Joseph Langford Bennett Jr.
Joseph Langford Bennett Jr. was born on June 27, 1838, in Rhode Island to Joseph and Sarah Bennett. His father was a druggist and grocer. He grew up and attended school in Providence, Rhode Island.
 
He enlisted in the Union army on April 17, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company C of the 1st Rhode Island Infantry on May 2, 1861. The regiment took part in the Second Battle of Manassas. He mustered out on August 2, 1861. He returned to the army in May 1862, receiving a commission as a 1st lieutenant in Company A of the 10th Rhode Island Infantry. He mustered out again on September 1, 1862.
 
He returned to Providence after leaving the army, and he worked as a clerk. He moved to Hartford, Connecticut, in the mid-1860s. In March 1866, he received an appointment as an assistant adjutant general in the Connecticut National Guard. As one writer explained, he took “charge of the presentation of soldiers’ claims for pensions and back pay.” He resigned in August 1868.
 
He married Carrie Ross on November 29, 1866, and they had at least two children: Maud, born around 1869; and Fred, born around 1870. He earned a living as an auctioneer. Around 1874, he secured at job as a post office clerk. He resigned the position in 1885, reportedly “on account of a reduction of salary.” In 1891, he became the chief clerk of the United States Patent Office.
 
His wife died in the late 1800s, and he married Virginia Turner on June 28, 1897. He applied for a federal pension in September 1897 and eventually received one. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Washington, D.C., on March 11, 1898.
4215
DATABASE CONTENT
(4215)Bennett, Joseph Langford Jr.1838-06-271898-03-11
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Private
  • Rank out: 1st Lieutenant
  • Rank highest: 1st Lieutenant
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 1

  • (11694) [writer] ~ Joseph L. Bennett Jr. to Henry W. Washburn, 14 August 1866

Places - Records: 3

  • (238) [birth] ~ Rhode Island
  • (75) [death] ~ Washington, DC
  • (227) [residence in 1870] ~ Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut

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Regiments - Records: 2

  • (112) [enlisted] [C] ~ 1st Rhode Island Infantry
  • (691) [officer] [A] ~ 10th Rhode Island Infantry
SOURCES

1850 and 1870 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, available from Ancestry.com; Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865, available from Ancestry.com; Rhode Island Marriage Index, 1851-1920, available from Ancestry.com; District of Columbia Marriage Records, 1810-1953, available from Ancestry.com; Hartford (CT) Courant, 5 March 1866, 10 September 1885, 7 August 1893, and 15 March 1898; The Daily Republican (Meriden, CT), 12 August 1868