McCracken, John W.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: MCCR.J023
• _FGRAVE: 40576070

Family/Spouse: Webber, Sarah Jane. Sarah was born on 8 Aug 1808 in New York; died on 2 Nov 1889 in Daviess County, Indiana; was buried in Mount Olive Cemetery, Cannelburg, Daviess County, Indiana. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: MCCR.W009
• _FGRAVE: 63739096
• Military Service: American Civil War, Company G, Private, 42nd Indiana Infantry Regiment

Notes:

Military Service:
McCracken, William Nelson - Company G, 42nd RegimentBorn 11 Nov 1828, Daviess County, Indiana; died 15 May 1910; 5'7", sandy complexion, dark hair, grey eyes. Enrolled as a private in Company G, 42nd Regiment. Mustered into service on 10 Oct 1861. Discharged at Lexington, Kentucky on 14 Oct 1864. Detailed as a teamster on the march from Huntsville, AL to Louisville, KY. Issued invalid pension for complaints of heart disease, rheumatism and later, paralysis of left side of face.

Family/Spouse: Berry, Sarah. Sarah was born in 1830; died in 1906. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: MCCR.S012
• _FGRAVE: 91667100

Family/Spouse: Allen, Mary Elizabeth. Mary was born on 28 Sep 1844 in Daviess County, Indiana; died on 18 Sep 1921 in Washington, Daviess County, Indiana; was buried in Mount Olive Cemetery, Cannelburg, Daviess County, Indiana. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: MCCR.J024
• _FGRAVE: 76600657
• Military Service: American Civil War, Sergeant, Company G, 42nd Indiana Infantry Regiment

Notes:

One relative estimates the estate of Mr. McCracken to be worth $50,000 or $60,000. The bulk of the estate is in farming lands. A partial distrubion of the cash was made several weeks agog by Mr. McCracken he realizing that chaces were against his recovery. He amassed his fortune by econimical living and assiduous work and it may be truthfully said that he was the architect of his own fortune.

Military Service:
He enlisted in Company "G" 42nd Regiment of Volunteers on 28 September 1861 at Washington, Indiana, and on 10 October 1861 he was mustered in at Evansville, Indiana, whith his brothers William Nelson, Thomas and Henry McCracken. John James McCracken was 28 years old and entered the service as a Sergeant.

The 42nd Indiana lost eight killed, fifty-three wounded and thirty-one captured at the Battle of Chickamauga. They fought under General Thomas who became known as "The Rock of Chickamauga" because it was his corps that held the line against the Confederates agter the rest of the Union army retreated in confusion. John James McCracken was one of the 9,756 Union soldiers who were wounded in the battle. His wound required the amputation of the right index finger. After the hand had healed, he was transferred to the Veterans Reserve Corps because he could no longer shoot a rifle. At Cliffburn Barrancks, D.C., on 28 May 1864, John was discharged being unfit for duty and having just five months of his enlistment to serve.

Died:
John J. McCracken, who was one of the wealthiest men of the county, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. jacob Clark, near Glendale, Saturday afternoon, of Brights disease.

John married Ingram, Adaline in 1867. Adaline was born on 6 Dec 1844 in Harrison County, Indiana; died on 10 Dec 1880 in Daviess County, Indiana; was buried in Bethany Cemetery, Washington, Daviess County, Indiana. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: MCCR.T005
• _FGRAVE: 76600945
• Military Service: American Civil War, Company G, 42nd Indiana Volunteer,

Notes:

Military Service:
When the Civil War began, John McCracken and his wife Sarah Jane (Webber) McCracken were the parents of seven sons and two daughters. Four of their sons enlisted in Company "G" 42nd Indiana Regiment of Volunteer Infantry on 28 September 1861. They were: Thomas, William Nelson, John James and Henry. Thomas McCracken Was twenty-five years old at the time of his enlistment, having been born 5 October 1835 in Barr Township, Daviess County, Indiana. Shortly after enlistment the "boys" of the 42nd Indiana were vaccinated for smallpox at their camp near Calhoun, Kentucky. This was unusual, as very little was known about what caused the disease--let alone how to prevent it. During the first winter of their service, the 42nd Regiment experienced a great deal of sickness. There was an outbreak of measles in the camp causing several deaths, and many soldiers had such severe complications that they were never fit for duty again. Thomas McCracken was one of the soldiers who was so sick that he was sent to a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee in late February 1862. After about a month, he was transferred to a hospital in Louisville, and at that time he wrote to his family telling them about his illness. His older brother Samuel Clark McCracken was sent to Louisville by their father to bring Thomas Home. He was able to obtain a furlough and went home to Barr Township for two months, hoping to regain his health. In a short time, his brother "Clark" Became ill with what was at first believed to be chickenpox. But, they soon discovered that "Clark" had smallpox and had exposed the rest of the family. It is believed that "Clark" contracted the disease while visiting the hospital at Louisville. By the time that all of the family was out of danger, Thomas was well enough to report back to the hopital at Louisville. He was sent to the front and reached the regiment at Huntsville, Alabama. At the battle of Missionary Ridge, Tomas McCracken was wounded on the right side of the face. A musket ball entered through the cheek and lodged in the jaw damaging the jaw and the facial muscles. It was removed by a doctor at a field hospital set up in a Methodist Church at Chatanooga. he was transferred to a hospital in Nashville, and after a short convalescence returned to his regiment. Thomas McCracken saw combat in approximately twety-four battles and skirmishes, including Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, the Battles for Chattanooga and the Battles for Atlanta before he was discharged 17 october 1864 at Villanova, Georgia. His gunshot wound healed, but he suffered from the effects of his illnesses for the rest of his life and was pensioned from the U.S.Government as a result. In 1871 he married Amanda Jane Bastin in Monroe County, Indiana. He was 35 and she was 16. Amanda was the younger sister of Nancy (Bastin) McCracken who was married to Thomas' first cousin, Charles McCracken. Thomas died 8 April 1901 at the age of 65 and is buried at Mount Olive Baptist Church Cemetery.

Died:
Thomas McCracken, who died Monday afternoon at his home two and a half miles southeast of Montgomery had been sick for over three months from cancer of the liver. His condition, however, did not become serious until two weeks ago.

Family/Spouse: Bastin, Amanda Jane. Amanda was born in 1854; died in 1923. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: MCCR.H004
• _FGRAVE: 76599914
• Military Service: American Civil War, Corporal, Company G, 42nd Indiana Infantry Regiment

Notes:

Military Service:
Henry enlisted as a private in Company "G" 42nd Regiment of Indiana Volunteers on 28 September 1861 at the age of 18. His brothers John James, Thomas,and William Nelson McCracken enlisted at the same time. They were mustered in on 10 October 1861 at Evansville.
During December of 1861 the 42nd was ordered to move its camp from Henderson to Calhoun, Knetucky, where there was a concentration of Union troops. The weather was cold and rainy making the roads ankle-deep in mud. Each man was required to carry about seventy-five pounds of equipment in his knapsack in addition to his rifle and haversack. At night the regiment usually had to make camp in the mud and get their water from any availables stream. It was not long until one-third of the regiment was sick with typhoid, measles, pneumonia and dysentery. The result for Henry McCracken was frostbitten feet which caused him to have painful, swollen feet throughout his three years of service.

In the spring of 1863 Henry became ill with fever and was in a regimental hospital near Murfeesboro, Tennessee. His brother "Nelson" went to visit him every day until the 42nd moved on, leaving Henry in the hospital. When Henry rejoined his unit several months later his relatives were shocked to see him because he had lost his hair as a result of his illness.

At the Battle of Resaca, 15 May 1864, the 42nd was being supported by a battery of six pound Napoleon guns. These were muzzle-loading cannons with a maximum effective range of 800 to 1,000 yards. They fired two to three rounds a minute. The cannons were on a hill above a branch of water. Company "G:, 42nd, as below the artillery and some of the men were ordered to lay down in the water to protect themselves. The water was cold and Henry went into the water reluctantly and only after he was ordered to do so by his officers. He laid in the water for several hours with cannons being fired over his head. When he came out of the water after dark he had a fever. As a result of fever, exposure and the concussion of the cannons, his hearing was damaged.

Henry McCracken was discharged as a Corporal, 17 October 1864 at Villanova, Georgia.

Family/Spouse: Hanks, Mary Jane. Mary was born on 1 Jan 1847; died on 13 Oct 1904; was buried in Bethany Cemetery, Washington, Daviess County, Indiana. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: MCCR.M013
• _FGRAVE: 91667067

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: MCCR.M014

Family/Spouse: Norris. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Reference Number: MCCR.O003

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: MCCR.C005

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: MCCR.M016

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: MCCR.B007