John D. Beach
John D. Beach was born around 1841 in Litchfield County, Connecticut, to Benjamin Burroughs Beach and Mary Sturdevant. His father was a painter. The family lived in New Milford, Connecticut, until the 1850s, when they moved to LaSalle County, Illinois. His father probably died in the 1850s. By 1860, Beach was living in Deer Park, Illinois, and working as a farm laborer.
 
He enlisted in the Union army on August 23, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company G of the 55th Illinois Infantry on October 31. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 6½ inches tall, with light hair and blue eyes. The regiment took part in the Battle of Shiloh, the siege of Corinth, the Vicksburg campaign, the Atlanta campaign, the March to the Sea, and the Carolinas campaign. He reenlisted in 1864 against the wishes of his father, who believed that “this war will never end as long as Old Abe is President.” He contracted smallpox during the winter of 1864-65, but he eventually recovered. He eventually earned a promotion to corporal, and he mustered out on August 14, 1865.
 
He married America Ann Woods on July 17, 1867, and they had at least three children: Linne, born around 1875; Jessie, born around 1877; and Charles, born around 1881. They moved to Medicine Creek, Nebraska, in the late 1870s, and he worked as a barber there. He applied for a federal pension in September 1878 and eventually secured one. The family moved to Araphahoe, Nebraska, in the 1880s and then to Santa Ana, California, in the 1890s. Beach worked as a “capitalist” in Santa Ana. They moved to Long Beach California, in the early 1900s. He died of “natural causes” in Los Angeles, California, on October 4, 1922.
3238
DATABASE CONTENT
(3238)Beach, John Dwight1841-06-301922-10-04
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Private
  • Rank out: Corporal
  • Rank highest: Corporal
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 25

  • (3818) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 28 July 1863
  • (10895) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 17 August 1864
  • (10896) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Brother, 18 December 1864
  • (10897) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 28 December 1864
  • (10898) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 31 December 1864
  • (10899) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 1 January 1865
  • (10900) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 8 May 1865
  • (10901) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 11 June 1865
  • (10902) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 20 June 1865
  • (11986) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 30 August 1861
  • (11987) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 17 October 1861
  • (11988) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 23 November 1861
  • (11989) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 28 December 1861
  • (11990) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, December 1861
  • (11991) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 18 February 1862
  • (11992) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 23 March 1862
  • (11993) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 25 April 1862
  • (11994) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 8 June 1862
  • (11995) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 19 September 1862
  • (11996) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 2 August 1863
  • (11997) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 14 September 1863
  • (11998) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 29 January 1864
  • (11999) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 16 March 1864
  • (12000) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 11 April 1864
  • (12001) [writer] ~ John D. Beach to Mary S. Williams, 15 April 1864

People - Records: 1

  • (3239) Williams, Mary S. is the [parent of] (3238) Beach, John Dwight

Places - Records: 2

  • (2308) [birth] ~ Litchfield County, Connecticut
  • (1411) [death] ~ Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California

Show in Map

Regiments - Records: 1

  • (910) [enlisted] [G] ~ 55th Illinois Infantry
SOURCES

1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; Indiana Marriage Index, 1800-1941, available from Ancestry.com; General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, available from Ancestry.com; Databases of Illinois Veterans Index, 1775-1995, available from Ancestry.com; Santa Ana (CA) Register, 5 October 1922; John D. Beach to Mary Williams, 17 August 1864, DL1713.001, Nau Collection.