hi George
don't know which page you might see first. I left a long note on the page about the 36th. ill. infantry and my relative, Samuel chapman. thanks for that return posting.
so you have found my great grandfather. that's him but not one of those other smiths are a relation to him or me. well, maybe as a 15th. or 47th. cousin but not a close relative. he did have 5 brothers, 2 died before the age of 12, and so far I have not found anything on the 3 that lived having joined in the fight.
frank was the or one of the buglers for the company during his time in service. he was discharged because of a heart condition of some kind. it took 24 years but that had something to do with him moving the family to lewis, Kansas in 1886. he spent the next 40 years there and died in 1926. he owned a general merchandise store there, was the second postmaster of lewis. served 2 separate 4 year terms as postmaster and was one of the founders of the home state bank where he was a v.p. until near his time of death. the bank, now under a different name, is still in business in lewis. his father-in-law was Samuel chapman, 1st. lieutenant with the 36th. ill. infantry but in the cavalry unit, company B, that was attached.
once again, I really do thank you for your time looking him up. maybe this is where I should ask if you are a member of fold3? frank's counterpart, my other great grandfather, luther davis from new haven, huron county, ohio was by the end of the war, in the U.S. first battalion veteran volunteer engineers, company K. regular army. I can't find when he first enlisted. I was sent the image of his pension card for the time he was in the first but he might, might have enlisted as early as 1861 when that group was the pioneer brigade. because he was in the regular army and I'm not a member of fold3, I can't get any further in my search. I tried the "free" version of fold3 and got zero information other than the window that opens and says there is more to see if I just signed up and paid them some money.
here is what I would be willing to try doing. if you are a member of fold3 and, and you were willing to do it, get all you can about him, email it to me along with a post office box address or some address you don't mind posting (and what address would that be he asks) and I would be happy to mail you $20.00 for you efforts. I don't ever expect to get something for free. maybe cheap, but not free. the unhackable web site does not exist and I will not put any of my account numbers on the internet, so I can't do a pay pal type exchange. think about it. give me a yea or nay and please believe me, a nay will not hurt my feelings. I realize that for a guy you know nothing about, I'm asking a lot.