Luther Stephenson Jr.
Luther Stephenson Jr. was born on April 25, 1830, in Hingham, Massachusetts, to Luther Stephenson. By 1850, he was working as a clerk in Benjamin Butler’s office in Boston, Massachusetts. He married Mary D. Gill on January 3, 1853, and they had at least five children: Albert, born around 1854; Sarah, born around 1856; Walter, born around 1858; Hattie, born around 1859; and Susan, born around 1870. He moved back to Hingham in the 1850s, and he earned a living as a merchant. By 1860, he owned $2,500 of real estate and $2,000 of personal property. He employed at least one white domestic servant.
 
In October 1861, he received a commission as a captain in the 1st Massachusetts Infantry Battalion, which later became the 32nd Massachusetts Infantry. The regiment took part in the Second Battle of Manassas, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Chancellorsville, and the Battle of Gettysburg.
 
He was promoted to major in August 1862 and then to lieutenant colonel in December 1862. He was severely wounded in the face at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, and he spent several months recovering. He rejoined the regiment by December 1863, but the injury continued to bother him. As one surgeon explained, he “has been troubled with night blindness and with chronic conjunctivitis much aggravated by bright sunlight and by dusty marches.” He resigned on June 22, 1864.  
 
He returned to Hingham after leaving the army, and he worked for a life insurance company. By 1870, the family owned $2,500 of real estate and $600 of personal property. He joined the Grand Army of the Republic and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and he delivered lectures on Civil War battles. In 1883, he received an appointment of governor of the National Soldiers’ Home in Togus, Maine. He held the position for the next fourteen years. His wife died in November 1886, and by 1920, he was living in his daughter Sarah’s household in Hingham. He died there on January 18, 1921, after a short illness.
4621
DATABASE CONTENT
(4621)Stephenson, Luther Jr.1830-04-251921-01-18
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Captain
  • Rank out: Lieutenant Colonel
  • Rank highest: Lieutenant Colonel
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 7

  • (12992) [writer] ~ Luther Stephenson Jr. to Francis J. Parker, 30 July 1862
  • (14633) [writer] ~ Luther Stephenson Jr. to Francis J. Parker, 15 February 1863
  • (14638) [writer] ~ Luther Stephenson Jr. to Francis J. Parker, 28 February 1863
  • (14643) [writer] ~ Luther Stephenson Jr. to Francis J. Parker, 8 March 1863
  • (14657) [writer] ~ Luther Stephenson Jr. to Francis J. Parker, 3 June 1863
  • (14669) [writer] ~ Luther Stephenson Jr. to Francis J. Parker, 3 January 1864
  • (14685) [writer] ~ Luther Stephenson Jr. to Francis J. Parker, 18 April 1864

Places - Records: 1

  • (1983) [birth, death] ~ Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts

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Regiments - Records: 1

  • (1073) [officer] [A] ~ 32nd Massachusetts Infantry

Groups - Records: 1

  • (6) [member/supporter] ~ Grand Army of the Republic
SOURCES

1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Military Service Records of Luther Stephenson Jr., available from Fold3.com; Massachusetts Mason Membership Cards, 1733-1990, available from Ancestry.com; Massachusetts Marriage Records, 1840-1915, available from Ancestry.com; The Boston Globe, 7 November 1886; The Portland (ME) Daily Press, 17 January 1883