M. 24 Dec 1863 in Ray County, Missouri
Wife: Elizabeth C. Sutherlin
D. about 1865 in (probably) Kansas
Simon C. Carey went from being a boy in Ireland, to an immigrant in the American Midwest, to a Civil War soldier, all within a short life.
Simon was born in County Clare, Ireland sometime during the years 1839 to 1845. Little is known of his life there; he must have experienced the potato famine in his youth, but that doesn't seem to be the reason he migrated to America. A family tradition says that he was from the village of Kilmihil, and this is within a tiny region which has appeared in the Ancestry DNA communities of descendants.
Purple area shows Ancestry DNA community with Kilmihil within it.
A story passed down to descendants says that after Simon's father died, the parish priest demanded payment for funeral expenses from the family, and that Simon may have gotten into a fistfight with him. According to family lore, this is why he had to leave Ireland along with his brother. He arrived in America in about 1859 or 1860, and within a couple of years, he turned up in Missouri.
This was a tense time in U.S. history just before the start of the Civil War. When fighting began, young men like Simon were lured into service with an opportunity to make quick money. On April 25, 1862, he joined the the 71st Regiment Enlisted Missouri Militia in Marshall, Missouri, serving as a replacement for a man named Thomas Owens. Simon's age on the enlistment gave him a birth year of 1844 or 1845. He was relieved from duty on February 20, 1863. There was a man named Lilburn Carey who signed up at the same time and place as Simon, and this may have been his brother, but there are no other records of the man.
Simon enlisted again on January 17, 1863 in the same regiment under a different captain. This record has his age being born in 1839 or 1840. The company disbanded on May 6th and he returned to civilian life.
A few months later, Simon married a non-Irish woman, Elizabeth Sutherlin, in Ray County, Missouri; the wedding took place on Christmas Eve. She became pregnant, then he joined the army again, signing on with the 7th Missouri Cavalry in Hannibal on August 15, 1864. His military record said that he was 5' 7-1/2" tall with blue eyes and dark hair. His signature showed that he had enough education to at least write his name.
This was a tense time in U.S. history just before the start of the Civil War. When fighting began, young men like Simon were lured into service with an opportunity to make quick money. On April 25, 1862, he joined the the 71st Regiment Enlisted Missouri Militia in Marshall, Missouri, serving as a replacement for a man named Thomas Owens. Simon's age on the enlistment gave him a birth year of 1844 or 1845. He was relieved from duty on February 20, 1863. There was a man named Lilburn Carey who signed up at the same time and place as Simon, and this may have been his brother, but there are no other records of the man.
Simon enlisted again on January 17, 1863 in the same regiment under a different captain. This record has his age being born in 1839 or 1840. The company disbanded on May 6th and he returned to civilian life.
A few months later, Simon married a non-Irish woman, Elizabeth Sutherlin, in Ray County, Missouri; the wedding took place on Christmas Eve. She became pregnant, then he joined the army again, signing on with the 7th Missouri Cavalry in Hannibal on August 15, 1864. His military record said that he was 5' 7-1/2" tall with blue eyes and dark hair. His signature showed that he had enough education to at least write his name.
Simon's enlistment dated August 15, 1864.
Simon served through the end of the Civil War and beyond. He was assigned to companies L, K, and C before being put in company M in January 1865. In February, he was an orderly at the regimental headquarters in Arkansas, and in April and May, he worked as a cook. This was after the war ended, but because he had committed to a 3-year enlistment the summer before, he wasn’t discharged yet. On June 28th, Simon was given the job of “escort duty,” taking him away from camp. He was finally mustered out on September 1, 1865 in Little Rock.
While Simon was in the army, his only child was born on October 7, 1864, a son named Thomas. He didn’t live to see the boy grow up, because only a short time after his discharge, Simon was said to have died of “an abscess in his side.” The date of his death is unknown. Elizabeth remarried in 1868 to another man who served in the Civil War, but she died within a couple years.
Child:
1. Thomas Michael Carey — B. 7 Oct 1864, Gardner, Kansas; D. 5 Feb 1937, Coffeyville, Kansas; M. Bertha Gertrude Kightlinger (1875-1946), 21 Oct 1895, Burlington, Kansas
Sources:
Civil War military records of Simon C. Carey
“Tom Carey is Dead After Brief Illness”, Coffeyville Daily Journal, February 6, 1937
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