Silas C. Doolittle
Silas C. Doolittle was born on August 14, 1843, in Butler, New York, to Loren Doolittle and Phebe Worth. His father was a lawyer who owned $550 of personal property in 1860. Doolittle grew up and attended school in Wolcott, New York, and by 1860, he was working as a farmer.
 
He enlisted in the Union army on September 21, 1861, and mustered in as a private in Company H of the 75th New York Infantry on November 26. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 6 inches tall, with light hair and light eyes. The regiment spent most of the war stationed in Alabama and Mississippi. The army transferred the men to Virginia in 1864, and they took part in the Third Battle of Winchester, the Battle of Fisher’s Hill, and the Battle of Cedar Creek. He voted for Abraham Lincoln in the election of 1864, explaining that, “as long as I am trying to put down Treason in the field, I cannot countenance it at the Polls.”
 
He later declared that he “want[ed] to see those southern traitors humbled like dogs and then banished from the country as being too false to live among civilized people.” He fiercely opposed African American enlistment, insisting in March 1865 that “it is an insult to U.S. soldiers to put the uniform on Orang-ou-tangs.” He became a regimental musician on November 19, 1864, and he mustered out in Savannah, Georgia, on August 31, 1865.
 
Doolittle moved to Michigan after the war, and he married Julia M. Foster on January 12, 1867. They had at least four children: Frank, born around 1868; Elsie, born around 1870; Loren, born around 1875; and Carrie, born around 1880. By 1870, he was working as a mason in Dowagiac, Michigan, and he owned $800 of real estate and $500 of personal property. He applied for a federal pension in February 1893 and eventually secured one. They moved to Wayne, Michigan, in the early 1900s, and he died there on April 22, 1911.
1033
DATABASE CONTENT
(1033)Doolittle, Silas C.1843-08-141911-04-22
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Private
  • Rank out: Musician
  • Rank highest: Musician
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 30

  • (2512) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sister, 14 April 1864
  • (2513) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Phebe Doolittle, 24 April 1864
  • (2514) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sister, 1 May 1864
  • (2515) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Phebe Doolittle, 11 May 1864
  • (2516) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sister, 7 August 1864
  • (2517) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sister, 25 August 1864
  • (2518) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Phebe Doolittle, 22 October 1864
  • (2519) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sarah M. Doolittle, 30 October 1864
  • (2520) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sister, 13 November 1864
  • (2521) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Phebe Doolittle, 20 November 1864
  • (2522) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sister, 9 December 1864
  • (2523) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Phebe Doolittle, 11 December 1864
  • (2524) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sister, 24 December 1864
  • (2525) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sister, 5 January 1865
  • (2526) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sister, 19 January 1865
  • (2527) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sister, 12 February 1865
  • (2528) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sister, 2 March 1865
  • (2529) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Phebe Doolittle, 12 March 1865
  • (2530) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sarah M. Doolittle, 22 March 1865
  • (2531) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sister, 14 May 1865
  • (2532) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sister, 27 June 1865
  • (2533) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Phebe Doolittle, 22 July 1865
  • (2535) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sister, 19 August 1865
  • (2536) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Coleman W. Doolittle, 5 November 1865
  • (2537) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Coleman W. Doolittle, 3 December 1865
  • (2538) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sarah M. Doolittle, 18 February 1866
  • (2539) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sarah M. Doolittle, 23 April 1866
  • (2541) [writer] ~ Silas C. Doolittle to Sarah M. Doolittle, 8 July 1866
  • (2542) [recipient] ~ James W. Grant to Silas C. Doolittle, 27 April 1902
  • (2543) [recipient] ~ Coleman W. Doolittle to Silas C. Doolittle, 3 August 1902

People - Records: 4

  • (1035) Doolittle, Phebe is the [parent of] (1033) Doolittle, Silas C.
  • (1053) Doolittle, Coleman W. is the [sibling of] (1033) Doolittle, Silas C.
  • (1054) Grant, James W. is the [friend of] (1033) Doolittle, Silas C.
  • (1061) Doolittle, Sarah M. is the [sibling of] (1033) Doolittle, Silas C.

Places - Records: 2

  • (953) [birth] ~ Butler, Wayne County, New York
  • (954) [death] ~ Wayne, Wayne County, Michigan

Show in Map

Regiments - Records: 1

  • (92) [enlisted] [H, A] ~ 75th New York Infantry
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; New York Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900, available from Ancestry.com; Michigan Marriage Records, 1867-1952, available from Ancestry.com; General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, available from Ancestry.com; Michigan Death Records, 1867-1952, available from Ancestry.com; Silas C. Doolittle to Sarah M. Doolittle, 30 October 1864, DL0525.008, Nau Collection; Silas C. Doolittle to Phebe Doolittle, 12 March 1865, DL0525.018, Nau Collection; Silas C. Doolittle to Sarah M. Doolittle, 22 March 1865, DL0525.019, Nau Collection