By Dave Curtis

The large Canton family of Erastus and Calista Truesdell was a very close knit family. The Truesdells were a notable and well respected Canton family with some descendants currently belonging to the Canton Historical Society.

Three of the Truesdell sons fought for the north in the Civil War.

Ephraim Truesdell was born on July 18, 1842. In 1862 Ephraim’s father Erastus attended a rally in Kellogg Park in Plymouth, Michigan. As the patriotic celebration went on, Erastus enlisted in the cavalry. Recognizing what his father had done and knowing his advanced age and the need to have him at home, seven days after his 20th birthday Ephraim took his father’s place by enlisting in company D, Fourth Michigan Cavalry on July 26, 1862. He was wounded in the chest at Sparta, Tennessee in August, 1863. In later years the wound resulted in disease of the lungs. The shot also destroyed parts of his 4th, 5th, and 6th ribs. He was discharged in Detroit on March 1, 1865. Two months after his discharge the 4th Michigan Cavalry was involved with the capture of Jefferson Davis, president of the southern confederacy.

Upon returning from the war, Ephraim married Emma Woodworth and then built, on 67 acres, the fine brick home which still stands on Haggerty Road in Canton (right). In 1883 he was receiving a pension of $2.00 per month for the gunshot wound to the right breast. His disabilities were constantly on the increase and he was to a great extent disabled for the performance of manual labor. In the later years he was receiving a pension of $17 a month.

When he died May 3, 1906 he had 199 acres in Canton. According to his widow’s pension application he did not leave much money and she needed the financial support of a widow’s pension. Ephraim is buried in Sheldon Cemetery in Canton.

Horace Erastus Truesdell was born April 9 1838. Horace enlisted in Company F, 16th Michigan Infantry on August 5, 1861 in Plymouth, Michigan. He re-enlisted on December 21, 1863, at Rappahannock Station, Virginia. At the Battle of Gettysburg the 16th Michigan Infantry defended Little Round Top against a determined Confederate attack. The 16th Michigan Infantry was also involved in battles of Gaines’ Mill, Malvern Hill, Second Battle of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Rappahannock Station, Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, Siege of Petersburg, and was at Appomattox Court House during the surrender of Lee’s army. Horace was wounded in action on June 20, 1864 at the Battle of Petersburg. Horace was commissioned First Lieutenant and mustered out of service at Jeffersonville, Indiana on July 8, 1865.

In 1866, Horace married Katherine Simpson. He died of chronic diarrhea February 4, 1869 at his home in Canton, Michigan. After his death, the widow Kate received a monthly pension of $8 until 1872 when she married veteran Henry Walker. Horace and Kate had one child, Fred Truesdell. John Simpson, Kate’s father, became the legal guardian of the infant son Fred, who received a $10 monthly pension from his father’s service until he reached the age of sixteen.

The Civil War pension records for Horace show some controversy. John H. Bacon, Surgeon of the 16th Michigan Infantry, reported that Horace became disabled from duty as a soldier while near Five Forks, Virginia. He was taken sick with a diarrhea which continued until he was discharged, by which time it had become severe and chronic. At the time of his discharge he was very weak and emaciated. Horace’s brothers Erastus and Cornelius testified that when Horace came home from service he was a healthy man and his health problems began after he fell from a load of hay onto a pitch fork handle.

Horace is buried in Sheldon Cemetery in Canton.

Lewis B. Truesdell, on November 21, 1863 at the age of 31, enlisted for three years in Company K, First Michigan Cavalry, as Corporal. He left at home three sons of ages between one and seven and another on the way. Some of the battles his regiment was involved include: Wilderness, Cold Harbor, and Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign. He was promoted to Sergeant and received wounds to the chest September 18, 1864 at Opequon Creek and died three days later in a hospital at Winchester, Virginia. Lewis is buried at the National Cemetery in Fredericksburg, Virginia. In remembrance of him, there is a monument in Canton’s Sheldon Cemetery.

On May 24, 1867 Eveline, widow of Lewis, married David June. Mr. June became guardian of Lewis Truesdell’s four children and received eight dollars a month for each child until they reached the age of sixteen.

We commend these three brothers for their service to our country, and we take pride in our own Canton natives for standing for the freedom we enjoy today!

lrahrig