Claimant’s statement
Invalid Pension Claim Have not been able to answer comminication before this time
Jersey City, New Jersey, May 20th 1890
To the Hon. George B. Raum, Commisioner of Pension.
Dear Sir,
I have received a circular from your office in refferance to my claims for pension and asking me to state the places that I have resided in since my return from the army. Now it is utterly imposible to give the date of all removals, but can give every place of residence since 1860. I lived when I enlisted at 304 First St. Came back and lived in same place over (3) three years. Moved from there to no. 311 first St. from there to no. 400 Monmouth St. from there to no. 235 Newark Ave. thence to No. 311 5th St. then back to no. 322 First St. thence to No. 155 Bright St. (all within the boundary of Jersey City) thence to No. 164 Monitor St. (Lafayette) a suburb of Jersey City. From there to my present residence No. 355 4th St. All within the consolidated City of Jersey City, County of Hudson, State of New Jersey. My Post Office address has always been Jersey City, NJ. My buisiness when I enlisted was butcher, but I have never been able to work steady at it since I came home; the work that I have done while to work has been paper hanging and painting with the exception of being in the Fire Department which employment I had to give up on account of continued bad health (refer to Chief Henry E. Farrick Jersey City Fire Department), being unable to perform my duty on account of rheumatism in arms and legs. The first period of sickness that I had was at Smokey Hollow Va. Camp. My company was ordered on picket duty and I was unable to go but stayed in my quarters. 4 days after Corporal McWilliams was sent back from picket after ammunition and he found me in my tent totally unconscious. He reported me to Dr. Jeenny of our Regt. And I was taken to the hospital and laid there very near a month with Tiphoid Fever and Plurisy. This was just before the Battle of Chancellorsville, and at that battle I was taken prisoner. At the time my clothes where all cut off on my left side, on account of the blisters that had been drawn on my side and over two weeks before I went into that action. I wore a cloth ‘round my waist to catch the drip of blood and water from my side. After being taken prisoner with the resto fo the prisoners [I] did not fare very well, being forced to lie on the ground without cover (our blankets being taken from us) and to wade creeks and small rivers or streams on the march to Richmond and being sent from there to Belle Isle. On our road to Richmond at a station known as Guinnee (?) Station we had a very hard storm from which we could not get under any cover. After we arrived at Belle Island, we had to lay on the ground with nothing over or under us but sky over and sand and vermin under us, in the heat of the day and the chill of the night, with the dew that did wet our clothing. This I believe to be the origin of rheumatism from [which] I have never saw a whole week since I came from there that I have been well and there has not been any month or week since 1863 that I have been able to make full time at my work, some time losing one day a week, some times 3 or 4 days and for the last 10 years have had a very bad time, having been laid up 2 and 3 months at a time without being [able] to get out of beed, and some of the changes of residence has been on account of my rheumatism. At the present time my left hand and arm is disabled, and I have not been able to use it for over 6 months. I have doctored with quite a number of doctors beside getting medicines from a great many specialist for that disease. Among the doctors that I can call to mind is Doctor W.J. Cadmus, Cor. Newark Ave. & Calis St. Jersey City.
Doctor Eddy (moved) Residence not know
Doctor H. Cahil (moved) “ “ “
Not being able to keep a regular physician I would try one and when he could not help me try another, but most of the time my medicines come from Dr. W.J. Cadmus and (Druggist while Cor. Of Jersey Ave. & Newark Ave. JC) besides taking almost every patent rheumatic remedy that has been on the market. Every doctor that I ever had has said that I never could be cured. You will find in this report at the examining board of doctors that the joints of my hands are nearly all stiff, being filled with what they said was ‘Chalky deposit,’ thus losing the move of the joints.
This I think is about all that I can say. But I have lived here in Jersey since 1850 and the truth of the statement of my disablity is easily established.
Hoping that I have answered all the questions in your circular I will close by hoping that it will be of some little help to your officer.
I remain yours to command.
Akbert S. Norton
Corp. Co. D, 21st Regt. NJ
Jersey City, New Jersey
To the Hon. G.B. Raum
Commissioner of Pension
Washington, D.C.
P.S. the Corporal McWilliams refered to as having me taken to this hospital was afterwards chief of police in this city, and is now chief detective at the Astor House, New York.