Judge Elisha M. Colver

In Judge Colver’s obituary in the Sandusky Register of September 25, 1895, the headline read “Death of a Patriot, Soldier, Jurist and Orator.”  Elisha M. Colver was born in Hudson, New York in 1832, but received his early education in Monroeville, Ohio. He graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1859, with the highest honors of his class. After leaving college, he moved to Perrysburg, Ohio. While in Perrysburg, he enlisted in the Third Ohio Cavalry, first serving as first lieutenant of Company B; later he was promoted to Captain. 

In 1864, Elisha M. Colver came to Sandusky, Ohio to aid in the recruiting of a cavalry regiment. Having concluded his military service, he opened up a law office in Sandusky. He was elected as Sandusky’s City Solicitor in 1868, and served as Probate Judge of Erie County from 1869 through 1878. Judge Colver's first wife was Clara Prout. After her death, he married Miss Caroline T. Wood. 

Judge Colver was a charter member of the McMeens Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was very active in local Masonic organizations as well. He was known to be an excellent speaker, with his speaking services in great demand, and “his energy would put to shame many a younger man. He was in every sense of the word an American citizen and his enthusiasm in the support of American institutions was unbounded.”  Judge Colver had delivered the eulogy for John Brown, Jr. at Put in Bay, just a few months before his own death. Judge Colver was buried in Oakland Cemetery in the family plot. 

To learn more about Judge Elisha M. Colver, see Elected to Serve, by Patty Pascoe at the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library. Also, a lengthy tribute to Judge Colver appeared in the September 27, 1895 issue of the Sandusky Register.

The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center has in its collections a scrapbook containing letters and telegrams of condolence sent to the family of Judge Colver following his death. The telegram below was sent by Judge Malcolm Kelley.

Sandusky Men in Libby Prison During the Civil War

This print of Libby Prison, as it appeared on August 23, 1863, was donated to the Sandusky Library by Mrs. I.F. Mack. Sandusky’s well known newspaper editor, Isaac F. Mack, was imprisoned in Libby Prison and two other Southern prison camps during the Civil War. Fortunately he survived the war and had a very successful newspaper career with the Sandusky Register. 

Many other area men spent time at Libby Prison, including Fred Frey, Jr., Delos Ransom, Foster Neill, Frank Colver, William B. Rice, Wilbur F. Cowles, and John M. Butler, the son in law of Jay Cooke. In December of 1863, the Ladies Aid Society from Sandusky sent packages of food which were distributed to local men who were imprisoned at the prison in Richmond, Virginia. Captains C.H. Riggs and O.H. Rosenbaum, with the 123^rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, sent a letter of thanks to the Ladies Aid Society, to the attention of Mrs. T.D. West, the Society’s secretary-treasurer. The men were thrilled to have such a package from their hometown in the midst of a dismal prison setting.  The letter appeared in the January 30, 1864 issue of the Sandusky Register, and read in part:

“To the ladies, first, (God bless them) we tender our most grateful thanks; secondly, to all others who in any way contributed thereto. Such form the bright spots in our life in Libby. Though irksome our stay in prison, we are of good cheer. Having been blessed with good health, we have no fault to find; full of confidence in the integrity of our Government, well assured that our interest are not forgotten there, and that, as soon as an exchange can be effected compatible with best interest of all, we will be released, we cheerfully submit. In conclusion, allow us to again thank the ladies and them our best wishes for their perfect success in the human work in which they are engaged, alleviating the sufferings of the sick, the sorrowful, &c. Colonel Wilson wishes to be especially remembered, and, with the other members of “Mess 32” will ever cherish in his heart of hearts the memory of the Ladies of Sandusky.”

To learn more about area men who served during the Civil War, visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Many sources, both online and in print, can aid in searching for information about Civil War soldiers.

Reunion of the Third Ohio Cavalry

On August 24, 1892, Veterans of the Third Ohio Cavalry met at the library building of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in Sandusky (now the Ohio Veterans Home.) An article in the August 25, 1892 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that General Manning F. Force, commandant of the Home, gave a “short but eloquent” address.

Capt. E. J. Colver thanked General Force, and praised him “for his excellent management of so grand an institution, a noble monument of the great struggle for the perpetuity of the Union.”

Other speakers for the day were John M. Lemmon and P.F. Graham. The Home quartet sang the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” After the morning program about two hundred people, including Veterans and their wives and daughters, had dinner on the porch of the railroad depot, followed by a tour of the grounds of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home.

At 2 p.m. the Veterans met at Cedar Point for a business meeting. An election of officers was held, including Capt. J.B. Luckey as president, Conrad C. Finkbeiner as treasurer, and vice presidents from each of the twelve regiments of the Third Ohio Cavalry. After the business meeting, a camp fire was held at which more addresses were given, interspersed with songs and stories.

Reunions of the Veterans of the Third Ohio Cavalry were held in Sandusky in 1880, 1889 and 1892. Former Second Lieutenant Isaac Skillman donated two ribbons from Annual Reunions of the Third Ohio Cavalry to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Also available at the Sandusky Library Research Center is a microfilmed copy of Isaac Skillman’s personal recollections from his Civil War service with the Ohio Third Cavalry.

Several men who were with the Third Ohio Cavalry are buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery, including Darius E. Livermore, Elisha M. Colver, Isaac Skillman, Leonard Winkler, and Clark Center.

Update: I have recently been informed that there is a new book about Kelleys Island history (Kelleys Island 1862-1865-the Civil War, the Island Soldiers & the Island Queen), which has first-hand accounts from several soldiers who served in the Third Ohio Cavalry. It is not in the library's collections yet, but will be soon.