Ancestral Discoveries: The Battles of John Harter Wise Sr. (1846-1932)

Today, I visited the Herrick District Library for the first time in several months, now that it has re-opened. I checked out some books about Genealogy, printed an SF-180 form to request military documents on my paternal grandfather, etc. Before I left though, I decided to check out the cabinet in the back of the Library that contained obituaries, death records, etc. for people in our city. I have used this cabinet before- it's how I discovered my 2nd great grandfather committed suicide, by finding his obituary. I noticed three interesting drawers however, containing newspaper clippings about family reunions that were published in the city newspaper. I decided to look for the usual family surnames in the files: TerVree, Huyser, Harkema, Wise, etc., but did not find much, except for some Huyser family reunion stuff. For example, that my 2nd great grandfather, Jan Peter Huyser, was the president of an assocation that organized a reunion for the many descendants of his father, Pieter Huyser Sr., an immigrant from Zoetermeer, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands, and an original settler of Dutch West Michigan. But the most interesting discovery was about my 3rd great grandfather, John Harter Wise Sr., born in 1846 in Reading, Pennsylvania, to Abraham Wise and Clara Harter.

When he was only 16, Wise enlisted in the Pennsylvania Infantry. Wise's service is pretty well documented, he applied for and received a pension for his service, and he is listed in the 1890 Veteran's Schedules. Wise led a fascinating life- he was a teenager in the Union Army who fought in vicious battles when he was younger then I am now. Can any of us imagine fighting in brutal battles as teenagers? We may not, but he lived through it for the unity of his country. And not to mention the fighting, he was wounded and also captured during the war. In 1869 he married Lucy Saxton, a maiden of rich New England heritage, in Toledo, Ohio. By 1880 he was an engineer in Grand Junction, Michigan, the father of three children at the time. Wise died in 1932, a much respected man. He was even an honorary member of the United Spanish War Veterans.

The newspaper clipping that I came across was headlined "Veteran J. Wise Celebrates 85th Birthday" and was published on May 14, 1931. It would have just been an interesting clipping if not for this passage: "Among the battles in which he fought were South Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and Petersberg."

Previously, it was known that he had fought at the Battle of Antietam where he was wounded, at the Battle of Chancellorsville where he was captured, and at Cold Harbor. The additional four battles listed are completely new to me, especially the Siege of Petersburg, which was also a battle that I have been always interested in. To find an ancestor who fought there, laboring out of love for his country, which was being torn asunder by rebellion, is a truly beautiful thing.

Let us always remember the human side of Genealogy, and ponder and reflect upon our discoveries. Let us put ourselves in the shoes of John Harter Wise Sr., and imagine fighting battles, being wounded, and even captured as a teenage boy. Many of us could never imagine that, could never match his patriotism, and could never live the life that this brave teenage soldier experienced, my great-great-great grandfather.