Napoleon Bonaparte "Nappy" Greathouse
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: 17 Jul 1838 - Pleasant Hill Township, Pike County, Illinois 141
Christening:
Death: 25 Dec 1928 - Quincy - Soldier’s Home , Adams County, Illinois
Burial: 28 Dec 1928 - Sunny Hill - Low Cemetery, Pike County, Illinois
Cause of Death:
Events
• He appeared on the census in 1850 in , Scott County, Illinois. 141 Napoleon Greathouse is listed with Elizabeth Greathouse as age 12, male, b. IL
Parents
Father: Samuel L. Greathouse (Abt 1795-Bef 1850) 38,39
Mother: Elizabeth Carr (Abt 1805- )
Spouses and Children
1. *Mary Ellen Low (20 Jun 1842 - 18 Sep 1877) 95
Marriage: 17 Jul 1862 - Pittsfield - Newburg Twp, Pike County, Illinois
Children:
1. James William Greathouse (1864-1930)
2. Robert Henry Greathouse (1865-1902)
3. Hester May Greathouse (1867-1948)
4. Ida Elizabeth Greathouse (1869-1953) 96
5. Geneva L. Greathouse (1871-1877) 96
6. Phoebe Margaret "Phebe" Greathouse (1873-1894)
7. Margaret "Maggie" Greathouse (1876-After 1948) 96
2. Mrs Martha Elliot ( - )
Marriage: 1 Mar 1880
Notes
General:
áSource: Bingham James F. Lowe Letter 5 May 1998.Marriage Notes (Mary Ellen Low)
In the Pittsfield West Cemetery : Nellie Greathouse 1869-1942 next to Cecile May Groom 1891-1955 and (husband) Hurly Groom 1881-1970. A relative of N.B. somehow?
Fought in Civil War. Obituary "Civil War Veteran, Napoleon Greathouse, dies at Quincy Soldiers Home where he had lived for several years, at the age of 91. He was formerly of Christopher, Il and served as a private in Co., C, 112th Reg. US Infantry. 27 Dec 1928.
Pike County Census 1840 p. 105 There is a Bonaparte Greathouse, HofH, but N.B. would have been only 2 years of age....His father? Shows in 1850 Pike Co Census but not in 1860 or 1870.
His obituary appeared in the "Pike County Times," on Dec 28, 1928 and read:
Napoleon Greathouse Brought here for Burial. Napoleon Greahouse, who for years lived in the vicinity of Newburg and Detroit, passed away at the Soldiers Home in Quincy Christmas day at the age of 90 years. The body was brought to this city Thursday morning and the funeral services held at the Plattner Chapel that afternoon at 2 o'clock. Burial was made in the Low cemetery at Sunny Hill.
Another obituary appeared in the "Pike County Republican," in Pittsfield, Illinois, on January 9, 1929, which read:
Napoleon B. Greathouse. Napoleon B. Greathouse, son of Samuel and Elizabeth Greathouse, was born near Pleasant Hill, Ill., on July 17, 1838, and departed this life at the Soldiers Home in Quincy on December 25, 1928, aged 90 years, five months and eight days.
Abstract of his Military Service (Source Kathy Berigan)
According to his records, Napoleon enlisted at Jacksonville, IL, April 18, 1862 for three years, under Captain Wilkerson. He servied in Co. "C", 12th Volunteer Regiment of the Infantry, under Capt. Quimbly. He was age 23, 6'1", fair complexion, hazel eyes, dark hair. He was a farmer by occupation, birth place unknown in Illinois. He received a Certificate of Disability Discharge "for chronic inflammation of eye-lids and bad conformation of the chest" and was discharged out of Fort Hamilton, (where he claims he got the disease but no treatment), New York Harbor, on June 19, 1862.
In the early 1890s, Napoleon applied for an invalid pension, but apparently his claim was denied (because he served less than 3 months of service.) Napoleon contends that he enlisted April 1 and was discharged July 1 (hence 3 months of service), but no official records bear out his claim.) In affidavits, several doctors (2 from Pike Co., and 2 from Greene Co.) described his condition as "chronic conjunctivitis, unable to do manual labor; sore and weak eyes, which he said he got in service; granulated lids, going blind; weak lungs, health ruined by disease he contracted in service, chronic in nature; totally blind." Several relatives \endash John and Samuel Bollman, of Prosperity, Franklin Co., IL, Jefferson Kesterson, of Pittsfield, Pike Co., IL, and Willis Daniels, of Florence, Pike Co., IL \endash also submitted affidavits on his behalf, saying he was sound before the war, and suffered from these conditions upon returning from the war.
In 1891, Napoleon listed Prosperity, Franklin Co., IL as his place of residence. Napoleon is unable to write (due to blindness?) and makes his mark X. As late as 1946, several years before her death, Napoleon's daughter, Ida Bollman of Detroit, IL, tried to collect on this pension and was told the pension was rejected "on the ground that the alleged diseases of the lungs and sore eyes were not incurred in service in line of duty" and "on the ground of his having served less than 90 days."
Service conducted by E. W. Hickerson, JPMarriage Notes (Mrs Martha Elliot)
DH Bodine JP performed the ceremony