Andrew J. Guffin
Andrew J. Guffin was born on June 6, 1846, in Greenbush, New York, to John and Hannah Guffin. His father was a farmer who owned $3,500 of real estate by 1860. Guffin grew up and attended school in Schodack, New York.
He enlisted in the Union army on February 21, 1865, and he mustered in as a private in Company B of the 192nd New York Infantry on March 13, 1865. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 3 inches tall, with brown hair and light brown eyes. Guffin was devoutly religious, and he lamented that “the Lord is quite forgotten” in camp. He observed that his fellow soldiers “curse drink steal and lie by the wholesale.”
Nonetheless, Guffin declared that “it has been good for me to enlist as I did. It causes me to learn a great [d]eal more than I ever knew before. I learn a great [d]eal about the country, a great [d]eal about the people, and many other things.” He rejoiced when he received news of the fall of Richmond, writing that “christianity will prevail to a greater extent than ever before” and “the people will know how to love serve and adore their country.” He mustered out on July 25, 1865.
Guffin returned to New York after the war, and he graduated from Albany Medical College in 1868. He settled in Nassau, New York, and began working as a doctor. He supported the Republican Party. He married Vira Phillips on October 21, 1869, and their son John was born around 1871. By 1870, he owned $250 of personal property. His wife died in 1890. Guffin moved to Carlisle, New York, around 1897. He applied for a federal pension in September 1907 and eventually secured one. By 1920, he was living in his son John’s household in New Scotland, New York. He died in Voorhesville, New York, on February 14, 1928.
DATABASE CONTENT
| (1202) | Guffin, Andrew J. | 1846-06-06 | 1928-02-14 |
- Conflict Side: Union
- Role: Soldier
- Rank in: Private
- Rank out: Private
- Rank highest: Private
- Gender: Male
- Race: White
Documents - Records: 1
- (2268) [writer] ~ Andrew J. Guffin to John Guffin et al., 10 April 1865
People - Records: 3
Places - Records: 2
Regiments - Records: 1
- (1119) [enlisted] [B] ~ 192nd New York Infantry
Groups - Records: 1
- (3) [member/supporter] ~ Republican Party
SOURCES
1860, 1870, 1900, 1910, and 1920 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, available from Ancestry.com; College Student Lists, 1763-1924, available from Ancestry.com; Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970, available from Ancestry.com; Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929, available from Ancestry.com; New York Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900, available from Fold3.com; Biographical Review, Containing Life Sketches of Leading Citizens of Schoharie, Schenectady and Greene Counties, New York (Boston, MA: Biographical Review Publishing Company, 1899); Andrew J. Guffin to John Guffin et al., 10 April 1865, DL0482, Nau Collection
