Little Bighorn Widows

[Diane Merkel]

From a website visitor:

How many 7th Cav widows after Little Big Horn battle?
Officers-?
EM-?
Civilian-?

[BrokenSword]

"This battle wrecked the lives of twenty-six women at Fort Lincoln, and orphaned children of officers and soldiers joined their cry to that of their bereaved mothers. " Mrs. G.A. Custer in 'Boots and Saddles'

I have no idea how many widows of scouts and civilians, neither do I have any idea of how many warriors' widows and orphans there were.

M

[harpskiddie]

If the visitor were to invest in one of the books such as Men With Custer, They Rode With Custer, et al, they could easily enough answer the question [probably]. I would look through the sources myself, but that would be too much like work. I am a retiree, don't you know, which means that I've worked my whole life in order not to have to work.

Gordie,
you ask me if I've met your baby. I have to say it's been some time now....................................

[harpskiddie]

I was flipping through one of my references while eating lunch, and recalled that I had responded rather cavalierly to this question. Since others might also be interested, I made a list - for what it's worth.

The oft-quoted figure of 26 widows might be correct, although Sergeant Charles White says 29 in his diary. Here is my list, which might or might not be anywhere near correct, since it comes from a source other than my memory [where I could practical guarantee that it would be wrong].

Armstrong, John E., Pvt Co. A - Martha, daughter Mary Emma
Bobo, Edwin, 1st Sgt. Co. C - Missouri Ann, sond Charles and Frank
Butler, James, 1st Sgt. Co. L - Mary
Calhoun, James, 1st Lt. Co. C [commanding L] - Margaret
Crisfield, William B., Pvt. Co. C - Poline, sons Albert and Paul
Custer, George A., Lt. Col. - Elizabeth
DeWolf, James, AASurgeon - Fannie
Dorman. Isaiah, Interpreter - ?
Dose, Henry C., Tptr. Co. G [trumpeter orderly] - Elizabeth, children Hattie and Charles
Downing, Thomas, Pvt. Co. I - Ellen, daughter ? [he had abandoned them]
Finley, Jeremiah, Sgt. Co. C - Ellen, sons Jeremiah, William and Henry
Gilbert, William H., Cpl. Co. L - Mary, son Rudy
Harrington, Henry M., 2nd Lt. Co. C - Grace, daughter Grace Eileen
Hohmeyer, Frederick, 1st Sgt. Co. E - ?
Hughes, Francis F., Pvt. Co. L - ?
Hughes, Robert H., Sgt. Co. K - Annie, children Annie, Miles and Thomas
Kellogg, Mark, correspondent - Martha, daughters Cora and Martha
Kelley, Patrick, Pvt. Co. I - Ellen
Kramer, William, Tptr. Co. C - Elnora, son Orren
McElroy, Thomas, Tptr. Co. E - Nora, son Thomas
McIlhargey, Archibald, Pvt. Co. I - Josie, children Rosalie and Archibald
McIntosh, Donald, 1st Lt. Co. G - Molly
Mitchell, John E., Pvt. Co. I - Catherine, children Anna and Charles
Porter, James E., 1st Lt. Co. I - Eliza, infant son ?
Post, George, Pvt. Co. I - Maggie
Rogers, Walter B., Pvt. Co. L - Emma
Smith, Algernon E., 1st Lt. Co. A [commanding E] - Henrietta
Staples, Samuel F., Cpl. Co. I - ? and daughter ?
Warner, Oscar T., Pvt. Co. C - Sarah
Way, Thomas, Tptr. Co. F - Rebecca
Wild, John, Cpl. Co. I - Annie
Wilkison, John K., Sgt. Co. F - Anna
Yates, George W., Cpt. Co. F - Annie

Downing's wife was not likely at FAL, since he had abandoned and denied his family earlier. Dorman was black and his wife was a Santee Sioux. It's not likely that anybody counted them for anything in those days. If you knock off the guys whose wives' names weren't readily available to the compiler [Hohmeyer, Hughes and Staples], that would leave 28.

Unfortunately, I have no idea which of theses widows were actually at FAL or were included in Libbie's 26 or White's 29, but it gives the original questioner something more than numbers to work/play with.

By the way, a number of the widows [and no, I ain't about to look it up] remarried surviving members of the regiment.

Gordie,
well. I'm gonna show you ain't so hot, I'm gonna get what you ain't got..........................

[Diane Merkel]

Very good, Gordie. You are my favorite Cavalier. Thank you!

[BrokenSword]

[El Crab]

Private Darris of Company E abandoned his family in New York, so I'd guess he left a widow.

[markland]

Sept 4, 2007 14:52:41 GMT -6 @harpskiddie said:

I was flipping through one of my references while eating lunch, and recalled that I had responded rather cavalierly to this question. Since others might also be interested, I made a list - for what it's worth.

The oft-quoted figure of 26 widows might be correct, although Sergeant Charles White says 29 in his diary. Here is my list, which might or might not be anywhere near correct, since it comes from a source other than my memory [where I could practical guarantee that it would be wrong].

Armstrong, John E., Pvt Co. A - Martha, daughter Mary Emma
Bobo, Edwin, 1st Sgt. Co. C - Missouri Ann, sond Charles and Frank
Butler, James, 1st Sgt. Co. L - Mary
Calhoun, James, 1st Lt. Co. C [commanding L] - Margaret
Crisfield, William B., Pvt. Co. C - Poline, sons Albert and Paul
Custer, George A., Lt. Col. - Elizabeth
DeWolf, James, AASurgeon - Fannie
Dorman. Isaiah, Interpreter - ?
Dose, Henry C., Tptr. Co. G [trumpeter orderly] - Elizabeth, children Hattie and Charles
Downing, Thomas, Pvt. Co. I - Ellen, daughter ? [he had abandoned them]
Finley, Jeremiah, Sgt. Co. C - Ellen, sons Jeremiah, William and Henry
Gilbert, William H., Cpl. Co. L - Mary, son Rudy
Harrington, Henry M., 2nd Lt. Co. C - Grace, daughter Grace Eileen
Hohmeyer, Frederick, 1st Sgt. Co. E - ?
Hughes, Francis F., Pvt. Co. L - ?
Hughes, Robert H., Sgt. Co. K - Annie, children Annie, Miles and Thomas
Kellogg, Mark, correspondent - Martha, daughters Cora and Martha
Kelley, Patrick, Pvt. Co. I - Ellen
Kramer, William, Tptr. Co. C - Elnora, son Orren
McElroy, Thomas, Tptr. Co. E - Nora, son Thomas
McIlhargey, Archibald, Pvt. Co. I - Josie, children Rosalie and Archibald
McIntosh, Donald, 1st Lt. Co. G - Molly
Mitchell, John E., Pvt. Co. I - Catherine, children Anna and Charles
Porter, James E., 1st Lt. Co. I - Eliza, infant son ?
Post, George, Pvt. Co. I - Maggie
Rogers, Walter B., Pvt. Co. L - Emma
Smith, Algernon E., 1st Lt. Co. A [commanding E] - Henrietta
Staples, Samuel F., Cpl. Co. I - ? and daughter ?
Warner, Oscar T., Pvt. Co. C - Sarah
Way, Thomas, Tptr. Co. F - Rebecca
Wild, John, Cpl. Co. I - Annie
Wilkison, John K., Sgt. Co. F - Anna
Yates, George W., Cpt. Co. F - Annie

Downing's wife was not likely at FAL, since he had abandoned and denied his family earlier. Dorman was black and his wife was a Santee Sioux. It's not likely that anybody counted them for anything in those days. If you knock off the guys whose wives' names weren't readily available to the compiler [Hohmeyer, Hughes and Staples], that would leave 28.

Unfortunately, I have no idea which of theses widows were actually at FAL or were included in Libbie's 26 or White's 29, but it gives the original questioner something more than numbers to work/play with.

By the way, a number of the widows [and no, I ain't about to look it up] remarried surviving members of the regiment.

Gordie,
well. I'm gonna show you ain't so hot, I'm gonna get what you ain't got..........................

I just picked up Windolph's book (or is it Windolf?-I ain't climbing the steps to find out) from the "to be read" pile and he states that there were 37 widows at FAL; he also mentions that GAC was 37 in 1876 and 37 was an unlucky number for the 7th.

Billy

[BrokenSword]

I read that Martini abandoned wives and kids in New York - TWICE! Musta been something about those New York women back then, or because they didn't have 'Dog' Chapman to hunt down errant husbands.

BS

[clansman]

I think BS has been the only one to mention the widows and orphans of the LBH warriors. Don't you think they grieved as much as the soldiers widows and orphans?

[biggordie]

Grieved as much, no doubt, but probably fared better. They would be "adopted" into the late husband's family, or re-united with their own. They would not go without food or shelter or someone to look after them.

The army widows, however, were likely to be told to vacate the premises immediately, had they been in government-provided quarters, and this would have included the widows of the slain officers. There were, I believe, no death benefits for any of them, and, as I recall, there was a sort of charity drive organized at the post, and in the newspapers of the day, to distribute funds to them. Some of the soldiers' widows re-married to other men of the regiment, possibly in order to maintain some stability in their lives.

It is interesting to contrast the attitudes and actions of the two different cultures, and perhaps instructive as well.

Gordie

[stevewilk]

Jan 21, 2009 12:48:22 GMT -6 @clansman said:

I think BS has been the only one to mention the widows and orphans of the LBH warriors. Don't you think they grieved as much as the soldiers widows and orphans?

Read the original question. It specifically asks about Seventh Cavalry widows, not Sioux or Cheyenne. Any Indian widows in the 7th were Arikara scouts' wives.

[clansman]

The name of the thread is Little Bighorn widows.

Gordie.
I knew already about the widows and orphans being adopted into other families. I just wanted people to think about the suffering in the warriors' families too.

[clansman]

I wasn't replying to the original question, that has already been answered. The name of the thread alludes to ALL those who lost husbands and fathers.

[rch]

We don't know where Mrs Custer got her figures, and it wouldn't be surprising if the figures were off.

The laundresses of Cos E and L, were left at Ft Totten, at least when those companies were ordered to Lincoln to prepare for the campaign. The same is true of Cos H and M from Ft Rice. I assume that the laundresses for Cos B, G, and K traveled to Ft Lincoln with the companies. The married officers killed with Cos E and L were detached from their companies, and I think both Mrs. Calhoun and Mrs. Smith were at Ft Lincoln. I don't think Mrs McIntosh came to Ft Lincoln with her husband. Harrinton returned early from leave to go on the campaign, and I don't think his family came with him.

At least one non-laudress wife worked as a matron at the Ft Lincoln hospital. I don't recall off hand who her husband was or if she was widowed. There may have been other non-laundress wives at Fts Lincoln, Rice, and Totten.

Nichols (this should be Kenneth Hammer, correction 23 Jan) listed the widows in an article for the LBHA newsletter; I'll try to dig it out tonight.

rch