Names on the Wall

John Gish

19th Iowa Infantry Battery B, 1st Missouri Light Artillery

John Gish was born 1 July 1840 in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. He was living in Missouri with his parents when the 1860 census was taken. He moved to Iowa the following year and married Catherine Daily (1842-1864) on 19 May 1861. Their daughter, Martha, was born in Illinois 16 September 1862. Records show he enlisted in the 19th Iowa Infantry Regiment 7 February 1863 and transferred to Battery B, 1st Missouri Light Artillery 1 March 1863. Catherine died 24 May 1864, and John married Mary Ann Huffman (18 May 1847-29 July1929) on 20 October 1864 to provide a mother for his daughter Martha.

Private Gish’s entered duty with the 1st Missouri Light Artillery in southeast Missouri, soon after enlistment and participated in the Battle of Chalk Bluff, Arkansas 1-2 May 1863. Battery B joined the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in June and fought there until Vicksburg was captured by Union forces 4 July 1863. The unit was part of the capture of Yazoo City, Mississippi, 14 July, and later moved to Louisiana where they fought in several small battles. They moved on to New Orleans where they remained until early September when they joined other troops to march across Texas to capture Brownsville 8 November and occupied Brownsville until July 1864.

Although the records are incomplete, Gish received a furlough after Catherine died in May 1864 and may not have returned to service until at least a month after he married Mary Ann in October. Battery B was consolidated with two other batteries of the regiment in September 1864 and sent to New Orleans. Private Gish mustered out of service at New Orleans 4 July 1865.

After the war, the Gish family lived on farms in Missouri and Iowa before moving to Rooks County in 1878. He filed a timber claim 4 December 1879 for the SE¼ of Section 20, Township 9 South, Range 20 West, located just west of where Palco was established in 1888. He made final certification 12 April 1890. The farmstead was in the southeast corner of the quarter-section. He filed a homestead entry 25 September 1882 for the quarter-section south of the timber claim, NE¼ of Section 29 and made final certification 4 November 1887.

John Gish was an active member of the Republican Party and held a number of local offices, including Township Treasurer, Township Clerk, Township Trustee, Township Justice of Peace, Rooks County Treasurer, and School Board.

John Gish died 6 July 1919 and is buried in the Pleasant View Cemetery near Palco, as is Mary Jane who died 29 July 1929.

John and Catherine’s daughter Martha Jane (1862-1957) married Robert C. Edelblute (1844- 1922) 2 August 1882.

John and Mary Ann’s children are: Sarah (1865- 1951) married Charles S. Houpt (1865-1959) 7 December 1890; Josephine Penelope (1867- 1957) never married; Emma (1869-1949) married Frederick Morton (1868-1949) 21 October 1890; Mary (1871-1962) married George L. Trible (1863-1938) 15 April 1889; George L. (1873-1964) married Sarah Adams (1883-1911) on 24 November 1898; John C. (1877- 1947) married Edith Fuqua (1883-1961) on 26 September 1900; Rosella (1879- 1943) married Charles Adams (1880-1941) on 19 August 1900; Irene May (1883-1966) married Evert Bonebrake (1884-1943) on 27 March 1910; Ethel G. (1889-1973) married J. W. Charles Williams (1887- 1966); and Elsie L. (1891- 1947) married Herbert L. Thomas (1887-1974) on 21 June 1911; and Thomas Ray, (1894-1896) .