Jacob M Weatherwax Jr (1840 - aft. 1902)

Born 15 Aug 1840 in Scipio Township, Hillsdale, Michigan, United States

Died after 31 Jul 1902 after age 61 in Aberdeen, Grays Harbor, Washington, United States

Biography

Jacob Weatherwax Jr migrated from Michigan to Washington.

The son of Jacob Weatherwax and Annis (Ketchum) Weatherwax, Jacob was the second child in the family to be born in Michigan; the family had migrated from New York around 1837.^[1][2]

2nd Lieutenant Jacob Weatherwax Jr served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: Nov 18, 1863
Mustered out: Nov 11, 1865
Side: USA
Regiment(s): Michigan 10th Volunteer Cavalry, Company M

Jacob, like several of his brothers, enlisted in 1863. He enlisted in the 10th Michigan Cavalry, serving in Company M1 first as a Sergeant and then as a 2nd Lieutenant. The 10th Cavalry was comprised of men from Kent County, Michigan and mustered in on November 18, 1863, mustering out on November 11, 1865.^[3] He served in that Regiment with his older brother, Benjamin, who was killed in action at Watauga Bridge in Tennessee. He began receiving a disability pension on August 19, 1867.^[4][5]

After the war, he married Margaret Eva Anderson (1852-) in Saranac Township, Michigan, in Ionia County, on July 5, 1871. He was 31 and worked as a lumberman and she was 19.^[6] Their children included:

1. Ina W. Weatherwax (1878-)
2. Claire Weatherwax (1879-)

In 1880, they lived in Day Township, in Montcalm County, Michigan, where Jacob worked as a fire insurance agent.^[7] Around 1887, his father and siblings decided to migrate west, and Jacob and Maggie migrated, as well. His cousin, Clyde Weatherwax, also resided in the section of Aberdeen that was in Chehalis County; the rest of the family settled in the Grays Harbor County section. They settled in Aberdeen, Washington, in Chehalis County, and Jacob continued to work as an insurance agent.^[8]

He died of pneumonia at the age of 61^[9] and is buried at Fern Hill Cemetery in Aberdeen.^[10]

His obituary mistakes his origins: his parents migrated from New York to Michigan two or three years before his birth:

In the Daily Bulletin, of Aberdeen, Washington, dated August 9, 1902, the following notice appears of the death of Jacob Weatherwax, a cousin of C. H. Weatherwax of this place, at the age of sixty-two years, which occurred on July 31st, from bronchial pneumonia: "Jacob Weatherwax was a native of New York, but resided in Michigan from his early youth to manhood. He served through the Civil War in the 2d Michigan Cavalry and was mustered out with the rank of 2d Lieutenant. He came to Washington in 1888, and was a prominent factor in the upbuilding of Aberdeen. At the time of his death, he was Past Grand Commander of the Knights Templar of the State, High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, Marshal of the Blue Lodge of the State, and Worshipful Master of Aberdeen Lodge No. 52. Distinguished in every walk in life, upright, enterprising, kind and honorable, it is a small wonder that he was beloved by all people. His death leaves a vacancy that it will be hard to fill and his loss is a community sorrow

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF8X-Q6L : 4 April 2020), Jacob Weatherwax in household of Jacob M Weatherwax, Scipio, Hillsdale, Michigan, United States; citing family 30, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWDG-Z3V : 11 November 2020), Jacob Wetherwax in entry for Jacob M Wetherwax, 1860.
3. ↑ "United States Civil War Soldiers Index, 1861-1865," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FSYH-QPT : 4 December 2014), Jacob Wetherwax, Second Lieutenant, Company MI, 10th Regiment, Michigan Cavalry, Union; citing NARA microfilm publication M545 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 46; FHL microfilm 881,959.
4. ↑ "United States General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJD5-SWKC : 24 November 2020), Jacob Weatherwax, 1867.
5. ↑ "United States Civil War and Later Pension Index, 1861-1917", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NH41-RYD : 24 March 2016), Jacob Weatherwax, 1867.
6. ↑ "Michigan Marriages, 1868-1925," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3KJ-545 : 9 November 2020), Jacob Weatherwax and Eva M. Anderson, 5 Jul 1871; citing Marriage, Saranac, Ionia, Michigan, Citing Secretary of State, Department of Vital Records, Lansing; FHL microfilm 4208211.
7. ↑ Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Year: 1880; Census Place: Day, Montcalm, Michigan; Roll: 596; Page: 86D; Enumeration District: 231: Day, includes part of the Village of Stanton. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Ancestry Record 6742 #31875423 with attached Image
8. ↑ United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls. Year: 1900; Census Place: Aberdeen, Chehalis, Washington; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 0001; FHL microfilm: 1241741. Aberdeen Precinct coex Aberdeen Town (pt), Ward 2. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Ancestry Record 7602 #72880714 with attached Image
9. ↑ "Washington, County Deaths, 1891-1907," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRQG-J2V : 4 December 2014), Jacob Weatherwax, 31 Jul 1902; citing certificate number 31, Washington, United States, State Archives, Olympia.
10. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVL1-GQL4 : 6 July 2020), Jacob Weatherwax, 1902; Burial. Find A Grave: Memorial #107007547