Did James Louis Day serve in the Civil War?

Question

My great-grandfather James Louis Day was born in New London, Ohio in 1837.  So he would have been 23 in 1860, 28 in 1865, prime age for service in the Civil War.  There are many James Day's who served in Ohio units, as well as a James L Day who served in an Ohio Cavalry unit.  I believe the latter James L Day was not a relative because my great-grandfather moved to Iowa with his pregnant wife and daughter in 1865.  The other James L. Day remained in Ohio and collected a pension.  James and Marian were married in 1863.  Several of their many children had names for famous figures from the Civil war: Florence Nightingale, Colonel Ellsworth, Frank Winfield, so I suspect he may have served.  It is also possible that he served in an Illinois unit because his father, John M Day lived the last years of his life in Fulton, Illinois.  Any help or insights would be appreciated.

Comments

Added categories for him.

I created the cemetery category for him as it wasn’t already on Wikitree and added Newport category as that also wasn’t yet on Wikitree. I’m not so sure he was a veteran yet…

Hope this helps.

Answer 1

Hi Michael,

I did a obit search but didn’t find any obit but that would be a good place to start as most obituaries would mention military service during the U.S. Civil War. The gravestone does not have any military veteran indicators but not all veterans do. The civil war database shows one man named James L. Day  who served with the 44th Ohio and the 8th Ohio Cavalry. I would check for a pension to see if his wife is named as a beneficiary as he died many years prior to her death. Any obit for wife might also mention his service. I added his FindAGrave memorial to his profile. If I find anything about his service I’ll update further.

Edit: please note the James L. Day found in 44th Ohio and 8th Ohio cavalry died in 1915 which doesn’t match; however his wife’s name is mentioned as Mary similar to Marian.