Revolutionary War Daniel F. Bakeman - Biography Lemuel Cook (1759-1866) - Obit and Biographical Info George Fruits (1779-1876) John Gray (1764-1868) - Obit and Biographical Info "Almost-the-Last" Veterans: Daniel Waldo - William Hutchins - Samuel Downing	War of 1812 Hiram Cronk - (1800 - 1905) Blackhawk War (1832, Illinois) Henry L. Riggs
Mexican War (1846-1848) Owen Thomas Edgar (1831 - 1929) - Obit Jacob Riley	Indian Wars (1860 through 1898) Last Surviving Veterans: William Sutphin - Read obit Reginald A. Bradley - [read his war-time remembrances] Charles G. Jones Fredrack W. Fraske - Read obit Last Indian Scout: John Daw (Hasteen-tsoh) - Biographical Data
The American Civil War (1861-1865) Last Union veteran, Albert Woolson, (1847?-1956) - Obit Last Confederate veteran, John B. Salling - Obit Other Noted Union Veterans: James Hard - Obit William Allen Magee Brevet-Brigadier General Aaron S. Daggett Confederate Veterans Pleasant Crump Felix M. Witkoski Thomas Edwin Ross William Loudermilk William Jordan Bush Arnold Murray William Townsend William Albert Kiney Thomas Riddle William Lundy Walter Williams (debunked)	Spanish American War (1898) Nathan Cook - Picture Jones Morgan - Obit Samuel Leroy Mendel - Obit (NEW!) Jasper Garrison

Lemuel Cook The Last One Gone The dispatches yesterday as our readers have seen brought the announcement of the death of the last surviving revolutionary pensioner, Lemuel Cook at Clarendon, N.Y. He died at about the same age with Mr. Hutchings at Penobscot, 102 – and their deaths were not far separated. [Bangor Daily Whig and Courier (Bangor, Maine) May 24, 1866 - submitted by Nancy Piper] From the DAR Book: b. 10 Sept 1759, Plymouth, Conn., d. 20 May 1866, Clarendon, New York m. 1785, Hannah Curtis, b. 1768, d. 1832 SERVICE: Pvt in 2nd Light Dragoons Conn. Regt. Children: Miles, b. 1785, m. Matilda Coleman; (2) Olive Lemuel, b. 1788 - d. 1858, m. 19 Dec 1811 Susan Mason - b. 17 Feb 1793 - d. 10 Oct 1871 Gilbert Worthy Charles Curtis - m. Betsy Brown Electa - m. Orson Towsley Seeley Esther - m. Coleman [Source: descendant Margaret Cook Hadley as submitted to the DAR Book)

John Gray To the Editors of the Enquirer The last Revolutionary hero is gone. John Gray, of Noble county, died March 29, 1868, aged one hundred and four (104) years and two-and-a-half months. Mr. Gray was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, but his term of service was too short to entitle him to a pension, which he never got until about a year ago, when Congress passed a special act for his benefit. [The Ohio Democrat (New Philadelphia, Ohio), April 24, 1868, submitted by Nancy Piper] John Gray of Noble County More than once these Little Stories have made mention of John Gray, of Brookfield township, Noble county, the last surviving soldier of the Revolutionary army, but in no case were all the interesting facts of his life recorded. Born near Mt. Vernon, Va., January 6, 1764, he lived until March 29, 1868, dying at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Nancy McElroy in the 105th year of his age. He was laid away in a little cemetery near Hiramsburg. Noble county historians describe him as "a man of spare and bony frame, five feet eight inches high, broad-chested, with a head that was well shaped and massive: and a picture of him, made when his hair was gray represents the strength and health which the description indicates. His eyebrows were well arched, his eyes large and set far apart, his cheek bones were high and his upper-lip uncommonly long. His hair was very abundant and he wore it so long that it covered most of his ears. Watkin’s history speaks of his exemplary character and indicates his religious faith with a statement that for 80 years he had been a member of the Methodist church. His parents being poor, toil and hardship came into his life early and lasted through many years. One of experiences which he cherished was that on the "first day he ever worked out he was employed at Mt. Vernon by George Washington" who often on other occasions, "shook hands with him and spoke encouraging words." When his father entered the patriot army in 1777 John was the eldest of his eight children and became the family's main support. The father was killed at the battle of White Plains and in 1781 John volunteered, served during the remainder of the war and was present when Cornwallis surrendered. From the army he went back to near Mt. Vernon and to labor. At the age of 20 years he took Nancy Dowell as a bride and they settled at Morgantown, Va. He lived on the frontier during the Indian war, settled in Noble county in 1829 and spent the remainder of his life there. He had married a second wife before coming to Ohio and was again married in this state. He survived these and all but one of his children. In 1867 a bill was fathered by Hon. John A. Bingham and passed by congress giving John Gray a pension of $500 a year, dating from July 1, 1866. [The Times Recorder (Zanesville, Ohio) June 22, 1933, submitted by Nancy Piper]

Other "not-quite-the-last" Revolutionary War veterans: Daniel Waldo -- Born in Windham, Conn., September 10, 1762, and died July 30, 1864, aged 102 years. He entered the service in June, 1779, and December 20, 1780, at Horse Neck, in the south-east corner of Connecticut. Colonel Levi Wells, with twenty others, were taken prisoner by refugees, carried to New York City, and confined at the notorious Sugar House. After the war, he studied for the ministry; a Presbyterian clergyman; officiated in Lebanon and Suffield, Conn., particularly at the latter place, for many years. In 1837, removed to Wayne County, then to Owondago county, were he deceased. At the session of Congress for 1855-6, when the honorable N. P. Banks, after a protracted struggle, was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Waldo was appointed chaplain to it, the duties of which he faithfully performed, besides repeatedly officiating in the churches in the city on the Sabbath, his age at the time being over 93 years. William Hutchins -- Born in York, Maine in 1764, and died May 3, 1866, aged 102 years. He enlisted at New Castle, Maine, 1780-1, in the Massachusetts regiment commanded by Colonel Samuel McCobb. The 4th of July previous to his decease, he attended the celebration of that day at Bangor, in which he was an active participant. THE LAST MAN - The Washington correspondent of the Independent Democrat says the deaths of William Hutchings of Penobscot, Maine, the past week, leaves only one Revolutionary pensioner. Through the courtesy of Judge Pearson of Nashua, chief clerk of the Pension office, I have been able to examine the records, and find the last survivor of the Revolution to be Lemuel Cook, of Clarendon, Orleans co., NY. He was born near Wolfborough, Carroll Co., N.H., which was then a part of Strafford County, and credited to the quota of New Hampshire during the Revolution. [The Farmer's Cabinet (New Hampshire), May 24, 1866, transcribed by K. Torp] Samuel Downing -- Died February 18, 1867, age unknown. In 1828, resided in Edinburgh, Saratoga county, New York, and, it is understood, died there. His military service was in one of the New Hampshire regiments.

War of 1812 Hiram Cronk (April 29, 1800 - May 13, 1905) was the last surviving veteran of the War of 1812 at the time of his death. Born in Frankfort, New York, Cronk enlisted with his father and two brothers on August 4, 1814. He served with the New York Volunteers in the defense of Sackett's Harbor, and was discharged November 16, 1814. For his service, he received a pension of $12 per month. In 1903, Congress increased it to $25 per month. He also received a special pension of $72 per month from the State of New York. His father was James Cronk who with two brothers, came to America from Holland early in the history of the country. When Hiram Cronk was still a child the family moved from Herkimer to Oneida county, (New York) and after residing for a time in Wright settlement, the family moved to the town of Western, where Hiram has ever since lived. His claim to be the last pensioner of the War of 1812 is authenticated by the report of the former United States Commissioner of Pensions. Cronk spent most of his life working as a shoemaker. He married Mary Thornton in 1825, with whom he had seven children, including a daughter, Mrs. Sarah A. Rowley, who worked hard to get her father a pension. He had used tobacco since his boyhood, and even in 1903 at the age of 103, chewed from five to ten cents' worth of the weed daily. A gallon of wine lasts him about two weeks. A very strange fact about this old man's life is that he has turned his nights into days and days into nights. He sleeps all day and is awake all night, passing the greater part of the night walking the floor.At the time of his death he had fourteen grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. When he died, his body was displayed in the main lobby of New York City Hall. An estimated 25,000 people paid their respects. Funeral Procession of Hiram Cronk: [American Memories, Library of Congress]

 

Mexican War (1846-1848) Owen Thomas Edgar (June 17, 1831 - September 3, 1929) Obituary: Mexican War's Last Survivor, 98, is Dead Washington, Sept 3 (AP) - Owen Thomas Edgar, only surviving veteran of the Mexican War, died Tuesday at the age of 98. The distinction of being the last survivor of the Americans who had part in the war of 1846 came the day before his ninety-eighth birthday, June 17, with the death of William Fitzhugh Thornton Buckner, 101, at Paris, Mo. Mr. Edgar was born at Philadelphia in 1831. In the war with Mexico he served on board the frigates Potomac and Allegheny. Prior to the war he had worked as a printer. He had been a resident of Washington for more than fifty years. [source: Dallas Morning News, Sept 1929]	Owen Edgar
JACOB R. RILEY JACOB R. RILEY DIES AT 92. Mexican War Veteran Was Oldest Customs Inspector When He Retired Jacob Rich Riley, one of the last survivors of the Mexican War, during which he served as a Sergeant of the old Second New York Regiment, died on Thursday at his home, 340 West Twelfth Street, in his ninety-third year. He was born here in the Fourth Ward, and when he retired was the oldest Customs Inspector in the New York branch of the service. His father was a soldier in the war of 1812, and his more remote ancestors fought the Indians. His son, Winfield Scott Riley, is a member of the Twenty-second Regiment, N.G.N.Y. Mr. Riley went with his regiment from this port to Vera Cruz in the bark Jubilee, and from there the United States troops under General Winfield Scott, marched on Mexico City. He fought through the battles at Contreras, Turrubusco, and Cerro Gordo, being wounded in the last. His regiment was commanded by Colonel Walter B. Burnett, and was in active service for three years before it came home to New York. Mr. Riley was a member of the Exempt Firemen and of several other organizations. The New York Times Published: September 30, 1916 Submitted by John A. Riggs

Indian Wars 1860 through 1898 Last Surviving US Veteran of Indian Wars: Fredrak (Frederick) Fraske b. 1872 (alternate birth date: Mar. 8, 1874 from findagrave.com) d. 1973 buried in Saint Adalbert Cemetery, Niles, Cook County, Illinois LAST VET OF INDIAN WARS DIES AT AGE 101 Frederick W. Fraske, who at 101 was the last U.S. Army veteran of the Indian wars, died yesterday in his home at 3746 N. Spauling Av. (Chicago, IL). Mr. Fraske served three years and three months as a private in F Company, 17th Infantry, beginning in 1894 and his only encounter with western Indians ended without violence.	Frederick Fraske
He was assigned as a first aid man and litter bearer with the company at Cheyenne, Wyo. He sometimes recalled Cheyenne as a wild place, chiefly an unloading station for cattle, "where they'd shoot the lights out." He had a simple explanation for the lack of shooting in his only brush with Indians. "We were all prepared for it. That's the whole thing in a nutshell, being prepared for it. The Indians weren't bad eggs, not more than anyone else, but they've been abused. We had no serious trouble with them." Mr. Fraske was born in Posen, Germany, and came to American in 1877 with his parents and four brothers. He enlisted in the Army on Feb. 22, 1894, at State and Madison Streets. His $9 a month pay helped his widowed mother support her family. After his military service he returned to Chicago and worked as a painter until he was 65. He then worked another 23 years as a plant guard before he retired. Since last October he had received part-time nursing service at home form the Veterans Administration. He lived with a daughter, Lillian, his only survivor. [Chicago Tribune, June 19, 1973] Read more about Mr. Fraske's remembrances, written in a 1966 newspaper article
Henry L. Riggs, Last Veteran of the Blackhawk War DEATH OF THE LAST SURVIVOR OF THE BLACK HAWK WAR. On March 11,1911, Henry L. Riggs, of Morgan county,( Illinois) died at the home of his sister in Kirksville, Missouri, where he had gone to pass the winter. He was born in Kentucky on January 12, 1812, and had reached the age of 99 years, 1 month and 27 days. He came to Illinois in 1830, and when Gov. Reynolds, in 1832, called for volunteers to repel the invasion of Black Hawk and his band, he enlisted as a private in the Morgan county company commanded by Capt. Wm. Gillham, and served through that renowned conflict. It is very probable that he was the last survivor of that memorable historic Indian campaign. Mr. Riggs was married to Miss Mary Berry on the 17th of November, 1837, with whom he lived until her death in 1890, and was a resident of Lynnville, Morgan county, for the last thirty-five years. Though but twenty years of age in 1832, he cast his first vote for Gen. Jackson for the Presidency, and was a zealous Democrat until his death. He was a robust, active man, spending much of his time in the open air, doing all the work about his premises, and last fall sawed and split eight cords of wood. He is survived by six children. His body was brought from Kirksville, and interred in Diamond Grove cemetery at Jacksonville. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, v. 14, pub. 1922 Transcribed by K. Torp

Spanish-American War 1898   Nathan Edward Cook (October 10, 1885 - September 10, 1992) was a sailor in the United States Navy during the Spanish-American War. He was recognized as the longest surviving U.S. veteran of that war (although there is a claim that Jones Morgan was a Spanish-American war veteran and survived longer). He died at age 106 and is buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix.	Nathan E. Cook [source: FindaGrave.com]
Jones Morgan (October 23, 1882?-August 29, 1993) Due to lack of documents (which, according to Morgan himself, were destroyed during a house fire in 1912), and the fact that he was underage during his time of service, some authorities do not recognize him as officially 110 or as the last Spanish- American War veteran, instead giving the honor to Nathan E. Cook, who was 106 when he died September 10, 1992. (source: wikipedia.org) From the Library of Congress website is this transcription of a bill put before the House of Representatives: HON. THOMAS J. BLILEY, JR. in the House of Representatives MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1992 Mr. BLILEY. Mr. Speaker, Jones Morgan is a man who deserves what he is due. Mr. Morgan, 109, is our Nation's oldest living war veteran. Unfortunately though, because of incomplete military records, Jones Morgan is being denied veterans benefits. Jones Morgan was a Buffalo Soldier who served with the 9th Cavalry in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. He ran away from home and joined the Army when he was 15. Mr. Morgan tended Teddy Roosevelt's horses and was present at the Rough Riders' charge up San Juan Hill. Although not used in combat, Mr. Morgan was used for, as he says `domestic stuff -- anything needed fixing in the place, they sent me.' Two years later though, at the age of 17, Jones Morgan's parents finally caught up with him and ended his military career. Around the turn of the century Jones Morgan's military records were destroyed in a fire. Because complete records were not kept of underage Buffalo Soldiers, no records remain verifying that he was present. It is speculated that Mr. Morgan was a civilian who served with the 9th Cavalry. Frequently civilians were employed to perform nonmilitary duties in those times. Since Congress has extended wartime veteran status to other civilians who served the military, and since I believe Mr. Morgan was present with the 9th Cavalry, I stand here today committed to sponsoring a bill in the next Congress which will grant Mr. Morgan the benefits that he deserves. Jones Morgan lived to see the bold plaudits of the fierce Buffalo Soldiers of the Wild West era finally restored in American history books. When he died recently in Richmond, Va., his hometown for the past half century, the quiet, modest, diminutive man who frequented daytime shelters for meals was regarded as "a hero." At 110 years old, he was the last member of the Army's only Black regiment during the Spanish-American War and the settling of the West. For the last three years, Jones Morgan had become a popular military figure in Richmond, Va., even serving as the grand marshal in the Veterans of Foreign Wars parade. In fact, last year he traveled to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., for the dedication of a monument to the Buffalo Soldier. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the re-emergence of the achievements of the all-Black fighting unit cheered up the wrinkled GI veteran. In recent years, Morgan met everyone from former President Bush and Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to thousands of Virginia students who revered him. "I always said that my last days would be my best days," Morgan told high school students during a 108-year birthday bash they hosted for him. "And it came true." During an army career which started after he ran off as an underaged kid to join the cavalry in Columbia, S.C., Morgan once tended horses for Rough-Rider Teddy Roosevelt and cooked meals for his fellow soldiers. "We fought Indians, led wagon trains and kept order in Wild Western towns," Morgan often recalled. "We were credited with bringing in "Billy the Kid," he added. [Richmond Times-Dispatch, Sept 20, 1993] IN HONOR OF JONES MORGAN (Extension of Remarks - October 09, 1992) HON. L.F. PAYNE in the House of Representatives MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1992 Mr. PAYNE of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I noted with sadness in the paper the other day the recent passing away of the last remaining confirmed veteran of the Spanish-American War. It brought to mind a very special individual who I would like to bring to the attention of Congress, Mr. Jones Morgan of Richmond, VA. Mr. Morgan has been honored as our Nation's oldest living buffalo soldier, the last living member of the Army's only black regiments during the Spanish-American War. Next month, he turns 110 years old. The Indians called members of the 9th and 10th cavalry regiments `Buffalo Soldiers' because of their fierce fighting spirit. They are some of the most overlooked soldiers in American military history. Mr. Morgan in particular has come all the way from tending horses for Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders to fending off muggers on his neighborhood streets. All of his military records were lost in a fire some years ago, and the military has been unable to confirm his military service through their records. The combination of sketchy records among the black units, and his young age at the time, have contributed to his lack of status. As a result, he is not eligible for any veteran's benefits. Jones Morgan is one of the unsung heroes of our Nation, and I believe we owe him a debt of gratitude for his service to our country in a time of war. Next year, Representative Thomas Bliley will introduce legislation to grant Jones Morgan an honorary discharge from the Army, providing him the status of a veteran with all of the associated rights and benefits. But in the meantime, I wanted to take this opportunity to bring Jones Morgan to the attention of Congress and the American public, and to give him the thanks of a grateful nation. [source: Library of Congress]
Jasper Garrison - of Marion, Ill., died on June 5, 1987, at age 107 The nation's oldest war veteran, a man described by his daughter as a straight-laced person who never smoked or drank, died Thusday at the age of 107, the Veterans Administration said today. Mr. Garrison, who served in the Spanish-American War beginning in 1898, died of heart failure at the V.A. hospital here, said Frances Gilliam, a hospital spokeswoman. ''Somebody asked him how he lived so long,'' said Mr. Garrison's daughter, Lena Hays. ''He said, 'God forgot about me.'' Only three other veterans of the Spanish-American War are still alive, a V.A. spokesman, Chuck Lucas, said in confirming that Mr. Garrison was the nation's oldest living veteran. ''He was a very straight-laced person,'' said Mrs. Hays, of nearby Christoper, who asked that her age not be disclosed. ''He never drank, he never smoked.'' Born May 1, 1880, in Wayne County, Mr. Garrison enlisted in the Fourth Illinois Volunteer Army in June 1898. He arrived in Havana that August and spent nine months on the island in the Spanish-American War. Replacing Mr. Garrison as the country's oldest living veteran is 102-year-old S. Leroy Mendel, a native of Fort Worth, Tex., now residing in Galva, Ill., Mr. Lucas said. Published: NY Times, June 6, 1987