Louisa (Hawkins) Canby (1818 - 1889)

Born 25 Dec 1818 in Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky

Ancestors

Wife of Edward Richard Sprigg Canby — married 1 Aug 1839 in Crawfordsville, Indiana

Died 27 Jun 1889 at age 70 in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon

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Biography

Louisa (Hawkins) Canby is Notable.

Louisa (Hawkins) Canby was a Kentuckian.

Louisa was the "Angel of Santa Fe" in 1862 for her compassion toward sick, wounded, and freezing Confederate soldiers at Santa Fe, New Mexico, and organizing wives as nurses for the wounded and sick soldiers.
Honored for eternity:
In Memoriam

Louisa Hawkins was born in 1818, the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Waller) Hawkins. She was raised in Kentucky, Louisa graduated from Georgetown Female College in Kentucky.

She came from a family of three sisters and a brother, with whom she remained close. Her brother graduated from West Point and two of her sisters also married military men.

"Lou", as she was called by friends, married Edward Sprigg Canby at Crawfordsville, Indiana, August 1, 1839. The Canbys had several children together, including Mary Paul Canby (1843-1858). ^[1]

Louisa was nicknamed the "Angel of Santa Fe" in 1862 for her compassion toward sick, wounded, and freezing Confederate soldiers at Santa Fe, New Mexico. She was the wife of Union Brig. Gen. Edward Richard Sprigg Canby whose order to destroy or hide not only weapons and ammunition but all food, equipment, and blankets prior to any retreat was largely responsible for the Confederates' misery. Taking pity on her husband's enemies, Mrs. Canby not only organized other officers' wives to nurse the sick and wounded among the occupying Confederate forces, but also showed Col. William Read Scurry where fleeing Union forces had hidden blankets and food. Mrs. Canby, said one rebel, "captured more hearts of Confederate soldier [sic] than the old general ever captured Confederate bodies."

Louisa died in 1889 while in Oregon. Her body was transported and buried in the Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:84QS-982M : 7 April 2021), Louisa Hawkins in entry for Edward R. S. Canby, 1839.
2. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave, Find A Grave: Memorial #19615538 (accessed 5 February 2024), Memorial page for Louisa Hawkins Canby (25 Dec 1818-25 Jun 1889), citing Crown Hill National Cemetery, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, USA (plot: Section 9, Lot 1); Maintained by Kathy S. (contributor 46944127).

See also:

• Wikipedia Biography on Louisa Hawkins Canby
• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4SM-CPP : 12 April 2016), Louisa H Canby in household of E Lord Canby, Monterey, Monterey, California, United States; citing family 3, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• Miscellaneous Papers of Edward Sprigg Canby
• https://civilwartalk.com/threads/angel-of-santa-fe-louisa-hawkins-canby.110599/
• FamilySearch Person: 2VSQ-F84