Decoration Day

My mother, Grace (Hamill) Babish always called Memorial Day 'Decoration Day', referring to the practice of decorating the graves of those who had died in war.  Over the years, the practice has been extended to placing flags on the graves of war veterans to honor their service and sacrifice, even if they had not died in battle.  An image of rows of uniform white grave markers each with its own flag comes to mind.

My mother's grandfather (my great grandfather), Thomas Hamill, did not die in battle, but he enlisted in the Union Army in 1864 at age 38, perhaps to serve the greater good, but perhaps to help his family with the bounty money he received.[1]

When he died in 1904, his widow, Ann (Fulton) Hamill, applied for a government supplied stone for his grave.  The card filed by the contractor who supplied Thomas' grave marker is shown below. [2]  The card correctly identifies that Thomas served in Co. B of the New Jersey Light Artillery and that he died April 22, 1904.  [3] [4] Curiously, it shows his burial location as Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City.  Thomas was actually buried in Evergreen Cemetery, in Elizabeth. [5]

A notice in The Evening Journal of Jersey City on January 5, 1905, states that headstones for deceased veterans had been received by County Overseer P. H. O'Neill, superintendent of soldiers' and sailors' burials. [6]  Thomas Hamill is mentioned first in the article.  The notice incorrectly identifies Thomas' unit as 'First New Jersey Infantry' and his death date as 'May 25, 1904'.  It identifies his widow, 'Anna' Hamill, as the applicant.  Her address, 396 Grove Street, matches the Hamill family residence at the time of Thomas' death a year earlier. [7]  Presumably at Overseer O'Neill's direction, Thomas Hamill's stone was subsequently placed on his grave in Evergreen Cemetery.

I have visited Evergreen Cemetery several times over the years searching for the graves of my ancestors and relations.  The first time I found Thomas Hamill's grave was on a rainy spring morning in 2006. [8]  The stone was wet and covered with moss and dirt, not pristine like veterans' graves in National cemeteries.  On Memorial Day, this is my tribute to Thomas Hamill's service and sacrifice.

THOS. HAMILL

CO.B.

1.N.J.L.ART.

[1] Thomas Hamill, Pvt., Battery B, 1 N.J. L. Artillery, Volunteer Enlistment, Compiled Military Service Records; Civil War; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's-1917, National Archives record Group 94; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

[2] Ancestry.com. Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Veterans, 1879-1903 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.  Original data: Card Records of Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Veterans, ca. 1879-ca. 1903; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1845, 22 rolls); Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[3] Thomas Hamill, Pvt., Battery B, 1 N.J. L. Artillery, Volunteer Enlistment, Compiled Military Service Records, Civil War, RG 94, NA-Washington.

[4] Division of Archives and Records Management, Death Certificates, New Jersey State Archives (Trenton, New Jersey, New Jersey State Archives), Thomas Hamill; Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey; State of New Jersey, Certificate of Death; 22 April 1904. Transportation of Dead Human Body.

[5] Evergreen Cemetery (Elizabeth, New Jersey) to Daniel Babish, plot records, Thomas Hammill plot record entry [two burial dates] 25 April 1904, unknown location; 11 November 1912, section W, lot 132, grave 3.

[6] "More Headstones for War Veterans"; 12 January 1905; Thomas Hammill headstone; accessed 21 August 2011, Evening Journal (The), Jersey City, New Jersey, online images (www.genealogybank.com).

[7] Division of Archives and Records Management, Death Certificates, New Jersey State Archives, Thomas Hamill, Certificate of Death, 22 April 1904.

[8] Evergreen Cemetery (Elizabeth, New Jersey), Thomas Hamill grave marker; Section W, lot 132, photographed by Daniel Babish, 19 May 2006.