Samuel H Libby
Rank: 1st Lt Co: A Age: 22 Residence: Limerick Birthplace: Limerick Occupation: Ice Merchant
Single; Height: 6' 1; Eyes: dark hazel; Hair: brown; Complexion: dark
SAMUEL HAMMONDS LIBBY was born in Limerick, Maine on 16 Mar 1840 [Libby Family, pg 398], the son of Hall Staples and Almeda (Hammonds) Libby. He died in Limerick on 28 Jul 1871, aged 31 yrs, 4 mos, 12 das [gravestone]. He was buried in the Staples (aka Emery's Corner) Cemetery in Limerick [YCCI, pg 1143].
While the 1860 census did not list an occupation for Samuel, he was seen as an ice merchant when he enlisted with the 27th Maine in September of 1862. The following year, his enlistment records show that he was still employed with that profession.
He reenlisted on 18 Dec 1863, commissioned captain of Company L, in the Second Maine Cavalry. Mustered in on the 24th, he served until the regiment's mustering out on 6 Dec 1865.
For a brief time after the war, Samuel moved to Cambridge, MA, where he worked as a conductor on the "U. Railroad" [this is the Union Railway Co.]. He is only seen there in the 1869 City Directory, and the 1870 Limerick census supports this, listing his occupation as "conductor on horse cars".
His death was reported in the Saco Maine Democrat newspaper, on 24 Aug 1871. It read as follows:
In Limerick, July 28th, Capt. Samuel H. Libby, son of Hall S. and Almeda Libby, Captain of Co. L, First Maine Cavalry at the close of the civil war, having served through it all, and having been promoted step by step from a private, - aged 31 years and 4 months. The friends of Captain Libby feel under deep obligations to the lodge of Odd Fellows of Boston, of which he was a member, for their many kindnesses and expressions of sympathy manifested during his last sickness; also to the Masonic fraternity, who took charge of the funeral, and buried their late brother with Masonic honors.
Note: he was in the 2nd Cavalry, and he didn't serve as a private.
There was a "Samuel H. Libby" Grand Army Post, No. 133, in Limerick named after this soldier, organized in Sept 1886.
For a brief time after the war, Samuel moved to Cambridge, MA, where he worked as a conductor on the "U. Railroad" [this is the Union Railway Co.]. He is only seen there in the 1869 City Directory, and the 1870 Limerick census supports this, listing his occupation as "conductor on horse cars".
His death was reported in the Saco Maine Democrat newspaper, on 24 Aug 1871. It read as follows:
In Limerick, July 28th, Capt. Samuel H. Libby, son of Hall S. and Almeda Libby, Captain of Co. L, First Maine Cavalry at the close of the civil war, having served through it all, and having been promoted step by step from a private, - aged 31 years and 4 months. The friends of Captain Libby feel under deep obligations to the lodge of Odd Fellows of Boston, of which he was a member, for their many kindnesses and expressions of sympathy manifested during his last sickness; also to the Masonic fraternity, who took charge of the funeral, and buried their late brother with Masonic honors.
Note: he was in the 2nd Cavalry, and he didn't serve as a private.
There was a "Samuel H. Libby" Grand Army Post, No. 133, in Limerick named after this soldier, organized in Sept 1886.
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The 1856 map of York County, Maine [found on the Library of Congress website] finds "H. Libby" in Limerick, Samuel's father. He had 24 acres of land in Limerick in 1860 [Agriculture Sch., pg 15], and 51 in 1870. Perhaps the pond (now called Pickerel Pond) out behind their farm was where Samuel harvested the ice for his business.
A small write-up about Samuel H. Libby can be found in the History of the Twenty-Seventh Maine Volunteer Infantry, pg 43 [available on Internet Archive] |
Additional notes:
1850 Limerick, York, Maine census: hh 124/132; Samuel H, age 10
1860 Limerick, ME census (pg 59); hh 447/469; Samuel age 20, no occ listed
1869 Cambridge, MA City Dir (pg 191): Samuel H. bds. Holyoke, cor Mt Auburn; he was conductor on U. Railroad
1870 Limerick, ME census (pg 14): hh 103/103; Samuel, with parents, though age written as 40, occ. a conductor on horse cars
Libby, Charles Thornton. Libby Family in America. Portland, Maine: B. Thurston & Co (1882): [pg 398 on Internet Archive]
Maine Democrat newspaper: Obit (24 Aug 1871, pg 3)
Find a Grave entry: Samuel H. Libby
1850 Limerick, York, Maine census: hh 124/132; Samuel H, age 10
1860 Limerick, ME census (pg 59); hh 447/469; Samuel age 20, no occ listed
1869 Cambridge, MA City Dir (pg 191): Samuel H. bds. Holyoke, cor Mt Auburn; he was conductor on U. Railroad
1870 Limerick, ME census (pg 14): hh 103/103; Samuel, with parents, though age written as 40, occ. a conductor on horse cars
Libby, Charles Thornton. Libby Family in America. Portland, Maine: B. Thurston & Co (1882): [pg 398 on Internet Archive]
Maine Democrat newspaper: Obit (24 Aug 1871, pg 3)
Find a Grave entry: Samuel H. Libby