SUVCW Ancestor of Greg R. Caton   HENRY TYLER CATON Corporal Company G, 126th New York Infantry Second Great Grandfather Henry Tyler Caton was born in Rushville, N.Y., in September 1843 to George W. and Sarah M. Livingston Caton. His father was a carriage maker/wagon maker by profession. Caton enlisted in 11 August 1862 as a private in the 126th New York Infantry. Before going off to war however, Henry Caton married Martha “Mattie” T. Croffert (born abt. 1844 in N.Y.) at Potters, N.Y. Just over a month after he had enlisted (recorded as being 5’10” tall with sandy complexion, blue eyes and red hair) his inexperienced regiment was quickly put into the field and was captured en masse at Harpers Ferry on September 15, 1862. Paroled the following day, Henry later returned to duty and was promoted to 7th corporal on November 1, 1862. Not long after his promotion, Henry was sick in the hospital in Washington, D.C. (and also at West’s Building, USA General Hospital, Baltimore, Md.), where he remained for nearly a year before returning to duty on December 12, 1863. By that time, he had also been elevated to 6th corporal. By the spring of 1864, Gen. U.S. Grant was pressing on Richmond and Henry Caton’s regiment began to see significant service. On May 10, 1864, Caton’s regiment, while going in line of battle at Po River, came under fire. At that time, Caton received a gunshot wound in the upper third of his left thigh. Caton later noted in his pension application that the ball was of “English manufacture made for the Whitworth Rifle. It was nearly spent when it struck me, striking the side of the bone and passing to the rear of it but did not go through it.” The ball had not shattered, but fractured the femur. Though the ball was extracted, gangrene later set into Caton’s leg and at one point the doctor told him that “he could not help me.” Another “skillful surgeon” actually ended up saving Caton’s life and his leg, but the damage was done leaving Caton, as he later explained “helpless.” Though he had not returned to duty, Caton was transferred on December 25, 1864 from company G to company E. However, he was officially mustered out with Company G, 126th N.Y. Infantry on June 3, 1865 in Alexandria, Virginia. Henry Caton was listed in a special census for 1865 as living in Hopewell, Ontario County, New York. On March 10, 1866, Henry and Mattie had their first child, George B. Caton. Within a few years and before 1870, the family moved across the state line into the town of Lawrenceville in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. There, Frederick C. Caton (October 1879) and probably Louis H. Caton (June 1886) were born to the couple. Though initially a farmer, Henry’s primary occupation for most of his life from this time onward was that of a painter. It appears the family remained in Lawrenceville until sometime after Mattie’s death in March 1887, after which time they moved to Washington, D.C. Henry Caton was married a second time on December 2, 1889 in Washington, D.C. to Kate G. Jackson (born 10/12/1853 in Newport, Ky., the daughter of Mansfield and Elizabeth Tolson Weaglesworth). Then, sometime prior to 1891, Henry, Kate and his children moved to Wheaton, Montgomery Co., Md. Apparently, after the children had moved out, Henry decided to move again to Washington, D.C. On August 12, 1907, he purchased a farm back in Lawrenceville, Pa., where he and Kate remained until October 1909, when he decided to sell the farm. At about this point, relations between Henry and Kate had deteriorated and the couple was divorced on October 3, 1910. He applied and was admitted to the New York State Soldiers & Sailors Home in Bath, N.Y. on January 10, 1910 and remained there until March 31, 1911, when he moved to Canandaigua, N.Y. where he died on May 24, 1912. His father, George W. Caton, served as a musician in the Co K 148th NY from 1862-63 when discharged due to Brother Reuben Torrey Caton (1844-1925) enlisted late in the war in 1865 in Co. B, 148th New York Infantry. Return to the Maryland Dept. SUVCW Ancestor Matrix SUVCW Camp #1881 Copyright © 2006-2008.