I will be doing a series on some of those interred in the East Quogue Cemetery (New York) located behind the East Quogue United Methodist Church. From the research I have done so far, there are not many veterans buried here. One of them is a sad tale of Henry Spicer Raynor. Family trees on Ancestry.com have this Raynor Family being descended from the immigrant Thursten Raynor. He came over from England on the Elizabeth of Ispwich to Boston in 1634. This means that I am related to Henry through Thurston, we come off the line from his first wife, and according the research I have conducted thus far, Henry comes off the line from his second wife.
Henry Spicer Raynor was born about 1846 to Elisha and Nancy (Griffing) Raynor. According to ages from the censuses and her headstone, his mother, Nancy would have been between sixteen and nineteen years old when she had him. His parents lost three children between his birth and 1863. They were Richard, Milly and George; they all died as infants or as toddlers. He did have one brothernamed Benjamin,seven years younger,who lived and is listed on the 1860 census.
Unfortunately our sad tale of the Atlanticville ( as East Quogue was known in their life time) Raynor family does not end there. In September 1863, Nancy also passed away. In the research I have done so far it has not been noted the cause of death, one possibility is child birth,since there is also a grave site for an infant Raynor. Her headstone says she was thirty six,six months and six days at the time of her death.
After her death, Henry signed up for the Civil War. The enlistment information says he was 19, but there is a discrepancy with the military paper work and the census, he could have been as young as 17. It is possible that he added a year or two so they would take him, or the ages on the census were not correct.
His father Elisha is listed as a farmer in 1860, on the paperwork from the military has Henry also working in this occupation. Henry enlisted in the US Military on December 30, 1863. Who knows his reason for joining, moved by the cause or a young man looking for adventure and glory? A Sergeant from the same Regiment was also from Atlanticville, so he could have been hearing firsthand accounts of the action or been urged to go by the Sergeant himself. His mother had only been gone about three months, so maybe he was motivated in part by grief.
The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861. Seven states, including South Carolina, seceded from the Union after the election of Abraham Lincoln. After they had created the Confederate States, with their own leader, Lincoln tried to get supplies to Fort Sumter located off the coast of South Carolina. The Confederates wanted this for themselves. So, on April 12 the Confederates fired upon the fort.The Federal Troops that were there surrendered and the fort became Confederate, the Union would not reclaim the fort until February 1865 when Sherman took control of Charleston, SC. The war ended on May 9, 1865 when Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court house to Ulysses S. Grant.
Henry enlisted in Scotts 900 Calvary, Company E in the Union Army on December 30, 1863 for a period of three years. Scotts 900 was started in New York in 1861 by Colonel James B. Swain when he was granted the authority from the United States War Department. It wasn’t until February 20, 1864 that it was turned over to the War Department to become the 11 Calvary Regiment.
Company E was recruited for in Southampton, New York City, Bridgehampton, Tompkinsville, Quogue and Coram.They fought valiantly in many battles across the South and to the Gulf of Mexico. Upon enlistment, Henry would have gone into basic training. Unfortunately for our hero this is when our story takes another sad turn. It was not long into his military career that he was transferred to Davis Island. This island is situated off the coast of New Rochelle, NY, it named for Thaddeus Davis who bought the island in 1865. In 1862 he leased it to the US Government who setup De Camp General Hospital. It is here our hero Henry succumbed to congestion of the brain and lungs; this is defined as any collection of fluid in an organ,in Henry’s case it was his brain and lungs. It could have been from a disease caught at boot camp, or injury of some kind.
The accepted total of US Civil War dead according to the Civil War Trust are 620,000, they also say that for every three soldiers killed in battle, another five died of disease. Our hero never got to see a Civil War battle, our Private came home to rest in his hometown of Atlanticville with his mother and siblings.
His father Elisha, sometime prior to 1870, remarried a local widow named Urana (Lane) who had been married to and had ten children with Johannes Rockefeller. Elisha, Urana, Benjamin and her son George are all listed on the 1870 census. The census has Elisha listed as fishing and the boys are listed as laborers. In 1880 Elisha, Urana and Benjamin are all still living in Atlanticville, the men are listed as being farm hands. Elisha died on September 1, 1892,Urana died on May 15, 1893. Benjamin married Anne Griffin Raynor they had a child Frank Griffin Raynor born 1884 who died 1947.
Elisha, Nancy, Urana, Richard, Milly, George, Henry, Benjamin, Ann, George Rockefeller and infant Raynor, are all buried in this Cemetery with headstones still intact.
For anyone interested there will be a Burying Ground Stones Repair Workshop on June 2 and 3 at this cemetery. I have participated in similar workshops it is always an educational experiences. It is a hands on workshop so wear comfortable clothing. For more information you can contact the Southampton Town Historian.
"Sleep on, Valiant Soldier, Sleep
The Waves at Eve shall Sing They Dirge
They grateful Country still shall Weep
When Wars fierce Billows cease to Surge"
Sources
Ancestry.com
Findagrave.com
History.com
USHistory.org
Civilwar.org
Henry Spicer Raynor was born about 1846 to Elisha and Nancy (Griffing) Raynor. According to ages from the censuses and her headstone, his mother, Nancy would have been between sixteen and nineteen years old when she had him. His parents lost three children between his birth and 1863. They were Richard, Milly and George; they all died as infants or as toddlers. He did have one brothernamed Benjamin,seven years younger,who lived and is listed on the 1860 census.
Unfortunately our sad tale of the Atlanticville ( as East Quogue was known in their life time) Raynor family does not end there. In September 1863, Nancy also passed away. In the research I have done so far it has not been noted the cause of death, one possibility is child birth,since there is also a grave site for an infant Raynor. Her headstone says she was thirty six,six months and six days at the time of her death.
After her death, Henry signed up for the Civil War. The enlistment information says he was 19, but there is a discrepancy with the military paper work and the census, he could have been as young as 17. It is possible that he added a year or two so they would take him, or the ages on the census were not correct.
His father Elisha is listed as a farmer in 1860, on the paperwork from the military has Henry also working in this occupation. Henry enlisted in the US Military on December 30, 1863. Who knows his reason for joining, moved by the cause or a young man looking for adventure and glory? A Sergeant from the same Regiment was also from Atlanticville, so he could have been hearing firsthand accounts of the action or been urged to go by the Sergeant himself. His mother had only been gone about three months, so maybe he was motivated in part by grief.
The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861. Seven states, including South Carolina, seceded from the Union after the election of Abraham Lincoln. After they had created the Confederate States, with their own leader, Lincoln tried to get supplies to Fort Sumter located off the coast of South Carolina. The Confederates wanted this for themselves. So, on April 12 the Confederates fired upon the fort.The Federal Troops that were there surrendered and the fort became Confederate, the Union would not reclaim the fort until February 1865 when Sherman took control of Charleston, SC. The war ended on May 9, 1865 when Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court house to Ulysses S. Grant.
Henry enlisted in Scotts 900 Calvary, Company E in the Union Army on December 30, 1863 for a period of three years. Scotts 900 was started in New York in 1861 by Colonel James B. Swain when he was granted the authority from the United States War Department. It wasn’t until February 20, 1864 that it was turned over to the War Department to become the 11 Calvary Regiment.
Company E was recruited for in Southampton, New York City, Bridgehampton, Tompkinsville, Quogue and Coram.They fought valiantly in many battles across the South and to the Gulf of Mexico. Upon enlistment, Henry would have gone into basic training. Unfortunately for our hero this is when our story takes another sad turn. It was not long into his military career that he was transferred to Davis Island. This island is situated off the coast of New Rochelle, NY, it named for Thaddeus Davis who bought the island in 1865. In 1862 he leased it to the US Government who setup De Camp General Hospital. It is here our hero Henry succumbed to congestion of the brain and lungs; this is defined as any collection of fluid in an organ,in Henry’s case it was his brain and lungs. It could have been from a disease caught at boot camp, or injury of some kind.
The accepted total of US Civil War dead according to the Civil War Trust are 620,000, they also say that for every three soldiers killed in battle, another five died of disease. Our hero never got to see a Civil War battle, our Private came home to rest in his hometown of Atlanticville with his mother and siblings.
His father Elisha, sometime prior to 1870, remarried a local widow named Urana (Lane) who had been married to and had ten children with Johannes Rockefeller. Elisha, Urana, Benjamin and her son George are all listed on the 1870 census. The census has Elisha listed as fishing and the boys are listed as laborers. In 1880 Elisha, Urana and Benjamin are all still living in Atlanticville, the men are listed as being farm hands. Elisha died on September 1, 1892,Urana died on May 15, 1893. Benjamin married Anne Griffin Raynor they had a child Frank Griffin Raynor born 1884 who died 1947.
Elisha, Nancy, Urana, Richard, Milly, George, Henry, Benjamin, Ann, George Rockefeller and infant Raynor, are all buried in this Cemetery with headstones still intact.
For anyone interested there will be a Burying Ground Stones Repair Workshop on June 2 and 3 at this cemetery. I have participated in similar workshops it is always an educational experiences. It is a hands on workshop so wear comfortable clothing. For more information you can contact the Southampton Town Historian.
"Sleep on, Valiant Soldier, Sleep
The Waves at Eve shall Sing They Dirge
They grateful Country still shall Weep
When Wars fierce Billows cease to Surge"
Sources
Ancestry.com
Findagrave.com
History.com
USHistory.org
Civilwar.org
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