Mary Elder (1835-1889)

 
            Mary Elvira Elder was born in Bloomingburg, Fayette County, Ohio on September 18, 1835 according to her grave marker, or November 15, 1835 according to her obituary. Her parents were Dr. Eleazor and Catherine Perkins Martin. She was the sixth child, though three older brothers died of scarlet fever before her birth in 1833.  Her father had a medical practice near their home, and Mary and her sister Clara attended school in Bloomingburg.

            In 1854, when Mary was twenty-one, the Martin family traveled east to visit family, shop, and see sights such as New York City’s famous Crystal Palace, which was built the year before for the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations. When they returned to Ohio, the family decided to move to Illinois. Dr. Martin had purchased land in McLean County, where the town of Martin Township is now, but the family came to Bloomington instead in 1854. They settled at 77 East Front Street.

            The Elder family also came to Bloomington in 1854 and settled at 97 East Grove Street near the Martins. The two families most likely met through church, social activities, and the fact that the oldest Elder son, William, was a physician just like Dr. Martin. William’s brother, Charles Stewart Elder, worked as an apprentice “tinner” (tinsmith), and also as a hardware salesman at one point. Mary and Charles were married on September 2, 1856 in Bloomington. It is said that Abraham Lincoln may have attended the ceremony.  After their wedding, Mary and Charles moved to Lexington and had three children—Lora, Josephine (Jossie), and Eddie—as well as another son who died in infancy.

            On April 12, 1861, the Civil War broke out, and Charles enlisted in the 33^rd Illinois Volunteer Regiment Band in August of that year. We do not know what instrument he or any of the other band members mentioned played, but we do know that Charles, along with a Mr. Augustus C. Woodward, were the leaders of the band. As band leaders, it is likely that they would have played either a B-flat or an E-flat cornet, but there is no way to know for sure. During his time in service between September 1861 and August 1862, Charles and Mary kept a close correspondence through letters. Twenty letters survive today (13 from Charles to Mary and 7 from Mary to Charles), and many of these imply more letters were written but have long since been lost. This is not surprising, considering that Charles would have had to carry the letters around through the mud, rain, and battles that he faced, and it is amazing that he was able to preserve this many.

            For the first several months of his service, Charles was stationed in Ironton, Missouri, south of St. Louis. During the Civil War, Missouri was a slave state but politically part of the Union. Although rural Missouri was breathtakingly beautiful, it rained often and was bitterly cold. However, Charles considered himself lucky, for being a band leader allowed him essentially the same privileges and compensation as an officer in the regiment. The tent that Charles and Woodward shared was better than that of the common soldier. Charles described the tent in one letter as a large tent with three foot walls and a fly—which was an extra cover used to keep rain and sun off of the tent. They did not have to perform guard duty or follow the same strict code of rules as the other soldiers did.

            During his time in Ironton, Charles’ duties involved copying music, leading rehearsals, raising money for new instruments and uniforms, and playing the “call to arms” whenever the Confederate rebels were approaching. The band had muskets prepared to fight along with the regiment if necessary, but its members were more often used for support duties, such as carrying water into the fort. Charles feared that the Confederates could attack any day, but after several boring weeks, he was hoping to see some action. On December 8, 1861, Charles found out that Confederate General McCulluch was marching towards them with 15,000 men, and he wrote to Mary that “we only fear that they will not come. A little fight would liven us up considerably. Whether we shall have it or not remains to be seen.” The letters do not tell us whether or not the Confederates actually attacked.

            However, Charles found himself embroiled in another, less dramatic conflict. In December 1861, Woodward became ill and returned to McLean County to recover, leaving Charles to assume the position of head band director in his absence. Charles felt a little insecure, but he was relieved when the band was cheered by all their listeners at their first performance for Colonel Charles Hovey—1^st president of Illinois State Normal University in Normal, Illinois. In his letter to Mary, Charles commented that Colonel Hovey came out after their performance and said he was “surprised to hear the band play so well without its leader.” Charles often felt overwhelmed by his duties and felt that in Woodward’s absence, he should be paid more. Mary kept an eye on Woodward’s recovery and often informed Charles of his progress until February 1862, when a letter from Charles makes it clear that Woodward has returned and they are sharing leadership duties. 

            In early March 1862, Charles left Ironton and continued heading south through Missouri toward Pocahontas, Illinois. They traveled 7-10 miles a day, which was considered a slow pace. Times were hard on that march. It rained for several days, and they only had two tents for twenty men. “We are in a god forsaken country. No mails no nothing. The country where we have been (Arcadia, Missouri perhaps?), is a paradise to this. I hope they will not keep us here long.”

            By April 26, 1862, Charles had reached Putnam’s Ferry, Missouri, where they camped near the home of a Confederate sympathizer. Here, they had to pitch their tents in mud and water up to their ankles. They made a makeshift floor out of boards from nearby fences. As there was no food nearby, they stole and ate livestock from the farm of the “secesh” (Confederate sympathizer). They also met up with a brigade made up of the 33^rd Illinois Infantry, the 11^th Wisconsin Battery, and the 9^th Illinois Cavalry and focused on getting ferries ready to cross the river to Pocahontas, Illinois. Yet Charles remained positive. “The worst part of this expedition is the trouble of getting news from loved ones at home. Otherwise I enjoy the trip very much.”

            The last letter from Charles was written on August 6, 1862 from Old Town Sandy, Arkansas, which was in Confederate territory. In it, Charles expressed hope that he would be home soon, though he found himself caught up in red tape and the status quo regarding his discharge. The General Order 91, passed July 17, 1862, required all volunteer bands be discharged because it had become too expensive to support them. Perhaps this came at the right time, because several members of their company were attacked on a plantation while gathering cotton. One man was wounded. A few days later, there was another skirmish and one man was killed, three wounded, and there were three taken prisoner. As Charles had been attending medical school prior to his enlistment, he was called upon to assist in amputating the arm of a wounded man. He also witnessed the surrender of a Confederate river boat and the return of its prisoners.

            Meanwhile, while Charles was off leading the band, Mary and their three children—Lora (age four), Jossie (age 2) and Eddie (age 1)—remained in Lexington with her parents. She did not write as often as Charles would have liked her to, but he assumed it was because she was busy with her social life and doing everything she could to keep a sense of normalcy at home for the children. This included hosting a tea party for Lora and seven other children and providing their children with candies, cakes, stockings, and carved wooden animals for Christmas. During the time Charles was away, the children aged considerably. Eddie was weaned from breast feeding, Jossie made huge improvements in her speech, and Lora learned how to write. Charles also missed the marriage and departure of Mary’s beloved hired helper, Katey. The children also came down with the measles, and Eddie had problems with his foot and his face, both of which were never described in great detail and he eventually recovered. While her letters were less frequent than her husbands’, she always mentioned how friends and family were doing, and any events that happened in the community.

            Yet while life was going on in Lexington, Charles was greatly missed. The family left an empty chair at the table during Thanksgiving and Christmas, keeping with the lyrics of a popular song by George F. Root called The Vacant Chair. Every time Charles was paid, he sent part of his earnings back to Mary (on one of the letters, a round impression can still be seen in the paper from the enclosed gold coin). She was very frugal with it, buying only what was necessary for herself and the children and either sending the rest back to Charles in the form of a gift or saving it so he could continue with medical school when he returned.

            After completing medical school, Charles and Mary moved the family to the new community of Chenoa between 1862 and 1865. Also, after Charles returned from the war, they had three more daughters—Lucy, Charlotte, and Grace, as well as one more son, Charles Jr. In 1877, the Elder family moved to Lincoln, Illinois, where Charles had a medical practice and sold drugs and other items in a downtown drugstore. By 1884, they returned to Chenoa, where they stayed for the rest of Mary’s life.

On July 18, 1889, Mary died suddenly in her Chenoa home after being sick for a year. She had been a charter member of the Star of Bethlehem Chapter No. 114, Order of Eastern Star, as well as one of the first members of St. Matthews Episcopal Church in Bloomington. Mary Elder was buried at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery with her parents and five children. Charles was still living at the time of her death.