Jerome Bottomly was born on August 14, 1842, in Leicester, Massachusetts, to Samuel and Abigail Bottomly. His father was a wool sorter who owned $2,500 of real estate by 1850. Bottomly grew up and attended school in Leicester.
He enlisted in the Union army on September 24, 1861, and he mustered in as an artificer in the 1st United States Engineer Battalion. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 6¼ inches tall, with light hair and grey eyes. The regiment took part in the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, and the siege of Petersburg. He mustered out on September 24, 1864.
He returned to Leicester after leaving the army, and he married Annie Maria Whittemore there on June 18, 1867. They had at least two children: William, born around 1869; and Cora, born around 1883. Bottomly worked as a merchant and a grocer, and by 1870, he owned $2,000 of real estate and $4,000 of personal property. He also served as a local postmaster. He supported the Republican Party, and he served in the Massachusetts legislature in 1898. He applied for a federal pension in September 1903 and eventually secured one. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Leicester on August 10, 1912.
Image: Jerome Bottomly (courtesy Wikicommons)