John Fairfield Libby
John Fairfield Libby was born on September 19, 1842, in Carthage, Maine, to Hiram and Naomi Libby. His father was a farmer who owned $1,000 of real estate and $500 of personal property by 1860. The family lived in Carthage until the 1850s, when they moved to Dixfield, Maine. By 1860, he was working as a farm laborer.
 
He enlisted in the Union army on September 29, 1862, and he mustered in as a private in Company F of the 23rd Maine Infantry. The regiment served on guard duty along the Potomac River. He was promoted to corporal in January 1863, and he mustered out on July 15, 1863.
 
He returned to Carthage after leaving the army, and he married Ellen E. Newman. They had at least two children: Charles, born around 1868; and Ida, born around 1869. He worked as a blacksmith, and by 1870, he owned $600 of real estate and $400 of personal property. His wife probably died by the early 1880s, and he married Mary A. Barrett on December 24, 1885.
 
He supported the Republican Party, and he served several terms in the state legislature. He also served as a justice of the peace and a town selectman. By the late 1880s, he was suffering from chronic diarrhea. He applied for a federal pension in January 1889 and eventually received one. By 1890, he was suffering from chronic diarrhea. According to a local writer, he “had been ill for several years, as the result of exposure in the army during the Civil War, but had been able with the assistance of his wife to engage in trade.” He died on September 3, 1897, “from a disease which had long puzzled local physicians.”
3217
DATABASE CONTENT
(3217)Libby, John Fairfield1842-09-191897-09-03
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Private
  • Rank out: Corporal
  • Rank highest: Corporal
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 26

  • (8586) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Naomi B. Libby, 30 September 1862
  • (8587) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Naomi B. Libby, 17 February 1863
  • (8588) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Naomi B. Libby, 15 March 1863
  • (8589) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Winfield S. Libby, 21 March 1863
  • (8590) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Naomi B. Libby, 6 April 1863
  • (8591) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Naomi B. Libby, 18 April 1863
  • (8592) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Winfield S. Libby, 5 April 1863
  • (8593) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Winfield S. Libby, 12 May 1863
  • (8595) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Naomi B. Libby, 10 June 1863
  • (8596) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Winfield S. Libby, 20 June 1863
  • (8598) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Winfield S. Libby, 23 June 1863
  • (8599) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Winfield S. Libby, 26 June 1863
  • (8600) [writer] ~ John F. Libby Manuscript Fragment, undated
  • (8601) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Unknown, November 186X
  • (8602) [writer] ~ John F. Libby Manuscript Fragment, undated
  • (8603) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Unknown, undated
  • (8604) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Unknown, 24 February 186X
  • (8605) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Naomi B. Libby, 4 November 1862
  • (8606) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Winfield S. Libby, 23 November 1862
  • (8607) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Naomi B. Libby, 18 December 1862
  • (8608) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Naomi B. Libby, 28 December 1862
  • (8609) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Winfield S. Libby, 13 January 1863
  • (8610) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Winfield S. Libby, 30 January 1863
  • (8612) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Winfield S. Libby, 4 February 1863
  • (8728) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Winfield S. Libby, 2 November 1862
  • (8995) [writer] ~ John F. Libby to Naomi B. Libby, 20 May 1863

People - Records: 2

  • (3218) Libby, Winfield S. is the [sibling of] (3217) Libby, John Fairfield
  • (5617) Libby, Naomi B. is the [parent of] (3217) Libby, John Fairfield

Places - Records: 3

  • (3663) [birth, residence in 1870] ~ Carthage, Franklin County, Maine
  • (387) [death] ~ Maine
  • (3662) [residence in 1860] ~ Dixfield, Oxford County, Maine

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Regiments - Records: 1

  • (906) [enlisted] [F] ~ 23rd Maine Infantry

Groups - Records: 1

  • (3) [politician] ~ Republican Party
SOURCES

1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; 1890 Veterans Census, available from Ancestry.com; Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940, available from Ancestry.com; General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, available from Ancestry.com; Sun-Journal (Lewiston, ME), 7 September 1897