Old Court House Civil War Museum 20 N. Loudoun Street Winchester, VA 22601 (540) 542-1145 courthousemuseum@verizon.net

                                        Information on Research File 39

If "Wesley" is the first name and "C" the first initial of the surname in the inscription on the wall, there appears to be only one possible candidate from Lambertville with relevant military service:

WESLEY J. CROOK ----  CO C, 214TH PENNSYLVANIA INFANTRY

 Background:  Subject, who was born about 1847, grew up in New Hope, PA and appears there in the 1850 and 1860 census.  New Hope is directly across the Delaware River from Lambertville, NJ and the two communities are closely tied.  In fact, the 1860 census lists Lambertville as the New Hope Post Office address.  Subject is listed in the Lambertville census in 1870, 1880, 1890 Veterans schedule, 1895 NJ census and 1920 census.  For many years, he owned a successful wholesale and retail tin ware store, selling stoves, furnaces, steam heaters, etc.  His wife's name was Margaret, and they had a daughter named Carrie, probably named for Crook's mother Caroline.  He used various versions of his first name throughout his life, including J. Wesley, Wesley J. and John W.

 Military:  Subject enlisted on 21 March 1865 and mustered out on 21 March 1866.  The regimental history on NPS is brief, but seems to place subject in the area near the end of the war.  It states that the regiment was ordered to the Shenandoah Valley froim 21 March 1865 until July 1865, then transferred to Washington, 22nd Corps.  It served guard and provost duty in the Shenandoah Valley.  (Possibly someone with more detailed knowledge of this period and what happened at the court house can determine if it was likely that subject could have been present at the courthouse.)  Subject does not appear to have a pension file.

 Note:  If it appears from the inscription that "Wesley" is the surname, or "C" the middle initial or part of the regiment designation, then other possibilities need to be researched.

Information courtesy of Barbara Koks.