Thomas W. Thornley

THOMAS W. THORNLEY was born in Pennsylvania in February of 1847. Prior to the Civil War he appears to have resided in Philadelphia. Thomas Thornley enlisted in the Union Army as a Private on September 8, 1864 as a member of Company C, 198th Infantry Regiment Pennsylvania in Philadelphia PA. After seeing much action during the final months and weeks of the war, Thomas Thornley mustered out of Company C, 198th Infantry Regiment Pennsylvania on June 4, 1865 in Arlington Heights, VA.

After the Civil War Thomas Thornley married. His wife Sarah bore a son, also named Thomas, in Pennsylvania in 1870. A daughter, Annie, was also born in Pennsylvania, in 1872. The Thornleys came to Camden soon after. Son Elmer was born in the Garden State in 1876. By 1880 the family was living at 122 West Street. Thomas Thornley then worked as a railroad or stationary engineer, a profession he would follow for most of the rest of his working life.

The Thornley family moved at least three times during the 1880s and early 1890s, according to Camden’s City Directories. The 1887–1888 Directory shows them at 762 Federal Street. 1888–1889 has the family at 703 Berkley Street, while the 1890–1891 edition lists the Thornleys at 701 Clinton Street. During this period he also joined the G.A.R. Another daughter, Clara, was born in 1886.

The William G. Hatch Post 37 of the Grand Army of the Republic was organized in Camden in 1879. Within a short time, Thomas Thornley joined the post. On February 5, 1892 Thomas Thornley applied for his Civil War invalid’s pension.

By 1900 Sarah R. Thornley had passed away. The 1900 Census shows Thomas Thornley living with his daughter Annie, now Mrs. William C. Albertson, at 728 Berkley Street. Also at home was daughter Clara Thornley, by then 14 years old, and a granddaughter, Mary Albertson. William C. Albertson was working as a railroad engineer, while Thomas Thornley was working as a stationary engineer. The family remained intact through at least 1910. They had all moved to 708 Royden Street. Thomas Thornley was still working as an engineer, but had joined his son-in-law, working on the railroad.

By 1920 the family had moved to 19 East Chestnut Street in Merchantville. Clara Thornley wed, at the age of 39, and when the Census was taken in April of 1930 Thomas Thornley lived with her and husband Ralph Whitney at 4315 Volney Avenue. He was still living with them at that address in February of 1936.

On February 2, 1936, with the death of Frederick K. Phile, 88, of Atlantic City, Thomas W. Thornley became the last surviving member of the William G. Hatch Post 37, Grand Army of the Republic. He drank the last man’s toast, called the roll, lowered the flag, and thus ended the Post’s 57-year history. Thomas W. Thornley died on August 1, 1937. He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Camden.

One Hundred and Ninety-eighth Infantry. — Col., Horatio G. Sickel; Lieut.-Col., John B. Murray; Majs., Edwin A. Glenn, C. I. Maceuen, P. Stackhouse, John Stanton. The 198th, known as the 6th Union League regiment, was recruited in the city of Philadelphia during the summer of 1864 and was mustered into the U.S. service in the early part of September for a one year’s term. In October an additional battalion of four companies was added to the regiment. It received its colors from the Union League association and left the state on Sept. 19 to join the army of the Potomac in front of Petersburg. On its arrival it was assigned to the 1st brigade, 1st division, 5th corps.

It first came under fire at the battle of Peebles’ farm, losing 1 killed and 5 wounded. It was next engaged at Hatcher’s run, and then went into winter quarters on the Squirrel Level road. In Dec., 1864, it participated in the Weldon railroad expedition and in Feb., 1865, it was engaged at Dabney’s mill, where it behaved with great gallantry in the fierce fighting for the control of the works. On the opening of the final campaign it was hotly engaged at the Quaker road and at Gravelly run, where it made a gallant bayonet charge, driving the enemy. Its losses were very severe — 311 killed, wounded and missing. Gen. Sickel, commanding the brigade, Capts. Wrigley, Gardner and Spackman, and Lieuts. Keller and Miller were among the wounded, and Maj. Maceuen and Capt. Mulfrey were among the killed.

It was again engaged on March 31 at White Oak swamp, with a loss of 6 killed and 46 wounded. Led by the gallant Maj. Glenn it made another brilliant charge at the battle of Five Forks, in which the brave Glenn was mortally wounded. Its loss was 1 killed, and 15 wounded. Now ensued a period of incessant and tiresome marches until the final surrender of Lee. It was mustered out of service at Arlington Heights, Va., June 3, 1865.

Source: The Union Army, vol. 1

Battles Fought

September 30, 1864 at Peebles’ Farm, VA — October 1, 1864 — October 30, 1864 — December 6, 1864 — December 8, 1864 — February 1, 1865 — February 6, 1865 at Dabney’s Mills, VA — February 6, 1865 at Hatcher’s Run, VA — February 7, 1865 at Hatcher’s Run, VA — March 29, 1865 at Lewis Farm, VA — March 31, 1865 at White Oak Road, VA — April 1, 1865 at Five Forks, VA — April 6, 1865 — April 8, 1865 — April 9, 1865 at Appomattox Court House, VA

WILLIAM B. HATCH POST No. 37, of Camden, was instituted and chartered November 25, 1879, with eighty-one members and the following named Post officers: Post Commander, John E. Grubb; Senior Vice-Commander, Richard J. Robinson; Junior Vice-Commander, Daniel J. Fullen; Surgeon, Thomas G. Rowand, M.D.; Chaplain, John Quick; Officer of the Day, John A. Dall; Officer of the Guard, Edmund G. Jackson, Jr.; Quartermaster, Christopher J. Mines, Jr.; Adjutant, Benjamin J. Pierce; Sergeant-Major, William A. Tatem; Quartermaster-Sergeant, William B. E. Miller.

At the first meeting of the Post it was decided by a unanimous vote to name it in honor of the late Colonel William B. Hatch, of the Fourth Regiment. When Mrs. C. Hatch, the mother of the colonel was informed that the post had honored the memory of her son by naming it after him, she sent to the Post the following response:

Camden N. J., November 26th, 1879

John E. Grubb, Post Commander

Dear Sir,

It will afford me much pleasure to be identified with Post 37, G. A. R., named in honor of my son, William B. Hatch, by allowing me to present to the same its colors. The memory of my son is ever dear to me, and, while at the same moment I may have thought the sacrifice too great an affliction, yet I was consoled by the fact that I gave him up that this Union might be preserved. It was duty and patriotism that called him, and while I mourn him as a mother for a well-beloved son, yet I would not have stayed him, for the love of country and the upholding of this glorious Republic is what every mother should instill into her sons, as the purest and holiest spirit.

Yours truly, C. Hatch

The following is a complete roster of this post for 1886: Post Commander, Benjamin H. Connelly; Senior Vice-Commander, Adam C. Smith; Junior Vice-Commander, William Haegele; Surgeon, George Pfau; Chaplain, Samuel Gaul; Officer of the Day, Robert Crawford; Officer of the Guard, John D. Cooper; Quartermaster, Samuel J. Fenner; Adjutant, William B. Summers; Sergeant-Major, Stacy H. Bassett; Quartermaster-Sergeant, Otto K. Lockhart.

Comrades: Philip Achenbach, George L. Allchin, Isaac Albertson, Joseph Applegate, John W. Barclay, Martin M. Barney, Joseph Baxter, William W. Bennett, Charles L. Bennett, Henry Bickering, Abel Biddle, George K. Biddle, John Bieri, Robert M. Bingham, Socrates T. Bittle, George W. Bittle, Benjamin F. Blizzard, Joseph Borton, Frederick Bowers, Benjamin M. Braker, John Breyer, William H. Brians, Wm. J. Broadwater, William Broadwater, John Brown, Harris Brooks, William H. Brooks, Joseph F. Bryan, Joseph Buddew, J. Q. Burniston, George Burton, Frederick Buser, Thomas L. Bush, William Butcher, Isaac B. Buzby, Edward C. Cattell, Joseph Cameron, James H. Carey, William Carey, James Chadwick, James Chafey, George M. Chester, James D. Chester, Lewis L. Chew, Henry S. Chew, John W. Churn, Andrew B. Cline, Charles Clarke, Samuel J. Cook, Levi E. Cole, John J. Collins, John C. Cooper, John W. Cotner, Thomas L. Conly, Harvey M. Cox, Jason S. Cox, Harris Crane, Charles Cress, Joel G. Cross, O. C. Cunningham, John A. Dall, John Dalby, John H. Damon, Westley Dare, John E. Dawson, Adam T. Dawson, James L. Davis, William Davis, Amos R. Dease, Henry Deford, Lewis T. Derousse, Michael Devinney, Glendora Devo, John Digney, Joseph Dilks, William A. Dobbins, George W. Dunlap, Aaron B. Eacritt, John J. Early, Christopher Ebele, Godfrey Eisenhart, John Elberson, Charles Elwell, Charles Eminecker, John Esler, John H. Evans, Charles S. Fackler, James Fanington, James A. Farraday, John H. Farry, John Faughey, Wm. H. Fenlin, George G. Felton, George W. Ferguson, Charles W. Fish, Israel L. Fish, James Finnan, Samuel B. Fisher, Edward L. Fisher, Ephraim B. Fithian, Jacob T. Fisher, Edward Fitzer, Samuel Flock, Leonard Flor, John Fox, John S. Fox, H. H. Franks, Chas. B. Frazer, Thomas J. Francis, Samuel W. Gahan, Chas. H. Gale, James Galbraith, Thomas Garman, Harry Garren, John W. Garwood, Josiah Garrison, John B. Gaskill, Richard Gaunt, Wm. German, Christopher Getsinger, Christopher Gifney, Jacob Giffens, Albert Gilbert, James Gillen, Wm. Giffins, C. C. Greany, Charles Green, W. H. Griffin, Louis Grosskops, William Grindrod, John B. Grubb, Mark H. Guest, John Guice, Alfred Haines, Charles G. Haines, Japhet Haines, George F. Hammond, Charles Hall, Solon B. Hankinson, Samuel P. Hankinson, James Hanson, Charles Hannans, H. A. Hartranft, Mahlon E. Harden, William F. Harper, George W. Hayter, Samuel B. Harbeson, J. T. Hazleton, H. Heinman, James Henderson, William H. Heward, Franklin Hewitt, James T. Hemmingway, Charles Hewitt, Edward K. Hess, Samuel B. Hickman, George Higgens, Ephraim Hillman, C. M. Hoagland, Guadaloupe Holl, William A. Holland, Isaac K. Horner, Count D. G. Hogan, William H. Howard, Baxter Howe, Alien Hubbs, Charles G. Hunsinger, Presmel D. Hughes, I. N. Hugg, Sebastian Hummell, Edward Hutchinson, C. Innes, Alfred Ivins, Benjamin Ivins, E. G. Jackson Sr., E. G. Jackson Jr., Thomas Jameson, George Jauss, William P. Jenkins, James L. Johnson, Alfred Jones, B. F. Jones, William Joline, Charles Joseph, Charles Justice, C. H. Kain, E. E. Kates, Benjamin Kebler, Frank Kebler, Peter Keen, Henry N. Killian, J. W. Kinsey, C. H. Knowlton, Thomas W. Krips, Joseph H. Large, John E. Leake, John Lecroy, Charles Leonhart, George W. Locke, E. J. Long, Charles L. Lukens, J. H. Lupton, Valentine Machemer, Edward Macloskey, Edward A. Martin, William P. Marsh, John Mapes, William Mead, William Metcalf, E. A. Meyer, C. Meyers, George Meilor, C. A. Michener, William B. E. Miller, Jacob Miller, W. D. Miller, Samuel Mills, William W. Mines, Christopher J. Mines, George Molesbury, William Moran, Edward More, Richard Morgan, John F. Moore, S. H. Moyer, Jacob L. Morton, John Muir, John J. Murphy, Isaac Murray, Charles Myers, W. H. McAllister, James McCracken, Edward C. McDowell, Hugh McGrogan, H. M. Mcllvaine, W. F. McKillip, W. J. McNeir, Lewis McPherson, E. McPherson, Jacob Naglee, William Naphas, Antonio Nosardi, Robert O’Keefe, John S. Owens, Robert Owens, Edward H. Pancoast, James Pancoast, Robert B. Patterson, William Patterson, E. W. Pease, John B. Pepper, Joel Perrine, John Peterson, D. E. Peugh, Frederick Phile, Samuel B. Pine, William M. Pine, Adon Powell, John Powell, John Portz, J. B. Prucelle, John Quick, S. E. Radcliffe, I. C. Randolph, James A. Regens, Philip Reilly, Charles P. Reynolds, Alexander Rhodes, Benjamin F. Richard, Andrew Ridgway, Benjamin Robbins, Edward C. Roberts, James Roberts, Richard J. Robinson, William B. Robertson, Isaac Rogers, John Rogers, William H. Rogers, Thomas G. Rowand, Sebastian Schaub, Maurice Schmidt, Christian K. Schallers, James Schofield, George W. Scott, John E. Scott, John M. Shemelia, Edward M. Siemers, John Simmons, Benjamin F. Shinn, Thomas Sheeran, James Shield, Charles Smith, George H. Smith, William W. Smith, Charles S. Small, Adolph Snow, W. Souder, Francis Senders, Robert Sparks, David C. Sprowl, Alfred L. Sparks, Abraham Springer, George W. Stewart, William L. Stevenson, Thomas G. Stephenson, Samuel R. Stockton, Thomas Stockton, Thomas H. Stone, Henry Strick, E. J. Strickland, Charles String, George F. Stull, George W. Swaney, Crosby Sweeten, William F. Tarr, William A. Tatem, Thomas S. Tanier, George Rudolph Tenner, Charles L. Test, Leonard Thomas, Benjamin Thomas, Henry C. Thomas, George F. Thorne, Wesley Thorn, Thomas W. Thornley, Alexander W. Titus, Joseph Tompkins, J. E. Troth, Isaac C. Toone, Samuel Tyler, Jacob M. Van Nest, Albert Vansciver, Joseph Wakeman, Theodore F. Walker, Charles Walton, George Walton, Joseph Welsh, David Watson, George W. Wentling, Edward West, Elmer M. West, George Weyman, Wilmer Whillden, James Whittaker, Samuel Wickward, Calvin T. Williams, George W. Williams, William H. Williams, John Williams, Samuel Winner, Amos P. Wilson, D. H. Wilson, G. A. Wilson, Richard Wilson, George Wispert, John W. Wood, Joseph Woodfield, Walter Wolfkill, E. W. Wolverton, Elijah Worthington, C. M. Wright, George B. Wright, Henry S. Wright, Wesley T. Wright, William Zane.

As of 1886, the Hatch Post met every Thursday evening in their own G.A.R. Hall, on Stevens Street, below Fifth Street. This same building had been used in the late 1870s as the original home of the congregation that formed the Tabernacle Baptist Church. The Hatch Post was affiliated with Hatch League No. 2, of the Loyal Ladies League, their auxiliary, which met at the Post Hall.

Samuel S. Elfreth — Frank Michellon — Cooper B. Hatch — Charles S. Wolverton — Dr. W.B.E. Miler — Harry C. Sharp — James M. Lane — Frank B. Sweeten — Harvey Flitcraft — William Schregler — Dr. John D. Leckner — J. Wesley Sell — Frank A. Ward — James Ware Jr. — Frank S. Heisler — Thomas Thornley — Ulie G. Lee — Edward Weston — Dr. P.W. Beale — Charles H. Helmbold — John Carmany — Isaac C. McKinley — John N. Zanders — Edward E. Jefferis

Thomas W. Thornley, 89, of 4315 Volney Avenue, Merchantville, is shown drinking the “last man’s toast” for the William B. Hatch Post No. 37, Grand Army of the Republic. The only other member to survive until Sunday was Frederick K. Phile, 88, of 618 North Connecticut Avenue, Atlantic City, who died then. Thornley sounded the gavel, called the roll, lowered the flag, drank the toast and became a member of the G.A.R. at large yesterday. The books of the club go to the Sons of Veterans unit of the post.

This was the end of William B. Hatch Post No. 37, Grand Army of the Republic.