Charles Conn

A newspaper article about Charles Conn's pension increase
A newspaper advertisement for Charles Conn's whitewashing business

Charles Conn served in Company E of the 127th U.S.C.T. He was born in West Virginia in 1828, and he married his wife, Mary, in 1855, but other details of his life before the military are unknown.1 He enlisted on August 29, 1864, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and was discharged on September 9, 1865, due to the end of the war. Details about his rank and time in service are unknown.

In 1870, Conn was living in Carlisle’s West Ward and working as a laborer. He had a wife, Mary, and six children, William, Mary, Anna, Charles, John, and Frank.2 That September, he was the assistant marshal at a flag presentation festival by the Cumberland Guards.3 In August of 1871, the Carlisle Weekly Herald reported that a cow belonging to him and his wife was killed by a train, and was valued at about $65 dollars.4 Conn ran a whitewashing and calcimining business for a short period of time, and in 1872 a newspaper ad for this business lists his address at 63 North West Street, in Carlisle.5 In 1879, that home was seized in a Sherriff’s Auction, although the reason for the seizure is unknown.6 There is no record of his life for a few decades, and then in 1891, he is accused of statutory rape and abuse of a woman child on the oath of Ida Gowens. The verdict is not recorded in newspapers, and there is no record of any time spent in prison.7 The 1900 Federal Census states that he owns his own home, he can read and write, and he is employed as a day laborer. At that point he lived at 12 East Green Street, in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and had three of his children, Robert, Grace, and Mary (Emma) Holland, still living with him, as well as his grandson, Henry Holland, who may also have gone by Oliver.8 Charles and Mary Conn held lawn festivals at their East Green Street home through 1900 to 1902 for the benefit of the Bethel A.M.E. Church, and newspapers report them as successful.9 During his time in Mechanicsburg, Conn worked as a fireman, an engineer for the F. Seidle Spoke and Wheel Works, and as an employee of the Comstock Foundry and Machine Works.10

In September of 1904, Conn’s grandchild Oliver Holland, the son of his daughter Emma, died at the age of 12 in his grandparent’s home due to complications from a severe cold. The funeral was held at the home of Charles Conn.11 In November of that same year, Conn was able to get an increase in his pension from $17 to $24 a month. This is assumed to be his military pension, although there are no other records of his pension available.12 In March of 1905, Conn became paralyzed and was reported to be deathly ill. His daughter Grace, who was a teacher in Columbia, Pennsylvania, at the time, visited him and his wife that October.13

Charles Conn died on October 21, 1906, of paralysis and hemiplegia.14 His obituary describes him as someone with a thrifty habit and as a person who had endeared himself to many people in Mechanicsburg. He was survived by his wife and six of his children. His funeral was held at Pomfret Street Church, also known as Bethel A.M.E., and he was interred at the Union Cemetery, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.15

  1. 1900 United States Federal Census for Charles Conn; Death Certificate of Charles W Conn, Find a Grave Memorial 141613431.
  2. 1870 United States Federal Census for Charles Conn.
  3. “Grand tournament by the Colored Population”, Carlisle Weekly Herald, 2, Sep 1, 1870.
  4. “Cow Killed”, Carlisle Weekly Herald, 2, Aug 17, 1871.
  5. “Whitewashing or calcimining promptly attended to”, Carlisle Weekly Herald, 3, Mar 7, 1872.
  6. “Sherriff’s Auction”, The Valley Sentinel, 6, Oct 24, 1879.
  7. “Com vs Charles Conn”, Carlisle Weekly Herald, 3, Sep 3, 1891; “Com vs Charles Conn”, Carlisle Evening Herald, 4, Sep 16, 1891.
  8. 1900 United States Federal Census for Charles Conn.
  9. “Mechanicsburg News”, Carlisle Evening Herald, 4, Jul 14, 1900; “Mechanicsburg”, Harrisburg Daily Independent, 4, Jun 23, 1902.
  10. “Mr. Charles W. Conn”, Carlisle Evening Herald, 1, Oct 23, 1906.
  11. “Deaths of Oliver Holland and Samuel Shoop”, The Sentinel, 6, Dec 31, 1904; “Mechanicsburg”, Harrisburg Daily Independent, 3, Jan 2, 1905.
  12. “Pension Increased”, The Sentinel, 3, Nov 15, 1904.
  13. “Mechanicsburg”, The Sentinel, 4, Mar 11, 1905; “The latest from Mechanicsburg”, Carlisle Evening Herald, 1, Oct 23, 1905.
  14. Death Certificate of Charles W Conn, Find a Grave Memorial 141613431.
  15. “Mr. Charles W. Conn”, Carlisle Evening Herald, 1, Oct 23, 1906; “Mechanicsburg”, Harrisburg Daily Independent, 7, Oct 24, 1906; “Remains Interred Here”, Carlisle Evening Herald, 1, Oct 25, 1906.

 

Bibliography:

“Mechanicsburg News”. Carlisle Evening Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Jul 14, 1900. Page 4. https://www.newspapers.com/image/269986935

“Mechanicsburg”. Harrisburg Daily Independent. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Jun 23, 1902. Page 4. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83034587

“Deaths of Oliver Holland and Samuel Shoop”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Dec 31, 1904. Page 6. https://www.newspapers.com/image/344558938

“Mechanicsburg”. Harrisburg Daily Independent. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Jan 2, 1905. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/83024524

Charles W Conn. Find a Grave Memorial 141613431. Created by Family Tree Climber, added Jan 21, 2015. Charles W Conn (1828-1906) - Find A Grave Memorial

“Mr. Charles W. Conn”. Carlisle Evening Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Oct 23, 1906. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/270366785

“Mechanicsburg”. Harrisburg Daily Independent. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Oct 24, 1906. Page 7. https://www.newspapers.com/image/82969568

“Conn”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Oct 22, 1906. Page 4. https://www.newspapers.com/image/344472622

“Remains Interred Here”. Carlisle Evening Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Oct 25, 1906. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/270366980

Charles W Conn. Pennsylvania, U.S. Death Certificates, 1906-1967. Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, PA. Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1967 - AncestryLibrary.com

1870 United States Federal Census for Charles Conn. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

1900 United States Federal Census for Charles Conn. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

“Pension Increased”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Nov 15, 1904. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/344544253

“Whitewashing or calcimining promptly attended to”. Carlisle Weekly Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Mar 7, 1872. https://www.newspapers.com/image/270014624

“Sheriff’s Auction”. The Valley Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Oct 24, 1879. https://www.newspapers.com/image/343913807

“The latest from Mechanicsburg”. Carlisle Evening Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Oct 23, 1905. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/270107205

“Cow Killed”. Carlisle Weekly Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Aug 17, 1871. Page 2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/270006407

“Mechanicsburg”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Mar 11, 1905. Page 4. https://www.newspapers.com/image/344661204

“Com. vs. Charles Conn”. Carlisle Weekly Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Sep 3, 1891. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/269917043

“Com vs Charles Conn”. Carlisle Evening Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Sep 16, 1891. Page 4. https://www.newspapers.com/image/270401486

“Grand tournament by the Colored Population”. Carlisle Weekly Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Sep 1, 1870. Page 2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/269992680

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Geographic Connection(s) to Cumberland County

Enlistment Location

Date of Enlistment

08/29/1864

Hometown:

Birthdate

01/01/1828

Place of Settlement Following War