Andrew Tennyson - Bishop Post, G.A.R.

Andrew (Andy) Tennyson was just 16 when he enlisted in Company B, 153rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry towards the end of the war.  He was a Huntington County boy who signed up in Wabash, Indiana on January 28, 1865; he would turn 17 in February of that year. 

 His unit of 1033 men mustered in in Indianapolis and then headed out for service in Kentucky. 
 Andy was discharged on September 4, 1865 in Louisville, Kentucky.

After returning home, he moved to Napoleon, Henry County, Ohio, to begin his civilian life.  There he married Elizabeth Maris in 1868.  The couple was enumerated on the 1870 census there and Andrew was working as a day laborer. 

No trace could be found of them in the 1880 census or of him in the 1890 veterans census.  But, at some point, his wife Elizabeth died and Andy caused quite a scandal in Paulding County. 

Defiance Daily Crescent - April 8, 1889

A divorce must have occurred because Mrs. Brown (Anna) and Andrew Tennyson were married that July 21, 1889.  

In 1900, Anna and Andy were in Auglaize Township, Paulding County, Ohio. Andrew, 52, worked as a ship carpenter, and Anna, 42, reported that they had been married ten years.  They had one child, Hazle B. who was 8. 


Finally, by 1910, they had made their way to Defiance, Ohio, where they lived at 1110 Perry Street.  Andrew, 63, a house carpenter, and Anna, 52, reported a 22 year marriage; both had been married twice. 

In 1915, Andy made the newspapers again due to a domestic dispute with his son-in-law, presumably Hazle's husband.
 

Defiance Democrat - January 21, 1915

In the 1920 census, Andy was enumerated alone...widowed and with no occupation.
 Andrew Tennyson died on May 8, 1924.  The funeral services were held at his Deatrick Street home with members of the GAR as honorary pallbearers and World War I veterans carried the body to the gravesite.

(This is part of a series on Civil War veterans of Defiance County who were part of the G.A.R., Bishop Post, that headquartered in the city.  Formed in 1879, the post was named after a local man, Captain William Bishop, Company D, 100th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Army who died as a result of wounds received in battle.  The veterans' photos are part of a composite photo of members that has survived.  If you have other information or corrections to add to the soldiers' stories, please add to the comments!)