John H. Pardington

John H. Pardington was born in England on Jan.1, 1839. He was one of six children of William and Elizabeth Pardington. It is uncertain when the family came to this country, but they settled in Wayne County and took up farming.

In December of 1860, John married Sarah Ann Knapp, daughter of Benjamin Fairchild Knapp and Sarah Ann Pattee Knapp of Brownstown, Michigan. John and Sarah settled in Trenton, Michigan. On June 11, 1862 they had a baby daughter, Maria. Before his enlistment John Pardington was a store clerk in Trenton.

John answered President Lincoln's call for volunteers and enlisted in Captain Isaac Ingersoll's Company, company B on August 6, 1862. .Although listed as a musician in the roster, none of the eighty-five letters he sent to his wife mentions playing an instrument of any kind. He was promoted to Corporal in January of 1863. On the first of January he turned twenty-four, the same day the Emancipation Proclamation became law. He fought in the battles of Fredericksburg, Fitzhugh Crossing, and Chancellorsville, and was also involved in the smaller engagements of the Regiment.

Ultimately and tragically, he died July 1 at Gettysburg along with many other members of the24th. He was shot through the right lung and killed. His body was never identified and he is buried somewhere either in an unmarked grave, or as one of the "unknowns" in the National Cemetery.

His infant daughter, Maria always cherished the letters that her father had sent home from the war. It was the most tangible link to the father she would never know. She grew up, married, and became very prominent in the Women's Suffrage movement. At one time in her life, during a relatively short span of time, she lost her husband and three of her five sons in separate, accidental deaths. She had to go to work to make ends meet. She was deputized, and carried a gun, so she could escort juvenile offenders to detention homes. Later on she was employed as a friend of the court in Ann Arbor.

Descendant: Coralou Lassen Pardington@aol.com