Jonathan Arnold Yeckley
Jonathan Arnold Yeckley was born on November 5, 1840, in Gorham, New York, to Josiah and Mary Yeckley. His father was a blacksmith who owned $1,000 of real estate by 1850. Yeckley grew up and attended school in Gorham before enrolling at Genessee College.
 
He enlisted in the Union army on August 7, 1862, and he mustered in as a private in Company D of the 126th New York Infantry on August 22. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 7 inches tall, with black hair and gray eyes. Confederate forces captured him at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, on September 15, 1862. He was paroled the following day, and he was exchanged in November 1862.
 
In March 1863, he confessed that he was “not as enthusiastic [about military service] as before I enlisted but I am certainly more determined, never willingly to consent to a cessation of hostilities until the pirate flag of the rebellion comes down.” He denounced northern Peace Democrats and men “who are too cowardly to aid in the suppression of the rebellion,” and he declared that he “would shoot some of these men who would be traitors if they were not cowards.”  
 
He was wounded at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, and he mustered out on August 25, 1865. In January 1865, he became a 2nd lieutenant in Company F of the 21st Veteran Reserve Corps. He mustered out on March 31, 1867.
 
Yeckley joined the Regular Army soon afterward, mustering in as a 2nd lieutenant in the 44th United States Infantry. He was transferred to the 20th United States Infantry in July 1869, and he was promoted to 1st lieutenant in January 1873. He retired from the army on June 28, 1878. He returned to Gorham after leaving the army. He moved to Southington, Connecticut, in the 1890s, and he died there of a “paralytic shock” on September 16, 1903.
2490
DATABASE CONTENT
(2490)Yeckley, Jonathan Arnold1840-11-051903-09-16
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Private
  • Rank out: 2nd Lieutenant
  • Rank highest: 2nd Lieutenant
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 1

  • (3459) [writer] ~ Jonathan A. Yeckley to A. M. Hubbard, 4 March 1863

People - Records: 1

  • (2491) Hubbard, A. M. is the [friend of] (2490) Yeckley, Jonathan Arnold

Places - Records: 2

  • (2901) [birth] ~ Gorham, Ontario County, New York
  • (2658) [death] ~ Southington, Hartford County, Connecticut

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Regiments - Records: 2

  • (477) [enlisted] [D] ~ 126th New York Infantry
  • (161) [officer] [F] ~ 21st Veteran Reserve Corps
SOURCES

1850 and 1900 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; 1875 New York State Census, available from Ancestry.com; 1890 Veterans Census, 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; New York Town Clerks’ Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War, ca. 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; Passport Applications, 1795-1925, available from Ancestry.com; Record-Journal (Meriden, CT), 17 September 1903; Jonathan A. Yeckley to A. M. Hubbard, 4 March 1863, DL1121, Nau Collection