Samuel Lydick
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: 11 Jan 1841 - , Marshall, VA (Later WV) 54
Christening:
Death: 2 May 1890 54
Burial:
Cause of Death:
Events
• He appeared on the census in 1840 in , Marshall, VA (Later WV). 506 Listed with Samuel Leydick (male under 5).
• He owned land on 7 May 1855 in Samuel Lydick Run, Marshall, VA (Later WV). 968 Named in deed as heir of Samuel Lydick. Land originally bought by Samuel Lydick from Robert C. Woods on 8 Apr 1845.
Parents
Father: Samuel Lydick (1798-1850) 54
Mother: Catherine Fair/Fehr (1805- ) 54
Spouses and Children
1. *Nancy Standiford (1836 - 15 Apr 1914) 54
Marriage: 20 Feb 1862 - , Marshall, VA (Later WV) 237
Notes
General:
Samuel Lydick (unless otherwise stated, all the information for this biography came from Samuel's Civil War Pension file)
Samuel was the ninth child of Samuel and Catherine Fair Lydick, born January 11, 1841 in Marshall County, Virginia (now West Virginia).1,2 His father died when he was nine years old (1850) and his mother probably died within a few years. Sometime about 1854 he went to live with his sister Mariann (Mary Ann) and her husband Uriah Harris for a period of three years.
Until he enlisted in the Union Army (April, 1861) he worked as a farmer and in a sawmill. He said in his Civil War Pension File deposition, "About five years before the war I lived on Fork Ridge about 2 1/2 miles from Glen Easton and lived there until I enlisted. I followed farming until about three years before I enlisted, during that I was working at a saw mill with my brother. I left the saw mill and went into the army."
Samuel married Nancy Standiford (daughter of Peter and Margaret Standiford, sister of Elizabeth Standiford who married Samuel's brother Levi) on February, 23, 1862, by Reverend John Trainer, at or near Glen Easton in Marshall County, West Virginia. Marriage license issued on February 20, 1862 in Marshall County.
(For full details about Samuel's military service, go to "Lydicks in Military Service" at this website)
During the war, in the Battle of Piedmont, he was hit by a (blunt) shell fragment in his left side. As a result of that injury, his lungs were permanently damaged and he suffered from hemorrhages (bleeding) the rest of his life. He had to be careful not to overexert himself, to prevent hemorrhage from recurring.
After the war Samuel returned Glen Easton and resumed farming (he was still occupied thus in 1883 when he gave his deposition to the Pension Board). At first he treated his lung condition with patent medicines such as vinegar bitters, wine of tar, cherry pictorial. This was while his main complaints were a cough and pain in his left side. He had a bad attack (hemorrhage) in 1867 and had to have someone cut his firewood that year. Through the winter he could not do much although he took care of his livestock. They were living near his wife's parents at the time and it was supposed that his father-in-law helped support them. Uriah Harris, husband of Samuel's sister Mary Ann, stated in his deposition, "He (Samuel) was not a healthy man when he came home from the army. In 1872 he had a bleeding spell and the doctors gave him up," although he eventually survived that bout.
In one deposition to the Pension Board, Samuel testified that his habits were good and that he had been strictly temperate (no alcohol) since 1872.
Adult Physical characteristics:
Height -- 5' 9 1/2"
Weight -- 145-155 pounds
Light complexion
He began to draw a small pension in 1886.
Samuel died at home on May 2, 1890, about 10:00 a.m., in the presence of his wife Nancy, age 54, Skelton Standiford, age 52, and S.L. Lydick, age 21. Skelton Standiford helped prepare Samuel's body for burial.
At the time of his death, Samuel's estate was valued as follows, per an affidavit filed in his Pension record: owned land worth $1600. with $800. still indebted. About $200. of personal property. Widow (Nancy) would be entitled to use of 1/3 of the realty after debts are paid, which amounted to $18.00-$20.00 per year, that being her only income, and "some little household and kitchen furniture." W.A. Stewart testified, "She is a poor woman, and crippled in her right hand."
Nancy received a widow's pension until her death, on April 15, 1914. Her address at the time of death was Glen Easton, West Virginia.
Additional information taken from Samuel's pension file:
1. Josiah Lydick, Samuel's brother, lived about 6 miles from Samuel just after the war. Josiah moved to Ohio in 1869, but returned to Glen Easton in 1876 for a visit. It appears from Josiah's deposition that he and Samuel got along well together.
2. James Richmond said Samuel was his wife's uncle.
3. William Richmond and Samuel were boys together. He referred to Samuel as "Sam".
4. Skelton Standiford and Samuel grew up together, knowing each other from about 1857.
5. "A part of one winter in 1869-70" a man named William Echols (he sold sewing machines) boarded at the home of Samuel and Nancy Lydick.
6. Henry Harris was a neighbor of Samuel's.
7. Uriah Harris had known Samuel since about 1847.
8. Joseph B. Waite had known Samuel since about 1853, when they were boys. He "worked the roads" with Samuel about 1867. In 1868 they lived about 1/4 mile apart. And on March 21, 1882 Samuel moved to about 2 miles from Waite.
9. John Black Lydick, Samuel's brother, stated by letter (dated 7-31-1884) to the pension board that he had seen Samuel only once in the last 12 years, although they kept in touch with each other. John B. was living in Guernsey County, Ohio at the time. Stated that Samuel had once lived with him prior to his first enlistment and worked for him in his saw mill. Also stated that Samuel did not work for him between his 1st and 2nd enlistments, and that Samuel "was living with another brother" after his final discharge.
10. William Lydick, Samuel's brother, gave his deposition on July 30, 1884: "I am a grocery man", living in Quaker City, Guernsey County, Ohio. William and Samuel worked together for a while before the war, and between Samuel's 1st and 2nd enlistments he worked some on William's farm and they did carpentry and wagon-making together (William was still living in Marshall County at the time).
11. Deposition given by Josiah Lydick, Samuel's brother, in 1884: Josiah was still in West Virginia after the war, but living in Parsons, Labette County, Kansas in December, 1884 where he was a farmer. Didn't see Samuel very often between 1866 and 1869 (not over 3 or 4 times). Saw him again in 1876. Also living in Parsons, Kansas were two other friends from Marshall County, Frank and William Richmond.
12. Deposition given by Henry Harris, who was also in Company D, 1st Regiment, W.Va. Volunteers Infantry: He was in the battle of Piedmont along with Samuel, but did not see Samuel get hurt. And then, "On the 18th of June, 1864 I was wounded at Lynchburg, Virginia and left on the battlefield, and was captured and sent to Libby Prison."
Notes:
1. 1840 U.S. Federal Census for Marshall County, Virginia (now West Virginia).
2. Samuel Lydick's family Bible. 237