Edmund N. Lewis - G.A.R., Bishop Post

Dr. Edmund Lewis ended his military career as a hospital steward for Company C, 11th Cavalry, but he originally enlisted as a sergeant in Company C, 1st Independent O. V. I. on October 24, 1861.  He was not discharged until March 1, 1867.  According to the 1890 census, he served in the hospital from February 29, 1864 until his discharge in 1867.


The 1st Independent eventually merged with the 11th Cavalry and the men were sent to the plains out west to keep telegraph and overland trails open.  There they met the hostilities of the Native Americans.  It had to have been quite an adventure.  Read more about it here.

After returning from the war, Dr. Lewis married Abigail E. Perkey of Williams County, on November 11, 1868.  He and his wife moved to Defiance in 1874, according to his obituary, and there he established himself as a druggist in his pharmacy at the corner of Clinton and Third Streets.  By the 1880 census, he and his wife had children: Harry, 10; Martin, 8; Kate, 4; and Emma, 1.  With them lived Emma Faltz, 39, and her daughter, Lollie, 19.  Emma was born in England and could have been the sister of Edmund, but that is unknown.  They also had a domestic servant, Margaret Miller.

Dr. Lewis and his wife built a substantial house at 616 Holgate Avenue.  The 1900 census revealed that Abbie had five children, but only four survived.  By the 1910 census, Dr. Lewis had retired and he, at 73, and Abbie, at 62, had only their grandson, Harry B., 12, with them and their servant, Berte Otte.

Abigail Perkey Lewis died in October, 1916.  Her obituary appeared in the Crescent-News on October 16, 1916.

 In 1920, Dr. Lewis lived alone at the Holgate Avenue home.  He was 83 and no domestic servant lived there.  He died on February 12, 1923 there at the age of 86.  Two articles appeared in the Crescent-News on February 13, 1923.

 Dr. Lewis was buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Defiance.

(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!)