Capt. Pattison (Patterson) Sharp
D Co. 30th Ill. Vol. Inf.
Three Years Service
Dennis's Brigade
Logan's Division
Seventeenth Corps
Mustered In Aug. 25, 1861 as a Sgt.Home of record listed as Hutsonville.
Promoted 1st Lt. Jan. 28, 1862.
Promoted Capt. June 13, 1863.
Mustered Out July 8, 1865.
Known actions;
Belmont Nov. 7, 1861
Ft. Donelson, Tenn. Feb. 11, 1862
Siege of Corinth, Miss. April 29, 1862
Port Gibson, Miss. May 1, 1863
Raymond, Miss. May 12, 1863
Jackson, Miss. May 14, 1863
Champion's Hill, Miss. May 16, 1863
Big Black River, Miss. May 17, 1863
Siege of Vicksburg, Miss.
Meridian Feb. 14, 1864
Kennesaw Mt., Ga. June 27, 1864
Atlanta, Ga. Aug. 13, 1864
Ezra Chapel, Ga. July 28, 1864
Jonesboro, Ga. Aug. 31, 1864
Bentonville, NC March 19, '65
Post war;
Moved to Elgin, Ill.
Worked for D. C. Cook Publishing Co.
Chief Mailing Clerk US Post Office.
Joined Elgin GAR Veteran's Post #49 May 20, 1884.
Member of the Maccabees.
Member Modern Woodmen of America.
Resided at 74 Center St.
Obit; Jan. 24, 1894 issue of The Elgin Daily News.
The sudden death of Capt. Patterson Sharp was a severe shock to his relatives and many acquaintances in this city. The news reached this city by telegraph about midnight. Death overtook him Tuesday evening at the Windsor hotel in Bloomington, Ill. Particulars at this writing are very meagre and the facts can be drawn only from a few telegraphic brevities.
Capt. Sharp left Elgin Monday afternoon about 4:30 o'clock for Bloomington to attend the annual state convention of the American Protective association of which he was a member.
He was not enjoying quite his usual good health, and complained slightly to his wife of feeling ill. He expected to arrive home today.
A telegram from Bloomington was received just before midnight at police headquarters, addressed to the chief of police. It said that Capt. Sharp of Elgin was dead, requested that the family be notivied, and asked for instructions. Marshall Myhre was not at the station, and Officer Schmuhl opened the telegram. Upon Sergeant Munshaw devolved the painful necessity of notifying deceased's wife, Mrs. S.C. Sharp, of No. 2 Center street. The intelligence was a terrible blow, although broken to her as gently as possible.
An undertaker was consulted and Sergeant Munshaw filed a return dispatch at the milwaukee depot at 1:20 o'clock this morning, asking for further particulars and stating that a man to take charge of the remains would start for Bloomington upon the first train this morning. G.A. Thornburg and Mrs. Sharp left about 7 o'clock. The expect to arrive here with teh remains this evening.
In view of Sergeant Munshas's telegraphic request for particulars, the police expected another telegram during the night. Nothing was received until about 7 o'clock this morning when a dispatch came to Marshal Myhre--simply a repetition of the first one.
The wording of the first dispatch, "Capt. Sharp is dead," led the authorities to infer that he had perhaps met with a violent death. His relatives here state that he was not subject to heart disease, so far as they know.
After Mrs. Sharp's departure this morning a dispatch addressed to her was opened by her niece, Mrs. Al Gleason, of 216 Ann street. It stated that Capt. Sharp had died suddenly at the Windsor hotel. Later this morning Marshal Myhre received two telegrams as follows: One from H.E. Geer, chairman committee, reading, "Capt. Sharp is cared for by friends, 1,000 strong." The second dread, "Capt. Sharp is cared for by friends." and was signed by J.F. Hale, coroner. The "friends, 1,000 strong" is presumed to refer to members of the A.P.A.
Neither Mr. Sharp's departure for Bloomington nor his business there was known to more than two or three of his Elgin friends. Capt. Sharp was never communicative about his private business affairs. Even the post office clerks, where he was employed, did not know of his destination of business. Those who did know expressed a suspicion of foul play. The A.P.A., of which Capt. Sharp was a member, is an anti-Catholic organization, and it was the state convention that he had gone to attend. The order is very strong in Bloomington.
Since the fall of 1889 deceased had been chief mailing clerk in the postoffice. previous to that and since 1882, about when he came here from Missouri, he filled a similar position in D.C. Cook's publishing house. The situation is one which requires peculiar adaptability, as well as a large fund of information about traffic lines, and the captain had the reputation of being particularly skillful at throwing mail.
He was quite a radical thinker in all political questions, and never averse to expressing his opinions. During the last presidential campaign he was a local leader of the people's party. He had $4,000 life insurance in the Maccabees and Woodmen. In the former order he had been an officer. It is said he previously had $7,000, and only within a few weeks dropped $3,000 by withdrawing from the royal Arcanum.
His title of captain was secured from actual service in the union army during the late war. He was a member of Veteran post, G.A.R., and that organization will have charge of the funeral.
Deceased leaves no children. His wife, Mrs. S.C. Sharp, was Miss Sarah Collins of Manistee, Mich., whom he married since his residence in Elgin. She clerked in T.F. Swan's store about a year ago. At that time Mr. and Mrs. Sharp resided at 74 Center street. Recently their home had been No. 2 Center street, one of Dr. H.K. Whitford's flats. Except his wife, deceased has no relatives in this city.
Mrs. Sharp is prominent among the Lady Maccabees and she was in Dundee until a late hour Tuesday evening, officiating as installing officer for the Lady Maccabees there. She had just returned when Sergeant Munchaw, with his fatal news, rang the bell.
Special to the Daily News.
Bloomington, Ill., Jan. 24--Capt. Patterson Sharp of Elgin died very suddenly about 7 o'clock lasst evening at O'Kane's hotel, near the union depot. He arriveed in the city at 10:30 Tuesday morning, went to O'Kane's hotel, got a room and retired. About 4 o'clock he came down stairs and reported to the man in charge of the house that he was ill. He complained of severe pains in the region of the stomach. He soon got better and again went to bed. When Mr. O'Kane went to Mr. Sharp's room yesterday morning he found his guest quite sick, and at his request sent for a doctor. The man told him his name and residence, and said that he was a member of the G.A.R. or Sons of Veterans, Mr. O'Kane doesn't remember which, and also of the Modern Woodmen of America, and asked Mr. O'Kane to notify both of these organizations of his illness. Mr. O'Kane telephoned up town asking that the Modern Woodmen be notified. The stranger refused to allow Mr. O'Kane to telegraph his friends, saying that he was not seriously ill and did not want to alarm his friends; that he "would be all right tomorrow." He said that he was not well when he left home. At 6 p.m. Mr. O'Kane again visited the man and found him comfortable. At 7 o'clock Mr. O'Kane's daughter went to the sick man's room with a light supper and found him dying. In less than ten minutes he breathed his last. His body was removed to an undertaker's and an inquest will be held today. The physician who attended says he died of gastric colic.
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| Used with permission Dan Mallett |
Many members of Post #49 sewed watch faces to their ribbons to show they were from Elgin.
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