewarding, and hearing about your discoveries is interesting for us as well.

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  9. Wow! You have a goldmine of photographs and other information about these grandparents. I thought Martha looked serious in the first photo but when I got to the second photo I could see why you described her as "dour." I wouldn't want to mess with Martha in the second photograph!

    It looks like Martha is wearing the same brooch in the last two photographs. She must have treasured it! Henry aged into a handsome and distinguished-looking man, didn't he?

    Thanks for an interesting post, Sean.

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    1. Yes, she looks formidable! Hadn't noticed the brooch but you are right...heirloom perhaps?

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  10. When I look at old photos of women back then, I can't help but wonder what they might have looked like with today's softer hairstyles instead of the severe styles of their day. That aside, however, how fortunate you are to have so many fine portraits!

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  11. I enjoy the facts set out in point form like you have done. So much easier to build up the story. But I'm starting to wonder waht it is abut the old photos that always makes the eyes so cold and hard., Both women and men. Later photos start to pick up a bit of expression.

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  12. A terrific post to follow your great great grandparent's faces though the years. The first photo has an unusual style with that heart montage effect that I've not seen before. However Daniel is wearing the uniform of an officer not an enlisted man. His epaulet shows the one bar of a 1st Lieutenant which would date the photo to 1863 based on his records. After two years of war he likely had not been home in that time and so would want to send a photo demonstrating his love. Look up "Union Army Uniform" on Wikipedia to see the insignia. Is there a tax stamp on the reverse?

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    1. Ah, nice catch on the stripes, thanks Mike! No tax stamp, just the imprint of the photographer D. H. Spencer, Hudson MI - possibly taken when on leave?

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    2. Did soldiers get leave during the Civil War?

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  13. Great Family History. Good to know things about your past. And the pictures are amazing.

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  14. I couldn’t resist switching between the young Hales and their older selves, then back again. it would be nice to see her smile, jut once!

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  15. You have some great ancestral photographs there in those interesting frames. I have an old album but everyone in it is nameless, and guesswork can only get you so far!

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