Thomas J. Dowd was born on December 21, 1839, in Oldcastle, Ireland. He immigrated to America around 1846 and settled in Boscobel, Wisconsin.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on April 22, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company F of the 3^rd Wisconsin Infantry. The regiment took part in the Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Chancellorsville. In the summer of 1863, he was injured while “throwing down fence,” and army officials sent him to Camp Convalescent to recover. He also suffered from typhoid fever during the war. He mustered out on July 14, 1864.

 

He settled in Waterford, Wisconsin, after leaving the army. He married Mary Malone around 1866, and they had at least six children: Thomas, born around 1867; Andrew, born around 1869; Nancy, born around 1872; Nellie, born around 1874; James, born around 1876; and Richie, born around 1878. He worked as a jeweler, and by 1870, he owned $1,400 of real estate and $500 of personal property. He moved to Harvard, Nebraska, in the 1870s. He applied for a federal pension in June 1880 and eventually received one. He moved to Chadron, Nebraska, in the 1880s, and by 1890, he was suffering from “hart disease” and rheumatism. He moved to Deadwood, South Dakota, in the 1890s. He died of diabetes in Hastings, Nebraska, on June 20, 1901.

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