Walkinshaw Family - John Henry Walkinshaw - Eduard Casillas American Civil War Studies Soldier Project - Page 2

 Early years
Of the many American men who would come of age in the mid-19^th century, John Henry Walkinshaw life’s experiences might be considered to be somewhat commonplace.  He was a first generation American who spent the greater portion of his life as a farmer.  He was married twice, was a widower once, and a father to 12 children, most of whom who survived to maturity.  Most dramatically, his life and person were unequivocally disabled by a single event caused by the Civil War. 

John Henry's father and grandfather were also named John Walkinshaw. John Sr. was born around 1778 in Ireland [1] Though the specific birthplace and birthdate are not known. John Jr. was born in 1810 in Antrim, Ireland. [1] Like many Irish families of the early 19th century, John Sr. and his family emigrated to the United States in 1819, eventually settling in a farming community in Ohio. By 1850, John Jr. would own a farm worth roughly $2000 [1,2] Less is known of John Henry's mother, Margaret (Glasgow) Walkinshaw except that she was born in 1812 and was also an Irish immigrant. [2,3]

John Henry Walkinshaw was born in the early summer of 1843, in Londonderry Township, Guernsey County, Ohio, situated about 30 miles west of the Pennsylvania border between Pittsburgh and Columbus. He was the ultimate middle child, being the fifth of ten children (the third son). His siblings were James, Jane, Maria, Hugh, {John}, Margaret, Adam, Samuel, Mary and Glasgo. [1,3]. The family was known to be living in Londonderry in 1852, but by 1860 they had moved west more than 700 miles to Yellow Springs in Des Moines County, Iowa.[3] (Des Moines County was not near the city of Des Moines but in the southeast corner [continued on page 3].

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