Pvt. Hiram Thomas

Pvt. Hiram Thomas

 

D Co. 35th Mass. Inf.

   Home of record listed as Waltham, Mass.
   Wounded by Accident at Antietam.
   Transferred to the Hospital Dept. at Philadelphia.
   Discharged due to wound May 11, 1865.

   Moved to Elgin, Ill. in 1867.

   Member Elgin GAR Post #260.

       From the 1870 Census #237/310
Name - Hiram Thomas
Aged - 28 Years
Born - Maine
Home in 1870 - Elgin, Kane Co., Ill.

       From the Post #49 Files
Joined GAR Veteran's Post #49 May 20, 1884.
 
       Obit; Jan. 11, 1909 issue The Elgin Daily News.
   Elgin's Veteran watch maker, foreman of the plate room at the local factory for forty-one years, died very suddenly late Saturday afternoon at his home, 564 Chicago street.  He had been ill less than ten hours, suffering from neuralgia fo the heart.  He was 65 years of age.
   The end came at 5:45 o'clock and so quickly that it did not seem possible.  His physician had examined him, said that he was greatly improved, and turned toward the door to go.  He had not reached it when Foreman Thomas fell back in his chair, threw up his arms, and expired before the doctor or members of the family could reach him.
   Mr. Thomas was stricken ill while reading his morning paper.  He left his chair to pace the room, complaining the while of severe pains in his chest.  A physician was summoned and after his visit the patient was much improved.  He did not go to bed and during the afternoon felt so well that he talked with friends.  His death came but a moment after he had said that the pain had nearly left him.  Physicians believe a spasmodic contraction of the nerves in the heart caused the sudden death.
   The wife of the stricken man was prostrated by the shock.  News of the sudden demise spread like wild-fire about the city and was the subject for discussion wherever watch factory employes, who had known and respected him so many years, congregated.  Many refused to believe until they had confirmed the report.  A pall seemed to settle over the factory, especially in the dead foreman's room, when men and women realized their loss today.
   Mr. Thomas was one of the oldest and best loved, by his fellow workmen, of the employes of the Elgin National Watch company.  When 24 years of age he took charge of the plating department and for forty-one consecutive years directed the work in this branch of the industry.  He was the second foreman the room ever knew, taking the place of P.S. Bartlett, who was sent abroad in the interests of the factory.
   Besides being a well known watch maker the deceased was prominently affiliated with the Century club and with the Veteran Post, G.A.R., of this city.  He was at one time a member of the board of directors of the former club.  A man of unquestioned ability, honesty and thoughtfulness for the cares of others, he made friends wherever he went and was admired and respected by all of them.
   Hiram Thomas was born April 13, 1843, in Hingham, Plymouth county, Mass.  The common schools of the town and Derby Academy gave him his education and when a young man he began his career as a watch maker as an apprentice for three years to John Palsey, a Roxbury, Mass., Clockmaker.  In December, 1861, he entered the watch factory at Waltham, Mass., where he remained until the civil war called him.
   On August 6, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company D, Thirty-fifth Massachusetts Volunteers.  Less than two months later he was injured in an accident at the battle of Antietam.  For weeks he was confined to a hospital and then unfit for active work in the field, he was detailed to clerical service.  He was later attached to the hospital department in Philadelphia, where he remained until the close of the war.  He received his honorable discharge May 11, 1865.
   After the war he worked at Waltham and Newark, N.J. watch factories and then came to Elgin where he commenced May 21, 1867, in the plate room.  The following year he was made foreman, a position he held continuously until death.
   Mr. Thomas married Miss Martha S. Proud in Chicago in 1869.  They came to Elgin to live and the wife and only daughter, Mrs. Irving Peck, are the last remaining of a family of eleven children, his parents being William Thomas and Rachel Beal of Hingham, Mass.
   Prominent watch factory men, headed by Superintendent George E. Hunter, will be pall bearers at the funeral.  The men who will carry the casket of their brother workman to the vault where it will remain until spring are George E. Hunter, George Atherton, Alonzo Hobart, Samuel Treat, William B. Long and L.N. Jackman.
   The service will be conducted by Rev. W.I.A. Beale of the Church of th Redeemer.  It will be held at 2 o'clock at the house, 564 Chicago street, Tuesday.  The body will be placed in a vault at Bluff City cemetery.

       From the 1956 Kane Co. Honor Roll

Buried at - Bluff City Cemetery in Elgin, Ill.

Location - Lot 145, Section 13
Issued a Gov't Headstone

Used with permission Dan Mallett

Many members of Post #49 sewed watch faces to their ribbons to show they were from Elgin.