David H. Connell was born on March 23, 1838, in Georgetown, Ohio, to Amos Connell and Nancy Hestand. His father was a farmer who owned $5,400 of real estate and $1,000 of personal property in 1860. Connell grew up and attended school in Knox, Ohio, and by 1860, he was working as a clerk. He enlisted in the Union army on August 11, 1862, and mustered in as a sergeant in the 126^th Ohio Infantry on September 2. The regiment spent the first half of 1863 in West Virginia, and the army sent the men to New York in July 1863 to help quell the city’s draft riots. Connell was reduced to the ranks on August 5, 1863, and he was discharged for disability in Washington, D.C., on March 17, 1864.

 

Connell apparently recovered his health later that year, and on October 8, 1864, he mustered in as a private in Company D of the 25^th Ohio Infantry. On March 12, 1865, he was transferred to Company K of the 34^th USCT Infantry. He was promoted to 2^nd lieutenant on July 17, 1865, and then again to 1^st lieutenant on November 6, 1865. The regiment spent the year 1865 stationed in Florida before mustering out on February 28, 1866.

 

Connell moved to Indiana after the war, and he married Mattie Zimmerman in Center Point, Indiana, on April 18, 1867. They had at least five children: Minnie, born around 1868; Amos, born around 1869; Lora, born around 1871; Benjamin, born around 1874; and Grace, born around 1877. In 1870, the family was living in Jackson, Indiana, and Connell was working as a lumber dealer. He owned $700 of real estate and $800 of personal property. They moved to Pierceton, Indiana, sometime in the 1870s, and Connell received an appointment as postmaster. They moved to Etna Green sometime between 1900 and 1910, and Connell died there on June 1, 1914.

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