William H. Thurston was born around 1838 in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, to Israel and Abigail Thurston. His father earned a living as a blacksmith. He grew up and attended school in Lower Augusta, Pennsylvania. By 1860, he was working as a blacksmith in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and living in the household of John C. Morgan. He enlisted in the Union army on July 8, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Battery F of the 1st Pennsylvania Light Artillery. The battery took part in the Second Battle of Manassas, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, and the siege of Petersburg.
He expressed devotion to the Union, copying a poem that declared, "Im proud that I responded / To my countrys call." He feared that the war would shatter the "prosperity of the nation" and its reputation abroad. In the future, he wrote, "this country will not be the home of the oppressed nor the asylum of the world. I predict this to be the downfall of all our glorious and good institutions." By June 1864, he was experiencing severe war weariness. "I think if I was President of these divided states for one day just now," he wrote, "I would negotiate with Jeff Davis and give him all he asked."
He supported the Democratic Party, and in September 1864, he declared that "We must fight and defeat the rebel Armies or elect McClellan for President." In November 1864, he lamented President Abraham Lincoln's reelection. "I supported McC," he wrote," neither am I ashamed for the world to know it. I done so with a conscience that I was voting for one who would uphold law and liberty...tis the duty of every true Democrat to put forth still greater efforts to stem the tide that now bears down so heavily upon our people." He was promoted to 1st lieutenant on April 22, 1865, and he mustered out on June 9, 1865.
He returned to Sunbury after the war and resumed his work as a blacksmith. He married Laura J. Morgan, the daughter of John C. Morgan, on June 29, 1865. They had at least seven children: John, born around 1866; Herman, born around 1868; Lillie, born around 1872; May, born around 1875; Roscoe, born around 1879; Edmund, born around 1882; and Richard, born around 1887. By 1870, he owned $1,500 of real estate and $200 of personal property. He applied for a federal pension in February 1891 and eventually secured one. He died in Sunbury in March 1924.
Image: William H. Thurston (Nau Collection)