Captain Luther Black's story is fully told on this www.findagrave.com site,
taken from the Biographical Record of Wood County.
Captain Luther Black served in three units during the Civil War:
Company K, 185th O.V.I,
Company B, 21st O.V.I. and
Company B, 144th O.V.I.
He was in the active military from April 1861 for three months, went home for a few years, and then started two of his own regiments and served until his discharge on September 26, 1865. At one point, he was captured in Berryville, Virginia, and sent to Libby Prison in Lynchville as a POW. The conditions were harsh, with exposure to the elements and a lack of food.
This painting by David Gilmour Blythe in 1863 depicted the conditions.
In his later years, he purchased a home on Holgate Avenue in Defiance, having lived mainly in Wood County previously.
Captain Luther Black died on December 23, 1910 in Defiance of pneumonia at the age of 74. His funeral was held at his residence on Holgate Avenue, but then his body was shipped via train to Bowling Green where he was buried at the Oak Grove Cemetery there.
"CAPTAIN BLACK ANSWERS FINAL SUMMONS.
Captain Luther Black for many years a prominent citizen of Wood County, and for the past six years, an esteemed resident of Defiance, died Friday morning at six o'clock at his late residence on Holgate Avenue, after a long illness.
Captain Black was born in Washington township, Wood County, May,18, 1836, and is the son of John and Phoebe (Skinner) Black. On his father's side, he is of Irish descent, his great-grandfather having emigrated from Ireland to this country at an early date. On his mother's side, the grandfather was of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock and his grandmother was a native of Scotland.
In 1831, John Black removed to Wood County. It was on his farm in Wood county that Luther Black grew to manhood, attending the schools of that locality and those at Waterville, and also the seminary at Maumee. After leaving school, he taught for four years in the district schools of Wood County, and for two years in Champaign, Ill. About this time, the whole world was electrified by the outbreak of the Civil War, and the patriotism of the young teacher caused him to lay aside his ferule (his paddle) for an army musket, and offer his services in defense of the stars and stripes.
On April 27, 1861, he enlisted in Company B, 21st O.V.I., three months service, which was passed in Virginia, at the termination of which, his father having died in the meantime, he was obliged to return home in order to take charge of the family. There he remained until 1864, on May 4, of which year he organized Company B, 144th O.V.I., of which company, he was made captain.
While at Berryville, Va., he and seven of his men were taken prisoners by the rebels and sent to Lynchberg, thence to Libby prison where they suffered the horrors of slow starvation, and where all except himself and one other fell victims to cruel treatment.
Three months after his capture, Captain Black was released by exchange, and his patriotic zeal being still unabated in spite of the terrible scenes through which he passed, he raised another company, of which he was also made captain. This was Company K, 185th, O.V.I. which afterwards saw much service in Kentucky, in the vicinity of Cumberland Gap, where they had frequent skirmishes with the guerillas. The regiment was mustered out at Lexington, Ky., in September, 1865.
His career as a soldier being ended by the cessation of hostilities and the return of peace in the land, Capt. Black returned to private citizenship, and having in the meantime, purchased the old homestead, carried on farming for two years. At the end of that time, he engaged in the drug business in Tontogany which he conducted some eighteen years, and then being elected county treasurer on the Republican ticket, he in 1881, removed to Bowling Green. That responsible office he held for two terms, or four years, such being the limit of the law, fulfilling its duties in the most creditable manner. The Captain then established himself in the clothing business, and for a time, was interested in the oil wells of Wood County. On February 20, 1894, he sold out his clothing establishment, after which he gave much of his attention to his oil interests. For a while, he was a member of the firm, Reese and Hazlett, who owned a number of productive wells, and did a thriving business.
In 1860, Captain Black was married to Miss Sarah J. Cameron, a native of New York State, who died three years later, leaving one child, Frank H., who was killed by a railroad accident when he was fourteen years old. On January 16, 1873, the Captain married Miss Georgia A. Cooper, who was born in St. Lawrence County, N.Y. To Captain and Mrs. Black were born two children, Mrs. Marie Froedlich of Defiance, and James L. Black, of Piqua, both of whom survive. Mrs. Black died about one year ago.
The Captain is also survived by three sisters. They are Elizabeth A., now the wife of A. P. Treadwell and lives near Hull Prairie, Wood County; Catherine, now the wife of Dr. A. Eddmon of Tontogany; and Mary, the wife of D.E.R. Wood of Belle Plaine, Kansas.
The Captain was a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church. He was affiliated with the F. & A.M. Wood County Lodge, No. 112, a member of Crystal Chapter 157, and of the Toledo Commandery, K. T. of Toledo.
In politics, he has always been an ardent Republican, his first vote being cast for Abraham Lincoln, and he has never failed to deposit his ballot, save twice, first when he was in Libby prison and again in 1880, when he was too ill to go to the polls. Captain Black was a delegate to the State Convention and was honored with election as alternative delegate to the National Convention to be held at St. Louis in June. He served as president of the school board and of the gas board, and was a director of the American Foundry and Machine Company, also of the First National Bank of Bowling Green. For a time, he was interested in gold mining in California, being identified with a joint stock company. In every relation in life, Captain Black has borne an honorable part as a upright, patriotic, royal citizen.
About six years ago, the Captain purchased a large tract of land in the vicinity of Defiance, and took up his residence on Holgate Avenue, where he lived at the time of his death. The funeral arrangements will be announced later."
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