Albert Edgel Proctor was born on November 30, 1822, in Marlborough, Massachusetts, to Nicholson and Lucy Proctor. His father was a veteran of the War of 1812 who ran a general store. He grew up and attended school in Marlborough, and his mother died in 1838. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts, around 1838, and he worked as a clerk in the clothing business. He married Harriet E. Dealing on December 25, 1860. 

 

In September 1862, he received a commission as a 1^st lieutenant in Company G of the 42^nd Massachusetts Infantry. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 9 inches tall, with dark hair and hazel eyes. In January 1863, he was detailed as acting regimental quartermaster. Then, in April 1863, he was wounded by “being thrown from his horse.” He took part in the siege of Port Hudson. According to an early biographer, “although [he was] hardly recovered from the effects of a broken army, [he] was able to assist in the care of the wounded.” He mustered out on August 20, 1863.

 

He returned to the Union army a year later, mustering in as a captain in the 4^th Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. The regiment performed garrison duty around Washington, D.C., and he mustered out on June 17, 1865.

 

He returned to Boston after the war, and he resumed his work as a “clothier.” He applied for a federal pension in 1880 and eventually received one. He died of Bright’s disease in Boston on April 25, 1897.

 

Image: Albert E. Proctor (The Boston Globe, 26 April 1897)

SOURCES