Ionia-Eaton County MI Archives News..... GRANDPA GRIEVES June 1982 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/mifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: LaVonne Bennett lib@dogsbark.com April 22, 2008, 1:03 pm THE SEBEWA RECOLLECTOR, Bulletin Of The Sebewa Association; Volume 17, June 1982, Number 6. Submitted With Written Permission Of Grayden D. Slowins, Editor: June 1982 GRANDPA GRIEVES John Grieves was a seventeen year old boy, who lived in Steuben County, New York state, when the President of the U.S., Abraham Lincoln, called for volunteers to join up in the Civil War in 1860. His parents were not in favor of his joining the service when he was so young. John climbed out of his upstairs bedroom window one night, ran out and enlisted in the Thirty-Fifth New York Infantry, Co. F., then drilling at Corning, N.Y., and then to Washington, D.C. where they camped on Meridian Heights and took part in the first battle of Bull Run, covered the retreat from that battle and camped at Arlington, near the present site of the National Cemetery. Mr. Grieves (our grandfather) served in the battles of Fredericksburg, Yorktown and the Seven Days battle, then went with his company overland to Cedar Mountain and fought in the battles of the Rappanhannock, White Sulphur Springs and the second battle of Bull Run. Then they proceeded to South Mountain and Antietam, where they crossed the Potomac to Warrentown. He was present when McClellan was relieved of his command, which was given to Burnside. In the battle of Fredericksburg, Mr. Grieves fought in “Franklin’s Grand Division”, which crossed the Potomac on pontoon bridges to Chancellorsville. He was mustered out of service June 11, 1863 and reenlisted in December 1863 in Co. L, Fourth Heavy Artillery at Cohocton, N.Y. He then fought in the second battle of Chancellorsville in 1864 and in the battle of Spottsylvania Courthouse and Cold Harbor. At City Point they were given mortar batteries and stationed before Petersburg during the winter of 1864. In the spring of 1865 Co. L was ordered to follow up the Second Corps Artillery Brigade where he was present at the surrender of Lee at Appomatix, April 9, 1865 and then the war was over. He was mustered out of service at Hart’s Island, N.Y. September of 1865, having served through the entire war without once being wounded or captured by the enemy. He came to Michigan shortly after the war and obtained work in the lumber woods. He became acquainted with and hired by Horace Goodwin, who was a lumberman in the woods. Goodwin, with his wife and eight children lived in the area of Bear Lake, Michigan. John met and became acquainted with the hired girl of the Goodwin family. Her name was Marion Ruth Thompson from Alto, Bowne Township, Kent County. She was assisting her older sister (Mrs. Goodwin), Adelia, with the housework and care of her family. Their friendship grew and they were married in April 1870. He was a stone mason by trade, following in the footsteps of his father in that business. The family later moved from Kent County and settled near Maple Corners near Portland. While living there he carried on his trade. One of the walls he built is along the street on Dilley Hill at the west end of Bridge Street in Portland. He later bought land north of Morrison Lake and built a large frame house for his family on Townline Road south of Saranac where they lived and their family grew to adulthood. John and Marion lived on this farm some forty years before his death in 1925. During his lifetime he was active in the Hiel P. Clark G.A.R. Post in Saranac and his wife was a member of the W. R. C. there also. He attended Co. battalion meetings very faithfully and he always planned each year to attend the Ionia Free Fair and usually visited his brother, William and family, who lived on their homestead farm north of Ionia in Ronald Township. He spent some time in Ionia at the home of one of his son’s and attended the Fair with him. He last attended the Fair at the age of 81 years and returned home with the statement, “This is the best fair I’ve ever attended.” He seemed always to have on hand little packages of spruce gum and horehound candy and the grand children thought he was great. They also remember the red- hot cinnamon drops from the big black bureau drawer in the kitchen that grandmother kept for them. Mrs. Ruth A. (Harry) York of the Sebewa Center area was the eldest of their five children. They had 19 grandchildren, 15 lived to adulthood, ten were boys and seven served in the military service of their country. Ruth taught country school prior to her marriage to Harry York. She was always active in community affairs prior to her death in 1947. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/ionia/newspapers/grandpag140gnw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mifiles/ File size: 5.1 Kb