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id	first	middle	last	dob	dod	cod
176	Martin		Smith	12/31/1843	1/7/1872	Dropsy

veteran	exhumed	purchaser	cemetery
TRUE	FALSE		Adams Street

lot	plot
	R10 G1 military footstone G2 personal headstone, bricks with a rose and inscription "My Husband" with illegible dates

relations

Patrick (father, b. c1820) Bridget (mother, b. c1825) Bridget (sister, b. c1856) Ann (sister, b. 28 January 1859- d. 8 January 1865) Wife (name unknown)

military branch	date served	war
Army	9/27/1862-7/9/1865	Civil War

rank	medals	unit
Private	N/A	Company C., 124th Ohio Infantry

military comments

Age 19 years at enlistment. He was Mustered Out at Nashville, TN. He enlisted on 9/27/1862 and was discharged on 7/9/1865. He was buried at Adams Street Cemetery.

military sources

Inscriptions from the Old Berea Cemetery 1904, Berea Historical Society "Heres a List of Soldiars Dead", May 30, 1930, Berea Historical Society "City Cemetery" small ledger copy, Berea Historical Society "The Berea Enerprise" 6/24/1932 p.1 c.1-2, p.6 c.5-6 Civil War Research Database, citing Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State ofOhio,online www.civilwardata.com

comments

Martin was born on 31 December 1843 in Ireland. He is listed in the 1860 U.S. Census with his father, mother, and siblings. His father was a farmer with $300 real estate and $200 personal property. Martin enlisted in the Union Army as a private on 27 September 1862. He served in Company C of the 124th Ohio Infantry. This regiment was involved in the battle of Chickamauga and the siege of Chattanooga in 1863; the battles of Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain and Peach Tree Creek; the siege of Atlanta, and the battles of Jonesboro, Franklin, and Nashville in 1864. He was mustered out on 9 July 1865 at Nashville, TN. The Berea Enterprise says he lived with his father on Adams Street. Martin died on 9 January 1872 at the age of 28. He has a Civil War military headstone and a family footstone. The family stone is a scroll laid on bricks, with a rose atop it. On the east face it says "MARTIN SMITH Member of Co. C. 124 O. Inf.[illegible] DIED Jan. 7, 1872. Aged 28 yrs. 7 D" and the west "MY HUSBAND [illegible] soldier [illegible]." The stone was recorded but not completely transcribed in both 1904 and 1934 surveys. The stone is grayed and dirty white marble. The Advertiser, the local newspaper, mentioned Martin on 18 July 1868: "The city buss has been purchased from Mr. George Canniff by Mr. Martin Smith. While we regret to part with George, we gladly welcome Martin." The 12 December 1868 edition of The Advertiser mentioned Martin: "Martin Smith, the Omnibusman says, he can’t make out how people can afford to walk to and from the depot, with the mud knee deep, when they can ride the whole distance (more than a mile) for the sum of twenty-five cents. A small premium will be paid for a correct answer to the above." On 24 April 1869, The Grindstone City Advertiser reported that Martin had suffered an injury: "Accident.—Mr Martin Smith had a foot badly jammed at the depot on Monday last. He was attempting to cross from one side of the track to the other and stepping on a freight car just as the engine was backing up, had his foot caught between the bumpers and quite badly crushed." The paper also noted on 15 May 1869: "Omnibus.—Martain [sic] Smith says he has found the ‘taykittle” and that he still continues to run his “Bus” to and from the depot, for only twenty-five cents." 3 June 1869, the Grindstone City Advertiser published: "Dead Heads.—Mr. Martin Smith wishes to say to gentlemen who come under the above heading, that, at the present it is impossible to buy feed and pay other expenses unless he raises their fare to the usual price, twenty-five cents. Please remember." Martin's occupation was mentioned in the 30 October 1869 Grindstone City Advertiser: "Omnibus.—We would state for the benefit of unwilling pedestrians, that Martin runs an Omnibus to and from the principal trains, offering to the traveling public a fine opportunity to ride.—price only a quarter. He says, that there is always room for one more in his buss. P.S.—He does not run to the “Bobtail” in the morning, unless by speciai[sic] contract, as that is too small potatoes for him." His card also ran in the GCA: "Martin Smith Proprietor of the City Omnibus, Will meet each passenger train at the depot. Passengers carried to or from any part of the city. Leave at my residence, one door east of Nokes House" (6 March 1869). Another mention of Martin Smith: "Martin Smith Esq. requests us to say that he will see his pony at a price proportionate to its size,-- by the pound we presume, as it is a small pony the price will be small also. He will not sell his buss though." (6 November 1869, Grindstone City Advertiser) Martin was listed in the wrong cemetery in a previous GCA: "Corrections in Soldiers list The name of Martin Smith, Co. C., 24th OVI, and Earnest Leseman, 62 Ill Vol Inf should be added to the list of soldiers buried in the village cemetery, and the name of Simeon Canniff, published last week , as buried in the Township Cemetery, we are informed should be changed to the village cemetery list" (27 May 1875, Grindstone City Advertiser). Matin Smith's gravemarker was a marble foot tombstone. It had broke into 2 pieces, was sunken, tolted, and was covered with moss and lichens. The gravemarker was damaged due to settling, vegetation, and weathering. The gravemarker was cleaned with D-2, had the base releveled, and had mortared stone to the base. For the repairs D-2, water, set-rite monument setting compond, sand, and gravel was used. The tombstone was inscribed: "Martin Smith Member of Co. C 124 Died Jan 7, 1872, Aged 28 Yrs. 7 D." (East Face) and "My Husband Rest Soldier Rest, Thy Warfare is...." (West Face). He was born on December 31, 1843 and died on January 7, 1872 at 28 years and 7 days old from dropsy. He was a private in the Civil War 9/27/1862-7/9/1865. "Martin Smith, Co. B, 124th O.V.I. Here a similar answer was made by H.E. Foster[see David Pardee]. The decorating committee, next gathered around the grave."

sources

E. S. Loomis and D. T. Gould, "Inscriptions from the Old Berea Cemetery," 1904; Adams Street Cemetery folder, Berea Historical Society "Here's a List of Berea's Soldier Dead," Berea Enterprise, 30 May 1930; Adams Street Cemetery folder, Berea Historical Society "List of Burials and Names 1856-1871," City of Berea Records Berea Enterprise, 24 June 1932, p.1 c.1-2, p.6 c.5-6 "Cuyahoga Cemetery Inscriptions," Vol. I, compiled by the Western Reserve Historical Society, 1934 1860 US Federal Census, Series M653 Roll 954 Page 0 Berea Enterprise, 4 June 1898 Labaj, Donald G. "Burials at Adams Street Cemetery." CD-ROM; Berea Historical Society Martin Smith tombstone photographs, Jeremy Feador, 2006, 2007. The Advertiser, 18 July 1868 The Advertiser, 12 December 1868 The Grindstone City Advertiser, 24 April 1869 GCA ,15 May 1869 GCA, 3 July 1869 GCA, 30 October 1869 GCA, 6 March1869 GCA, 6 November 1869 GCA, 27 May 1875 Sample Survey Sheet for Individual Burial Markers, Martin Smith, J. Orlando, 23 July 2009. The Berea Advertiser, Martin Smith, June 1874.