My relationship: Me > William R. Compton II > William R. Compton I > Mary Brigham > Phineas Brigham (2nd great-grandfather)
Phineas Brigham, son of Timothy and Patty (Damon) Brigham was born in Smithfield, Bradford, PA on 22 Jan 1815. His parents dying early when a mere child, he was placed in the family of William Baldwin, proprietor of the "Old Fountain Inn " near Wellsburg, NY (Chemung Co.), where he lived for several years. He ran away after a severe flogging, returned, and at last set out for the home of his uncle Salmon Brigham in Madison County, NY, working for his food and lodging on the way. Later he moved to Cazenovia, NY where he attended school in 1834 at the Cazenovia Seminary. He intended to prepare for the Methodist ministry, but after a brief experience as an exhorter, he abandoned the idea.
He met Eliza Johnson, daughter of Ezekiel Johnson and Hannah Sloan of Cherry Valley, and married her there on October 10, 1838 where they lived at least until the early 1850's, with Eliza's mother. They had five children, but three died young. One is unknown. Two sons, each named William, died young and are buried in the Cherry Valley Cemetery (William Brigham, born 1 June 1841, died 3 June 1842, and William Loomis Brigham, born 14 Feb 1851, died Jan 1853). The other 2 children were Mary Louise Brigham, born 11 Nov 1839 who became Mrs. Norris M. Compton, and (Dewitt Clinton) Johnson Brigham born 11 Mar 1846, who went on to become the State Librarian of Iowa (1898-1936). In 1857, Phineas is listed as a clerk (insurance) in Elmira, NY, and again in 1860 in Elmira, house on Gray Street. By June, 1860, they had moved to Dix (Watkins), NY where Phineas is listed as a retail shoe merchant and Eliza as a milliner.
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| Eliza Johnson |
On September 6, 1862 Phineas (age 47) enlisted at Palatine, NY as a Private in the Union Army. His son, Johnson Brigham also enlisted, but he was too young (age 16) for combat, and he was transferred to Washington, D.C. where he worked for the Sanitation Dept. during the war. Phineas was mustered into service on October 17, 1862 in the 153rd Infantry Regiment, Company B at Fonda, NY. The next day, the troops left by railroad traveling to New York City, then Philadelphia, then Baltimore, and then Washington, D.C. A short steamer trip took them to Alexandria where they arrived at their camp on October 24. They encamped there for the next nine months. Alexandria Virginia was a vast depot of military stores. The Brigade was in charge of guard and police duty over these arms. They were often aroused from sleep forming in a line of battle across the different roads into the city remaining under arms until dawn to repel any attack from the Confederate forces, although none ever came. However, many of the men succumbed to disease, including typhoid, pneumonia, measles, and small pox. Phineas succumbed to malarial fever in October-November, 1862. He was treated for five weeks at a private home in Alexandria, and on December 10, 1862 was admitted to the Regimental Hospital in Alexandria. In July, 1863, he transferred to Washington, D.C. and was assigned as an assistant hospital steward at the Soldier's Retreat. In February, 1864, his regiment was ordered to New Orleans, but he was rendered unfit for active duty in the field and he remained in Washington. Due to his illness, Phineas was transferred to Company C of the U.S. Veteran Reserve Corps, 19th Infantry Regiment. On October 1, 1864 he was transferred to the Confederate Prison Camp at Elmira, NY for the remainder of the war, having charge of a hundred confederates there. This camp, in use from June 6, 1864 until autumn 1865, was dubbed "Hellmira" by its inmates. In the months the site was used as a camp, 12,123 Confederate soldiers were incarcerated; of these, 2,963 died during their stay from a combination of malnutrition, prolonged exposure to brutal winter weather and disease directly attributable to the dismal sanitary conditions on Foster's Pond and lack of medical care. The camp's dead were prepared for burial and laid to rest by the sexton at Woodlawn National Cemetery. At the end of the war, each prisoner was given a loyalty oath and given a train ticket back home; the last prisoner left the camp on September 27, 1865. Phineas was honorably mustered out on July 13, 1865. [For details, see his Civil War pension file #286100]
After the war, he spent two years in Portage County, Ohio and then moved to Watkins, Schuyler, New York in April, 1868. In 1870 he is listed as Assistant Marshall for the town of Watkins, NY and signed all of the census pages for that year. Eliza is not listed there at that time. Financial and health stresses and struggles weighed on the marriage after the war and a formal divorce decree was issued to Eliza in Macon County, Missouri on 7 Nov 1870.
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| Myra Andrews |
On January 6, 1871 he married Myra Andrews and removed to Canton, Pennsylvania living at 46 Center Street. There they had 2 children, Sarah Elizabeth Brigham, born 28 May, 1873, and Anna Brigham, born 10 April, 1875. Phineas died on 20 May, 1889 in Canton and was buried in the Main Street Cemetery there.
