Georgeanna (Woolsey) Bacon
Privacy Level: Open (White)

Georgeanna Muirson (Woolsey) Bacon (1833 - 1906)

Georgeanna Muirson "Georgy" Bacon formerly Woolsey
Born in New York City, New York, United Statesmap
Ancestors ancestors
Wife of — married 7 Jun 1866 in Manhattan, New York County, New York, United Statesmap
Died at age 72 in New Haven, Connecticut, United Statesmap
Problems/Questions Profile manager: Sue LaVoie private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 15 Jan 2021
This page has been accessed 479 times.

Biography

'New York state flag'
Georgeanna (Woolsey) Bacon was born in New York.
Georgeanna served as a nurse throughout the Civil War in hospitals and on transports, but mostly at the front caring for the wounded at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Belle Plain, Port Royal, Fredericksburg, White House and City Point.
Georgeanna (Woolsey) Bacon was interred in Connecticut.

Georgeanna (often called Georgy) was born 5 Sep 1834 in New York City, New York, United States. Her parents were Charles William Woolsey and Jane Eliza Newton Woolsey. She was raised as a staunch opponent of slavery.

In 1840 and 1850, Georgeanna was living with her family in New York City. Her mother Jane (transcribed Eliza J) was widowed and the head of household. The 1840 Census shows 1 male under 5, and 11 females: 3 under 5, 3 from 5-9, 1 from 10-14, 2 from 15-19, 1 from 20-29, 1 from 30-39, and the 1850 Census details are in the table below. Both appear to include servants.[1][2]

HouseholdRoleSexAgeBirthplaceOccupation
Jane E WoolseyheadF48Virginia
Abby H WoolseyF22Virginia
Jane S WoolseyF20New York
Mary E WoolseyF18England
Georgianna M WoolseyF16New York
Eliza M WoolseyF15Massachusetts
Harriet R WoolseyF13Massachusetts
Chas W WoolseyM10Massachusetts
Mary R AdamsF50Virginia
Ellen MooneyF23Ireland
Martha MoranF22Ireland
Mary J TaylorF23Ireland

She served in the Civil war as a nurse along with her mother Jane Eliza Newton Woolsey and sisters Jane Stuart Woolsey, Eliza Newton Woolsey Howland, and Mary Elizabeth Woolsey Howland.

Georgeanna volunteered as a nurse and joined The Woman's Central Association of Relief of New York shortly after the start of the Civil War in 1861. In May, she was one of one hundred women selected to become a volunteer nurse for the Union Army. Having no medical training, she was sent for "a month's seasoning in painful sights and sounds". She was assigned to Georgetown Hospital in Washington, D.C. and lived with her sister Eliza Woolsey Howland.

In April 1862, Georgeanna and Eliza received positions on the U.S. Sanitary Commission's hospital transport ship Daniel Webster. The women on these steamships were responsible for the diets of the patients, dressing wounds and comforting the soldiers. The sisters served through the 3 month-long Peninsula Campaign. In September 1862 Georgeanna took a position of assistant superintendent of the Portsmouth Grove General Hospital, when her friend Katharine Wormeley became superintendent. She remained there until spring of 1863 when she went into the field, first to care for the wounded after the battle of Chancellorsville, and then at Gettysburg.

Georgeanna and her mother Jane Eliza Woolsey went to Gettysburg immediately after the battle and were responsible for establishing and overseeing a Sanitary Commission camp near the railroad station at the edge of the battlefield. Mother and daughter oversaw the pitching of tents, cooking of food, distribution of medicine and provided skilled medical nursing for the sick and wounded men who were waiting for the next train to take them to hospitals in Baltimore and Philadelphia.

According to Georgeanna's "Three Weeks at Gettysburg", she estimated that nearly each of the 16,000 soldiers who left Gettysburg stopped for at least a meal at their tents. The memoir, published in 1863, was printed and distributed widely to raise support for the nurses.

Georgeanna remained in the service through the war, partly in hospitals, but mostly at the front caring for the wounded at Belle Plain, Port Royal, Fredericksburg, White House and City Point.

Friends and co-workers described Georgeanna as follows: "Strength and sweetness, sound practical sense, deep humility, merriment, playfulness, a most ready wit, an educated intelligence — were among her characteristics. Her work I consider to have been better than any which I saw in the service. It was thorough, but accomplished rapidly. She saw a need before others saw it…"

Georgeanna married Francis Bacon on 7 Jun 1866 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. [3][4]

She and Francis lived in New Haven, Connecticut. Georgeanna was a co-founder of the Connecticut Children's Aid Society and the Connecticut Training School for Nurses. She and Francis established and operated Playridge in Woodmont, Connecticut which specialized in care for invalid children.

In 1870 and 1880, Georgeanna and Francis are living in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Francis is a physician. [5][6]

HouseholdRoleSexAgeBirthplaceOccupation
Francis BaconheadM47Connecticutphysician
Georgeanna BaconwifeF44New Yorkat home
Mary McGuriaservantF48Ireland
Kate KilcullenservantF29Ireland
William HarmonM23Irelandlaborer

During the war, Georgeanna and sister Eliza, their mother and siblings wrote constantly to each other. The sisters published their correspondence in 1899 as "Letters of a Family During the Civil War, 1861-1865." The book was republished in 2001 as "My Heart Towards Home: letters of a family during the Civil War."

Georgeanna passed away on 27 Jan 1906 in New Haven, Hew Haven, Connecticut and is buried in Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven. [7][8]

Sources

  1. 1840 Census "United States Census, 1840", citing p. 152, NARA microfilm publication , (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll ; FHL microfilm , FamilySearch Record: XHTN-JPQ (accessed 13 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9YTB-8WM Image number 00307, Eliza J Woolsey in New York City, New York County, New York, United States.
  2. 1850 Census "United States Census, 1850", citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FamilySearch Record: MCTZ-J76 (accessed 10 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: S3HT-6S5Q-9RD Image number 00102, Georgianna M Woolsey (16) in New York City, New York County, New York, United States. Born in New York.
  3. Marriages New York "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938", citing FHL microfilm: 001671675, FamilySearch Record: Q2CN-HSMR (accessed 10 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: 3QSQ-G9Z4-14Q Image number 00016, Georgina Muirdon Wools (32) marriage to Francis Bacon (34) on 7 Jun 1866 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.
  4. Marriage "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938", citing FHL microfilm: 1530643; Record number: 94, FamilySearch Record: 244G-SWH (accessed 10 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-L9GC-J93G Image number 00303, Georgeanna Muirson Woolsey (32) marriage to Francis Bacon (34) on 7 Jun 1866 in Manhattan, New York County, New York, United States.
  5. 1870 Census "United States Census, 1870", citing Page: 21; Affiliate Publication Number: M593; Line: 17; FHL microfilm: 000545608; Record number: 9864, FamilySearch Record: MN7N-18T (accessed 13 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: S3HT-62H3-RZ4 Image number 00251, Georgiana W Ba?m (36) in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Born in New York.
  6. 1880 Census "United States Census, 1880", citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm , FamilySearch Record: MFCT-DRS (accessed 10 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9YYY-C5D Image number 00199, Georganna Bacon (44), wife, At Home, in household of Francis Bacon (47) in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Born in New York, United States.
  7. Death "Connecticut, Charles R. Hale Collection, Vital Records, 1640-1955", citing Page: 252a; FHL microfilm: 3349; Record number: 476, FamilySearch Record: F7LS-M3F (accessed 10 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-89F5-3QMF Image number 00674, Georgeanna Muirson Woolsey Bacon death 27 Jan 1906, wife of Francis, in Connecticut, United States.
  8. Memorial Find a Grave (has image), Find A Grave: Memorial #8936786 (accessed 13 June 2023), Memorial page for Georgeanna Muirson Woolsey Bacon (5 Nov 1833-27 Jan 1906), citing Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA (plot: 52 Cedar Ave.); Maintained by V. Nareen Lake (contributor 46613568).

See also:





Is Georgeanna your ancestor? Please don't go away!
 star icon Login to collaborate or comment, or
 star icon contact private message the profile manager, or
 star icon ask our community of genealogists a question.
Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com

DNA
No known carriers of Georgeanna's ancestors' DNA have taken a DNA test.

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.



Comments

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.