Robert Chargo

Robert Chargo served in Company A of the 8^th U.S.C.T. He was born around 1833 in Virginia, to his father Harry Charger and his mother Matilda Castain.¹ Nothing else is known about his life before the military. According to his obituary, he was originally a part of the Confederate army, and then deserted to enlist in the Union. He enlisted in June of 1863, and was discharged in December of 1866, as a Lieutenant. He was wounded twice during his service, taking one bullet to his head, and one to his hip.² On November 3, 1887, he married Nancy (Nanny) Parker, at the recorded age of fifty-five, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he lived until his death.³ According to all known sources, they never had any children. After his service in the Civil War, Chargo makes numerous appearances in local Carlisle newspapers.

In May of 1890, Chargo and his wife donated $100 to the Bethel Church of Philadelphia, which was under construction at the time, to pay for a new window.⁴ In July of that same year, The Sentinel reported that he was arrested by an Officer Humphreys and locked up overnight. After his arrest, accounts came forward that he was concealing weapons and threatening Philip McCord, one of the reverends at Shiloh Baptist Church. He was not given bail. An opinion article appeared in the same paper that reported his arrest, saying that the arrest was illegal and uncalled for, as Humphreys did not see the actual breach of peace and had no warrant, and at the time of the arrest, no accounts of either charge had been made against him. The case was settled in August, and Chargo agreed to pay the costs.⁵ That July the Carlisle Weekly Herald also reported that he was arrested because he disturbed a business meeting at the Shiloh Baptist Church, while on a committee to try several members of the church. He was accused of assaulting the minister of the Shiloh Baptist Church, and settled the case in August.⁶ This may be the same case as the one reported in The Sentinel, because although the accounts of what occurred are wildly different, they both concerned Philip McCord, and both were reported within days of each other. That September, Chargo sued Robert Young, another minister at Shiloh Baptist Church, of assault and battery, and of knocking one of his teeth loose.⁷

In October of 1892, Chargo was elected Vice President for the Colored Republicans of Carlisle, during a meeting where they determined for whom they were casting their ballots.⁸ In 1894, he was running what is sometimes referred to in newspapers as a restaurant, and sometimes as a small store, in Carlisle’s Fourth Ward, around North West Street. That May, he had $40 and a coat stolen from him by a Texan cowboy claiming to be a “Chief Maze” visiting friends at the Carlisle Indian School. The cowboy was later arrested.⁹ In October of 1894, a Biddle Campaign Club was organized by Carlisle republicans, and Robert Chargo was elected to the executive committee.¹⁰ In February of 1895, he gave an address at an entertainment event held for the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, organized by Post 440 G.A.R., although whether he was officially a member of the G.A.R. is undetermined.¹¹

In December of 1895, Chargo charged Moses Scott with assault and battery, and the following February Scott was found not guilty, and the costs were divided equally between them. The Sentinel reports Chargo’s willingness to pay on the spot.¹² The details of the charge are left unreported. Also in December of 1895, a James Murphy was arrested for skipping a board bill of $8.65 due to Chargo.¹³ When he started taking boarders or how long he kept boarders in his house is unknown. In September of 1896, he was rewarded for completing nine years of service in Captain W. E. Miller’s hardware store, and was gifted a pair of small gold spectacles by the captain.¹⁴ In December of that year, Chargo sued a Frank Henderson for offering counterfeit money at Chargo’s restaurant, and refusing to redeem it when asked. Henderson sued Chargo for assault and battery, due to the altercation that followed after Henderson refused to redeem the money. Both men were arrested, only Chargo paid his bail.¹⁵

On December 1, 1897, The Carlisle Evening Herald reported that Robert Chargo, of North West Street, was sick.¹⁶ Despite this illness, the following April he gave an address at a celebration for the departure of Company G of Vale’s Regiment.¹⁷ On August 20, 1889, he died at around sixty years old. He had been ill for approximately eight weeks, and had heart trouble. He was survived by his wife and a sister, who still lived in Virginia. His funeral took place August 22 at Shiloh Baptist Church, with the Reverends Philip McCord and Robert Young officiating.¹⁸ He is buried in Lincoln Cemetery, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

1. Pennsylvania, U.S., Marriages, 1852-1968.
2. 1890 Veterans Schedule of the U.S. Federal Census; “Robert Chargo”, The Sentinel, 3, Aug 22, 1898.
3. Pennsylvania, U.S., Marriages, 1852-1968.
4. “Robert Chargo and Wife Give $100”, The Sentinel, 1, May 19, 1890.
5. “Robert Chargo Arrested” The Sentinel, 1, Jul 1, 1890; “Case Settled”, The Sentinel, 1, Aug 23, 1890. 
6. “The Shiloh Church Trouble”, Carlisle Weekly Herald, 2, Jul 3, 1890; “Robert Paid the Costs”, Carlisle Weekly Herald, 1, Aug 28, 1890.
7. “Robert Chargo Sues the Preacher”, Carlisle Weekly Herald, 1, Sep 11, 1890; “Chargo and the Preacher Give Bail”, Carlisle Weekly Herald, 3, Sep 11, 1890.
8. “Enthusiastic Republicans”, Carlisle Weekly Herald, 1, Oct 20, 1892.
9. “A Thieving Chief”, The Sentinel, 3, Mar 17, 1894.
10. “A Biddle Club Organized”, The Sentinel, 3, Oct 18, 1894.
11. “An Entertainment Next Tuesday”, The Sentinel, 3, Feb 7, 1895.
12. “Scott Not Guilty”, The Sentinel, 3, Feb 4, 1896.
13. “A Carlisle Negro Arrested”, The Sentinel, 3, Dec 27, 1895.
14. “Made Him a Present”, The Sentinel, 3, Sep 12, 1896.
15. “Robert Chargo and Frank Henderson Sue Each Other”, The Sentinel, 2, Dec 26, 1896.
16. “Robert Chargo”, Carlisle Evening Herald, 1, Dec 1, 1897.
17.  “Local War News”, The Sentinel, 3, Apr 29, 1898.
18. “Robert Chargo”, The Sentinel, 3, Aug 22, 1898; “Robert Chargo”, Carlisle Evening Herald, 1, Aug 22, 1898.

Bibliography:

Robert Chargo. 1890 Veterans Schedule of the U.S. Federal Census. Ancestry.com. NARA: Washington, 2005. 1890 Veterans Schedules of the U.S. Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

Robert Charger. Pennsylvania, U.S., Marriages, 1852-1968. Ancestry.com. Various County Register of Wills Offices, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania, U.S., Marriages, 1852-1968 - AncestryLibrary.com

“Robert Chargo and Wife Give $100”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. May 19, 1890. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/343965738

“Robert Chargo Arrested”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Jul 1, 1890. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/343971762

“The Shiloh Church Trouble”. Carlisle Weekly Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Jul 3, 1890. Page 2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/269897769

“Personal”. Carlisle Weekly Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Jul 10, 1890. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/269898193

“Case Settled”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Aug 23, 1890. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/343825422

“Robert Paid the Costs”. Carlisle Weekly Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Aug 28, 1890. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/269900044

“Robert Chargo Assaulted”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Sep 5, 1890. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/343826887

“Robert Chargo Sues the Preacher”. Carlisle Weekly Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Sep 11, 1890. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/269900685

“Chargo and the Preacher Give Bail”. Carlisle Weekly Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Sep 11, 1890. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/269900787

“Enthusiastic Republicans”. Carlisle Weekly Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Oct 20, 1892. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/270097917

“A Thieving Chief”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Mar 17, 1894. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/343894543

“A Biddle Club Organized”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Oct 18, 1894. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/343990977

“An Entertainment Next Tuesday”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Feb 7, 1895. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/343890169

“A Students’ Racket”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. May 21, 1895. Page 2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/343909161

“A Carlisle Negro Arrested”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Dec 27, 1895. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/343970968

“Scott Not Guilty”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Feb 4, 1896. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/343976359

“Made Him a Present”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Sep 12, 1896. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/344260198

“Robert Chargo and Frank Henderson Sue Each Other”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Dec 26, 1896. Page 2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/344138459

“Robert Chargo”. Carlisle Evening Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Dec 1, 1897. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/270425518

“Local War News”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Apr 29, 1898. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/344247600

“Necrology”. Harrisburg Daily Independent. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Aug 22, 1898. Page 5. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83038983

“Robert Chargo”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Aug 22, 1898. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/344267467

“Robert Chargo”. Carlisle Evening Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Aug 22, 1898. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/270462084