John W. Roxborough
John W. Roxborough was born around 1846 in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Charles and Eveline Roxborough. His father was a “boatman” and steward who owned $1,500 of real estate by 1860. The family lived in Cincinnati until the 1850s, when they moved to Cleveland, Ohio. By the mid-1860s, he was working as a “steamboat man” in Louisville, Kentucky.
He enlisted in the Union army on April 1, 1865, and he mustered in as a private in the 125th USCT Infantry. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with black hair and black eyes. He was promoted to sergeant soon afterward, and then to sergeant major on November 1, 1865. They served on garrison duty in Kentucky. He reenlisted in April 1866, and he mustered out on December 20, 1867.
He settled in New Orleans, Louisiana, after the war, and he worked as a clerk in the Custom House. He later worked as a detective for the Metropolitan Police and a gauger for the Internal Revenue Department. He died in New Orleans in 1879.
DATABASE CONTENT
| (2645) | Roxborough, John W. | 1846 | 1879 |
- Conflict Side: Union
- Role: Soldier
- Rank in: Private
- Rank out: Sergeant Major
- Rank highest: Sergeant Major
- Gender: Male
- Race: Black
Documents - Records: 1
- (7483) [writer] ~ John W. Roxborough to Nathaniel S. Wheeler, 27 April 1867
Places - Records: 2
Regiments - Records: 1
- (777) [enlisted] ~ 125th USCT Infantry
Groups - Records: 1
- (3) [politician] ~ Republican Party
SOURCES
1850, 1860, and 1870 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Military Service Records of John W. Roxborough, available from Fold3.com; New Orleans (LA) Republican, 16 May 1876
