Robert Montgomery Usher was born in Dorset, Ashtabula County, Ohio, September 8, 1841, and died April 2, 1910 in Barnard, Kansas, aged 68 years, 6 months and 24 days.
Robert was the son William Chauncy Martin Usher(1802-?) and Elizabeth Thompson (1802-1868) When a boy he moved with his family to Linesville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania. From there he went to Hartstown, Pennsylvania, where he worked in a sawmill until August, 1862. That year he enlisted August 15 in Company K of the 150th Pennsylvania Volunteers, otherwise known as the 150th Pennsylvania Bucktails, a name given them because of the bucktails worn in their hats, and of which they were proud. Company K was a picked body of men and was detailed to guard the capitol building and grounds at Washington, and at times details from the company served as Lincoln's bodyguard. He was present with the Lincoln's the night the President was shot, although he said he was not a bodyguard at that function. He and others babysat for the couple as well as tended the grounds. President Lincoln gave Robert a folding knife while he was doing chores at the White House. This was handed down to his son Orrin Chandler Usher. For three years Mr. Usher was stationed in Washington. He was wounded in the side by a spent ball in an engagement with Robert E. Lee's General Jubal Early's forces near Washington. He served with this regiment until the close of the war in 1868, when he went to Mercer county, Pennsylvania, to run a sawmill. One record shows that he mustered out June 15, 1865, after 34 months of service. He filed as an invalid August 12, 1890 and certified 638159.
He married Sarah Ann Clark, of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, on April 6, 1871. In 1874 he moved with his family to Ottawa county, Kansas, and in 1877 he settled on a homestead on Spring creek in Lincoln County, about nine miles southeast of Barnard, where they remained until 1901. For the next six years he rented various farm properties. Three years ago, about 1907, his health forced him to retire from active labor, since which time he had lived with one or another of his children.
Robert Montgomery Usher leaves a wife, four sons and one daughter: Mont, John, Orrin 'Chan' and Guy, and Lydia Estelle Usher (Mrs. R.F. Sanders.) Chan lives near Yelton, Okla., John near Humbolt, Neb., the others live in Barnard. The wife and four of the children were with him in his last sickness. *Note: Chan refers to his son Orrin Chandler "Chan" Usher, my grandfather.
Five children were born for this marriage:
William Mont Usher 1872-1956
John Clark Usher 1873-1956
Lida Estelle Usher-Sanders 1874-1961
Orrin Chandler "Chan" Usher 1876-1956
Guy Lane Usher 1880-1952.
To complicate matters, Guy Lane Usher married Lillie Belle Woody and her sister, Martha Naomi Woody, married Guy's brother Orrin Chandler Usher.
The funeral for Robert was held at the Methodist church last Sunday afternoon, Rev. Gouldin conducting the services. He preached a sermon tended to bring consolation to the bereaved relatives, during which he eulogized the honorable career of the deceased as a man and a soldier.
Nearly all the pall-bearers were old soldiers. The church was filled with friends and old neighbors who had gathered to pay their last respects to the dead.
[Buried in Milo Cemetery. See also Lincoln Sentinel, same date. Condensed version of this obituary appeared in the Lincoln Republican, 14 April 1910.]
Lincoln Sentinel, 7 April 1910:
Robert Usher
Mr. Usher, an old settler of this county, died at his home near Barnard last Friday.
[Buried in Milo Cemetery; tombstone gives date of birth as 8 September 1841 and date of death as 2 April 1910. See also Barnard Bee, same date.]
Thanks to Tracee for copying these obituaries for me.
Robert was the son William Chauncy Martin Usher(1802-?) and Elizabeth Thompson (1802-1868) When a boy he moved with his family to Linesville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania. From there he went to Hartstown, Pennsylvania, where he worked in a sawmill until August, 1862. That year he enlisted August 15 in Company K of the 150th Pennsylvania Volunteers, otherwise known as the 150th Pennsylvania Bucktails, a name given them because of the bucktails worn in their hats, and of which they were proud. Company K was a picked body of men and was detailed to guard the capitol building and grounds at Washington, and at times details from the company served as Lincoln's bodyguard. He was present with the Lincoln's the night the President was shot, although he said he was not a bodyguard at that function. He and others babysat for the couple as well as tended the grounds. President Lincoln gave Robert a folding knife while he was doing chores at the White House. This was handed down to his son Orrin Chandler Usher. For three years Mr. Usher was stationed in Washington. He was wounded in the side by a spent ball in an engagement with Robert E. Lee's General Jubal Early's forces near Washington. He served with this regiment until the close of the war in 1868, when he went to Mercer county, Pennsylvania, to run a sawmill. One record shows that he mustered out June 15, 1865, after 34 months of service. He filed as an invalid August 12, 1890 and certified 638159.
He married Sarah Ann Clark, of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, on April 6, 1871. In 1874 he moved with his family to Ottawa county, Kansas, and in 1877 he settled on a homestead on Spring creek in Lincoln County, about nine miles southeast of Barnard, where they remained until 1901. For the next six years he rented various farm properties. Three years ago, about 1907, his health forced him to retire from active labor, since which time he had lived with one or another of his children.
Robert Montgomery Usher leaves a wife, four sons and one daughter: Mont, John, Orrin 'Chan' and Guy, and Lydia Estelle Usher (Mrs. R.F. Sanders.) Chan lives near Yelton, Okla., John near Humbolt, Neb., the others live in Barnard. The wife and four of the children were with him in his last sickness. *Note: Chan refers to his son Orrin Chandler "Chan" Usher, my grandfather.
Five children were born for this marriage:
William Mont Usher 1872-1956
John Clark Usher 1873-1956
Lida Estelle Usher-Sanders 1874-1961
Orrin Chandler "Chan" Usher 1876-1956
Guy Lane Usher 1880-1952.
To complicate matters, Guy Lane Usher married Lillie Belle Woody and her sister, Martha Naomi Woody, married Guy's brother Orrin Chandler Usher.
The funeral for Robert was held at the Methodist church last Sunday afternoon, Rev. Gouldin conducting the services. He preached a sermon tended to bring consolation to the bereaved relatives, during which he eulogized the honorable career of the deceased as a man and a soldier.
Nearly all the pall-bearers were old soldiers. The church was filled with friends and old neighbors who had gathered to pay their last respects to the dead.
[Buried in Milo Cemetery. See also Lincoln Sentinel, same date. Condensed version of this obituary appeared in the Lincoln Republican, 14 April 1910.]
Lincoln Sentinel, 7 April 1910:
Robert Usher
Mr. Usher, an old settler of this county, died at his home near Barnard last Friday.
[Buried in Milo Cemetery; tombstone gives date of birth as 8 September 1841 and date of death as 2 April 1910. See also Barnard Bee, same date.]
Thanks to Tracee for copying these obituaries for me.
Robert Montgomery Usher was born in Dorset, Ashtabula County, Ohio, September 8, 1841, and died April 2, 1910 in Barnard, Kansas, aged 68 years, 6 months and 24 days.
Robert was the son William Chauncy Martin Usher(1802-?) and Elizabeth Thompson (1802-1868) When a boy he moved with his family to Linesville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania. From there he went to Hartstown, Pennsylvania, where he worked in a sawmill until August, 1862. That year he enlisted August 15 in Company K of the 150th Pennsylvania Volunteers, otherwise known as the 150th Pennsylvania Bucktails, a name given them because of the bucktails worn in their hats, and of which they were proud. Company K was a picked body of men and was detailed to guard the capitol building and grounds at Washington, and at times details from the company served as Lincoln's bodyguard. He was present with the Lincoln's the night the President was shot, although he said he was not a bodyguard at that function. He and others babysat for the couple as well as tended the grounds. President Lincoln gave Robert a folding knife while he was doing chores at the White House. This was handed down to his son Orrin Chandler Usher. For three years Mr. Usher was stationed in Washington. He was wounded in the side by a spent ball in an engagement with Robert E. Lee's General Jubal Early's forces near Washington. He served with this regiment until the close of the war in 1868, when he went to Mercer county, Pennsylvania, to run a sawmill. One record shows that he mustered out June 15, 1865, after 34 months of service. He filed as an invalid August 12, 1890 and certified 638159.
He married Sarah Ann Clark, of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, on April 6, 1871. In 1874 he moved with his family to Ottawa county, Kansas, and in 1877 he settled on a homestead on Spring creek in Lincoln County, about nine miles southeast of Barnard, where they remained until 1901. For the next six years he rented various farm properties. Three years ago, about 1907, his health forced him to retire from active labor, since which time he had lived with one or another of his children.
Robert Montgomery Usher leaves a wife, four sons and one daughter: Mont, John, Orrin 'Chan' and Guy, and Lydia Estelle Usher (Mrs. R.F. Sanders.) Chan lives near Yelton, Okla., John near Humbolt, Neb., the others live in Barnard. The wife and four of the children were with him in his last sickness. *Note: Chan refers to his son Orrin Chandler "Chan" Usher, my grandfather.
Five children were born for this marriage:
William Mont Usher 1872-1956
John Clark Usher 1873-1956
Lida Estelle Usher-Sanders 1874-1961
Orrin Chandler "Chan" Usher 1876-1956
Guy Lane Usher 1880-1952.
To complicate matters, Guy Lane Usher married Lillie Belle Woody and her sister, Martha Naomi Woody, married Guy's brother Orrin Chandler Usher.
The funeral for Robert was held at the Methodist church last Sunday afternoon, Rev. Gouldin conducting the services. He preached a sermon tended to bring consolation to the bereaved relatives, during which he eulogized the honorable career of the deceased as a man and a soldier.
Nearly all the pall-bearers were old soldiers. The church was filled with friends and old neighbors who had gathered to pay their last respects to the dead.
[Buried in Milo Cemetery. See also Lincoln Sentinel, same date. Condensed version of this obituary appeared in the Lincoln Republican, 14 April 1910.]
Lincoln Sentinel, 7 April 1910:
Robert Usher
Mr. Usher, an old settler of this county, died at his home near Barnard last Friday.
[Buried in Milo Cemetery; tombstone gives date of birth as 8 September 1841 and date of death as 2 April 1910. See also Barnard Bee, same date.]
Thanks to Tracee for copying these obituaries for me.
Robert was the son William Chauncy Martin Usher(1802-?) and Elizabeth Thompson (1802-1868) When a boy he moved with his family to Linesville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania. From there he went to Hartstown, Pennsylvania, where he worked in a sawmill until August, 1862. That year he enlisted August 15 in Company K of the 150th Pennsylvania Volunteers, otherwise known as the 150th Pennsylvania Bucktails, a name given them because of the bucktails worn in their hats, and of which they were proud. Company K was a picked body of men and was detailed to guard the capitol building and grounds at Washington, and at times details from the company served as Lincoln's bodyguard. He was present with the Lincoln's the night the President was shot, although he said he was not a bodyguard at that function. He and others babysat for the couple as well as tended the grounds. President Lincoln gave Robert a folding knife while he was doing chores at the White House. This was handed down to his son Orrin Chandler Usher. For three years Mr. Usher was stationed in Washington. He was wounded in the side by a spent ball in an engagement with Robert E. Lee's General Jubal Early's forces near Washington. He served with this regiment until the close of the war in 1868, when he went to Mercer county, Pennsylvania, to run a sawmill. One record shows that he mustered out June 15, 1865, after 34 months of service. He filed as an invalid August 12, 1890 and certified 638159.
He married Sarah Ann Clark, of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, on April 6, 1871. In 1874 he moved with his family to Ottawa county, Kansas, and in 1877 he settled on a homestead on Spring creek in Lincoln County, about nine miles southeast of Barnard, where they remained until 1901. For the next six years he rented various farm properties. Three years ago, about 1907, his health forced him to retire from active labor, since which time he had lived with one or another of his children.
Robert Montgomery Usher leaves a wife, four sons and one daughter: Mont, John, Orrin 'Chan' and Guy, and Lydia Estelle Usher (Mrs. R.F. Sanders.) Chan lives near Yelton, Okla., John near Humbolt, Neb., the others live in Barnard. The wife and four of the children were with him in his last sickness. *Note: Chan refers to his son Orrin Chandler "Chan" Usher, my grandfather.
Five children were born for this marriage:
William Mont Usher 1872-1956
John Clark Usher 1873-1956
Lida Estelle Usher-Sanders 1874-1961
Orrin Chandler "Chan" Usher 1876-1956
Guy Lane Usher 1880-1952.
To complicate matters, Guy Lane Usher married Lillie Belle Woody and her sister, Martha Naomi Woody, married Guy's brother Orrin Chandler Usher.
The funeral for Robert was held at the Methodist church last Sunday afternoon, Rev. Gouldin conducting the services. He preached a sermon tended to bring consolation to the bereaved relatives, during which he eulogized the honorable career of the deceased as a man and a soldier.
Nearly all the pall-bearers were old soldiers. The church was filled with friends and old neighbors who had gathered to pay their last respects to the dead.
[Buried in Milo Cemetery. See also Lincoln Sentinel, same date. Condensed version of this obituary appeared in the Lincoln Republican, 14 April 1910.]
Lincoln Sentinel, 7 April 1910:
Robert Usher
Mr. Usher, an old settler of this county, died at his home near Barnard last Friday.
[Buried in Milo Cemetery; tombstone gives date of birth as 8 September 1841 and date of death as 2 April 1910. See also Barnard Bee, same date.]
Thanks to Tracee for copying these obituaries for me.
Inscription
Civil War Veteran.
Gravesite Details
Grave Marker: GAR 1861-1865
