Processed by
Charles Latham
3 March 1993
Revised by
Pamela J. Heath
16 May 2002
Updated 16 April 2004
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
8 folders, 2 artifacts |
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COLLECTION |
1841–1915 |
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PROVENANCE: |
Florence Baxter (Mrs. George Douglas) Thornton, November 1943 and January 1944. |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
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RELATED |
Florence Baxter Thornton Papers (BV 1748–1749) |
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ACCESSION |
1943.1103, 1944.0104 |
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NOTES: |
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Gilmore Jordan, the focus of the earliest documents in this collection, was born 16 November 1824 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. His father was Ephraim Jordan, who moved his family to Indiana circa 1836 and died in 1844. Gilmore Jordan attended the Marion County Seminary and later served in the Mexican War where he was a principal musician in the 1st Regiment, Indiana Foot Volunteers. His wife, Harriet McLaughlin Jordan (1830–1907), filed for a pension in 1887, which she received. Gilmore Jordan was an officer in the Union Army during the Civil War, serving in the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, General Banks’s Army Corps, Army of Virginia. Gilmore and Harriet Jordan had four children: Alice, Emma, Arthur, and Agnes.
Maryann Kimberly McLaughlin was the daughter of Zenas Kimberly (1770–1837) and Isabella Drum. On 1 February 1824, Maryann Kimberly married James McLaughlin in Indianapolis, Indiana. There were seven children born of this marriage: Zenas Kimberly McLaughlin, John A. McLaughlin, Elizabeth Kimberly McLaughlin, Harriet Isabelle McLaughlin (Jordan), Cynthia McLaughlin, Henry Brady McLaughlin, and Susan Louise McLaughlin (Brown).
John A. McLaughlin, born 27 September 1826, was the second child of James and Maryann McLaughlin. During the Mexican War, McLaughlin was an orderly sergeant in Company D, Fourth Indiana Infantry, from which his wife, Louise, claimed and received a pension in October 1888. In 1851, John A. McLaughlin married Louisa Morehouse in Indianapolis and they had seven children. John enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War beginning as a first lieutenant in Company K, Eleventh Regiment of Indiana Volunteers. Later he was able to raise his own company which was a part of the 47th Indiana Volunteers under General Pope. Captain John A. McLaughlin took part in the siege of Vicksburg. In early 1863, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the regiment, and not long after received another promotion to colonel. His regiment participated in the capture of Mobile and Shreveport. John A. McLaughlin moved his family to Topeka, Kansas, in 1868, where he established himself as a gunsmith and salesman of firearms and sporting goods.
Henry B. McLaughlin, son of James and Maryann (Kimberly) McLaughlin, moved from Indiana to Florence, Alabama, sometime before the Civil War. On 8 July 1861 he married Sarah A. Canady at the home of Jeremiah Clemmons. Henry B. McLaughlin enlisted as a private on 1 July 1861 in the 35th Alabama Infantry and was promoted to second lieutenant in October 1862. On 16 May 1863 he was reported AWOL from his company; however, on 17 May 1863, Henry was found to be captured by Union forces at Champion Hill, Mississippi, during General Grant’s siege on Vicksburg. Henry became imprisoned at Johnson’s Island in Sandusky, Ohio, for the next twenty months. Henry wrote a letter to his sister, Susan, on 24 June 1863, just nineteen days after his arrival at Johnson’s Island. In this letter, he reveals his loneliness and his “chilled feelings” toward society, but pleads his sister to believe he is as loyal to the United States Constitution as his brother John. Henry McLaughlin took the oath on 24 January 1865 and was finally released from prison on 29 January 1865. His post-war activities are anything but certain.
Susan Louise “Eliza” McLaughlin Brown, daughter of James and Maryann (Kimberly) McLaughlin, was the wife of Samuel Clay Brown of Hagerstown, Indiana. She was a nurse during the Civil War and he was an assistant surgeon in the 8th Indiana. Susan Brown received her brother Henry’s letter from prison and became determined to have him released. She enlisted the assistance of Indiana Governor Morton, who wrote a letter of introduction on 7 January 1865 on Susan’s behalf to President Abraham Lincoln. Susan saw Lincoln on 12 January 1865, at which time Lincoln wrote instructions for Henry’s release. Susan later wrote a letter to the National Tribune about her experience meeting President Lincoln.
Sources:
Materials in accession file.
Banning, Leroy. Regimental History of the 35th Alabama Infantry 1862–1865. Heritage Books, 1999. p. 113
Dunn, Jacob P. Greater Indianapolis: The History, the Industries, the Institutions, and the People of a City of Homes, vol. 2. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1910. rr F 534.I55
National Archives Microfilm Series: Confederate Prisoners of War: Johnson’s Island, Ohio Military Prison: Register of Prisoners 1862 – 1865. Roll No. 81.
Indiana Soldiers Civil War 8th Regiment http://165.138.44.13/civilwar/83ystaff.htm; viewed on 21 February 2002
Lauderdale County Alabama Marriages: Marriage Book #3, part 1 http://www.rootsweb.com/~allauder/marbk3pt1-groomslz.htm; viewed on 26 February 2002
Johnson’s Island Prison 1862-1865 http://www.fred.net/stevent/JOHNSONS_ISLAND/Jisland.html; viewed on 19 February 2002
Full Context of Alabama Marriages, 1800–1920 http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=almarr&cres=33;4%2c34;3%2c35;3%2c37; viewed on 22 February 2002
Organization of the Union Army At Vicksburg www.civilwarhome.com/vicksburgorgunion.htm; viewed on 21 February 2002
Kansas Collection Books: William G. Cutler’s History of the State of Kansas: Shawnee County Part 29, Biographical Sketches McCabe–Martin. www.ku.edu/carrie/kancoll/books/cutler/shawnee/shawnee-co-p29.html; viewed on 21 February 2002
Wolfe, Barbara S. Index to Mexican War Pension Applications. Indianapolis: Heritage House, 1985.
This collection is comprised of McLaughlin and Jordan family papers from 1841–1915, including letters among family members during the Civil War.
Folder 1 contains a note of merit given to Gilmore Jordan from J.S. Kemper of the Marion County Seminary, 26 March 1841; 6 October 1844 Notice of Funeral for Ephraim Jordan; and an RSVP dated 31 October 1849 from the Office Grand Division of Indiana with respect of James G. Jordan, who was Gilmore Jordan’s older brother.
Folder 2 contains two handwritten letters of Maryann McLaughlin. She makes reference to much anticipated money from an estate in both letters. Maryann also states they are moving to a new house on Delaware Street in Indianapolis.
Folder 3 contains Gilmore Jordan’s oath to the US Constitution, 22 April 1861; and a letter to his wife, Harriet (McLaughlin) Jordan, 17 August 1862, telling her about his company and its location, the condition of the camp, the food, and what he was doing at the time she and the children would be in church. He further discloses the movements and naming conventions of his regiment. Included in this folder is an 25 December 1862 invitation of General Greene to Captain Gilmore Jordan for dinner that evening.
Folder 4 contains John A. McLaughlin’s letter to his sister, 15 June 1863, written during the siege of Vicksburg (the battle during which his younger brother, Henry, was captured.) He mentions several cousins of the McLaughlin family and which regiments they are fighting with. He further notes that Henry B. McLaughlin was in “his old home Indianapolis” where friends were visiting him. John A. McLaughlin writes of not only his complete confidence, but that “of all of Grant’s army, that Vicksburg will become yet another Union victory.”
Folder 5 contains the letter Henry B. McLaughlin wrote to his sister, Susan Louise (McLaughlin) Brown, 24 June 1863, from Union prison camp at Johnson’s Island, Ohio. Henry expresses to Susan his absolute loyalty to the US Constitution. He further tells of his loneliness and “chilled feelings” toward society.
Folder 6 contains Governor O.P. Morton’s letter introducing Susan Brown to President Abraham Lincoln, 7 January 1865. On the envelope of this letter is a handwritten authorization from President Lincoln to administer the oath to Henry B. McLaughlin and release him from prison. Also contained in this folder is the typescript letter of Mrs. S. Clay Brown (Susan McLaughlin Brown) to the National Tribune, n.d., wherein she tells of her encounter with the president.
Folder 7 contains Harriet (McLaughlin) Jordan’s application for a widow’s pension, 18 August 1898, and Folder 8 contains a typescript obituary notice for S. Clay Brown, husband of Susan Louise McLaughlin, 4 August 1915, which briefly tells about the Browns’ activities during and after the Civil War.
Two ribbons (G.A.R. and Marion County Seminary) complete the collection.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Jordan family papers, 1841–49 |
Folder 1 |
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Maryann McLaughlin correspondence, 1853 |
Folder 2 |
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Capt. Gilmore Jordan Civil War papers, 1861–62 |
Folder 3 |
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John A. McLaughlin Civil War correspondence, 1863 |
Folder 4 |
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Henry B. McLaughlin letter from Johnson’s Island Prison, 24 June 1863 |
Folder 5 |
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Governor Morton letter with A. Lincoln’s note, 1865; Typescript correspondence of Susan McLaughlin Brown, n.d. |
Folder 6 |
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Gilmore Jordan Mexican War Pension Application, 1898. |
Folder 7 |
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Typescript obituary of S. Clay Brown, 1915 |
Folder 8 |
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G.A.R. ribbon, Boston encampment, 1890 |
Artifacts: R 1383 |
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Marion County Seminary ribbon, Indianapolis 1885 reunion |
Artifacts: R 1384 |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://157.91.92.2/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, SC 1030).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.