William L Shrum (abt. 1832 - 1861)

Born about 1832 in Smith County, Tennessee, USA

Ancestors

Died 4 Nov 1861 at about age 29 in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

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This person was created on 15 January 2011 through the import of Turner_2011-01-14.ged.

Biography

BIRTH / DEATH

William L Shrum (son of Peter Shrum and Sarah Lovelady)

Middle initial is either B or L. It seems to be used interchangeably.

The initial "L" on his son's birth record, appears the most reliable.

Estimated birth about 1832, based on the following:

Birth: between 1831-1835, per census in 1840, age 5-9

Birth: 1832 TN, per census in 1850, age 18

Birth: 1832 TN, per census in 1860, age 28

Birthplace: assumed Smith Co Ky, per location of parents in 1830-1840

Find A Grave Memorial# 81109024 (headstone pictured)

William Shrum

Birth: unknown

Death: Nov. 4, 1861

Burial: Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Saint Louis, St. Louis Co. MO

Plot: 26 0 5923

Inscription: "WM. SHRUM" with no dates.

US ARMY CIVIL WAR

Created by: Marvin & Samme Templin

Record added: Nov 27, 2011

Find A Grave Memorial# 81109024

MARRIAGE

Married about 1855, per birth of 1st child Alonzo (b.Oct-1856)

Unsourced: July 03, 1851, Simpson, Kentucky

Wife's maiden name Dewitt, per child Alonzo's birth record

CENSUS / TIMELINE

1840 Census: Smith, Tennessee;

Name: Peter Iram

[Peter Shrum, Srum]

2 - Males - 5 thru 9: ........... [William(1832), Newton(1835)]

1 - Males - 10 thru 14: ....... [Pleasant(1830)]

1 - Males - 15 thru 19: ....... [Asa(1826)]

1 - Males - 50 thru 59: ....... [PETER]

1 - Females - 10 thru 14: ... [Nancy(1828)]

1 - Females - 15 thru 19: ... [Matilda(1820)]

1 - Females - 20 thru 29: ... [Rebecca(1816)]

1 - Females - 40 thru 49: ... [SARAH]

Persons Employed in Agriculture: 3

Total Free White Persons: 9

No Slaves

1850 Census: District 10, Macon, Tennessee, family#726^[1]

Peter Shrum ........ 63 ... NC ... farmer ... cannot read/write

Sarah Shrum ....... 60 ... NC ... cannot read/write

Nancy A Shrum ... 22 ... TN

William Shrum .... 18 ... TN ... farmer

Newton Shrum ....15 ... TN

D H Casley ........... 22 ... TN ... [Dinwiddie Hanson Cosby]

1850 Census Notes:

Living close to family#727: Peter's daughter: Rebecca Shrum Dixon

Living close to family#722: Peter's grandson: John Shum age 20 (son of Tilman)

Living close to family#719: Peter's son: Asa Shrum age 24, Harriet age 24

Living close to family#715: Peter's daughter: Sarah Shrum Brawner

Living close to family#712: Peter's son: Tilman Shrum age 43, May age 40

1855: married

1857-1860: living in Kentucy (per 1860 census of children's birthplace)

1860 Census: Clay Hill, Crane Creek, Barry, Missouri, family#1289

Wm L Shrum ......... 28 ... TN ... farmer ... real estate $175, personal $150

Mary E Shrum ....... 28 ... KY

Alonzo Shrum ......... 3 ... KY

Melissa Shrum .. 10m ... KY

1860 Census Notes:

Living next to family#1288: William's brother: N L Shrum, age 25

Living next to family#1290: William's brother: Peter K Shrum, age 47,

Note: Peter K Shrum's wife Talitha, is a Dewitt from KY, possibly Mary's sister

1861: William Shrum enlisted in UNION Company B, Missouri 24th Infantry Regiment.

Probably Oct/Nov 1861.

William's brother Newton L Shrum also enlisted in the same company.

1861: Death of William B L Shrum

1866: Death of Mary E Dewitt.

CHILDREN:

1870: Hams Grove, Township 4 Range 4, Jefferson, Illinois, family#124

William Dewitt ... 31 ... KY ... farmer ... real estate $3200, personal $600

Lydia Dewitt ....... 14 ... NC ... [wife]

Samuel Dewitt ... 25 ... KY ... [brother]

Alonzo Swem ..... 12 ... KY ... [child of William Shrum and Mary Dewitt]

Melissa Swem .... 10 ... KY ... [child of William Shrum and Mary Dewitt]

1870 Census Notes:

Living close to family#139: William's parents: Henry Dewitt age 52, Elizabeth age 51

Note 1870: The Dewitt family cared for the orphaned children of William Shrum and Mary Dewitt.

The family appears to be related to Mary Dewitt, but not sure how. It is not Mary's brother, because his parents are not old enough to be Mary's parents. The granddaughter of Melissa, says the children were raised by their uncles after the parents died.

MILITARY

National Park Service. U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865

Name: William Shrum

Side: Union

Regiment State/Origin: Missouri

Regiment Name: 24 Missouri Infantry.

Regiment Name Expanded: 24th Regiment, Missouri Infantry

Company: B

Rank In: Corporal

Rank Out: Corporal

Film Number: M390 roll 44

BOOK REFERENCE

FamilySearch.org

Title: History of the Shrum family

by: James R. Shrum, Sr

Publication: Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1975

Page 13-14

William B. Shrum, son of Peter Shrum, son of Nicholas Shrum, Jr .,

son of Nicholas Shrum, pioneer to North Carolina.

Issue:

Nicholas Jonah Shrum (called Jiner)

We assume Jonah was the son of William B. Shrum. His family lives In North Arkansas. I do not know who his father was. All I know is that his parents died when Jonah was young. From the account that we found in a newspaper, The Macon Times. A History of The Shrum Family, April 26, 1951 by Cal Gregory gives this man's Mother as a Nichols and his father, a son of Peter Shrum (name unknown). I have a letter from Mrs. Ziona Shrum of Oklahoma which gives a William I . Shrum as a son of Peter Shrum which Cal Gregory did net include. Neither did he Include Nicholas Shrum, So we know that Nicholas Shrum's descendants are in the state of Oregon. This leads us to believe that William B. Shrum is the father of Jiner. Unless we get, something we don't have now, we assume this to be correct.

Nicholas Jonah Shrum, son of William B. Shrum, son of Peter Shrum, son of Nicholas Shrum, Jr . , son of Nicholas Shrum, pioneer to North Carolina. Born Dec. 14, 1841 at Lafayette, Tenn., Macon County.

According to his granddaughter, Mrs. Gordon Allard of Alpena, Arkansas in Carroll County, he married Sarah Eden of Tennessee. She was born Sept. 12, 1844 and died June 1893. Nicholas Jonah died Oct. 1922. He was a solider in the Civil War. He and Sarah were the parents of 14 children. They moved to Arkansas 1n 1878 at the age of 37. Were burled in Carlton Cemetery, Alpena, Ark.

Note: It appears that Nicholas Jonah "Tinker" Shrum may be son of Moses Shrum, not William B. Shrum.

OTHER

CHILD:

Name: Alonzo Shrum

Birth Date: 3 Oct 1856

Birth County: Christian

Ethnicity: White

Gender: Male

Father's Name: W L Shrum <------

Mother's Name: Mary Dewitt <------

County of Residence: Christian

CIVIL WAR STORY

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mobarry/Washburn/shrum2.htm

William L. Shrum. Born in 1832 in Tennessee. William L. died in 1861, he was 29. Company B, 24th Missouri, casualty to disease. William L. married Mary Ellen DeWhitt. Born in 1832 in Kentucky. Mary Ellen died in 1866, she was 34.

This is a Civil War story told by Leona Diantha (Lynch) Bauer, the granddaughter of William L. Shrum and Mary Ellen DeWhitt who were living near Eagle Rock, Barry, Missouri.

December 19, 1992

Following, is a transcription of a tape recording made by Timothy Ray BAUER of Leona Diantha LYNCH ( Wife of Edward John BAUER, mother of Edgar William BAUER, Grandmother of Timothy Ray BAUER) on December 20, 1972: This transcript has been edited and arranged for clarity.

"Well Tim, you asked me to tell you again about my Mother & Father, it was during the Civil War, 1861 to 1865 and it was early in 1862 during the battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas.

It was every able bodied man. All that was left there was the old men, the sickly or to old to go to the war. My mother, Melissa Shrum, was 6 years old, her brother was Alonzo Shrum, he was 8 and they and their mother, her name was Mary Ellen [DeWHITT] Shrum, and she was 32 years old in 1862. Her husband [William L. Shrum] had gone off to war like the others and they lived alone like the others.

My Grandmother wore a little flag pinned to her dress, it wasn't stars like they have in the flags nowadays, but it was about an inch to inch and a half wide and two inches long and it was just the red, white, and blue stripes. She wore that pinned on her dress everyday of her life after my grandfather went to war. Incidentally, he was still in training when he got pneumonia, called lung fever in those days and died. That was in 1862.

Quantrill and his gang of thieves were roaming the countryside. They lived in a little town, it was called Eagle Rock. Just a small town 90 miles from Springfield, Missouri where the (Union) headquarters were stationed.

One day a wounded soldier was hiding in the tall grass in the back of their house and watched the house. He didn't know whether the occupants of that house were friend or foe. Along towards evening he knocked on her door and he saw the flag pinned on her dress. He told "her "I see you're a friend and I'm wounded and I was sent to carry a verbal message to the army headquarters and wondered if you could take it?" So she and a neighbor lady, could only find an old horse and an old mule to ride, rode to Springfield and my grandmother gave the message to the army.

On the return trip, in sight of their homes (it was my mothers turn to ride the mule), the road was just a faint road, no hi ways like today and it was rocky and her mule stumbled on a rock and fell and my grandmother's leg was broken with the bone going into the ground. The woman that had went with her rode to get help and the men pulled her leg from the ground, and as well as they could, since all the doctors nearby had been taken into the army, set the leg and put wooden splints around it to hold it and got her home. She remained crippled the rest of her life.

Probably a week or so after my grandmother had taken the message (to Springfield), she saw Quantrill and his gang a riding up to their house. Quantrill and another man threw their bridals over the picket fence and stormed into the house, the other men waited outside.

He said "I heard you took a message to Springfield, what was it?" My mother, had her arm around her mother on one side and uncle Lon had his arm around her, standing on the other side by the window and she never answered Quantrill at all and he cursed her and demanded to know.

Now this wasn't the first time that he had robbed my grandmother and her mother. A few years before that he had come in and there was a loose board in the floor which squeaked when he stepped on it. He opened it up and took what little prize possessions that they had had.

He kept threatening my grandmother and she never spoke and neither did the children, they just stood there and he told her "we'll be back by here this evening and if your not out of your house and gone or either tell me what the message was, I'll burn your house down!"

Along towards evening, the children saw him coming again and they both ran to each side of their mother, probably to protect her. So again he came in and he cursed her and tried to find out the message. She never spoke.

In those days matches were hard to come by so they used to take long pieces of paper and roll them up real tight and give them a twist and when they lit the fire in the fireplace under the mantel they would put the used paper back up on the mantel.

He (Quantrill) grabbed the featherbed off the bed and stuck it in the fireplace and took one of the rolled up papers and lit it from the oil lamp she had burning. He went over to the fireplace and again he urged her to tell and again she never spoke. After he had cursed her for a long time and tried to force it out of her he lit the featherbed and turned around and looked at them and neither the children or my grandmother spoke. He pushed the fire off with his hand and he threw the burning paper down and he looked at her (grandmother) and said, "you're to damn brave to die" and left.

It was after this that she got word that her husband had died. So, the relatives took her and her sisters and brothers in. My mother and brother, after their mother died, were brought up by some uncles.

I've told this all many times to all of you children, and I know I've told it to you like all grandmothers tell their children things that are really historical and should be remembered by children and their grandchildren and this story) has been recorded and its in the State Historical Library in Topeka, Kansas.

My mother married Tim Lynch and a big friend of the Lynch family was Susie Berry the superintendent of schools in Neosho County, Kansas. My mother had told her this story and she asked that mother repeat it again for her because she thought it should be in the State Historical Library in Topeka. I have the letter my mother received telling her it was an interesting event and she sure was a brave woman.

In later years when we had children (by Edward John Bauer), your father, Tim, his name is Edgar Bauer and my older son Bernard Bauer, and my daughter Kathleen Bauer, her name is Hills now, she married Jim Hills, and my sister Clara and her husband Major Every and their son Max Every who is about the same age as Bernard and little daughter Marie Every (my other children weren't born at this time yet) went to Springfield. In the Kansas City paper we had read an event of a robbery and a murder right near where their home was in Eagle Rock (Missouri). The son and daughter were the ones that were robbed and so my mother recognized the name and she wanted to go there and ask them if her mother had ever told their mother what the message was that had been taken to headquarters for the wounded soldier and they said no, but their mother had often wondered what the message was but my grandmother had never repeated it.

I hope you will always remember this (story) Tim and tell it to your own children when you get married. And so, God love you - Goodbye.

Research Note: Grandma Leona Diantha (Lynch) Bauer was 79 years old when she recorded this history.

Leona Diantha Bauer died January 26, 1980 at the age of 89.

Sources

This profile is a collaborative work-in-progress. Can you contribute information or sources?

1. ↑ 1850 Census: "1850 United States Federal Census"
   The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: District 10, Macon, Tennessee; Roll: 888; Page: 191a; Line Number: 2
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8054 #6375218 (accessed 17 December 2023)
   William Shrum (18), Farmer, in District 10, Macon, Tennessee, USA. Born in Te.

   1 Jun 1850: District 10, Macon, Tennessee

   Name	Sex	Age	Occupation	Birth Place
   Peter Shrum	M	63	Farmer	North Carolina
   Sarah Shrum	F	60		North Carolina
   Nancy A Shrum	F	22		Te
   William Shrum	M	18	Farmer	Te
   Newton Shrum	M	15		Te
   D H Casley	M	22		Te

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