Erastus Mack was born on September 29, 1827, in Vermillion County, Indiana, to Harvey Mack. By 1850, he was working as a teacher in Vermillion. He moved to Sullivan, Illinois, in the 1850s, and he earned a living as a dentist there.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on June 13, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company E of the 21^st Illinois Infantry on June 28. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with dark hair and gray eyes. The regiment took part in the siege of Corinth, the Battle of Perryville, the Battle of Stones River, the Battle of Chickamauga, the Atlanta campaign, and the Battle of Nashville. He was promoted to sergeant major in December 1863 and then to 1^st lieutenant in July 1864. He mustered out on December 16, 1865.

 

He settled in Highland, Indiana, after the war, and he married Lucinda Hougland on February 18, 1867. He worked as a physician, and by 1870, the family owned $4,800 of real estate and $500 of personal property. His wife probably died in the 1870s, and he married Matilda R. Hinkle on May 18, 1878. They had at least two children: Mable, born around 1878; and Paul, born around 1880. He applied for a federal pension in July 1890 and eventually secured one. He died of diabetes in Highland on June 28, 1912.

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