A Handful of Edmond’s Niners & Pioneers had Already Tested their Metal in the Civil War Before Meeting the Challenges of Building a New Community

Look closely into the lives of Edmond’s early settlers and you will uncover their dedication to service. The first president of the Territorial Normal School Richard Thatcher enlisted in the Civil War at the age of 15. He served as a drummer boy in the 111th Illinois Infantry and escaped from Andersonville (a Confederate prison) in October of 1864. George Grange Fraim fought in the Union Army in Company C, in the 165th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Drafters Militia and was honorably discharged on July 28, 1863 in Gettysburg. Colonel Henry H. Moose eventually served an impressive 12 times as City Clerk from 1891 to 1907 and founded Edmond’s Masonic Lodge after his service to the Union in Company B, with the 25th Ohio Infantry. Colonel Eddy Baldwin Townsend, who built the first house in Edmond, enlisted at the age of 17 in his father’s regiment: 149th New York State Volunteer Infantry. Before his leadership built the town, he had worked through the ranks from private to second lieutenant in the 8th New York, was made a major for his distinguished service while in Richmond, and finally came to his rank as colonel as a member of General Ordway’s staff. Colonel Townsend was also a special agent of the Interior and an official of Washington D.C.’s government under Alexander R. Shepherd. Townsend died in 1909 in Washington D.C., and was touted as “one of the best known citizens” in the Capital City. He is buried in Arlington Cemetery. Jarvis Kearby came to Edmond in 1889 having served in the Union Army for the duration of the Civil War with the 12th Missouri Cavalry. While serving the Union, Kearby suffered bullet wounds and went for nine days without food during his service. Aaron Fretz made the Run to Edmond in 1889 by train, was a civic leader, mechanic and organizer of the local G.A.R. Post. Fretz survived the Civil War and lived to the age of 95, helping the Red Cross in the first World War effort before his death in 1935.

The Stories of Your Family’s Life Link the Present to the Past

Do you have ancestors who fought in the Civil War? Please contact the Museum.

OUR THANKS TO KENNETH PENNINGTON Who Contacted us from GEORGIA!

In researching material for a book he has brought to light the Civil War History

about his great grandfather: Job Sherman Driggs.

To learn more about what Edmond, Oklahoma

and the Battle of Gettysburg have in common,

click on Job’s Civil War photo below:

Research of Civil War Veterans: Nina W. Hager, Edmond Historical 1889er/Pioneer Archives & Collections, 2011.