Jethro Ayers Hatch
Jethro Ayers Hatch was born on June 18, 1837, in Pitcher, New York, to Jethro Hatch and Minerva Pierce. His father was a farmer who owned $5,000 of real estate by 1850. The family moved to Sugar Grove, Illinois, around 1847, and he grew up and attended school there. He attended the Batavia Institute before graduating from Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois, in February 1860. He began practicing medicine soon afterward, and by 1860, he owned $500 of personal property.
 
On March 12, 1863, he received a commission as an assistant surgeon in the 36th Illinois Infantry. The regiment took part in the Battle of Chickamauga, the Battle of Missionary Ridge, the Atlanta Campaign, the Battle of Franklin, and the Battle of Nashville. In July 1863, he rejoiced at the news of Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. "I expect the war will close soon to our entire satisfaction," he wrote, "and we will all be home again. Then Our Country will be purer and better in every respect." He added that "Slavery will be known as a thing of the past and the southern states will be settled by a different race of beings who will have more energy than the lordly slaveholders who are now becoming extinct." He was promoted to surgeon on May 8, 1865. He opposed Black suffrage, and he predicted that the "Army will sustain [President Andrew Johnson] when they come home to vote." He mustered out on October 8, 1865.
 
Hatch settled in Kentland, Indiana, after the war and resumed his medical practice. He served as a local health officer and served as secretary of the local pension examining board.  By 1870, he owned $500 of real estate and $5,000 of personal property. He joined the Republican Party, and he served in the Indiana legislature from 1872 until 1873. He married Sarah Melissa Shaeffer on May 26, 1881, and they had at least two children: Darwin, born around 1883; and Hazel, born around 1886.
 
He was elected to Congress in 1894, and he served for one term. He returned to Kentland after leaving Congress, and he moved to Victoria, Texas, around 1907. He worked as a real estate agent there. He died there of apoplexy on August 3, 1912.
 
Image: Jethro Ayers Hatch (courtesy Wikicommons)
2210
DATABASE CONTENT
(2210)Hatch, Jethro Ayers1837-06-181912-08-03
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Assistant Surgeon
  • Rank out: Surgeon
  • Rank highest: Surgeon
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 30

  • (6638) [writer] ~ Jethro A. Hatch Statement, 27 June 1864
  • (6639) [recipient] ~ John Ade to Jethro A. Hatch, 11 December 1863
  • (6640) [writer] ~ Jethro A. Hatch to Jethro Hatch and Minerva P. Hatch, 26 September 1863
  • (6641) [writer] ~ Jethro A. Hatch to Jethro Hatch and Minerva P. Hatch, 8 July 1863
  • (6642) [recipient] ~ Fayette S. Hatch to Jethro A. Hatch, 5 July 1863
  • (6644) [associated with] ~ Speeches, undated
  • (6656) [associated with] ~ Speech, undated
  • (6657) [associated with] ~ Speech, undated
  • (6658) [recipient] ~ Jethro Hatch to Jethro A. Hatch, undated
  • (6659) [recipient] ~ Martha W. Winslow to Jethro A. Hatch, 20 June 1865
  • (6660) [recipient] ~ Martha W. Winslow to Jethro A. Hatch, 3 January 186X
  • (6665) [recipient] ~ George W. Boerstler Jr. to Jethro A. Hatch to Sarah M. Shaeffer, 22 February 1883
  • (6666) [recipient] ~ Francis W. Lytle to Jethro A. Hatch, 20 February 1880
  • (6667) [recipient] ~ Minerva P. Hatch to Jethro A. Hatch, 10 September 1878
  • (6668) [recipient] ~ Minerva P. Hatch to Jethro A. Hatch, 11 June 1878
  • (6669) [recipient] ~ Jethro Hatch to Jethro A. Hatch, 5 October 1870
  • (6673) [recipient] ~ Minerva P. Hatch to Jethro A. Hatch, 4 September 1868
  • (6674) [recipient] ~ Jethro Hatch to Jethro A. Hatch, 8 July 1867
  • (6675) [recipient] ~ Fayette S. Hatch to Jethro A. Hatch, 16 April 1865
  • (6676) [recipient] ~ Jethro Hatch to Jethro A. Hatch, 30 April 1867
  • (6677) [associated with] ~ Asa G. McDole Statement, 31 December 1866
  • (6678) [recipient] ~ Minerva P. Hatch to Jethro A. Hatch, 18 June 1866
  • (6679) [recipient] ~ Fayette S. Hatch to Jethro A. Hatch, 22 February 1866
  • (6680) [writer] ~ Jethro A. Hatch to Minerva P. Hatch, 19 July 1865
  • (6681) [recipient] ~ Minerva P. Hatch to Jethro A. Hatch, 26 June 1865
  • (6682) [writer] ~ Jethro A. Hatch to Jethro Hatch, 5 June 1865
  • (6683) [recipient] ~ William P. Peirce to Jethro A. Hatch, 30 April 1865
  • (6684) [recipient] ~ Unknown to Jethro A. Hatch, 3 December 1864
  • (6685) [recipient] ~ Van B. Hubbard to John T. Heard, 1 August 1864
  • (6686) [writer] ~ Jethro A. Hatch to Unknown, 5 January 1863

People - Records: 8

  • (2211) Ade, John is the [friend of] (2210) Hatch, Jethro Ayers
  • (2214) Hatch, Jethro is the [parent of] (2210) Hatch, Jethro Ayers
  • (2215) Hatch, Minerva P. is the [parent of] (2210) Hatch, Jethro Ayers
  • (2216) Hatch, Fayette Smith is the [sibling of] (2210) Hatch, Jethro Ayers
  • (2225) Winslow, Martha Waldron is the [sibling of] (2210) Hatch, Jethro Ayers
  • (2226) Hatch, Darwin Shaeffer is the [child of] (2210) Hatch, Jethro Ayers
  • (2227) Shaeffer, Sarah Melissa is the [wife of] (2210) Hatch, Jethro Ayers
  • (2233) Lytle, Francis W. is the [friend of] (2210) Hatch, Jethro Ayers

Places - Records: 2

  • (1719) [birth] ~ Pitcher, Chenango County, New York
  • (1720) [death] ~ Victoria, Victoria County, Texas

Show in Map

Regiments - Records: 1

  • (670) [enlisted] ~ 36th Illinois Infantry

Groups - Records: 1

  • (3) [politician] ~ Republican Party
SOURCES

1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, and 1910 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; Texas Death Certificates, 1903-1982, available from Ancestry.com; Jethro A. Hatch to Jethro Hatch and Minerva Hatch, 8 July 1863, DL0985.006, Nau Collection; Jethro A. Hatch to Minerva Hatch, 19 July 1865, DL0985.015, Nau Collection