William S. Worthley
Butcher, Blacksmith, Constable, Civil War Vet, father of 10
William had 5 brothers; Thomas, Peter, James, Charles, and Benjamin.
Thomas was the chief of the fire department in the nearby town of Long Branch for many years, the first fire chief ever in the town. He was also involved in the livery business for many years (sale and rental of horses, carriages, boarding, etc.). He was a democrat and involved in local politics.
Thomas suffered a lot of tragedy in his family life. He lost 3 of his 4 children, and his wife, by the time he was 53. His son Harry died as an infant, their daughter Ida at age 4, and their son Samuel died of tuberculosis at age 21. It appears that his wife Ophelia died 5 months later in the Trenton Insane Asylum. There is no information on what mental health problems she had, if she was already committed to the asylum when her son died, or if she was sent there after his death. Thomas was left with just 1 son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild. Then in 1909 tragedy struck again and Thomas's only grandchild died of a brain hemorrhage.
Peter left for New York City when he was just 14. He was a hat salesman for 40 years, and then a real estate broker, and in the final years before his death, an insurance broker. He had 3 very artistic sons; one a journalist, the other a commercial illustrator, and the third, Irving Worthley, had a decorative ironworks business. Irving went to Pratt Institute, and Harvard University, and studied Forest Engineering. A forest engineer oversaw roads, train tracks, and bridges being built through forests.
Irving had his ironworks business until the Great Depression brought about its closure, he then used his Harvard degree and became a forest engineer and engineering professor. Irving married a painter, and also liked to paint himself. His wife Caroline Bonsall worked for a famous ceramic company, Rockwood, painting beautiful designs on the ceramics. She was also a painter and jeweler.
James fought in the Civil War with William and then moved to New York and became a wholesale hat dealer, likely working with his brother Peter.
Charles died when he was about 18 at sea, that is all I could find on him.
Benjamin worked for the railroad for the majority of his life, working at the freight station in Red Bank, NJ for much of that. He was active in democratic politics, and was the local tax collector for the county for a time.
William Worthley was the great-grandfather of Grandma Jane Kolb Byles, and the namesake of Jane's Father William Worthley Kolb (the candy maker).
William was born November 3rd, 1841 in Little Silver, New Jersey. He was the third child born to Abbot Worthley and Jane Letson. The family soon moved to nearby Shrewsbury and had a farm there. William's father was a farmer and a stone mason.
In the 1860 census William was working as a blacksmith and living with his family. Two years later, in September 1862, when he was 21, he and his younger brother enlisted in the army to fight in the Civil War. He was a sergeant in the Union Army in the New Jersey 29th Regiment. He served for 9 months and 29 days. He and his brother served in the same regiment, this probably played a big part in keeping them both alive (scroll down to the bottom to read about the famous battle they fought in, and their luck in being released from duty right before Gettysburg).
When he came home from the war, he moved to nearby Eatontown and married Jane Allgor, in November 1864, when they were both 23. Jane’s family were the town blacksmiths and had had a forge in town for over 100 years. I would not be surprised if William worked for the Allgor's forge and that is how he met Jane. William and Jane had 10 children, from when Jane was age 24 to age 38; Susan, Frederic, Jennie, Nellie, Harry, Caroline, Emily, Annie, Maggie, and a baby that died as an infant. Tragically three of their daughters died young, Maggie as an infant, Annie when she was 6, and Nellie when she was 25, just one year after she got married. I will write more about each of their children in the future.
Early in their marriage, William served on the town council, and as a constable for Eatontown, additionally working as a farmer. Later in life he became the town butcher, and taught his son Fred the trade. There are many articles about Jane and William throwing parties and being very involved in the community and church.
William’s Siblings
Thomas Worthley
Irving Worthley
Caroline Bonsall's Artwork
All her Rockwood pieces are signed at the bottom and can be purchased from antique dealers. If any family member ever wants one you could probably find one online.
Here is an interesting article detailing how William lost his eye when he was 65.
William and Jane raised their children in a house on Lewis Street in Eatontown. In 1888 they bought the property of Jane’s father Samuel who had passed away the year before. They lived there for the remainder of their lives.
Jane died just after her 83rd birthday on July 22nd 1924 of a stroke, which she had been “stricken with a month before.”
William lived the longest of all his siblings, dying in 1932 at the age of 91.
William’s Time in the Civil War
William Worthley in The Civil War
William and James Worthley enlisted in the army in September 1862, and later that month left for Washington DC with about 900 other men. They camped outside the city and worked on the defense of the capitol. Next, they were at the battle of Fredericksburg, one of the largest and deadliest battles of the war.
The pontoon bridges at Fredericksburg
The battle of Fredericksburg was an attempt by the Union army to quickly march 40 miles across country and take the city of Fredericksburg, positioning them on the direct road to Richmond, the Confederate capital.
The Federals could not move into the city, however, without first crossing the Rappahannock River. Through a series of miscommunications and bad bureaucracy, the supplies to build pontoon bridges did not arrive for 10 days. In that time the Confederate army had arrived on the other side of the river. After much fighting, the Union army eventually built its bridges and entered to city. Several days of gruesome battle followed in the city and the hills around it. Ultimately the Union army lost the battle and had to withdraw back across the river.
The 29th regiment did not participate in much of the fighting, they had duties patrolling the city while the battle was fought in the hills nearby. On December 15th, a stormy night, they were the last regiment to cross the pontoon bridges as the army withdrew under heavy fire, but surprisingly, none of their men were shot.
The 29th regiment then moved to Aquia Creek, Virginia, and their duty was to guard the railroad until January, 1863. And then on to Belle Plain, until April 27th.
The Battle of Chancellorsville was the last battle that William and James Worthley fought in, probably saving each others lives many times during the war just by being in the same regiment together and watching out for each other.
The battle was a “bloody assault by the Union army in Virginia that failed to encircle and destroy the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.”
The Confederate army lead by General Robert E. Lee, and the Union army lead General Joseph Hooker, had spent the winter of 1863 facing each other across the Rappahannock River in Virginia.
Battle of Chancellorsville, by Kurz and Allison, 1889
The Wilderness, photograph from the Library of Congress
On April 27th General Hooker started moving his army in an elaborate plan to confront Lee and drive his army out of its camp in Fredericksburg. He moved his cavalry behind Lee’s army, intending to cut off any retreat by the Confederates. Two days later he sent another force, roughly 30,000 men, across the Rappahannock River below Fredericksburg and upriver with the main body of his army. By May 1 his superior forces were massed near Chancellorsville, a crossroads in a densely forested lowland called the Wilderness.
Though out-manned, General Lee did not retreat. He met Hooker’s challenge head on, going against military doctrine and splitting up his smaller army to fight both sides of the Union army. Ultimately, this was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. Brilliant tactics by Lee thwarted Hooker’s ambitions and resulted in a victory for the South. Over the next three days of battl,e Lee’s pressure forced the Union to retreat north of the river under heavy fire. The 29th regiment’s only battle casualties happened during this retreat.
The battle is considered one of Robert E Lee’s greatest victories, taking on an army more than twice the size of his and winning. It came at the cost of many many lives on both sides. “Of 130,000 Union soldiers engaged at Chancellorsville, more than 10,000 were wounded and 7,500 were killed or reported missing. Of 60,000 Confederates, more than 8,000 were wounded, and 3,500 were killed or reported missing.”
William and James’ 9-month commitment to the army was almost over after Chancellorsville, and they soon marched to Washington DC, and then finally went home.
Interestingly, Peter Kolb (Grandma Jane’s great-grandfather) was also present at this battle, with the 74th New York regiment. Little did they know that their children, William’s daughter Jenny, and Peter’s son John, would marry someday. Read about John here.
Unidentified soldiers from the New Jersey 29th Regiment. Photograph from the Library of Congress. I wonder if James or William are in here?