Mitsawokett: Civil War Pension file of Lorenzo F. Gould

Lorenzo F. Gould alias Alonzo Gould

Private,
Company K,
22nd Pennsylvania Infantry, also known as 22nd U.S. Colored Infantry

He was also temporarily assigned to:
Company A,
8th Pennsylvania Infantry, also known as 8th U.S. Colored Infantry (from 26 Jun 1865 - 03 Aug 1865)

Lorenzo is buried at Gouldtown Memorial Park, Gouldtown, Cumberland County, NJ
Photo taken Aug 2002 by John C. Carter

ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM THE PENSION RECORDS:

Pension #WC 900729 (alternate numbers 1167086, 1121492 & 1112686)
Drafted: 23 Feb 1865 at Fairfield Township, Cumberland County, NJ
Enlisted/Mustered-in: 03 Apr 1865
Honorably discharged/Mustered-out: 16 Oct 1865 at Brownsville, TX; (another record gives Camp Cadwalader, Philadelphia, PA)

Lorenzo (or Alonzo) F. Gould:
Date of birth: 02 Jul 1841 at: Gouldtown, Cumberland County, NJ, (another record lists Bridgeton, Cumberland County, NJ), Son of: Jonathan Gould and Hannah A. Cuff
Date of death: 28 Nov 1920 at: Fairfield Township, Cumberland County, NJ. Buried at: Gouldtown Memorial Park, Gouldtown, Cumberland County, NJ

Lorenzo F. Gould's New Jersey death certificate:

Lorenzo was married to Margaret Steward:
Date of marriage: 21 Mar 1866 at: Gouldtown, Cumberland County, NJ, Daughter of James Steward and Rebecca Gould

Margaret Steward:
Date of birth: 12 Mar 1839 at: Bridgeton, Cumberland County, NJ
Date of death: 01 Oct 1923 at: (not given). Buried at: Gouldtown Memorial Park, Gouldtown, Cumberland County, NJ

Margaret is buried at Gouldtown Memorial Park, Gouldtown, Cumberland County, NJ
Photo taken Aug 2002 by John C. Carter

Lorenzo & Margaret's children, (based on an affidavit signed by Lorenzo Gould on 12 Jul 1898):
1. Jonathan Gould, b. 19 Nov 1867*
2. Emma Gould, b. 14 Mar 1869
3. Rebecca Gould, b. 22 Nov 1871
4. Luther D. Gould, b. 17 Jan 1874
5. Agnes F. Gould, b. 10 Nov 1875
6. Alice E. Gould, b. 14 Aug 1878
7. Sydney Gould, b. 11 Jul 1881*

*(in an affidavit dated Apr 1915, he gave Jonathan's birth year as 1868 and Sydney's birth year as 1882).

Lorenzo's residences at various times as noted in the pension records:

Bridgeton, [Fairfield Township], Cumberland County, NJ (as of 14 Aug 1897)

Bridgeton, [Fairfield Township], Cumberland County, NJ (as of 25 Sep 1899)

[Bridgeton], Fairfield Township, Cumberland County, NJ (as of 05 Dec 1905)

Bridgeton, [Fairfield Township], Cumberland County, NJ (as of 03 Jan 1906)

[Bridgeton], Fairfield Township, Cumberland County, NJ (as of 20 Feb 1907)

Bridgeton, [Fairfield Township], Cumberland County, NJ (as of 21 May 1912)

Bridgeton, [Fairfield Township], Cumberland County, NJ (as of 15 Sep 1920)

Margaret's residences at various times as noted in the pension records:

Bridgeton, [Fairfield Township], Cumberland County, NJ (as of 14 Dec 1920)

Bridgeton, [Fairfield Township], Cumberland County, NJ (as of 18 May 1921)

OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE:

From an affidavit by Lorenzo dated 03 Jan 1893: "Affiant states that when he enlisted, he stated that his name was Lorenzo Gould but during the excitement which prevailed at the time his name was placed on the rolls as Alonzo Gould, that he frequently during his term of service tried to have it corrected but no attention was paid thereto and the only satisfaction was that the officers said that it would make no difference."

In an affidavit dated 13 Sep 1920 Lorenzo stated, "The only member of my family in late World War was Lieut. Herbert R. Gould, who resides at Boston. He married my daughter, Agnes F. Gould. I have no knowledge whether Herbert R. Gould's immediate family has received compensation from War [illeg.] Insurance Bureau."

In an affidavit dated 15 Sep 1920 Lorenzo stated, "On May 26, 1916, house was destroyed and discharge papers burned."

A version of Lorenzo's death certificate (displayed above) is contained in the pension records, but is perhaps not the same format as would be obtained from the NJ vital records dept.

Lorenzo is listed at various times as:

("Age 51") (Jul 1892) 5' 9" tall, 155 lbs.

("Age 57") (Aug 1898) 5' 9 & 1/2" tall, 160 lbs.

("Age 64") (Nov 1906) 5' 6" tall, 170 lbs., dark complexion, gray hair, hazel eyes.

("Age 65") (Feb 1907) 5' 6" tall, dark complexion, black hair, gray eyes.

("Age 70") (May 1912) 5' 6" tall, dark complexion, dark hair, brown eyes.

("Age 79") (Sep 1920) 5' 6" tall, light complexion, black hair, gray eyes.

("Age 79") (Oct 1920) 5' 6" tall, 140 lbs, "D" complexion, gray hair, gray eyes.

Lorenzo's occupations listed: Farmer.

OTHER ITEMS PERTAINING TO LORENZO F. GOULD, NOT FROM THE PENSION RECORDS:

Lorenzo kept a diary while in service during the Civil War. After being passed down in his family for a few generations it is said to have been donated to the War College and the U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Copied transcriptions (partially handwritten, partially typed) also exist, and the entries portray a very vivid and sobering description of what he and the other soldiers endured. The men suffered through almost constant shortages of food and water and also endured extreme heat, walking for miles and miles for days upon end, periods of cold, being rained on, camping in knee-deep mud, mosquitoes, lice, dysentery, scurvy, seasickness, seeing the bodies of their dead comrades being thrown overboard, seeing men "hung by the hands," and he also describes hearing the rumors of President Lincoln being shot and Jefferson Davis being captured. (His diary also mentions his having been promoted both to Corporal and to Orderly Sergeant, although there seems to be no mention of this in his pension records, nor in an official roster published after the war).

On the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington DC, Lorenzo's name is displayed (as "Alonzo Gould") on Plaque B-38.

Regimental history:

To go to the official National Park Service's "Soldiers and Sailors" website, use this link, and in the boxes do the following:

under Union or Confederate select "Union,"

under State (or Origin) select "US Colored Troops,"

under Unit Number enter "22"

under Function select "Infantry."

Then click on the 22nd Regiment US Colored Infantry.

(Scroll down under the Regimental History for the links to the specific soldiers) (Keep in mind Lorenzo is listed as "Alonzo"):

QUERY ITEMS:

1. Can anyone confirm whether Lorenzo & Margaret's son Jonathan's birth year was 1867 or 1868? (Lorenzo gave two different dates on separate affidavits).

Jonathan's age is given as age 2 in 1870, age 12 in 1880; I cannot locate him in later census records. Emma's age is given as age 1 and age 11. If Emma was born in Mar 1869 as given in the pension records, Jonathan's birth in Nov could only have been in 1867, which is consistent with these census records. [In 1880, Jonathan was residing with his grandparents Jonathan and Hannah A Gould, not with his parents.] -- Joseph Romeo

2. Can anyone confirm whether Lorenzo & Margaret's son Sydney's birth year was 1881 or 1882? (Lorenzo gave two different dates on separate affidavits).

Sydney's age in 1900 is given as 18, b. Jul 1881; his date of birth as reported on his WWI draft registration is 11 Jul 1881. Often listed as Sidney Gould in the census records, he signed his draft registration Sydney Gould. -- Joseph Romeo

3. It has been stated that Lorenzo & Margaret's daughter Rebecca's full name is Prudence Rebecca Gould. Can anyone confirm this?

Rebecca was reported under the name Prudence R. Gould in the 1880 census; age 8. -- Joseph Romeo

4. Does anyone have a copy of Lorenzo or Margaret's death certificate from the NJ vital statistics dept?

5. According to a recorded list of inscriptions in Gouldtown Cemetery as posted here.

http://www.mitsawokett.com/Cemeteries/GouldtownCemetery.htm

...the dates on Margaret's headstone in Gouldtown Cemetery are listed 12 Mar 1825 - 01 Oct 1920, instead of 12 Mar 1839 - 01 Oct 1923 (per the pension records). But could this be due to the stone being difficult to read? In the attached photo, the birth year almost appears to be 1823 (even further off of 1839 than 1825) but the death year clearly looks like 1923 but might have been thought of as being 1920 with the "0" having a dark speck in the center.

While the dates in the photo are definitely difficult to decipher, I agree the death year is likely 1923 as given in the pension records. As for the birth year, it looks like 1829 to me (compare the 9 in the death year with the last digit of the birth year), rather than 1839 as given in the pension records and in the 1900 census. If so, only 1 digit is wrong. -- Joseph Romeo

6. Does anyone know of any photographs of Lorenzo or Margaret?

More information from Marjorie Bridges via Bill Gould:

"I found Sidney Gould, 28, and wife Eva, 22, in Fairfield Twp., Cumberland Co., NJ in 1910 census. They had been married one year, no children. Both mulatto, both born NJ and parents born NJ. He was a farmer for wages but I could not make out where, maybe Terwilligers?, he was renting a house.

"In 1900 census, Sidney Gould, 18, born July 1881, was still at home with Lorenzo and Margaret in Fairfield, Cumberland, NJ. Lorenzo was born July 1841, age 58, been married 34 years, farmer, they had eight children, 7 surviving by 1900, Margaret was born March, 1839, age 61. Also in the home was a grandson, born Aug 1894, Justin? or something like it Jackson

"I could not find Jonathan in 1900 or 1910 anywhere in USA. I think he might be the one child who died before 1900."

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For those who may be new to the list, I have posted a few of these Civil War pension extractions previously, as has Paul Johnson and Joseph Romeo. To view some of the others, as well as an explanatory note, please see the following page of the Mitsawokett site:

http://www.mitsawokett.com/MilitaryService/DelmarvaAreaCivilWarPensions.htm

(Once on the page, scroll down below the Index to see the Overview).

Please let me know if anyone has any questions: John C. Carter