Doddridge County Roots

A West Virginia Genealogy

James WELCH

James WELCH

Male 1815 - 1865  (~ 50 years)

Personal Information    |    Media    |    Sources    |    Event Map    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name James WELCH 
    Born Jan 1815  Barbour Co, (W)VA Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3
    Gender Male 
    Census 1860  Doddridge Co, (W)VA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Military From 14 Aug 1862 to 4 Apr 1865  [2, 4
    Pvt, Co A, 14th W.Va. Infantry, Civil War (POW) 
    • Military records show that James Welch was a Private in Co A, 14th W. Va. Infantry. He was captured October 19, 1864 at the Battle of Cedar Creek in Virginia. He was first sent to Richmond, Virginia and then to Salisbury Prison in North Carolina. In February 1865, because of overcrowding at the prison, James was among 1,420 prisoners that were transferred back to Richmond, Virginia. On March 10, 1865 James was paroled in a prisoner exchange at Cox’s Wharf, near Richmond, and sent home with advanced typhoid fever and suffering from starvation and exposure.
    Occupation hotel keeper  [3
    Died 4 Apr 1865  Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location  [5, 6, 7
    Cause: starvation 
    Buried Blockhouse Hill Cemetery (old SDB section), West Union, Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location  [8, 9
    Person ID I37184  Doddridge County Roots
    Last Modified 14 May 2023 

    Father Isaiah WELCH,   b. CA 1792,   d. 22 Aug 1860  (Age ~ 68 years) 
    Mother Rachel INGRAM,   b. CA 1794, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F7586  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Margaret "Peggy" TALBOTT,   b. 28 Oct 1816,   d. 19 Feb 1869, Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 52 years) 
    Married 8 Dec 1834  Harrison Co, (W)VA Find all individuals with events at this location  [10
    Notes 
    • 1860 Census, Doddridge Co, Virginia (now West Virginia), enumerated on Jun 6 1860:
      James Welch, 45, hotel keeper, value of real estate (blank), value of personal estate $100; M. (female), 44; Isaiah, 22; Elam, 21; Richard, 19; Florend, 17; Leonora, 15; Ephran, 13; Rachael, 10. All born in Virginia.

      1870 Census, Doddridge Co, WV (West Union Twp), enumerated on Jun 13 1870:
      Ephraim Welch, 23, b. Va, farmer, value of real estate $750, value of personal estate $250; Rachel Welch, 19, b. Indiana; Elem Welch, 31, b. Va, farmer, cannot read/write.
      (NOTE: Both parents of these three siblings had died within the preceding five years, James in 1865 and Margaret in 1869. Rachel's Indiana birthplace, though in conflict with some other records, is in agreement with statements provided by her mother when filing for a Civil War widow's pension, in which she specified Rachel's birthplace as Jefferson County, Indiana. Additionally, Floreed (Welch) Kinney's death record states her father James' birthplace as Indiana, although other records indicate Barbour County in (West) Virginia. Circumstances of the Welch family being in Indiana at that or any other time are not known. We have not found them in the 1850 Census.) [11, 12]
    Children 
     1. Melissa WELCH,   b. 5 May 1836, Barbour Co, (W)VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 27 Apr 1913, Washington, DC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 76 years)
     2. Isaiah WELCH,   b. Nov 1838, Barbour Co, (W)VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 3 May 1901, Mellin, Ritchie Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 62 years)
     3. Elam WELCH,   b. CA 1839,   d. 11 Jun 1918, Taylor Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 79 years)
     4. Richard WELCH,   b. 1841, Barbour Co, (W)VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Nov 1907, Ritchie Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 66 years)
     5. Floreed WELCH,   b. 22 May 1843,   d. 30 Nov 1918, Parkersburg, Wood Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 75 years)
     6. Lenora WELCH,   b. 7 Mar 1845, Barbour Co, (W)VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 21 Dec 1923, Clarksburg, Harrison Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 78 years)
     7. Ephraim WELCH,   b. CA 1847, Barbour Co, (W)VA Find all individuals with events at this location
     8. Rachel Jane WELCH,   b. 30 Oct 1850, Jefferson Co, IN Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 4 Jul 1917, West Union, Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 66 years)
    Family ID F14746  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBuried - - Blockhouse Hill Cemetery (old SDB section), West Union, Doddridge Co, WV Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Photos
    37184_WELCH_James_1815-1865_BlockhouseHillCem_WestUnion_DoddridgeCoWV.jpg
    37184_WELCH_James_1815-1865_BlockhouseHillCem_WestUnion_DoddridgeCoWV.jpg

  • Sources 
    1. [S1838] Headstone - Date calculated from age at death.

    2. [S1563] Doddridge County Death Records, West Union, WV.

    3. [S1890] 1860 Census, Doddridge County, (W)VA.

    4. [S1711] Civil War Service Records, ().
      Muster-out Roll of Jun 17 1865, Cumberland, Md, contains the following entry regarding James Welch, Pvt, Co A, 14th W.Va. Inf: "Died of disease at his home in W.Va.. while on furlough as a paroled Prisoner of War. Was captured at Cedar Creek, Va., Oct 19, 1864. Date of death, Apr 4, 1865."
      Muster Roll of Mar/Apr 1865 states under Remarks: "Died Apr 4, 1865, of disease contracted in Rebel prison."
      Muster Roll of Jan/Feb 1865 and Nov/Dec 1864 contain identical entries: "Absent. Missing in action Oct 19, 1864."
      Muster Roll of Sep/Oct 1864: "Absent sick since Oct 19, 1864. Said to be at Winchester, Va."
      Muster Roll of Jul/Aug 1864 and May/Jun 1864 contain identical entries: "Absent sick in Gen'l Hospital at Grafton, W.Va., since Apr 3, 1964."
      Muster Roll of Mar/Apr 1864: Absent. "Sick in hospital since Apr 5, 1864."
      Muster Roll of Jan/Feb 1864: Absent. "Detached service in Commissary Dept at New Creek, W.Va., from Feb 2 of 64."
      Muster Rolls of Nov/Dec 1862 thru Nov/Dec 1863 state only that he was present for duty, with no other remarks.
      Muster Roll of Oct 31, 1862: Absent. Sick.
      Muster Roll of Aug 23 1862, Wheeling, Va., states that James Welch, age 44 [sic], enlisted as a Private in Co A, 14th Inf Regt, at West Union on Aug 14 1862 for a term of 3 years.
      A medical record shows that he was admitted to a hospital at Grafton on Apr 3 1864, suffering from rheumatism. He returned to duty on Sep 1 1864.
      Memorandum from Prisoner of War Record states that he was captured at Shenandoah on Oct 19, 1864, confined at Richmond, Va. He was paroled at (illegible) Landing, Va., on Mar 9 1865 and reported at (illegible), Md, on Mar 11 1865.
      Another more detailed POW Record states that he was captured at Cedar Creek, Va, on Oct 19 1864, and was confined at Lynchburg and/or Richmond (entry not clear; Confederate POW camp in Richmond was Libby prison), later at Salisbury, North Carolina. He contracted a fever and on Feb 23 1865 was admitted to the 12th General Hospital in Richmond. He was paroled at Cox's Wharf, Va, on Mar 10 1865, and reported to Camp Parole, Md. Identified as James Welch, Pvt, Co A, 14th W.Va. Inf, a farmer, age 50.
      James Welch's wife Margaret filed for a Civil War widow's pension on Feb 23 1866.

    5. [S1563] Doddridge County Death Records, West Union, WV, DR p. 9 : www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=5051340&Type=Death.
      Identified as James Welch, while male, age 50, born in Barbour Co, son of Isyah & Rachel, husband of Margaret, occupation soldier; died Apr 4 1865 in Doddridge County, cause of death starvation. Informant: Ealeam Welch, son.

    6. [S1711] Civil War Service Records, ().

    7. [S5] Headstone.

    8. [S1793] West Union WV Cemeteries (Doddridge County), (Wes Cochran, 2515 10th Ave, Parkersburg, WV 26101 (July 1990)).

    9. [S934] Findagrave.com.

    10. [S2567] West Virginia Marriages Index, 1785-1971 [database on-line], (Ancestry.com).

    11. [S1583] Marriage record of daughter.

    12. [S1590] Death record of daughter.