Obituary (from newspaper of 13 April 1936): DEPAUVILLE---George E. Dorr died at Oak Forest, Cook county, Illinois, near Chicago, April 9, aged 84 years.
He was born May 3, 1852, on the John Dorr, sr., farm, three miles east of Depauville, town of Clayton, the son of John and Emelia Dorr. He received his education in the district school and two years in Albany College.
He had a grocery store in Watertown for a few years and then he moved to Chicago where he had since resided. For a number of years he was a member of the Chicago Board of Trade.
He is survived by one daughter, Castella Cone; a grandson, Seth Cone, Long Beach, Miss.; a brother, David Dorr, Depauville; and the following nieces and nephews: Mrs. L.F. Polley, Mrs. C. Columbus Comins, Clayton; Alfred, Clarence, and
Edwin Dorr, Depauville; Perley B. Dorr, Watertown; Howard Dorr, New York City; Carl and Arthur Schoepflin, Cleveland, O.
Joseph (Josephus) Laurens BUSKIRK (VAN BUSKIRK)
Joseph served in the War of 1812 as a private in Capt. Earl Filmore's Co. of Volunteers, commanded by Lieut. Col. Caleb Clark. His service commenced March 10, 1813, and ended March 25, 1813.
The records also show that one Joseph L. Buskirk was a private of Lieut. Arunah Wright's Co., 157th (Westcot's) Regt. N.Y. Militia, War of 1812, which Co. was in the service of the United States from Oct. 8 to 16, 1814, but there is
nothing to show that the said Buskirk rendered any service at that period.
1 CMNT Pension File Records Say She Was Born 30 June 1783
Obituary (from Watertown Daily Times of 19 Aug. 1932): LAFARGEVILLE---Jesse Noyes Buskirk, 91, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Anna Buskirk Gould, at 7 p.m. Thursday. Mr. Buskirk suffered a paralytic stroke a few days ago, which
hastened his death.He was born on a farm in the town of Clayton Aug. 8, 1841. In 1869 he was married to Miss Jeanie Cheeseman, a daughter of Edward and Melissa Angell Cheeseman of Richfield Springs. They were married by Rev. Byron Alden, pastor of the
Methodist Episcopal Church of Clayton at the home of the bride's grandfather, James Angell, in Clayton. At the time of their marriage the bride was 20 and the bridegroom 27. They have always resided in this section where they are well known.
Mr. Buskirk's marriage took place nearly four years after he was mustered out of service in 1865. He was one of the few remaining veterans of the Civil War in this town and the only one who passed through the horrors of Andersonville prison.Born and brought up on a farm he grew up a typical country lad, attending school and assisting in the chores and work of the farm. In 1863 when 22 years of age, he answered his country's call for volunteers and enlisted in Company K, 14th
New York Heavy Artillery, Captain Cooper being in command.It was seldom Mr. Buskirk could be induced to speak of the days he passed in his country's service, or to relate any of his war experiences, which were many and thrilling.
After enlisting, Mr. Buskirk was sent to Rochester where he was promoted to corporal. In the spring of 1864, after passing the winter in training on Staten Island, he went on to Washington and was then marched directly to the front.
Mr. Buskirk's first engagement was in the Battle of the Wilderness. This was a two-day battle and waged in gloomy woods, with men fighting from behind trees and firing through the heavy underbrush. Fires were started by the heavy firing
which left the trees blazing for mile after mile.Next came the battle of Spottsylvania, fighting being continued from the 9th of May until the 12th. It was here that their captain disappeared and Captain Underhill assumed command. Here also the country was heavily timbered and with
only occasional clearings. It was said bullets flew thick as hail and that a tree 18 inches through was cut clean off by them.After Spottsylvania came North Anna, then June 1st Cold Harbor. Through the rest of June and well along in July things remained relatively quiet, both sides strengthening their entrenchments near Petersburg, a railway center 22 miles
south of Richmond. During July several Pennsylvania regiments had been engaged in working at a mine under one of the main redoubts in front of Petersburg. This was fired July 30. The battery and brigade directly overhead were blown into the
air. For a half hour the way into Petersburg was open, but through a misunderstanding the plan failed.The Union soldiers charged into the great cellar-like crater, 25 feet deep, and in a hand-to-hand encounter attempted to capture the fort. They were not followed by the rest of the company so were soon at the mercy of the rebels who had
rallied.It was here that young Buskirk jumped and caught the Stars and Stripes as it fell, shot from the hands of the sergeant, to save it from the rebels. Mr. Buskirk had often remarked that no rebel ever captured it, but only he ever knew what
became of it. In this engagement he was captured and with other prisoners taken to Andersonville prison in Georgia.Around a 30 acre field, a stockade was built by holes being dug and logs set in on end. All around the top of the stockade sentinels were posted. Inside and about a rod from the stockade was a light railing which marked what was known as
the dead line. Any person who ventured beyond the railing was instantly shot.Mr. Buskirk and three others, Harvey McKee, Isaac Spears, and Joe Conkling, shared a tent together, and camped out in the field, their tent being near a creek. The first night these men slept in this tent a thief crept inside during the
night and attacked Isaac Spears. The latter was a strongly built young fellow, and he kicked with his foot, which landed the would-be robber outside and into the creek with a loud splash. The next day the men moved their camp to the other
side of the creek on higher ground. With money a soldier could sometimes buy things from the guard to make them more comfortable, hence the attempt to steal.Some few days after the attempt to rob them it was learned the thief with several others had been tried and hanged for murder.
Smallpox broke out in the prison and stories of the great dead line became a horrible reality. These men were turned in and counted in squads of 90.
At this time the dearth of food products was desperate in the South. It had nothing to feed its own soldiers, to say nothing of Northern prisoners. Small portions of rations were given the latter each day, consisting of one pint of corn
meal, ground corn and cob together, one half pint of beans, and one table spoon full of molasses. No salt as that and white bread were luxuries from the first of the war.Every day comrades were carried out for burial, placed in the army wagon just as they were picked up one after another and when the wagon was full, drawn to the place where they were to be buried and laid side by side in long shallow
trenches.So uncared for did they become, dirty, half clad, haggard and emaciated that they failed to recognize their friends or kindred. Mr. Buskirk heard some one call his name one morning, but could not locate the voice or see any one. Later he
learned that an uncle and cousin had died there.At last plans and schemes to escape began to circulate. A well was under one of the soldier's tents and one soldier suggested tunnelling to the outside from this well. Old canteens, spoons, knives, were all used in digging and carrying
out the dirt. All who were well enough helped. It was slow work but the hope of freedom saved the life and reason of many. Detection meant death, but as the work progressed it began to look as though they would be successful in a getaway.
When nearly completed, a passing sentinel stepped into a small hole outside. One of the Union men attempted to catch hold of him and make way with him, but he escaped, the result being that the commandant of the prison gave orders, "Nothing to
eat for three days." To live on nothing for three days after the scanty rations they had been having made them deperate, and reason gave way to despair. The interior of the stockade became a mass of diseased starving suffering human beings.After three months the rebels, fearing that relief was coming for the prisoners, moved them. Just before they left an Irish woman threw bread over the dead line for the men to eat. They hailed her as the "Angel of Light."
Mr. Buskirk said it seemed ages before he was moved to Camp Lawton, where he was one of the first to be let out on parole of honor. For their first meal they had wheat bread, a bit of salt, a piece of bacon, and a dozen eggs, and this
cost them $500. As Confederate money was worth two cents on a dollar, the meal cost them $10 in U.S. money.If the boys were able they could earn a little money which let them obtain a few extras. Howeveer they were not left long in one place but were moved about from camp to camp, the rebels fearing aid from the north. One of their
experiences was that of a rebel lieutenant who in pity, brought in a hogshead full of peanuts for them, but who paid for it by getting arrested. They were moved back to Charleston, on to Goldsboro, then transported to Maryland, and it was here
that they had clean clothes and good quarters for the first time. After this came the furlough and the boys were mustered out with their regiments.But two veterans remain now in the town of Orleans, Edwin Ostrander and Fred Dickinson. Martin Fetterly passed away last week and now Mr. Buskirk.
Mr. Buskirk is survived by his widow, three daughters, Mrs. Anna Gould, LaFargeville, with whom they made their home; Mrs Dolly Walter of Orleans, Mrs. Millie Bergen of Watertown; four sons, Cyrus of Orleans, Edward of Evans Mills, Ernest
of Depauville, and Elmer of Oregon. Also by eleven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.Funeral services will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. from the home, Rev. C.V. Sparling, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, officiating. Interment will be made in Grove Cemetery.
Jesse enlisted as a private in the 14th Artillery, Co. H, on 31 Nov. 1863; he was taken prisoner 7 June 1864 and kept position until 1 March 1865; taken prisoner at Petersburgh and taken down to Andersonville.
Obituary (from Watertown Daily Times of 23 Sep. 1936): LAFARGEVILLE---Mrs. Jeanie Buskirk, 88, widow of Jesse Noyes Buskirk, Civil War veteran, died Tuesday evening at 6 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. John Gould, on the Black Creek Road.
She had been ill for the past four weeks. Death was attributed to infirmities of old age.She was born in Richfield Springs, May 15, 1848, the daughter of Edward and Melissa Angell Cheeseman. When she was a few years old, her parents moved to Decatur, Ill., where she lived until her mother's death, when she came to Clayton to
reside with her grandparents, the late Mr. and Mrs. James Angell.While living in Decatur she saw Abraham Lincoln many times.
She was married to Jesse Noyes Buskirk, Jan. 28, 1869, at the home of her grandmother in Clayton. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Byron J. Alden, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church of that place. Their entire married life was
spent in the towns of Orleans and Clayton.Mr. Buskirk, a veteran of the Civil War, died Aug. 18, 1932, also at the home of his daughter. He was one of the last surviving Cival War veterans in this town and the only one of the last surviving Civil War veterans in this town and
the only one who passed through the horrors of Andersonville prison camp of the south. He was captured by the Rebel army and sent to that prison. After suffering many hardships including an attack of smallpox, Mr. Buskirk was paroled from the
prison. Four years after he was mustered out of service he married Mrs. Buskirk.On Jan. 28, 1929, the couple observed their 60th wedding anniversary. A post card shower was given them by their many friends and relatives. They had been living with a son, Edwin Buskirk, at Evans Mills but had come to LaFargeville to
spend the winter with another son, George, and family who reside on a farm a short distance west of this village.Surviving are three daughters, Mrs. Millie Bergen, Watertown; Mrs. Emma Walters, Evans Mills; Mrs. Gould; three sons, George and Ernest, this town, and Edward, Evans Mills.
Funeral services will be held Thursday afternoon at 1:30 (S.T.) from the home of her son, George. Rev. Ellis Richards, pastor of the Methodist Protestant Church of LaFargeville, will officiate.
Interment will be made here.
Obituary: LaFargeville, July 6.---Word was received here Monday morning of the death of Homer Buskirk, at the City hospital in Watertown, Sunday evening, following an illness there of about seven weeks. Mr. Buskirk was about 30 years of age,
and was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Buskirk of Black Creek. His father was born in the town of Clayton about 70 years ago and at the age of 22 enlisted in the Civil War in Company K of the New York Heavy Artillery. His mother was Miss
Cheeseman. For a long time Mr. Buskirk had been in the employ of Mr. Steenberg of Depauville. He was a member of the I.O.O.F. lodge.A few months ago his health began to fail and about seven weeks ago he was taken to the City hospital at Watertown. He was operted on one day this week, but the operation was followed in a few days by death. He is survived by two
sisters, Mrs. John Gould of Watertown and Mrs. Dolly Walter of Orleans Corners, and by the following brothers: Urn Buskirk of Depauville, Edd of Perch River, Ned of Orleans Corners, and George of LaFargeville. The father and mother also
survive.The funeral will be held from the home of George Buskirk at LaFargeville, Wednesday afternoon at 2. Interment will be in LaFargeville.