3rd great-grandfather of Bethany Hoover

Private    Co. C     68th Ohio Infantry 

Dates of Service: 31 Dec 1863 - 13 Feb 1864    

** Died of Disease

Lewis Kiser was born in Mercer County, Ohio in 1836 or 1837, the son of John and Margaret Kiser.  His younger siblings were Sarah, Clarissa and John Kiser.  By 1860, the family was living in Harrison Township, Paulding County, Ohio.  Their neighbors were Henry and Catharine (Bercongles) Howell and Lewis married their daughter Mary Ann Howell on December 13, 1857 in Paulding County, Ohio.  Lewis was 21 years old and Mary Ann was 16.  

By 1863, Lewis and Mary Ann had four children, Romanus born February 27, 1858 (my 2nd great-grandfather), Catharine born April 10, 1859, Henry born December 5, 1860, Daniel born November 25, 1862 and Mary Ann was expecting a fifth child.   He was working as a farmer in Carryall Township, Paulding County, Ohio.  On December 31, 1863, Lewis enlisted into Co. C, 68th Ohio Infantry for a term of three years.  His enlistment papers describe him as 5 foot 9 inches with blue eyes, brown hair and a fair complexion.  He was given an advance of $60 from his $300 bounty.  He was mustered in on January 5, 1864 in Toledo and received one-month advance pay of $13.  He was issued one hat, one cap, one great coat, one flannel sack coat, one pair of trousers, 2 pairs of cotton drawers, 2 flannel shirts, one pair of boots, one woolen blanket, one haversack, one knapsack and one canteen.  He owed the Army $22.20 for these supplies.  Upon reaching Vicksburg, Mississippi on February 7, 1864, he was hospitalized for measles and pneumonia.  He died from these diseases on February 13, 1864.  He was subsequently buried in the Vicksburg National Cemetery in Vicksburg, Mississippi under the name Lewis Kyser. 

His widow Mary Ann filed and was awarded a widow’s pension on May 17, 1864.  She gave birth to their fifth child named Lewis in March, 1864.  Lewis Kiser never lived to see his last child.  She subsequently married Stephen Moore on September 7, 1864 in Paulding County, Ohio.  She then married William McCallum on February 26, 1868 in Allen County, Indiana and on September 13, 1868 gave birth to Fanny McCallum.  On March 29, 1869, the Paulding County, Ohio Probate Court made William McCallum the guardian of Romanus, Catharine and Henry Kiser.  No mention is made of Daniel and Lewis Kiser.  The Allen County, Indiana Circuit awarded William McCallum guardianship of the three children and he was awarded their minor’s pension on June 28, 1869.  On the 1880 Census, Mary Ann McCallum is a widow living with Fanny McCallum and Henry Kiser.  On October 28, 1881, Mary Ann married Simon Cuttings in Paulding County, Ohio.  Simon Cuttings remarried in 1888, so I do not know if Mary Ann passed away or remarried.  I have yet to find her.

This is only one of many families torn apart by the Civil War by the loss of their father.  My great-great-grandfather, Romanus Kiser, went on to marry Sarah Jane Stewart and have seven children.  Romanus was a minister and around 1880 moved his family to Gratiot County, Michigan.   He died in 1935, a well-respected man in his community.  I think his father would have been proud of him.      

GRAVESITE: Vicksburg National Cemetery in Vicksburg, Mississippi 

Submitted by Bethany Hoover, PDP, March 4, 2020