Grand Army of the Republic, Henry Lincoln Post #364 Records

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-140

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The records of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), Henry Lincoln Post #364 document its 50-year history as an organization that supported Civil War veterans in Oberlin. The series contained herein describe the operations of the group, events and meetings held, income and expenses, and the passing of its members. The collection spans many years and many functions of the group.

The collection is divided into six record series: I. Bylaws and Regulations; II. Journals; III. Membership; IV. Financial Records; V. Historical Records; and VI. Clippings. Within each series, files are arranged either chronologically or alphabetically.

The first series in the collection holds three copies of the bylaws approved by the Ohio GAR headquarters in September of 1883, documenting the establishment of the Oberlin GAR post. Two copies are identical published leaflets, and the final copy is handwritten in a bound journal.

The journals (Series II) contain minutes of meetings of the Henry Lincoln Post of the GAR, and provide a consecutive record of the actions of the group from 1883 to 1931. From this part of the collection, the researcher is able to get a very real sense of the day to day actions of the Post.

The membership series, along with the member lists contained in the journals, is extremely valuable, as it possesses many individual member histories, and could possibly be used for genealogical research. The papers contained in these folders give information on what becoming a member of the organization entailed, and the extent of the sense of fraternity within the post.

Central to the financial series is the set of five ledgers, which give a comprehensive account of the expenditures and income of the Post. Also important are the thorough Quartermaster’s reports. Lastly, the historical records and clippings series contain a wealth of information about how the Henry Lincoln Post and its members influenced the Oberlin community, through planned events and the lives of individuals.

Note: In the fall of 2006, Oberlin student Nick Gliserman did extensive research on this collection. He found that there were discrepancies within the records, especially concerning individual member histories. The researcher should be aware that these inconsistencies exist.

Dates

Creation: 1862 - 1934
Creation: Majority of material found in 1883-1932
Other: Date acquired: 10/22/1980

Creator

Grand Army of the Republic. Henry Lincoln Post No. 364 (Oberlin, OH) (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted.

Biographical Sketch

The Grand Army of the Republic, begun nationally in 1866, was an organization for Union veterans of the Civil War intended to give mutual aid to members and to assist veterans’ widows and orphans. Individual posts were operated following military procedure. Oberlin had a post the following year (Lorain County News, March 6, 1867), but it apparently did not last very long.

Then, in 1883, Oberlin’s eventual post of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Henry Lincoln Post #364, was formed. The post was named for an Oberlin resident who had served with Company C., Seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Henry W. Lincoln (1842-1863), who had risen to the rank of Lieutenant while participating in all the engagements of his company from Cross Lanes through Antietam, had been discharged for disability in January, 1863, and died in Oberlin the following July 1. Oberlin’s post #364 was instrumental in providing support and a social outlet for Oberlin Civil War veterans from its first year until 1935. In its founding year, 23 members of Elyria’s GAR post (the Richard Allen Post) who were residents of Oberlin began to find the distance between the two cities a hardship, and decided to start their own post. The group met for the first time in August of 1883. Their bylaws were approved by the Ohio GAR headquarters by September of that year, and afterwards they became an official post of the GAR. For the next fifty years, the Henry Lincoln Post was active in the Oberlin community, giving money to relief funds and commemorating veterans and their families through grave markers and memorial services. Membership reached a peak at around 1891, with 86 names on the roster (though only 57 members were in regular attendance). Since the Henry Lincoln Post only admitted members who were veterans of the Civil War, after 1895, the membership began to decline as members died or moved away. In 1935, the Post’s last active member remaining in Oberlin, George H. Houghton, passed on, and with his death came the end of the Henry Lincoln Post.

Sources Consulted

William E. Bigglestone’s unpublished “[preliminary] Guide to the Oberlin College Archives,” which was prepared as individual entry sheets in a three-ring binder during the early 1980s.

Nicholas Gliserman’s research paper concerning the Grand Army of the Republic’s Henry Lincoln Post #364 (Oberlin, Ohio), written in the fall of 2006.

Note written by Emma Anderson.

Extent

1.24 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Method of Acquisition

The records of the Grand Army of the Republic, Henry Lincoln Post #364 (Oberlin, Ohio) were received by the Oberlin College Library in 1930-31 from Mr. George Houghton, the last surviving member of the Post.

The records were transferred to the Oberlin College Archives in 1980 [Accession 1980/33 and 1980/35].

Accruals and Additions

Accession Nos: 1980/33, 1980/35.

Related Materials

The Elliot F. Grabill Papers (RG 30/43), Henry Harrison Barnard Papers (RG 30/317), Giles Waldow Shurtleff Papers (RG 30/32), and the student file of Henry W. Lincoln (RG 28).