John B. Fisher - Bishop Post, G.A.R.

Pleasant Township, Henry County, Ohio was the home of a young John B. Fisher.  His parents, Nicholas, 54, and Barbery, 50, were farming there in 1850, along with their children, Barbery, 17; John B. 15; Frederick, 13, all born in Bavaria, Germany. With them were two young boys, Henry and George Vierhner, born in Ohio, who may have been relatives.

When the call came for Union soldiers, John did not hesitate, enlisting September 5, 1861, into Company C, 44th Ohio Infantry, and he was promoted to full corporal. Discharged from that company in January, 1864, he was transferred to Company C, 8th Ohio Cavalry, a veteran company ordered by the Secretary of War, and there he stayed until the end of the war.  He was transferred to full sergeant in April, 1864, mustering out at Clarksburg, WV on July 30, 1865. Most of his time was spent in Kentucky and Tennessee, and he reported on the 1890 census that he was wounded in the head and in the right thigh. 

Upon his return, he married Kate A. Deamer (Katherine Amelia) on November 16, 1865, in Defiance.  

At some point, the family removed from Defiance to Delaware, Delaware County, Ohio, where John B. set up a blacksmith business.  He was 34 years old when the census enumerator found him there with children: Benjamin Jno, 5; Charles W., 2; Alice Hattie, 3 months, and his wife, Catherine A, 25.

By 1880, the family was expanded, and they had moved back to Defiance into a house at 123 Jackson Street.  Eugene, Finnette (Henrietta), and an infant boy had joined the family.  John worked as a blacksmith and the family kept a boarder, Charles Douglas, 28, a teamster from Canada.  Perhaps it was in this era that John B. became active with the G.A.R. in Defiance.  In August, 1881, one newspaper noted that "J. B. Fisher has a forty acre farm for sale. See advertisement."  In 1882, he was making home improvements on his home in the First Ward.

But, by 1900, he and the family were settled in at 197th 5th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio.  John was 64 by that time and he and Catherine had had seven children, with six living.  Eugene, Henrietta, and another son, Burton all lived at home.  Catherine (Kate) was keeping house for John, who was still blacksmithing; with Eugene, a freight inspector; Henrietta , a seamstress; and Burton, a machinist.  

John B. Fisher died in Columbus, Ohio, on December 30, 1918, at home, of cancer, according to his grave registration.  He was buried at Greenlawn Cemetery, Franklin Township, Ohio, on December 31, the very next day.  No obituary could be found at this time, but obviously, the family had prepared for his death after a long illness.  

Kate continued to live in Columbus with her son, Eugene, at a home at 909 Summit Street. Eugene worked as a motorman on the interurban railway.

The extent of John B. Fisher's involvement with the Bishop Post could not be determined, but his photo was included on the group photo taken around the turn of the century.

(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!)