The
Biography of
Jonathan James Clevenger
Civil War Veteran
By
Ann M Sinton
Copyright, 2020, Ann M Sinton
Jonathan
James Clevenger
1832
– 1909
Civil
War Veteran
Jonathan
Clevenger, who also went by his middle name James on some records and was known
as “Uncle Jimmie”, was born on Mar 29, 1832 in Belfast, Bedford Co,
Pennsylvania. He was the 5th
of 8 children of Aaron Clevenger & Elizabeth Carbaugh. In 1840, Jonathan is counted with his
father’s family in Belfast Township. By
1850, Jonathan was shown as an 18 year old laborer on a farm but still in
Belfast Township, which was now part of the newly formed Fulton County.
In 1855,
Jonathan is said to have married Elizabeth Margaret Dishong in Jackson, Cambria
Co, Pennsylvania. By 1860, the
Clevengers are farming in Jackson Township in Cambria Co, near Johnstown and are
counted with 4 young children living with them – Elizabeth Margaret, Mary Ellen
E, Eliza & Frederick. Elizabeth Margaret
& Mary Ellen are children from Elizabeth’s first marriage to Daniel Albaugh
who died in 1853. Jonathan’s real estate is worth $400 and his
personal worth is $125. The family had
added another child, Jacob, in 1861, and children, Henry &John in
1863.
Records differ slightly about what happened next for Jonathan. He did enlist in the Pennsylvania Infantry in Hollidaysburg, Pa and was a member of two different Regiments, the 57th and the 84th. Feb 29, 1864 & Mar 29,1864 are the enlistment dates given. Upon his enlistment he was to be paid a bounty of $300 as a volunteer recruit. The bounty was to be paid in 4 installments. At the time of his mustering out of the Army on June 29, 1865, he owed the government $21.73 for clothing and was still due $160 of bounty payments. Due to the Civil War ending on Apr 19, 1865, Jonathan would serve for only 17 months of the 3 years he signed up for. Jonathan would at first be a member of the 57th and joined them at the time when the veterans of the regiment were on furlough due to their 3 year enlistment ending and then re-enlisting, but after many losses by the regiment, it was consolidated with the 84th in January 1865, who also suffered great losses of manpower. He mustered out on June 29, 1865 near Washington DC, surviving the war.
57th Pa Infantry state Colors. The 57th
was organized in the fall of 1861. In
Jan 1865, it merged with the 84th Regiment and mustered out on June
29, 1865.
The 84th Pa Infantry State Colors. The 84th
was formed in November 1861 and merged with the 57th in Jan 1865,
mustering out in June 1865.
http://www.pacivilwarflags.org/search/searchFlags.cfm
%20(1).jpg)
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Even tho there is record of an application for Pension, none could be
found for Jonathan. He was possibly not
eligible for one because there is no record of a wound from the war or disease
caused by his service.
After the
war, son Noah arrived in March of 1867 or 8 and daughter Aramina arrived in 1868. 1870 finds the family living in Jackson
Township in Cambria county near Ebensburg.
Jonathan is farming once again and the family consists of 6 children –
Eliza, Frederick, Jacob, Henry, John and Noah. Jonathan now owns real estate
valued at $1000 and had a personal estate of $125. The census also lists a farm laborer, Noah
Dishong age 24, and a domestic servant, Elizabeth Albaugh age 18, living in
Jonathan’s household. Aramina is missing
from this census but shows up later at her sister’s home. There was one last
child born, Emma in 1874.
1880 was an odd census year for the Clevenger
family. It shows daughter Aramina, age
9, living with her married 24 year old sister Eliza Clevenger Patrick. Aramina’s death certificate states she was
born in 1868, so she should be about 11 or 12 in 1880. Also in 1880, the 13 yr old son Noah is
counted with the family of his married 1st cousin Noah Dishong who also
had worked for and lived with Jonathan
10 years previous. In 1880, 17 yr old son
John is living with his aunt & uncle Mary A (Dishong) & George Bowser
in Jackson Twp, Cambria Co. The19 yr old son Jacob was found listed as a laborer in the
household of his uncle & aunt Frederick & Elizabeth(Bheam) Dishong in
Jackson Twp. 24 yr old son Frederick was
listed as a servant in the household of (no relation) Ebenezer and Mary(Berkebile)
Cardiff in Taylor, Cambria Co. 17 yr old
Henry and 6 yr old Emma were not found in this census. And neither were their
parents Jonathan & Elizabeth. Emma’s
obituary claims that she was orphaned at a young age. It would seem that these children were all spread
out to live with relatives except for Frederick. Dishong is the maiden name of their mother
Elizabeth. This would also explain
finding various ages for these individuals in the records that I have found. So where were Jonathan and Elizabeth and the
two missing children, Emma and Henry in 1880??
One can only imagine the many scenarios.
The 1890
census is not available as it was lost in a fire. I think it would have help this out a bit.
In 1900,
Jonathan is widowed, his wife supposed to have died in 1900, and living alone
on his mortgage free farm in Licking Creek Township in Fulton county and going
by the name of James J Clevenger.
Jonathan
passes away on June 24, 1909 at the home of his brothers Jacob & Adam, in Todd,
Fulton Co, Pa from gangrene of the right foot.
He is buried at Union Cemetery in McConnellsburg, PA 2 days later where
his wife is also buried. According to his obituary, he was survived by his 8 children
Eliza, Fred, Jacob, Henry, Armina, John, Noah and Emma.
Military Burial Record
Jonathan
Clevenger was the 3rd great grandfather of Cullen Flanders.
Side Story
- Despite the break up of his family,
all of the children of Jonathan seemed to have led normal adult lives, marrying
and having families of their own, except Noah.
Noah created a tragedy for his family.
While he did marry in 1894 and have children, his first wife, Carrie
Trout, was just 16 1/2 and Noah was 27
at the time, permission was given to marry.
They would have 7 children between 1896 and 1911. In 1912, news reports stated that Noah had
been molesting his 14 year old daughter Lettie.
This was corroborated by the girl and other relatives who reported the
offense. He was arrested and would plead
guilty to the charges. He was sentenced to 10 – 15 years in prison and was
recorded entering the Western State Penitentiary on April 10, 1912. In 1919, he would apply for clemency, but was
refused. The 1920 census shows him still
an inmate. He probably served at least
the minimum 10 years, then in 1928, at age 61, he applied for a marriage
license with Mary Emma Bowser, age 30, who coincidentally was the same age as
his molested daughter. They were married
and had at least one child in 1930. In
1937, his wife, pregnant and having contracted the flu, died. Noah died in 1955, age 88. Lettie would go on to marry and have two sons,
she died in 1982 at age 85.
Ann M Sinton, 2020
Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2025. All rights reserved
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