John A Baughman - Bishop Post, G.A.R.

John Augustus Baughman was a native of Muskingum County, Ohio.  In 1860, he was in Brush Creek at age 15 with his parents, Andrew and Maria.  The enumerator was busy at that household, as John was the oldest son of twelve children, ranging from 21 to 1, who were at home.  His father was a farmer.


When John was 18, he enlisted in Company I of the 1st Ohio Heavy Artillery (formerly the 117th regiment).   The company formed in 1862, but John waited until he was of age and joined on June 5, 1863 for a three year term.




 In 1863, the regiment was in Kentucky on guard duty; Company I was stationed in Lexington.  In February of 1864, they were ordered to cross the mountains in the snow and cold to travel to Knoxville, Tennessee.  They arrived on March 9th, and were assigned guard duties at various railroad lines in the state, fighting off any Rebels who tried to sabotage them.  He mustered out with his unit on July 25, 1865 in Knoxville.  

John A. Baughman's pension card

He married Susan McCoy upon his return home in 1865.  From there, he became difficult to track.  He and Susan were finally found in Defiance on the 1900 census.  They lived on Holgate Avenue, and they reported that they had two children, but they must have been old enough to be off on their own.  Neither John nor Susan was employed and they rented their home.

The Defiance Express reported on October 10, 1902: 
"J. R. Baughman of Muskingum county is on the quest of his brother, John A. Baughman, on Holgate avenue.  This is the first time the brothers have met in thirty years.  J. R. has charge of the old Baughman farm.  This is his first visit to this part of the state."

Susan McCoy Baughman died in December, 1906.  By that time, they had moved to a home on Kintner Street where the funeral was held, and the interment was at Riverside Cemetery.

In 1915, the local newspaper printed a letter from John, who now resided in Georgia.  Sure enough, the 1920 census enumerated him there at the age of 74, widowed, and living with Robert and Susan Powell.  He was an uncle.

Defiance Democrat - December 16, 1915

John A. Baughman died in Bainbridge, Decatur, Georgia in February, 1921, and was buried there.  That was the date reported on www.findagrave.com, but the death record, which matched the pension card, stated March 23, 1920 as the death date.

Salem Cemetery, Decatur County, Georgia