John Huey Weeks

1850 census

[1850 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Spring Garden, 4th ward, microfilm series M432, film 819, page 90]

line	6	7	8	9	10	11
Dwellings visited	283
Families visited	334
Name	Alfred Weeks	Mary do	Wm do	John do	Mary do	Charles Nice
Age	38	40	13	10	3	29
Sex	" [sc. M]	F	M	"	F	M
Color
Occupation of males over 15 years	Patent medicine					Bonnet maker
Real estate owned
Birthplace	Pa	do	do	do	do	do
Married within year
Attended school within year			1	1
Over 20 & can't read/write
Deaf, dumb, blind, etc.

1860 census

[1860 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, ward 14, division 2, microfilm series M653, film 1164, page 577 = 201 handwritten]

line	21	22	23	24	25	26	27
Dwelling number	1313
Family number	1470
Name	Alfred Weks [sic]	Mary M Do	William H Do	John H Do	Mary M Do	Cecelia Henry	Lizzie Price
Age	43	45	22	19	12	15	12
Sex	M	F	M	M	F	F	F
Color							M
Occupation	Medical Doctor		Merchant	Do			Servant
Value of real estate owned	6500
Value of personal estate	1500		2200
Place of birth	Do [sc. Pa]	Do	Do	Do	Do	Do	N.J.
Married within year
Attended school within year					1	1
Cannot read & write
Deaf, dumb, blind, etc.

1870 census

[1870 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 15th ward, microfilm series M593, film 1399, page 470 = 84 handwritten]

line	1	2	3	4	5
Dwelling-house number	550
Family number	537
Name	Weeks J H [?]	" Laura	" Alfred	" Richd H [?]	Foley Annie
Age	29	27	3	2	26
Sex	M	F	M	M	F
Color	"	"	"	"	"
Occupation	Paint-manf	Keeping house			Domestic Sert
Real estate value	6500
Personal estate value	7000
Birthplace	Penna	Penna	Penna	Penna	Ireland
Father foreign born					1
Mother foreign born					1
Birth month if born within year
Marriage month if married within year
Attended school past year
Can't read
Can't write
Deaf, dumb, blind, etc.
Male US citizen at least 21 years old	1
Male US citizen at least 21 years old who can't vote ...

1880 census

[1880 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, supervisor's district 1, enumeration district 577, microfilm series T9, film 1186, page 147 D = 24 handwritten]

line	8	9	10	11	12	13
street name	South 41st Street
house number	43
dwelling visit #	202
family visit #	227
name	Weeks John H	- Laura	- Alfred	- Richard H	- Virginia S	Duffy Bridget
color	W	W	W	W	W	W
sex	M	F	M	M	F	F
age	39	33	13	11	9	20
month born if born in year
relationship		Wife	Son	Son	Daughter	Servant
single			1	1	1	1
married	1	1
widowed/divorced
married during year
occupation	R R Freight Line	Keeping House	At School	At School	At Home	Servant
months unemployed
currently ill?
blind
deaf/dumb
idiotic
insane
disabled
school this year			1	1
can't read
can't write
birthplace	Penna	Penna	New York	Penna	Penna	Ireland
father's birthplace	Penna	Penna	Penna	Penna	Penna	Ireland
mother's birthplace	Penna	Penna	Penna	Penna	Penna	Ireland

1890 census, veterans schedule

[1890 US census, veterans' schedule, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, supervisor's district 1, enumeration district 618, page 1 (image 2017 on Ancestry)]
[line] 5
[house] 30
[family] 32
[name] John H Week
[rank] Capt
[company] F
[unit] 91 Pa
[enlistment date] Aug 1861
[discharge date] Jan 1864
[length of service] 3 [sic] years, 11 months, [blank] days
[post office address] 4051 Locust St
[disability incurred] [blank]
[remarks] [blank]

1890 Gopsill's Philadelphia directory

[searched transcription on Ancestry]
John H Weeks, sec, Bullit Bldg, h 4051 Locust
Alfred Weeks Jr, civ engineer, h 4051 Locust
Richard H Weeks, [blank], h 4051 Locust

index to compiled service records

[index to compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Pennsylvania]
[transcribed 3 May 2015, from Fold3]

Weeks John H
Co. F, 91 Pennsylvania Inf.
1 Lt | Capt
See also [blank]

GENERAL INDEX CARD.

Companions

[Companions of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States: an album containing portraits of members of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. New York: L R Hamersly Co., 1901. page 117]
[the original, available on Google Books (viewed 2 May 2009), includes a photograph of Weeks]
[thanks to Ron Coddington for the reference!]
JOHN HUEY WEEKS.
1861-1865.
Captain 91st Reg. Pa. Vols. Captain 3d Reg. Vet. Res. Corps. Pennsylvania Commandery.

biographical article

['John H Weeks', The Railroad record and investor's guide, volume 8, number 6, 9 November 1887, pages 1-2]

John H. Weeks.

ALL great movements in the commercial world or in statecraft have, as one of the resultants, the bringing forward of men previously regarded as mediocre, or, if not mediocre, too modest to assert themselves until the occasion arises when they can no longer remain in the mass, but must needs stand forth with prominent individuality. Recent operations looking to the consolidation of large railroad interests have directed public attention to railroads and railroad men in general, and to one railroad in particular. That, of course, is the great corporation of which Robert Garrett was president, a corporation that won admiration throughout the United States for its wonderful accomplishment in gaining victories over many of its western rivals. When the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad gained entrance to Philadelphia in the face of a most persistent and uncompromising opposition, it won a battle that in the beginning was seemingly a hopeless contest. In some respects the fight might be likened to a brillant [sic] military operation, for it was not only necessary to manoeuvre, advance and retreat, advance again, capture the enemy's works, spike his guns, but to remain master of the situation, and, with a tried and trusted commander, repel any second attack that might afterwards be made in the desperation of defeat.

In this contest between two such powerful railroads as the Baltimore and Ohio and the Pennsylvania, men came to the front on both side [sic] who had never before been given an opportunity to display their generalship, and who, after the battle was over, were retained in the positions to which their skill and able management had promoted and entitled them. It is a fact known to all railroad men that one of the most loyal and able, and withal the most modest in the brilliant staff of the victors was Captain John H. Weeks, whose conduct of affairs in the principal department of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company since its establishment in this city, and whose part in the victory that was won placed him in a position where even his distaste for prominence cannot keep him hidden. Captain Weeks is by nature an organizer and controller of men. This is due first to heredity, and second to his military training in early manhood, and continued until he became matured beyond his years. He comes of that good old Quaker stock, whose principal characteristics are coolness, courage and caution. He is descended on the paternal side from Francis Weeks, who came from England in 1634, and settled in Norwich, L.I.; and on the maternal side from Christopher Pennock, who landed in America in 1684, and settled in Chester County, Pa. Captain Weeks was born in the old homestead in East Marlborough, Chester County, on January 19, 1842. In 1848 the family removed to Philadelphia, and young Weeks was sent to the Friends' School, on Cherry Street, below Fifth, where Horstmann's factory now stands. Although a member of the sturdy sect that opposed warfare, and whose precepts were peace, the young man had in him a soldier's heart and a soldier's ambition. On August 22, 1861, he enlisted in the 33rd, afterwards changed to the 91st, Pennsylvania Volunteers. His zeal and patriotism resulted in his promotion in a few months. On October 10, of the same year, he was made Second Lieutenant of his company (F), and on November 14 he was advanced to the First Lieutenancy. In this capacity he served until August 22, 1862, when he was promoted to the first vacancy and made Captain. In June, 1862, he was detailed for special service and was placed in charge of the protective force in Alexandria, Va. A month later he was detailed to report to General Anson Stager, and was instructed to rebuild the destroyed telegraph line from Alexandria to Fredericksburg. That section of the country was then over-run with guerrillas, and it took a man of nerve and force to accomplish the dangerous task. Although not twenty-one years of age, the young captain performed the duty to which he had been assigned in twenty-five days. The 91st Regiment formed the nucleus of the Third Division of the Fifth Corps, better known as Humphrey's Division, of the Army of the Potomac, commanded by General Fitz John Porter, and Captain Weeks participated in all the actions and marches of the command, up to and including the battle of Fredericksburg, on December 13, 14 and 15, 1862. It was about this time that the young soldier began to attract the attention of his superior officers for his bravery and soldierly attention to duty. Captain Weeks chafed somewhat under the strict discipline of Fitz John Porter; but as time went on, his admiration for the Commander of the Fifth Corps grew, and eventually a friendship was formed, which was strengthened with years. For fifteen out of the twenty-three years while General Porter was seeking the justice that was meted out to him so tardily, Captain Weeks, with that perseverance and persistence which are prominent traits in his character, kept the case of his old commander before the people regularly in prominent newspapers in the principal cities of the Union and before prominent public people.

At the battle of Fredericksburg, Humphrey's Division made the final charge on the famous stone wall upon Marye's Heights, the 91st Regiment being the right of the line, and Captain Weeks commanded the extreme right of his regiment. This charge has become historical as the most fatal forlorn hope of the Union Army during the war, paralleled only by the Confederate charge of Pickett's Division at Gettysburg.

Though wounded in this battle, Captain Weeks remained with his company and commanded the rear guard in the retreat of the army across the Rappahannock on the morning of December 15, 1862. His address before the United Service Club, in Philadelphia, giving the graphic details of Humphrey's Division at Fredericksburg, is one of the most eloquent war papers that has ever been produced. About the 20th of January, 1863, he was disabled by an attack of typhoid fever, the result of exposure during the winter campaign; and he was sent to the hospital, where he remained until June, 1863, when he was assigned to duty in the office of the Assistant Adjutant General, in Washington, to help to prepare the draft. The great draft riot in New York city was then in its incipiency. Captain Weeks had passed the convalescent stage and was ordered to the scene in command of four companies of infantry, with instructions to report to Major General Dix. No sooner had the outbreak been quelled than word was received that similar trouble had broken out in Hartford. Captain Weeks was instantly dispatched to this point and his timely arrival prevented a serious outbreak. At the request of Provost Marshal General D. D. Perkins, he was assigned to duty on the staff of General L. C. Hunt at the draft rendezvous at New Haven. There he remained until February 28, 1864.

The ability of Captain Weeks as an executive was signally recognized at this time by his transferrence to the Department at [sic] Washington, and thence to Forts Ellsworth and Williams, Virginia, where he was placed in charge of the Artillery School. On May 2, 1864, he was detailed as Judge Advocate on the staff of General G. A. DeRussy, and in the June following he was detailed to take charge of the construction of the defense of Washington against the threatened raid of General Jubal A. Early. On August 1, 1864, he was sent to Washington Arsenal to test ordnance, and on the 29th of November following he was relieved from this duty and was detailed by General George W. Gile, commanding the District of Washington, as Assistant Adjutant General on his staff. The next step made by Captain Weeks was a most important one, and he was placed in a position where his value was at once manifest. After being relieved of duty on the staff of General Gile, he was, by order of the Secretary of War, detailed as Assistant Adjutant General on the staff of General F. D. Sewall, at Annapolis. During the three months that he occupied this responsible place in the service, Captain Weeks received, clothed, fed and provided for 28,000 paroled and exchanged prisoners of war. Of this great army of men, 2,800 were commissioned officers. The previous administration of this position had been a wasteful and unsystematic one. Captain Weeks reorganized the department thoroughly, and saved in post funds $95,000 on food, cast-off and condemned clothing formerly wasted. This sum, according to the records of the Department, he turned into the United States Treasury. On June 4, 1865, Captain Weeks, the war being over, and for family reasons, resigned from the army and returned to Philadelphia. In March, previous to his resignation, he had been invited by Governor Curtin to accept a colonelcy in a new regiment then forming, but this honor he declined, and was the recipient of a letter from the War Governor shortly afterward, in which his declination was sincerely regretted.

Captain Weeks' varied experiences in so many responsible places of honor and trust has brought his mind to a state of maturity remarkable in a man of his age. His judgment and enthusiasm at twenty-two were as equally balanced as in a man of forty. He connected himself as general manager with the Saxon Chemical Co., of New York, where he remained until failing health compelled him to retire. In January, 1874, he was appointed agent of a line in the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. His special duty was to organize the line for operations in the territory owned and controlled by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company. In this he was eminently successful, and in April, 1875, he was promoted to take charge of the agency at Buffalo. While in that city he formed the acquaintance of Grover Cleveland, then a practicing lawyer, and made a warm friend of him. In July, 1878, he was invited by one of the fast freight lines of the New York Central Railroad to return to the Reading territory and organize a freight line in connection with the Reading Company. He remained in this service until April 1886, when he resigned to accept the General Agency of Freight Traffic of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Philadelphia. Here again was his faculty for successful organization brought out. On August 12 he was directed to get his forces into position and open freight stations at the earliest possible moment. On the day following, when he was the only person in Philadelphia in the employ of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, he began work. Three days later, in accordance with announce [sic] made in the daily newspapers, three freight stations were opened for traffic. At midnight the first carload of freight was shipped over the new road, and from that day on it has continued and is increasing in volume from day to day.

The success attained by Captain Weeks in civil as well as military life and the fact that he has made no retrograde step is [sic] due to several characteristics, the outcome of military training spoken of above. He is a man of strong willpower and deliberate in thought and action. While a man for an emergency he never acts hastily, and a decision once made and a position taken is [sic] usually maintained. He is of an even temperament, and it would be impossible to confuse or embarrass him under the most trying circumstances. There is one faculty in Captain Weeks' mind that stands out with distinctive prominence, and that is his memory, which is almost as infallible as it is possible for human memory to be. Not only does he retain names, dates and faces, but he recalls events and conversations with an accuracy that is simply wonderful. It is no task at all for Captain Weeks to begin, for instance, with the day of his enlistment in the army and relate consecutively, week after week, of his experience up to the present day. While an officer in the 91st Regiment, he could call every member of his command by name. Since his connection with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in this city, Captain Weeks has received thousands of applications for positions. Ninety per cent of the applicants had personal interviews. When any of them called again he could call them by name, remember precisely the name of the place for which they applied, and be able to decide instantly as to their acceptance or rejection. To this valuable gift Captain Weeks is ascribed [sic] a great measure of his success. An officer of the Reading Railroad says: "During the Mollie Maguire troubles in the Reading coal regions, in 1874, he did much to restore things to a peaceful condition by his logical argument and his knack of knowing how to handle men." During the great labor riot in July, 1877, at Buffalo, he was a central figure. The first day Captain Weeks visited the Mayor and advised the instant organization of a volunteer police force for the emergency, but his solicitude for the public safety was considered groundless, and he was informed that it was decided to call a public meeting to consider the adoption of protective measures. He earnestly protested against calling together, by public advertisement, at such a time, a body of uncontrollable persons, but without avail. The meeting was called and the rink was packed. The Mayor stepped to the front of the platform and began a speech, but inside of two minutes the whole assemblage was a mob, and with difficulty the Mayor was quickly removed through a rear window to a place of safety. Captain Weeks was at once invited to police headquarters and requested to organize a volunteer force. In two hours he had collected a hundred men who were armed with cart rungs, drilled, and before morning were stationed in relays at the gas and water works and railroad depots, which they protect four [sic] days, during which time frequent encounters with the mobs occurred, and in all cases, observing their commands, they were successfull. It is said that during the whole of these four days Captain Weeks did not rest. His capacity for work is enormous, and during emergencies the rapidity of his movements among weak points is wonderful. His memory enbled him to recall the minutia of management all through his army experience, and he was able to apply that experience when the occasion arose.

He was held in particularly high esteem by General Hancock, and when preparations were under way for the Grant funeral, he was called upon by General Hancock to act as an aid [sic]. He spent six days in perfecting arrangements for what was probably one of the largest public demonstrations ever held in America. As a man, Captain Weeks is esteemed for his sterling common sense, his devotion to democratic principles--democracy in its broade\\\st sense--and his loyalty to his friends. No better illustration of his trait can be shown than in the stand he took in his sticking to Fitz John Porter, through thick and thin, until Congress granted justice to a brave soldier, who had been seeking it for twenty-three years. Porter says "the amount of labor he gave and the services he rendered me were not exceeded by any advocate who assisted me."

It is generally believed that he is the principal source of advice and information which President Cleveland employs in Philadelphia, but it is impossible to learn this from him, and he rarely ever speaks of his acquaintance. It is known, however, that early in this administration Captain Weeks was frequently invited to the White House. His acquaintance among distinguished public men is very extensive and his counsel is frequently sought by them. He is a prominent member of the military order of the Loyal Legion, Grand Army of the Republic, and Masonic Fraternity; besides all the different commercial organizations in Philadelphia.

death certificate

[death certificate, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 13 June 1908, John H. Weeks]
[source: www.familysearch.org (viewed 21 Nov 08)]
TRANSIT PERMIT No. 7102 B
Office of REGISTRAR OF DEATHS.
Waterbury Conn., June 15" 1908.

The Certificate of Death required by law having been received and recorded, permission is hereby given to remove the remains of John H. Weeks to Philadelphia Pa. for interment.

Place of death, Town Waterbury Ct.
Date of death, June 13" 1908
Sex Male
Color, White
Occupation, Widower [sic]
Age, Yrs. 65 Mos. 4 Days 24
Widower
Birthplace, Town, Malboro Penn.
Father's Name, Alfred Weeks
Mother's Name, Mary Huey
Cause of Death, Primary, Cerebral tumor
Secondary, Exhaustion
Certified by Nelson A. Pomeroy, M.D.
Name of Undertaker, or person in charge of the Transit.
Robt W. Cornish #490
Dora Arganart [?], Registrar.
Waterbury Ct. P.O. Address.
UNDERTAKER'S CERTIFICATE.
Occupation, Retired
Place of Birth, Penna
Birthplace of Father, Penna
Birthplace of Mother, New York
Name of Father, Alftred Weeks
Maiden Name of Mother, Mary Huey
Last place of Residence, Waterbury, Conn.
Buried from, Street and No, Broad St. Sta. P.R.R.
Date of Burial, June 16 08
Place of Burial, Woodlands
Jos. J. Earley Undertaker.
Residence, 1737 Arch St.

memorial notice

['In memoriam. John Huey Weeks', Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Pennsylvania Commandery, circular 2, series of 1909, whole no 642, in Memorial circulars: Commendery of Pennsylvania 1907-1911]

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
COMMANDERY OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA
In Memoriam
JOHN HUEY WEEKS
Captain Veteran Reserve Corps
DIED AT WATERBURY CONN. JUNE 13 1908

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
HEADQUARTERS COMMANDERY OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA

CIRCULAR NO. 2. Series of 1909. Whole No. 642.
Philadelphia, January 6, 1909.

JOHN HUEY WEEKS

Private 91st Pennsylvania Infantry August 22, 1861; discharged for promotion November 14 1861

First Lieutenant 91st Pennsylvania Infantry November 14, 1861; Captain August 5, 1862; resigned and honorably discharged for disability April 26, 1863.

First Lieutenant Veteran Reserve Corps July 16, 1863; Captain December 10, 1863; resigned and honorably discharged June 5, 1865.

Elected May 3, 1882. Class I. Insignia 2445.

Born January 19, 1842, at East Marlboro, Pa.

Died June 13, 1908, at Waterbury, Conn.

Companion John H. Weeks was the son of Alfred and Mary (Huey) Weeks. He was born at East Marlboro, Chester Co., Penna., where his childhood was spent, his father later removing to Philadelphia. Young Weeks was educated at the Friends' School, Cherry near Fifth St. He enlisted in the 33rd Penna. Infantry in August, 1861, and was commissioned Second Lieutenant in his Regiment, which was designated the 91st Penna. Infantry, October 10th, 1861.

In June, 1862, Lieutenant Weeks was detailed to take charge of the erection of a military telegraph line between Alexandria and Fredericksburg, Va., which work he accomplished in twenty-five days.

Lieutenant Weeks was actively engaged at the Battle of Groveton, Va., July, 1862, and was commissioned Captain the following month. He was also actively engaged at the Battles of Antietam and Shepardstown. Exposure, incident to the campaign, brought on an attack of typhoid fever, which confined Captain Weeks to the hospital until December 1862, when hearing that his command was ordered into action, he rejoined the regiment, and took part in the action at Fredericksburg. His company formed the extreme right of the line in the assualt [sic] upon Marye's Heights. THough twice wounded and still suffering from the effects of his recent illness, Captain Weeks commanded the rear guard in the retreat across the Rappahannoc, and also took part in the second advance against Fredericksburg. He was again sent to the hospital by a return of the illness from which he had not entirely recovered.

In July, 1863, Captain Weeks was detailed to command four companies of infantry, reporting to General Dix, to assist in quelling the Draft Riots in New York City. This duty was performed so well that he was sent to Hartford, Conn., on a similar errand.

At the request of Provost Marshal General Perkins, he was assigned to duty at the draft rendezvous at New Haven, Conn., where he remained until February, 1864, when he was ordered to Annapolis, Md., and assigned as an Acting Assistant Adjutant General. In this capacity he received, mustered, fed, clothed, paid and furloughed 28,000 exchanged prisoners of war, and through his efficient re-organization of the department saved to the Government over $95,000 in food and condemned clothing, which had formerly been wasted.

Captain Weeks was offered by Governor Curtin the appointment of Colonel in a Regiment being organized in February, 1864, bu declined, and in May tendered his resignation, which was accepted June 5, 1865.

On his return to Philadelphia, Captain Weeks engaged in business as manager of a Chemical Company, but his health compelled his retirement from that work, and in 1874 he entered the service of the Empire Transportation Co., and in 1876 the Canada Southern Line in the control of the Penna. R. R. Co.; in 1885 he was appointed General Freight Agent of the Baltimore and Ohio R. R. at Phila., and remained interested in railway traffic business until 1892. During that year he suffered a stroke of paralysis which terminated his active business career.

His military experience was of value at the time of the great labor riots of 1877, when he commanded the Volunteer Police Force organized in Buffalo, N.Y., where he then lived. The regular police were entirely inadequate to protect property and onlyl the prompt and energetic action of the volunteers, commanded by Captain Weeks, prevented the situation at Buffalo becoming as serious as that at Pittsburgh.

Captain Weeks married Laura Piers in October, 1865, and has three children, of whom two survive him.

JOHN O. POERING, Brevet Captain U.S. Volunteers
GEORGE A. BERNARD, Brevet Lieut.-Colonel U.S. Volunteers
E. W. COFFIN, Brevet Major U.S. Volunteers.
Committee.

By command of Rear Admiral GEORGE W. MELVILLE, U.S.N. Commander
JOHN P. NICHOLSON Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel U.S.V. Recorder

Official

Recorder