IDFirstMiddleLastDOBDODCOD
20SimeonS.Canniff18333/7/1872consumption

veteran
exhumed
purchaser
cemetery
TRUEFALSEN/AAdams Street

lot
plot
N/AR1 G4 north face of family stone; G5 military stone; footstone present to SE of stone.
relations
A wife (name unknown) A son (name unknown) Anna Canniff (mother) Jane Ann Canniff (sister) George Burlingame Canniff (brother, age 25 in 1860, age 34 in 1870) Ellen Engle Canniff (sister-in-law) William Canniff (nephew, age 8 in 1870; engineer, age 18 in 1880) George Canniff (nephew, age 6 in 1870, age 13 in 1880) William Engle (father-in-law, farmer, age 66 in 1880) Almira Engle (mother-in-law, age 60 in 1880)

military branch
date served
war
Army10/5/1861 -5/9/1862, 12/5/1962-5/9/1863Civil War

rank
medals
unit
Srgt.N/ACompany E., 65 Ohio Infantry; 5th Independent Company Ohio Sparpshooters.

military comments
Age 27 at Muster-In First in "E" Co. OH 65th Infantry, discharged for disability on 8/9/1862 at Nashville, TN. Then joined with SS.Discharged for disability in Columbus OH from SS.

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 He died of disease on 1/26/1864 at Madison, IN Cuyahoga County Recorders Office, Veterans Services, online

comments
The 1904 Inscriptions from the Old Berea Cemetery stated, "Canniffe, Anna, mother of Simeon S., d. Dec 20, 1882 ae 71 Jane Ann, d. Oct 21, 1878 ae 88 Simeon S. Co E., 65 O. Inf., d. May 7, 1872, ae 37." The Cuyahoga County Cemetery Inscriptions states, "S.S. Canniff, Co E., 65 O Inf Marker." Simeon was enumerated in the 1860 census in Middleburg, as "Simon," age 27, a carpenter; with mother Ann, age 49, Jane, age 23, and George Burlingame, age 25. The obituary for Miss Jane Ann Canniff mentions her brothers Simeon and George. He enlisted as a sergeant in Civil War Union Army on 5 Oct 1861, Co. E, 65th Ohio Infantry. He was 28 years old. He was discharged 6 Aug 1862 in Nashville TN for on surgeon's certificate of disability, but reenlisted as a private on 23 Oct 1862, 5th Independent Co. Ohio Sharpshooters. He was again discharged 9 May 1863 on surgeon's certificate disability (Labaj). The family appears to have been afflicted with pulmonary tuberculosis; he, his brother, and his sister all died of it (Jane Caniff obituary). Simeon ran for Township clerk in 1871 and with 93 votes, was declared the victor; he also appears to have run for the office of constable but received only one vote (his own?) (Grindstone City Advertiser, 31 March 1871). His relations with his family were complicated, as is indicated from the following article in the Grindstone City Advertiser from 28 June 1871: "Struggle for a child. Berea was the scene, on Tuesday, of one of the most singular social conflicts that ever occurred within her peaceful borders. It was a struggle between an undivorced husband and his wife, who have not lived together for over a year, for the possession of their only child, a boy aged about three years. The circumstances are briefly told as follows: Mr. S.S. Canniff, the husband and one of our most respectable citizens, is a feeble invalid suffering from injuries received in the United States service during the rebellion. A little more than a year ago, he was sick with a fever and, it is alleged was not properly cared for by his wife. Recovering, he accused her of neglect and a difficulty ensued which ended in a separation, the husband remaining in Berea, and the wife removing to the house of a brother residing in Strongsville. Since then the question of the custody of their child has been a constantly recurring source of trouble, Mr. C. insisting upon its company a part of the time at least, and, considering the sad condition of his health, it would seem that the consolation of his little one’s presence for at least half of the time, was rightly demanded. Not succeeding in his object by reason, expostulation, or appeal, Mr. C, on Tuesday morning, went to Strongsville in a carriage, and accompanied with a neighbor, to bring home his child. Arrived at the house of his brother-in-law, the little one was found playing in the front yard and immediately taken by its father into the carriage and brought to the hotel in Berea—the mother and her brothers following closely and arriving almost at the same instant. Entering the parlor of the hotel, where the father and child were sitting, Mrs. C demanded the child and her demand was refused, whereupon an attempt to take the little one by force caused Mr. C., who is too weak to offer any resistance, to request a friend to summon the City Marshal. While the friend was seeking the Marshal, renewed and more vigorous attempts to take the child from him, caused Mr. C. to cry 'murder!' –in a way that attracted the attention of Constable Hatch, who happened to be near, and the trouble was quelled, the father still keeping the child. Here the matter rested, the mother and brother leaving for home, threatening legal process; but as no divorce exists between the parties, possession in the case is all the points in the law—one parent having as good a right to the child as the other so that the one that has possession can only be deprived of it by cunning or force, the law having nothing to do with the matter whatever." A death notice was printed in the Grindstone Advertiser on 8 March 1872: "Canniff—In Berea, March 7th, 1872, of consumption, Mr. S.S. Canniff. Services will be held at the M.E. Church, Sunday, March 10th, at 11 o’clock a.m." His obituary, printed on the 15th, read: "The funeral of Mr. S.S. Canniff was very largely attended. The M.E. Church was literally packed with people. The services were conducted by the F. & A. M., Berea Lodge, of which Mr. C was a member. The sermon was delivered by Rev. T. K. Dissette, assisted by Wm. C. Peirce, D.D., and Prest. W.D.Godman; after which the services were concluded, at the church and the cemetery, by the Masonic Brotherhood." He has a marble Civil War marker, next to the remains of the family monument. His name also appears on the family monument. His grave has been one routinely decorated for Decoration/Memorial Day, since at least 1879 (Republican and Advertiser, 5 June 1879). S.S. Canniff was reported in the wrong cemetery in an issue of the Grindstone City Advertiser: "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). Ana, Jane Ann, and Simeon Canniff have a family monument, a pedestal with an urn or other decorative top (top is broken), and a military marker. The marker is made of large grain marble. The lot number was 146, the row number was 1, and the grave number was 5. There was a fizz test performed and a magnifier was not used to examine the grain. The marker was grey and white, as well as marbled with lichens or moss (causing green spots). It is 31 inches high, 21 inches wide, and no thickness was listed. The family monument faces North and the military marker faces West. The inscription is on the West side for the military marker and the inscriptions are on all sides except East for the family marker. The family monument commemorates three people. The lettering is not very scriptive, just regular block lettering on both stones. The family marker has a distinctive shape. The family marker is in worst shape than the military marker. The top of the family marker is clearly broken off and the coverage of moss is great. The letters are also extremely hard to read. The inscription is mostly illegible. The South side of the family stone is almost completely gone. The family stone’s inscription is incised and the military stone’s inscription is relief. The family marker’s West side stated, “MOTHER ANA CANNIFF Died December 20, 1882 age 71 1882.” The south side states, “JANE ANN CANNIFF (very hard to read) Died Oct. 21, 1878 age 39.” The North side states, “SIMEON CANNIFF Died May 7, 1872 age 37.” The military marker states, “S.S. CANNIFF CO.E ST [] O []” on the West side. "S.S. CANNIFF, O.V.S.S. By H.P. Richards:- 'His memory is fresh in the hearts of all who knew him. He lived to see the Stars and stripes wave over a reunited Union."

sources
E. S. Loomis and D. T. Gould, "Inscriptions from the Old Berea Cemetery," 1904; Adams St Cemetery folder, Berea Historical Society The Cuyahoga County Cemetery Inscriptions, Berea Historical Society, 1934. "Here's a List of Berea's Soldier Dead," 30 May 1930; Adams St Cemetery folder, Berea Historical Society Grindstone City Advertiser, 31 March 1871 (previous issues include his name as a candidate), 28 June 1871 Republican and Advertiser, 5 Jun 1879, page 3, columns 3-6. Berea Enterprise, 4 June 1898 Berea Enterprise, 24 June 1932, p.1 c.1-2, p.6 c.5-6 1860 US Federal Census, Simon Canniff household, Series: M653 Roll: 954 Page: 112 1870 US Federal Census, George Canniff household, Series: M593 Roll: 1193 Page: 415 1880 US Federal Census, William Engle household, Series: T9 Roll: 1009 Page: 227 (lists William and George Canniff as grandsons) Donald Labaj, Berea Families CD, 2006. Jane Caniff obituary reprinted in book: Births, Marriages, and Deaths. Grave Registration Card, Cleveland Public Library, microfilm. Info about his unit on http://my.ohio.voyager.net/~lstevens/65oh.html Sources to check: GAR records, Berea Post No. 543, located at the Berea Historical Society Simeon S. Canniffe index card; General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, NA series T288, roll 71, application #13555, certificate #85883. M.E. Church records--baptism, marriage, etc? Photo of S.S. Canniff inscription, Jeremy Feador, 2006. Grindstone City Advertiser, 27 May 1875. Baldwin Wallace College History Dept. Cemetery Documentation project, Simeon Canniff, Monica Brusee, 30 October 2007. The Berea Advertiser, Simeon Canniff, June 1874.